Abell Foundation awards Chesapeake Shakespeare $250,000 for downtown project

The Abell Foundation awarded Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. $250,000 to help the arts group transform the former Mercantile Trust and Deposit Co. building downtown into a 250-seat theater.

The $6 million project is set to be completed by early next year. The project will convert the 112-year-old historic building on Redwood Street into a “modern Globe theater.”

The Abell Foundation’s contribution brought Chesapeake Shakespeare Co., a Howard County acting company, more than halfway to its fundraising…