Maryland city's arts district designed to draw life back to downtown

By Bill Strother, Herald-Times

bstrother@heraldt.com

Hagerstown, a city of about 40,000 in western Maryland, has been home since 2002 to one of 18 officially designated arts districts in the state.

"The state is very supportive of the program," said arts district manager Cindy Blackstock, also Hagerstown's community development coordinator. She can offer a range of state tax breaks, including state income tax reductions for artists who live in the district and up to 10-year property tax abatements to developers who build artist spaces in the district.