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Hogan Pledges $7M for Western Maryland City's Downtown

DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan is pledging more than $7 million over five years to help the western Maryland city of Hagerstown with a downtown revitalization plan anchored by educational and arts institutions.

The Republican governor made the announcement Thursday at the Maryland Theatre, a restored, century-old venue that is part of the project.

The $30 million plan includes adding a glass-and brick entrance to the theater, which lost its grand facade to a fire in 1974.

The plan also includes expanding both a University System of Maryland education center and an arts-oriented public high school.

The funding commitment comes 17 years after then-governor Parris Glendening ordered the university center built inside vacant downtown buildings rather than in a new complex on the city's outskirts as part of his "smart growth" program.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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