Why this small Maryland city is offering $20,000 to people who move here

With its historic church steeples and the arched Blue Bridge stretching across the north branch of the Potomac River, the city of Cumberland in western Maryland offers a picturesque view of small-town Appalachia to anyone passing by along Interstate 68.

But the once-robust hub of manufacturing has struggled since the days it was known as Maryland’s “Queen City,” as its population has dropped from nearly 40,000 in 1940 to less than half of that today. A fifth of Cumberland’s 19,000 residents live in poverty now after the glass factories and, later, the tire plant and other businesses shut down.

As part of a broader effort to recapture some of the city’s former vitality, Cumberland is hoping to take advantage of the pandemic shift to remote work by giving $20,000 to 10 home buyers who promise to invest in those properties and become part of the community.

The “Choose Cumberland Relocation Program” will give $10,000 in cash to 10 people, as well as up to $10,000 in matching funds toward renovations or down payments. The city is funding the cash payments, while the matching payments will be funded by a $100,000 grant from Maryland’s Community Legacy Program, which supports projects aimed at strengthening and revitalizing communities.

“It’s really to attract people who will benefit your community,” said Cumberland City Council member Laurie Marchini. “It’s not a social services program; it’s to bring people in who are employed.”

The pilot program, for which applications opened last week and will close after Tuesday, is not a particularly new approach to community building.

Local and state governments across the country have launched similar programs in hopes of tapping into the massive demographic shift caused by the pandemic, where professionals allowed to work from home were suddenly searching for cheaper homes and more space.

In Oklahoma, a program in Tulsa offers $10,000 to both renters and home buyers who have full-time, remote work and are willing to move there from out of state.

In New York, a relocation program in the Rochester area offers home buyers grants of up to $9,000, plus professional networking opportunities and “customized programming to ensure successful integration into the community,” according to that program’s website.

And in West Virginia, a short drive from Cumberland, another program pays newcomers $12,000 in cash, while also offering a co-working space, a year’s worth of free activities such as white-water rafting, and other perks to employed people willing to relocate to certain areas.

“Whether you put this $12,000 toward a new car for scenic drives down our country roads or a new mountain bike, it’s totally up to you,” West Virginia’s program, called Ascend, says on its website. “It’s true what they say: Money goes further in the mountains.”

Cumberland officials are hoping that claim also applies to their mountain community.

The city has been hurting since the mid-20th century, due to industrial shifts and the railroads’ decline in economic importance. Plant closures during later decades led to more job losses, culminating in the 1987 shuttering of the Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. factory, which left hundreds of people out of work.

After decades of continued economic dormancy, Cumberland officials have recently poured money into other revitalization projects with the aim of boosting the city’s tax base and bringing more energy to its small downtown area.

During the past 18 months, city leaders have overseen a renovation and redesign of the streets in Cumberland’s historic central district, centered along the brick-paved Baltimore Street.

About a dozen new businesses, including a taco restaurant, ice creamery and boutique clothing shop, have sprung up or relocated there during the construction, and two or three more are expected to be in place for the district’s grand reopening in November, city officials said.

Meanwhile, millions of dollars in federal, state and local funds have been pledged for a new River Park along the Potomac to include walking trails, a white-water course and boating access.

To qualify for the relocation program, newcomers must commit to staying in the city for five years. The application includes questions about the nature of their employment, why they’ve chosen Cumberland and their interests and hobbies.

Some critics of the program have argued that the money should instead go to people who already live in Cumberland, city officials say.

Mayor Raymond Morriss says the city has funded other programs for its current residents, including one that offers $25,000 in incentives for the rehabilitation of vacant properties and an initiative that helps low-income residents with home improvement efforts.

Morriss said the relocation program is geared toward addressing one of the city’s biggest issues – its population loss.

Before the city secured the state grant for its relocation program, a trickle of new residents had already been arriving – what Morriss calls a “silver lining” from the pandemic that the city hopes to harness even more.

“A lot of people were kind of leaving the rat race and coming out to enjoy the outdoor recreation and the lifestyle that’s available out here,” he said. “We were looking at ways that we can continue that.”

Cumberland’s boosters tout “a diverse, friendly, small-town community” with walkable neighborhoods and outdoor attractions. The city is where the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile trail from Pittsburgh, meets the C&O Canal Towpath, a dirt and stone trail that runs 184.5 miles from Cumberland to Georgetown in the District of Columbia.

Juli McCoy, president and CEO of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, said the city is gaining new energy.

“I’ve worked downtown for 20 years, and this is the most exciting it’s ever been,” she said. “I’ve watched it fall apart. I’ve watched it be pieced together. And now I’m watching it be rebuilt and reimagined.”