New "regional art facility" to be built in Havre de Grace

There's an old alley in Harford County that's getting millions for a unique new project.

It's called Harmer's Town Art Center and it would be a "first-of-its-kind regional art facility, creativity incubator, and economic driver in Havre de Grace."

The project got a $3.35 million federal grant back in March to "rehabilitate a vacant 34,000 square-foot commercial building and blighted alley" on Havre de Grace's Market Street at Bourbon.

Now, it's also been awarded $100,000 from the state, as part of a matching grant program from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority to support heritage tourism.

The site already has new life as an "art park," which opened last year "with landscaped pathways, artistic sculptures, outdoor seating, and a series of vivid murals leading visitors on a visual tour through Havre de Grace history."

Named "Graw Alley" - in reference to a former horse-racing track in Havre de Grace called "The Graw" - the alley has since been playing host to events like an Art Party.

It also just got new sculptures of racing jockeys.

The name "Harmer's Town" refers to a 1600s name for the land that would become Havre de Grace.

Preliminary architectural renderings of the Art Center's final look have been released, and engineering was underway as well, according to a March press release. The groundbreaking was in 2022.

The Art Center aims to be "a regional destination," providing work "and opportunity for a wide range of artists and craftspersons - all in a highly visible location."

It will have publicly-accessible studio space, makerspace workshops, galleries, a museum of historic city artifacts, and a shop.

The center's leaders said last year that the project was expected to cost a total of $8-10 million, and they had already raised $2.1 million at that time in public and private funds.