The Chicken Plant Finally Sold. Here's What Changes at Heron Park, and When

Which of the plans for Heron Park actually comes with a deadline?

As of October 2026, only one does, and it belongs to the developer. On October 27, the Town of Berlin closed the $1.2 million sale of Parcel 57 at Heron Park to Palmer and Sandy Gillis. Parcel 57 includes the former chicken processing building on Old Ocean City Boulevard. The contract sets construction dates for the buyers and puts money at risk if they miss them. Everything else planned for the park, including the skate park, the permanent access road and the new Public Works building, is still moving through grants, donations and design work.

The deadline that costs money if it slips

The Town's October 27 announcement spells out the terms. Under the contract, the Gillises must start building the first phase by the end of April 2027 and finish it by the end of October 2028. They have posted $50,000 in security, and the Town can draw $5,000 a month from it if those deadlines are missed. The Town also points out that the sale puts the parcel back on the tax rolls.

The developers' own goal is faster. In a statement reported by the Bayside Gazette's October 29 issue, they said they are working toward completion in fall 2027. That leaves a gap of about a year between what the builders are aiming for and the latest date the contract allows.

The terms are strict because this deal nearly fell apart more than once. The Gazette traced talks with the Gillises back to 2021. In August 2023 the Town Council voted 3-2 to end discussions. Talks resumed in July 2024, this time focused on Parcel 57 and the old plant buildings. In April 2025 the council voted 3-1 to approve the $1.2 million sale agreement. Closing then took another 18 months while the two sides worked through disputes over property lines, subdivision plans and access-road arrangements.

The Town bought the former Tyson Foods site in February 2016 for $2.5 million. The Gazette's editorial page noted that this sale takes $1.2 million off the balance the Town still owes on that purchase.

What goes where on the developer's parcel

The buyers have named the project The Exchange at Heron Park. In a Facebook post quoted by the Gazette, they described it as a place for "professional offices, businesses, retail, and potentially a restaurant."

According to the Town, the plan breaks down by location on the parcel:

• Fronting Ocean City Boulevard: a retail building, likely a restaurant, as part of phase one.
• Middle of the site: a professional office building, also phase one.
• Rear of the site, closer to the ponds: phase two. No specific plan has been presented for it yet, and the Gillises have committed to landscaping and improving the area until it is built.

This past July, Coastal Venture Properties, the Gillises' development company, received a planning commission endorsement for a site plan with three buildings and a community garden. A May 2026 Bayside Gazette report said concrete and industrial structures at the back of the parcel were slated for removal, and that later phases could stay vacant for years. In practice, the boulevard frontage should change first and the area by the ponds last.

Some of the old plant is already gone. In 2021, the Town received $500,000 from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to demolish unsafe parts of the plant that could not be reused. The main processing building was left standing and was included in the sale.

Most of the park stays with the Town

The Gillises bought about 8.6 acres. The Town still owns roughly 85 percent of the land it bought in 2016, including the walking path around the lagoons. The Town's Heron Park page describes a passive park with two large ponds and no formal amenities, used by walkers and birdwatchers.

One thing has changed for anyone who drives in. The entrance to Heron Park has moved slightly east, and signs will mark the new route.

Longtime Berliners may also remember when the park was closed. In June 2019, sodium hydroxide was released during demolition. Chesapeake Environmental Services handled the cleanup, and the Bayside Gazette's 2019 year-end review reported the cost at more than $200,000. The Town reopened the park to the public on May 7, 2020.

The skate park still has money to raise

The Town plans to build a skate park and a new Public Works facility on its own portion of Heron Park. The skate park has made the most progress of the public projects, and it is the clearest example of how the public plans differ from the private one. Its schedule depends on how quickly the rest of the money comes in.

The nonprofit We Heart Berlin, founded by Tony Weeg, has led the project. Weeg is also the Town Council's new District 4 representative. According to the Bayside Gazette's October 15 report, the park needs $975,000 to begin construction. As of mid-October 2026, funding looked like this:

Part of the remaining amount may come as donated work and materials rather than cash. Weeg told the Gazette, "some of that is going to be coming in the form of donations of work and dirt and rocks and other things like that." Parker & Associates of Salisbury has already donated a stormwater and topographical survey. Lighting and shade sails may wait for a second round of funding. Weeg estimated lights at about $150,000 and shade sails at no more than $50,000, and said neither is needed for the park to open.

The design dates to 2022, when Los Angeles-based Spohn Ranch was hired to draw concept plans. The park will cover about 14,000 to 16,000 square feet next to the site of the new Public Works building. Planned features include a bowl, quarter pipes, a pump track, amphitheater steps, a hipped bank, a grind ledge, an A-frame bank, a slappy curb and a landscaped area. "2027 is when we're going to have a skateboard park," Weeg told the Gazette. That date is a goal. Unlike the commercial parcel, it has no contract behind it.

The road all three projects share

The skate park, the Public Works facility and the park itself all depend on a permanent road, and that road is still in design. A November 2025 Town Council packet described a land swap meant to make room for an access road to the future Public Works facility and skate park. In July 2026, according to the Bayside Gazette, the council approved a $35,000 proposal from Davis, Bowen & Friedel: $5,000 for additional survey work and $30,000 for construction documents and permitting. Stormwater design is a separate item.

In its October release, the Town said it will keep working toward a permanent roadway serving Heron Park, the skate park and the new Public Works facility.

The Heron Park calendar, sorted by what's committed

Mayor Zack Tyndall summed up the sale this way: "For years, residents have asked what's next for the former chicken plant site. With Palmer and Sandy Gillis on board, we finally have a clear answer." The first dates to watch are April 2027 for the commercial parcel and the skate park's remaining $142,500, which We Heart Berlin is now asking local businesses and neighbors to help cover.

Changes along Old Ocean City Boulevard, like a new restaurant or offices replacing an empty plant, can affect how nearby homes are valued. If you own near Heron Park and want to know how this redevelopment figures into your home's value, Coastal Life Realty Group can walk you through it. Get Your Instant Home Valuation and see where your property stands as the Exchange gets underway.