Economic Development
The development of the business and industry sector for Talbot County is supported by the County Office of Economic Development. This office is committed to the retention, expansion and relocation of businesses to support high paying jobs. Easton, the seat of government for Talbot County, serves as a regional hub for a 25 mile radius with population of approximately 160,000.
Talbot County, Maryland is centrally located on the Delmarva Peninsula, and is referred to locally as "Maryland's Eastern Shore." With over 600 miles of waterfront, Talbot County is proximate to the Baltimore/Washington, DC corridor, yet retains acres of hardwood forests, grain producing fields, and seafood processing facilities which continue to contribute to the county's economic base.
The county provides an attractive home for emerging companies which require a place to explore environmental sciences - and who are interested in the overlap of natural sciences, engineering and social sciences. Talbot County offers an accessible, yet secure environment in which to conduct business, and is a remarkable "test bed" for environmental sciences. Solutions to 21st Century environmental issues will require large, multi-disciplinary teams to analyze the complex environmental problems, and will require uninterrupted areas to conduct these studies. Disciplines already represented within the county include: environmental monitoring, sensors and simulation, toxicology research, geospatial and graphic information systems, unmanned aerial vehicle and robotics production and scientific instrument production. Businesses which complement and expand the demand for scientists in the bio/life and computer-related fields are encouraged to relocate to Talbot County.
The Cooperative Oxford Laboratory is an additional base hosting environmental technology disciplines. Housed together on a laboratory campus in Oxford, Maryland, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conduct environmental research and provide security to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Laboratory monitors the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay, while the Oxford Coast Guard Station has jurisdiction for providing security on the Bay. The Cooperative Oxford Laboratory is the only federal lab of its kind located on the Chesapeake Bay.
Talbot County's economy has remained healthy, due, in part to a diversified industrial base supported by seven industrial parks. The Easton Technology Center, located across from Easton Airport at the northern end of the Town of Easton, has completed Phase I of development and is offering sites for Phases II and III on the remaining parcel of 65 acres. Large-sector employers include manufacturing, commercial trade, technology businesses, professional services, and medical/healthcare facilities. Clifton Industrial Park, located on Dover Road, a main thoroughfare into the Town of Easton, was recently annexed into the Town of Easton.
The Easton Airport, located at the north entrance to the Town of Easton, currently serves general aviation needs for the Mid-Atlantic region with 60,000 annual operations, including corporate jet traffic. Host to 13 businesses with an employment base of 150, the Easton Airport maintains the highest levels of security in keeping with Homeland Security requirements and specifications. A majority of Talbot County's population is clustered around the Town of Easton which serves as the cultural, commercial, financial and medical hub for the Mid-Shore Region. Historic Easton, a non-profit organization founded in 1974 to preserve historic sites and monuments of Easton, contracted with AKRF, a multi-disciplinary provider of environmental, planning and engineering services, and Street-Works to provide a Downtown Revitalization Plan; the Plan was presented to the Easton Town Council in July 2008. In addition, a number of projects are in the planning stages for Downtown Easton which will offer mixed-use office retail space following extensive renovations to several historic structures. The Historic Tidewater Inn is presently undergoing a $10 million restoration and renovation, and continues to anchor downtown.
The Avalon Foundation promotes live venues at the historic Avalon Theatre. The Academy of the Arts promotes the annual Plein Air Festival in July which attracts national artists to paint local scenery. The The Waterfowl Festival Inc Inc. stages an annual wildlife arts festival the second weekend in November, hosting over 400 exhibitors. Since its inception in 1971, the Festival has raised over $5 million to fund area conservation projects.
Talbot County welcomes the opportunity to discuss the relocation of your business to the county. Both the county and its towns offer businesses a regional hub with a technically skilled workforce and available industrial sites for development. The Talbot County Office of Economic Development welcomes the opportunity to discuss the retention or expansion of your current business, or to discuss relocation of your business to our region - "Bring Your Science Projects to our Backyard."