(Dec. 31, 2015) Last year, a majority of the headlines in Berlin centered on its “Coolest Small Town” designation, to the point where the Gazette considered a temporary moratorium on the dreaded “c-word.”
Growth in the small town has been undeniable, however, and that trend continued throughout 2015, when change came in both small and large doses.
Several new businesses opened doors in and around Main Street, considered the hotbed of commerce in Berlin, including new restaurants at the north (Leaky Pete’s) and south (Crush ‘n Crab) ends. In between, a new fine arts gallery, Art in the Fields, opened with an exhibition featuring legendary pop artist Andy Warhol.
On the outskirts of town, Rinnier Development Company introduced plans for Oceans East, a major new housing complex with potentially 700-plus units on Seahawk Road, near Stephen Decatur High School.
Berlin annexed the property in March, although a text amendment battle over just how wide each building of the complex could be continued into November, when a 3-1 vote decided to set the magic number at 36 units – at maximum – with future discretion given to the town’s planning commission.
The town had no problem with moving an Arby’s on Ocean Gateway across the street, literally paving the way for a new Royal Farms in its place.
A Dollar General store on Old Ocean City Road near Healthway Drive was not as lucky, ping-ponging back and forth between the planning commission, town council and the county’s circuit court, until the developer, Oxford Chase, eventually settled on another property, near the corner of Flower Street and Assateague Road.
Cannery Village, a 44-unit affordable housing complex developed by Osprey Property Company, located on Flower Street, broke ground in June, and the first renters were approved to move in as of November.
The Berlin Chamber of Commerce grew too, doubling its staff as it named Ocean Pines resident Larnet St. Amant as its new executive director in May and Salisbury native Morgan Coulson as the new administrative assistant during the following month.
In June, Mayor Gee William teased yet another possible new development, when he told the Gazette he was approached by Hugh Cropper, an attorney representing the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, who floated the idea of annexing the Bay Club on Liberty Town Road into Berlin limits with the goal of building 300 luxury homes on the site.
“It’s the beginning of the beginning of the discussion,” Williams said at the time, adding the project would involve converting the two golf courses into “an upscale housing development for high-income individuals.”
The developer would pay for needed infrastructure and “ongoing water and sewer costs,” Williams said.
Even the former Tyson’s Chicken plant, on Old Ocean City Boulevard, was eyed for redevelopment, as the town purchased the property for an estimated $2.5 million and conducted several studies to gauge feasibility and environmental risks and benefits for the 68-acre property.
In September, the town met with design firm EDSA during a pair of feasibility sessions at town hall, when renderings showed dozens of possibilities for the property, ranging from low-cost hiking trails, to an indoor/outdoor swimming facility, to a state-of-the-art amphitheater.
For residents, Williams said the town wanted to provide low-cost or free services at the site, while trying to generate revenue through tourism to offset the purchase of the property, as well as its maintenance.
He added that the former plant, now tentatively being called “Berlin Falls,” would be developed in phases over a period of many years.
“No one is expecting, including the mayor and council, everything to be done all at one time,” he said. “Basically, their objective is coming up with a multiple-phase plan that will get as much initial use as is physically feasible and financially feasible, so we can put the property to work for the citizens of Berlin and our guests.”
Williams said the design of the new facility – or facilities – would, “look like it belongs in Berlin,” and that all involved hoped to transform the former industrial property, “from a blight to a treasure.”
“It’s not going to be something that looks like it belongs in Miami Beach, or some area that has a totally different culture,” he said. “It will be compatible with the heritage of the community. That doesn’t mean it can’t be innovative, but it’s not going to be out of place.”
In October, several hundred people gathered in an open field near the Waystead Inn on Harrison Avenue, as the Worcester County Library Foundation unveiled plans for a new $4.5 million branch of the Worcester County Library.
Work on the project could begin next year – if funding is secured – on what would be an 11,000 square-foot facility, three times larger than the town’s current library. The foundation hopes to raise $300,000 to furnish the new building.
The county also got into the act, spending thousands to study an excursion train potentially located in Berlin and acting as a major tourist attraction for the entire region.
In October, Stone Consulting Vice President Randall Gustafson told the county commissioners that its phase two of a $20,000 feasibility study found that an excursion train could generate $1.9 million in ticket sales revenue during its first year, versus about $1.7 in operating costs.
He projected more than 72,000 people riding the train annually, along with $17.6 million in total revenue to the area, creating more than 470 full-time jobs.
The town also moved the finish several major stormwater improvements this year, using just under $2 million in grant money to tackle problem areas near the Hudson Branch on Flower Street.
Phase two of improvements would target Williams Street, then move to Cedar, Pine, Franklin, Maple, Grice and Nelson streets during the final phase.
