Faced with losing one of the five original commercial buildings in "downtown" Still Pond, Maryland, some of the village residents formed a nonprofit to buy the building.
Are there 100 people on Daily Kos who can put up $100 each?
Our three-month-old nonprofit is working very hard -- starting from scratch -- to raise money to buy the building. We're in a county in a part of Maryland, the Eastern Shore, without a strong preservation organization and without a strong local government commitment to historic preservation.
In other words, we're the local test case for community preservation and economic development by the community itself.
Given the economy, we're really scraping and scratching in every corner we can think of locally. We're cold-calling regionally. I've put word out on Facebook. The one thing this non-profit doesn't have is a big e-mail member and donor list.
Daily Kos is one widespread community where I hope I can find some people who see our goal here as something important, and something that resonates with them.
200 Kossacks with 100 bucks each, plus what we've gathered locally, won't put us over the top but it will make a big impression on the owners.
Questions? Check the website, or you can e-mail me here.
We need everyone's help. We're hoping to close on October 15.
The Covington Store
This is the Covington Store, or "Still Pond Store," about 1910. Until a recent fire caused the owners to close it, it was in operation for more than 140 years. The building can be repaired easily enough. A small fire damaged a rear addition and caused smoke damage throughout. The upstairs was unused anyway, though the original trim and woodwork is in place.
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com
A nonprofit group called Still Pond Preservation Inc. is raising money to buy the store, repair the outside, clean it up, and find a new owner to bring it back to a commercial - residential use.
There's a large apartment on the second floor with original 1870s Victorian woodwork (but, full disclosure, the plaster walls are shot).
Even $5 will help. Our deadline is October 15. (The very short timeline for fundraising is a long story; let's just say we accepted the challenge, knowing it would be uphill all the way. We're negotiating an extension on our option.)
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com
Below: the store today:
Make no mistake. This is an economic development project. Without the original historic village center, there's no reason to set Still Pond apart from anywhere else. Years ago, a guy with vision named Frank Huggins restored the Medders Store across the street. Unfortunately no one followed suit, though a local couple who have restored several houses in the village own and use the Medders Store.
About five years ago, Mike Brunner began restoring an early-1800s house across the other street which once had been, yes, a store.
The Covington Store and what's called "Trinks' Store" need people who care to buy and renovate.
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com
About the Village
Still Pond is a National Register Historic District, and it would be a great place for people whose business involves creative work. The store would be a great studio or shop. Restoration tax credits are available in the state of Maryland, and they include rebates on state-of-the-art HVAC and other building systems.
There's a 20 percent cash rebate on renovation expense, and the IRS allows a 20 percent income tax credit on commercial property renovation.
It is 52 miles to Washington DC, a little less to Baltimore, with Wilmington Del. and Philadelphia not far to the north. Still Pond is centrally located in the middle of nowhere!
Across the street is the fully restored Medders Store. It is now a boatbuilding shop and an artists' studio.
The condition of the Covington Store is good ... damage is limited to a shed addition on the rear and one cornerpost. The fire was smoky, and that caused the post office to move out (lefthand door).
The fire department caused most of the damage to the store by breaking windows and cutting holes in the roof.
Given the current small-post-office bloodbath, we'll probably never see our post office again. It was the second or third-oldest in the county.
Due to state environmental regulations, the owners removed the unused and empty gasoline tank and the fuel pumps.
Donate by PayPal: www.stillpondmd.com