A Brief History of the Cambridge Waterfront
1962 - The Port Takes Shape
From the indigenous Choptank natives to contemporary watermen, our site has always been a resource on and off the water. In 1963, the site was converted into the only other deep-water port in Maryland outside of Baltimore. A 25-foot channel was dredged to create a little more than twenty acres of usable land. The terminal included a 500-foot wharf, 150-foot catwalk, and direct transshipment to railroad cars and trucks. Located only 20 nautical miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, the Cambridge Port is part of the area's historic maritime industry. Once the port of call for the Presidential Yacht, U.S.S. Potomac, and now a regular stop for American Cruise Lines along their Chesapeake Bay route, the port has played a pivotal role in Cambridge's development.
1992 - Sailwinds - A Vision for More
In response to the waning manufacturing industry, the 'Committee 100 of Dorchester' was formed under the leadership of local businessman, Bob Spedden, to envision a waterfront tourist destination. From those conversations, a 501(c)(3) non-profit economic development organization, Sailwinds Park, Inc.; was created. Together with the community, they crafted a plan to significantly impact Cambridge's economics. Praised by elected officials, including Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer, the State committed resources to the project, paving the way for Cambridge Harbor.
1994 - New Leadership
Amid changes of elected officials and State priorities, Frank Narr, former Sailwinds Park Executive Director, and Jeff Powell, former Dorchester County Council President, worked to fund and build the Visitor Center and promote a proposal for an Amphitheater. They continued to refocus State partners on further exploration for commercial development and waterfront design of the Port property.
2006 - R/UDAT Study
In the spring of 2006, the Cambridge Main Street program asked a Regional / Urban Design Assistance Team to study how the Cambridge Main Street program could advance its mission for commercial revitalization and economic enhancement of the City's distinctive and historic core. The team was comprised of multi-disciplinary professionals with backgrounds in urban design, landscape architecture, planning, and economic development.
2009 - Waterfront 2020 Charette
In early 2009, the City launched an effort to develop an Economic Strategy. The objective of the strategic planning process was to help the citizens of Cambridge position the City for growth. This resulted in the Waterfront 2020 Charette, a grassroots public brainstorming session to update the Comprehensive Plan and help shape the future of the City's waterfront.
2018 - Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. Established
The City and Sailwinds Park Inc. acknowledged their shared goals in an MOU, one of the precursors to the formation of Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. (CWDI). Both entities agreed to work together to redevelop the properties along the waterfront from the Fishing Pier/Gateway to Cambridge Creek. These efforts would be consistent with the previous development plans and the Port Property transfer agreements between the City and the State of Maryland.
Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. is a non-profit development corporation is formed by the City of Cambridge, Dorchester County, the State of Maryland, and Sailwinds Park, Inc for purposes of collaborative planning and development of properties along and adjacent to the Cambridge waterfront.
2020 - Cambridge Harbor
CWDI engaged BCT Design Group to develop a new waterfront masterplan based on thirty-plus years of planning and two years of community engagement efforts. While BCT’s Planning staff was busy at work on the technical details of the plan, the Branding and Graphics Studio developed a brand that would balance representing the Cambridge community at large and the future Cambridge Harbor development.
2021 - Surveying the Community
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CWDI prepared a Virtual Community Presentation and survey web portal to collect responses between December 2020 – January 2021. Nearly 1,500 individual responses were received across five “Site Planning” Topics.
Key Results: 75% no Street at water's edge, 80% Mixed Use Buildings, 76% Outdoor Pavilion
2022 - Masterplan Feedback & RFP
In April of 2022, a nearly finalized Conceptual Site Plan was revealed to 200+ community members during an in-person community workshop. Following the workshop was a 120-day period for virtual feedback on the updated master plan.
Attendees at the community workshop also voted on the site's name derived from an original list of over forty options, each crafted based on research about Cambridge's heritage and history. Through an in-person voting system, the community chose Cambridge Harbor.
In a ranking of what they felt was most important, 538 survey participants believed that promoting the waterfront engagement and access was high on the list—one respondent expanded by writing, “…access to the Choptank and public boat ramp is essential to maintain the lifestyle of many citizens in Dorchester County.”
On July 15, 2022, CWDI issued an RFP/Request for Expressions of Interest to the broader development community and any others interested in partnering to develop Cambridge Harbor.
On August 2, 2022, CWDI issued a parallel RFP through its Hotel Consultant, RevPAR International, aimed at identifying potential boutique hotel developers.
You can find the RFP in documents pages
2023 - Site Preparation
2023 was a busy year working to complete demolition and site preparation work. CWDI also worked with the public to select a name for the new street that will be created based on the Masterplan presented in 2022. At the first community event held at the site, Watermen Way was the name that received the most votes from those in attendance.
CWDI vetted all RFP responses and selected to negotiate final deals with Yacht Maintenance and a boutique hotel developer.
2024 - Property Sale and Promenade Extension
Closed on the 2.9 acre sale to Yacht Maintenance which will allow them to move forward with their expansion project. We are excited to see this project come to fruition as part of our mission to maintain Cambridge’s working waterfront.
Work started on the Promenade extension, a $3.0 million project funded by the federal Economic Development Agency. CWDI is partnering with the Chesapeake Conservancy on this project. The waterfront Promenade extension will start at the Wharf, continue to the Boat Ramp and then proceed up Franklin Street to the future intersection with Watermen Way. CWDI awarded the construction contract to Earth Movers, LLC, a local contractor based in Hurlock. While construction is already underway, a formal groundbreaking ceremony will be forthcoming. Yacht Maintenance and a boutique hotel developer.
