GOVERNOR MARTIN O’MALLEY ANNOUNCES BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS APPROVAL OF STATE CENTER LEASES

Action Clears the Way For Construction to Begin on State Center Redevelopment in Baltimore City

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley announced yesterday that by a unanimous, 3-0 vote the Board of Public Works approved long-term leases at two new office buildings to be built as part of the redevelopment of State Center in Baltimore City. The state commitment to lease office in the redevelopment provides the private sector development team with the ability to seek the private financing necessary to build the first phase of the project.

“The Board of Public works took a big step today in shaping Maryland’s future and bringing thousands of jobs to the heart of Baltimore City,” said Governor O’Malley. “The State Center project will revitalize an area in the heart of the City by mixing retail, residential and office space close to our transit stations and it will be done in a way that will connect, not divide, nine nearby communities. This kind of smart development will be a model for what we can do near other major transit stations throughout the state.”

The $215 million Phase One development at State Center will include two new office buildings and a parking garage. It will form a green, walkable community adjacent to Metro, Light Rail and MARC transit stations. Phase One will include 500,000 square feet of office space and 70,000 square feet of street-level retail space, including a grocery store that the has been a priority for the surrounding communities for years. Over the next 20 years this first phase of the State Center redevelopment will generate more than $200 million in state and city taxes and another $30 million in lease payments to the State of Maryland.

The entire State Center redevelopment, a five-phase, 15-year plan, will create 9,403 jobs during construction and 5,439 permanent, private-sector jobs when the project is complete. An additional 4,862 indirect and induced jobs will be added upon the project’s completion.