Consultant Darl Kolar, from EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc., said an additional $1 million in funding was being sought through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, and the Flower Street improvements should be completed by July 2016.
Berlin Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells, who took over late last year, said 2016 would be the year of the excursion train in Berlin, as well as the year that the former Tyson’s Chicken plant becomes redeveloped into a star attraction of the town.
Of the long-discussed excursion train, Wells said she, Town Administrator Laura Allen and Worcester County Economic Development Director Merry Mears would fly to North Carolina on Dec. 28, and spend three days touring the facilities of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Company.
Williams spoke about the remarkable turnaround in Berlin, which essentially occurred over several generations, during a Gazette interview in November.
“When I used to talk about growth years ago people just laughed,” he said.
Williams remembers a time during the 1970s, when he was covering town politics for what was then the Eastern Shore Times, the paper in Berlin at the time.
“In the old days, the meetings would go on until past midnight and very little would get decided. You talk about the ultimate frustration,” he said. “Maybe, along with what I honestly believe is caring for the town, I have a few psychological scars from those days. I don’t ever want to see that happen again.”
He said the town would hold planning sessions in January 2016 to formulate a formal, long-term plan for growth in Berlin. The town previously held four strategic planning in the early part of 2015.
Williams said the upcoming meetings, led by consulting firm Environmental Resources Management, would be more focused.
“The strategic planning sessions were an open slate. We were looking for ideas,” he said. “Here we have a situation where there’ll be, literally, a series of workshops, each with a scene.”
Williams said the subjects, while not finalized, would likely include areas such as land use, design and architecture, impact on transportation and economic growth.
“We need to have a community conversation that then evolves into an overall plan,” Williams said. “It’s got to be a thoughtful process – it can’t just be someone stands up and has passionate feelings about something and that’s it. That’s not what planning is about. I want informed opinions and thoughtful suggestions.”
What Berlin does not want to do, Williams said, is to become another Salisbury.
“I’ve heard at least one councilperson say we’re going to be a community of 20,000 people,” Williams said. “No. We’re not after trying to be another large community. But to say we’re going to allow just another a few hundred people in and then we’re closing that gate and building the wall, that’s not planning. That’s burying your head in the sand.
“Just because other communities that are within our sight have not done this does not mean we can’t,” Williams added. “There are real answers, but it takes an informed public that thinks beyond the next year or two – or next five years – to make all of that happen. I have absolute confidence in the people of our community that we’ll find that right balance.”
Growth in the small town has been undeniable, however, and that trend continued throughout 2015, when change came in both small and large doses.
Several new businesses opened doors in and around Main Street, considered the hotbed of commerce in Berlin, including new restaurants at the north (Leaky Pete’s) and south (Crush ‘n Crab) ends. In between, a new fine arts gallery, Art in the Fields, opened with an exhibition featuring legendary pop artist Andy Warhol.
On the outskirts of town, Rinnier Development Company introduced plans for Oceans East, a major new housing complex with potentially 700-plus units on Seahawk Road, near Stephen Decatur High School.
Berlin annexed the property in March, although a text amendment battle over just how wide each building of the complex could be continued into November, when a 3-1 vote decided to set the magic number at 36 units – at maximum – with future discretion given to the town’s planning commission.
The town had no problem with moving an Arby’s on Ocean Gateway across the street, literally paving the way for a new Royal Farms in its place.
A Dollar General store on Old Ocean City Road near Healthway Drive was not as lucky, ping-ponging back and forth between the planning commission, town council and the county’s circuit court, until the developer, Oxford Chase, eventually settled on another property, near the corner of Flower Street and Assateague Road.
Cannery Village, a 44-unit affordable housing complex developed by Osprey Property Company, located on Flower Street, broke ground in June, and the first renters were approved to move in as of November.
The Berlin Chamber of Commerce grew too, doubling its staff as it named Ocean Pines resident Larnet St. Amant as its new executive director in May and Salisbury native Morgan Coulson as the new administrative assistant during the following month.
In June, Mayor Gee William teased yet another possible new development, when he told the Gazette he was approached by Hugh Cropper, an attorney representing the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, who floated the idea of annexing the Bay Club on Liberty Town Road into Berlin limits with the goal of building 300 luxury homes on the site.
“It’s the beginning of the beginning of the discussion,” Williams said at the time, adding the project would involve converting the two golf courses into “an upscale housing development for high-income individuals.”
The developer would pay for needed infrastructure and “ongoing water and sewer costs,” Williams said.
Even the former Tyson’s Chicken plant, on Old Ocean City Boulevard, was eyed for redevelopment, as the town purchased the property for an estimated $2.5 million and conducted several studies to gauge feasibility and environmental risks and benefits for the 68-acre property.
