Governor O'Malley Highlights Transit Development at State Center in Baltimore City
Administration Bill Passes Legislature to Make Transit Development Easier in Maryland
BALTIMORE, MD (April 9, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today joined Department of Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, Department of General Services Secretary Alvin Collins, local officials and business leaders to tour the State Center in Baltimore City, one of Maryland’s most aggressive redevelopment and transit development efforts. The General Assembly passed legislation that will help facilitate and create more communities centered around the State’s already established transit centers to help curb green house gas emissions, reduce pollution, and provide a viable alternative to sprawl.
The $1.6 billion redevelopment of the 28-acre State Center site in the heart of Baltimore City is a joint public/private initiative led by the Department of General Services and the Maryland Department of Transportation. Working closely with representatives from nine surrounding communities and the development firms of Struever Brothers, Eccles and Rouse, McCormack Baron and Salazar, and Doracon Development, the state is working to transform State Center into a vibrant mix of residential, office and retail space with easy access to the Baltimore Metro subway and Light Rail stations on or adjacent to the property.
“This remarkable project at State Center is a shining example of the power and potential of smart economic growth,” said Governor O’Malley. “The communities we want to develop around our transit infrastructure are places where people can walk to work, to the grocery store, and to places of worship. They are places where parents can spend more time helping their children with homework or coaching little league, because they spend less time stuck in traffic.”
The current State Center site contains a mix of aging office buildings, surface parking lots and other miscellaneous structures, all owned by the State of Maryland. The size of the complex serves as a barrier between nine neighboring communities. The redevelopment will create an environment conducive to free movement between these communities.
Transit-oriented development is a development style that leverages transit stations as the foundation for vibrant communities with a dense mix of commercial, residential, and retail development. By clustering development around transit sites, TOD maximizes the State’s investment in transit by promoting increased ridership and enhanced opportunities for pedestrian and bicycle mobility. Maryland has all the building blocks for a nationally-recognized TOD program, with 112 rail transit stations across the State, including Metro stations in the Washington, D.C. area.
State Center represents the largest concentration of state-office buildings in Maryland. Combined, they currently house more than 3,500 state employees representing almost 5 percent of the entire state workforce. State office space currently at State Center would remain in the new development and the potential exists for expanding the state presence on the site.
The new State Center development will include:
- 1.5 million square feet of commercial office space;
- 250,000 square feet of retail space; and
- 1,000 housing units where 20 to 30 percent of those units will be workforce affordable housing.
Transit communities also are under active development at the Owings Mills Metro Station in Baltimore County and the Savage MARC Station in Anne Arundel County. Additional projects are being explored throughout the state.
Governor O’Malley praised the 2008 General Assembly for passing legislation that will help facilitate the creation of more transit communities. SB 204/HB 373 opens the door for more state land and resources to be used in transit-oriented development projects by removing roadblocks and giving new tools to the state Department of Transportation. The legislation creates a clear and defined path for the state, counties, cities, and private partners to work together to create communities around state-owned transit stations.
