The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) is a
nonprofit corporation
A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation may ...
and public-private agency contracted by the City of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
to promote
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...
.
History/Mergers
The BDC is the result of mergers between the former Baltimore Industrial Development Corporation (BIDC), the Baltimore Economic Development Commission (BEDC); merged with in 1974-76 to form the new Baltimore Economic Development Corporation (new BEDCO), later the Howard Street Market Place; Charles Center–Inner Harbor Management (CC-IHM) (descendants of the famous re-development public-private agencies from the 1950s and 60's which transformed the old downtown and waterfront districts of the City, under the D'Alesandro,
r.Goodman-Grady-McKeldin-D'Alesandro,
IIcity mayoralties) and the Market Center Development Corporation (which had merged with CC-IHM in 1989 to become Center City-Inner Harbor Development, Inc.) The BDC was eventually formed out of these agencies, commissions, corporations and groups in 1991.
The merger came in the wake of an expansion of the Open Meetings Act provoked by the City Council's frustration with the opacity of CC-IH.
Structure
The BDC is not directly accountable to the municipal government of Baltimore. However, its Board is appointed by the
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
, and many of its economic programs require approval from the
Baltimore City Council
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regu ...
.
''"City of Baltimore Development Corporation v. Carmel Realty Associates"''
The BDC has a complicated legal status because it is a public-private status agency, also a non-profit organization, but also closely involved in City business. Criticisms of the BDC's secrecy and its predecessors since the early 1980s amid infamous charges then of a "shadow government" against the administration of then Mayor
William Donald Schaefer
William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 1 ...
, (1921-2011),
erved 1971-1986 by the then
Baltimore City Council
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regu ...
President Walter S. Orlinsky and long-time financial/political "gadfly"
Comptroller of the City,
Hyman A. Pressman, (1914-1996), which circulated in the Baltimore media, including especially
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
, resulted in a 2006
Maryland Court of Appeals
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compos ...
case titled "City of Baltimore Development Corporation v. Carmel Realty Associates".
In this case, the court ruled that the BDC ''"was"'' subject to the Maryland "Public Information Act" and the Maryland "Open Meetings Act", rules that, like the federal "
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
", require government bodies to disclose information to citizens. The main rationale for this decision was the mayor's control over the appointment of the Board.
The updated version of the Maryland "Public Information Act Manual" now reads: "A nonprofit entity incorporated under the State’s general corporation law may also be considered a unit or instrumentality of a political subdivision for purposes of the PIA, if there is a sufficient nexus linking the entity to the local government. See Baltimore Development Corp. v. Carmel Realty Associates, 395 Md. 299, 910 A.2d 406 (2006) (nonprofit corporation formed to plan and implement long range development strategies in city was subject to substantial control by city and thus was instrumentality of city subject to PIA)".
Tax credits
One of the BDC's major functions is to help businesses receive tax credits.
The official rule for these credits is a
"but for" test: they are only to be used when the project would not go into effect without them.
The BDC mediates several types of credits:
Payment in lieu of taxes
Payment in lieu of taxes A payment in lieu of taxes (usually abbreviated as PILOT, or sometimes as PILT) is a payment made to compensate a government for some or all of the property tax revenue lost due to tax exempt ownership or use of real property.
Canada
The federal g ...
(PILOT) is an agreement under which a company can pay the city an agreed-upon amount instead of the property taxes they would normally be assessed.
The BDC controlled 12 PILOTs as of October 2011. These represented $12.8 million in tax exemptions; the properties corresponding generated $15.4 million in other taxes (e.g., parking, energy, telephone).
Tax increment financing
Tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program is ...
(TIF) is a way of subsidizing current development based on the expectation of future tax gains. To pay for a TIF subsidy, the city issues a
bond
Bond or bonds may refer to:
Common meanings
* Bond (finance), a type of debt security
* Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States
* Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
, which it expect to pay back based later from taxes.
The state of Maryland authorized Baltimore to use TIFs in 1994; however, the city was required to secure voter approval through referendum and none were issued. In 2000, new legislation allowed the city to implement TIFs without voter approval.
As of October 2011, the BDC had issued 10 TIFs in Baltimore. (With one TIF issued to
East Baltimore
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
Development Inc. under direct city control.) These already represent a debt for the city of $135 million, with $315 million worth of additional bonds still to be issued.
[ With]
List of TIFs
List of PILOTs
,
Enterprise Zone
The BDC is responsible for Baltimore City's Enterprise Zones (EZs); businesses inside these zones are eligible for special tax credits. EZ "Focus Areas" offer extra benefits.
Projects
The BDC oversees development of major downtown projects, as well as development of Baltimore city-owned business and
industrial park
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park ...
s.
The corporation and the City are under public criticism for the planning, financing and construction of the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel. The $301 million, 750-room hotel near the city baseball and football stadiums is an almost entirely publicly funded project (through city bonds), expected to open in August 2008.
Hilton Hotels Corporation is expected to contribute around $7.1 million to the project.
Emerging Technologies Center
The Emerging Technologies Center (ETC) is
business incubator
Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture c ...
intended to support growing
technology and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by ...
companies. The ETC has facilities in
Canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ente ...
and at
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...
Eastern. Its President and Executive Director since April 2012 is Deborah A. Tillett.
The ETC runs a program called "AcclerateBaltimore" that gives $25,000 to emerging companies trying to bring a product to market. Of the four companies receiving this funding in 2012, three are developing
web applications
A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection.
History
In earlier computing models like client-serv ...
and one concerns
machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence.
Machin ...
.
The program requires these companies to stay in Baltimore for five years.
Current proposals
From the BD
press room
* The
Cordish Company
The Cordish Companies (previously The Cordish Company) is a U.S.-based real estate development and entertainment operating company with its headquarters on the 6th floor of the Pratt Street Power Plant in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded ...
is requesting a PILOT subsidy for a $65 million mixed-use development at 701 E. Baltimore St.
* Two companies have submitted competing proposals for a new
carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
at the
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...
between the
Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, opened to the public in 1976. It includes three levels of exhibits, a planetarium, and an observatory. It was one of the original structures that drove the revitalization of the Ba ...
and Rash Field (which has existed at that site for decades).
* The BDC is considering changes to the area eligible for Enterprise Zone status;
these changes would subsidize a development at Harbor Point (near
Harbor East).
*
Mayfair Theatre precinct
Legal status
The BDC was the subject of a 2006 Maryland court ruling declaring that its Board of Directors meetings and all internal documents were subject to
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
requests under the Maryland state
sunshine law.
[http://www.courts.state.md.us/opinions/coa/2006/14a06.pdf Maryland Court of Appeals Ruling]
See also
*
Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association
Visit Baltimore, formerly the Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association (BACVA), is a quasi-public organization started in 1980 by then-Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer. The agency is charged with bringing in tourists and convention ...
*
Baltimore Convention Center Hotel Project
*
Baltimore Convention Center
The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The center is a municipal building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore.
The facility was constructed in two separate phases: th ...
*
Baltimore Visitors Center
*
1st Mariner Arena
CFG Bank Arena (originally the Baltimore Civic Center and formerly Royal Farms Arena, Baltimore Arena and 1st Mariner Arena) is a multipurpose arena in Baltimore, Maryland. This venue is located about one block away from the Baltimore Convention ...
*
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Baltimore Development Corporation website
Economy of Baltimore
Economic development organizations in the United States