In September, the town met with design firm EDSA during a pair of feasibility sessions at town hall, when renderings showed dozens of possibilities for the property, ranging from low-cost hiking trails, to an indoor/outdoor swimming facility, to a state-of-the-art amphitheater.
For residents, Williams said the town wanted to provide low-cost or free services at the site, while trying to generate revenue through tourism to offset the purchase of the property, as well as its maintenance.
He added that the former plant, now tentatively being called “Berlin Falls,” would be developed in phases over a period of many years.
“No one is expecting, including the mayor and council, everything to be done all at one time,” he said. “Basically, their objective is coming up with a multiple-phase plan that will get as much initial use as is physically feasible and financially feasible, so we can put the property to work for the citizens of Berlin and our guests.”
Williams said the design of the new facility – or facilities – would, “look like it belongs in Berlin,” and that all involved hoped to transform the former industrial property, “from a blight to a treasure.”
“It’s not going to be something that looks like it belongs in Miami Beach, or some area that has a totally different culture,” he said. “It will be compatible with the heritage of the community. That doesn’t mean it can’t be innovative, but it’s not going to be out of place.”
In October, several hundred people gathered in an open field near the Waystead Inn on Harrison Avenue, as the Worcester County Library Foundation unveiled plans for a new $4.5 million branch of the Worcester County Library.
Work on the project could begin next year – if funding is secured – on what would be an 11,000 square-foot facility, three times larger than the town’s current library. The foundation hopes to raise $300,000 to furnish the new building.
The county also got into the act, spending thousands to study an excursion train potentially located in Berlin and acting as a major tourist attraction for the entire region.
In October, Stone Consulting Vice President Randall Gustafson told the county commissioners that its phase two of a $20,000 feasibility study found that an excursion train could generate $1.9 million in ticket sales revenue during its first year, versus about $1.7 in operating costs.
He projected more than 72,000 people riding the train annually, along with $17.6 million in total revenue to the area, creating more than 470 full-time jobs.
The town also moved the finish several major stormwater improvements this year, using just under $2 million in grant money to tackle problem areas near the Hudson Branch on Flower Street.
Phase two of improvements would target Williams Street, then move to Cedar, Pine, Franklin, Maple, Grice and Nelson streets during the final phase.
Consultant Darl Kolar, from EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc., said an additional $1 million in funding was being sought through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, and the Flower Street improvements should be completed by July 2016.
Berlin Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells, who took over late last year, said 2016 would be the year of the excursion train in Berlin, as well as the year that the former Tyson’s Chicken plant becomes redeveloped into a star attraction of the town.
Of the long-discussed excursion train, Wells said she, Town Administrator Laura Allen and Worcester County Economic Development Director Merry Mears would fly to North Carolina on Dec. 28, and spend three days touring the facilities of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad Company.
Williams spoke about the remarkable turnaround in Berlin, which essentially occurred over several generations, during a Gazette interview in November.
“When I used to talk about growth years ago people just laughed,” he said.
Williams remembers a time during the 1970s, when he was covering town politics for what was then the Eastern Shore Times, the paper in Berlin at the time.
“In the old days, the meetings would go on until past midnight and very little would get decided. You talk about the ultimate frustration,” he said. “Maybe, along with what I honestly believe is caring for the town, I have a few psychological scars from those days. I don’t ever want to see that happen again.”
He said the town would hold planning sessions in January 2016 to formulate a formal, long-term plan for growth in Berlin. The town previously held four strategic planning in the early part of 2015.
Williams said the upcoming meetings, led by consulting firm Environmental Resources Management, would be more focused.
“The strategic planning sessions were an open slate. We were looking for ideas,” he said. “Here we have a situation where there’ll be, literally, a series of workshops, each with a scene.”
Williams said the subjects, while not finalized, would likely include areas such as land use, design and architecture, impact on transportation and economic growth.
“We need to have a community conversation that then evolves into an overall plan,” Williams said. “It’s got to be a thoughtful process – it can’t just be someone stands up and has passionate feelings about something and that’s it. That’s not what planning is about. I want informed opinions and thoughtful suggestions.”
What Berlin does not want to do, Williams said, is to become another Salisbury.
“I’ve heard at least one councilperson say we’re going to be a community of 20,000 people,” Williams said. “No. We’re not after trying to be another large community. But to say we’re going to allow just another a few hundred people in and then we’re closing that gate and building the wall, that’s not planning. That’s burying your head in the sand.
“Just because other communities that are within our sight have not done this does not mean we can’t,” Williams added. “There are real answers, but it takes an informed public that thinks beyond the next year or two – or next five years – to make all of that happen. I have absolute confidence in the people of our community that we’ll find that right balance.”