The first part of the public-private partnership State Center project in Baltimore represents a $127 million giveaway of taxpayer dollars with more on the way, according to a new report from the Maryland Public Policy Institute and the Maryland Tax Education Foundation.
The massive $1.5 billion project, which will occupy more than eight city blocks, is planned to provide more than 1 million square feet of office space – much of it for state agencies – a parking garage, retail stores, and a grocery store.
After the Board of Public Works approved financing for the first phase of the project, a group of downtown Baltimore property owners filed a lawsuit to stop it. The property owners claimed that procurement laws were ignored, and questioned the cost to the public. The project is currently on hold as the legal process goes on.
The study released on Thursday concentrates on the project’s cost to taxpayers. The massive project is planned in five phases. For the first phase, the study states that taxpayers are subsidizing $127 million in development costs.
2 comments:
and i am sure our eastern shore folks will be picking up part of the tab
a bigger boondoggle than the recent ECI project?
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