Howard County Executive Calvin Ball hosted Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day for a tour of Howard County in the latest and final 2023 stop of the department’s Day Trips tour series. The tour focused on the progress of state housing investments in the county; featured two roundtable discussions focused on housing, digital equality and supporting Historic Ellicott City businesses; and highlighted the innovative development of the Merriweather District in Columbia. Pictures from the tour can be found here.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Secretary Day back to Howard County, as we recently had the opportunity to come together to announce the County’s new comprehensive Housing Opportunities Meant for Everyone, or HOME, package,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “Partnerships, such as with Secretary Day and his team, are vital in our mission to address housing challenges, improve housing affordability and stability, and protect tenant rights in Howard County, and for all Marylanders. I enjoyed showing Secretary Day around Howard County and sharing some of the wonderful things that make it such a great place to call home, as well as discussing more about what we can do together to make it even better to live, work, play, grow, and thrive for all.”
DHCD has supplied $170 million in various state funding to Howard County between FY20 and FY23, including approximately $12.6 million to advance affordable housing. In October, Ball unveiled his Housing Opportunities Meant for Everyone, or HOME, package which is a suite of policy and programmatic initiatives aimed at tackling housing affordability in Howard County.
“Howard County and its leadership has shown its willingness to tackle the area’s housing and business challenges head-on,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Secretary Jake Day. “DHCD works best when it supports the community vision created by those who live and work there. By learning from Howard County’s leaders, business owners and residents today, we will ensure those visions come true as we make this Maryland’s decade.”
Howard County is the last in a series of 2023 county-wide visits conducted this fall, which allow for Secretary Day and other DHCD staff to connect directly with residents and business owners, along with county and municipal leaders directly. These day-long trips focus on how the department can help counties and municipalities in the areas of housing, community and economic development, small business support and more.