Dive Brief:
- A Virginia developer aims to propose a $10 billion public-private plan to revitalize the city of Baltimore as part of a strategy dubbed "The Baltimore Renaissance" to the mayor, according to Baltimore Business Journal.
- Kahan S. Dhillon Jr., managing partner of Regent Co., said his proposal would see the development or redevelopment of 70 sites throughout the city with at least five projects guaranteed for each City Council district.
- Dhillon said that when the 15-year project is complete, it could generate $156 million in extra tax revenue to Baltimore each year.
Dive Insight:
Baltimore has seen several proposals for significant development recently, including a potential revamp of the city's convention capabilities. Earlier this month, the Maryland Stadium Authority ordered a $460,000 study to determine whether the best approach to bringing in more convention business would be an extension of the Baltimore Convention Center, along with a new arena and hotel downtown, to prevent the city from losing out on bigger shows and meetings to nearby Washington, DC.
The Federal Railroad Administration this year also announced that it will replace a 144-year-old Amtrak-owned train tunnel under Baltimore for an estimated $4.5 billion. The FRA said the old tunnel cannot support regional growth, though the plan has met pushback from residents concerned about the operation's noise and vibrations, as well as hazardous freight that could be transported beneath them on the railway.
That project comes in addition to the planned renovation of Baltimore's Penn Station, which will see Amtrak choose its redevelopment team from a pool of three finalists this summer. The project includes upgrades to the station and the surrounding area.
One of the largest projects underway in Baltimore is Under Armour's new 50-acre campus and its associated $5.5 billion development in the Port Covington area of the city. The first phase of the project, unveiled late last year, incudes a 1,500-space parking garage and two office buildings with more than 306,000 square feet of office space. Eventually, the 4-million-square-foot development will feature a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, 3 million square feet of office space and a public park.