Three projects, one quiet meeting

On Aug. 28, the Baltimore Development Corp. board gave preliminary approval to tax breaks for three major developments. The city learned about it from a news release the following week.

News orgs cry foul

With almost no detail released about what was discussed or what the breaks are worth, local newsrooms are now accusing the city's development arm of meeting in secret.

Harborplace is the big one

MCB Real Estate, led by P. David Bramble, has a $900 million plan to raze the Inner Harbor pavilions and build two luxury apartment towers with restaurants, retail and offices.

What a PILOT actually is

Payment in lieu of taxes: the owner pays the city an annual fee far smaller than the real property tax bill. Baltimore has Maryland's highest property tax rate, so developers want them badly.

The law was built for this

Mayor Brandon Scott and development CEO Otis Rolley III went to Annapolis this year and won the city easier power to hand out downtown PILOTs. The bill was always meant to help Harborplace.

Frozen for 25 years

Under the new law a downtown property's tax bill can be locked at today's value for up to 25 years. The pavilions are assessed near $25 million, roughly a $562,000 bill. The towers would be worth far more.

A university deal too

The board also gave preliminary approval to a PILOT for a $160 million University of Maryland, Baltimore project on West Lexington Avenue, a mixed-use build with housing and retail.

And a TIF near Greektown

For a 31-acre site, the board green-lit tax increment financing, which diverts property taxes inside a set area to pay for infrastructure. Cross Street Partners has a $600 million plan for the old Crown Cork & Seal park.

Nobody will say the number

Every incentive trades near-term city revenue for long-term hope. Yet no official will say what these three are worth. Rolley told the Business Journal the figures come later, and declined to share them with The Banner.

No notice, no agenda

Public bodies must advertise meetings in advance and let people attend. For Aug. 28, no notice or agenda was posted online. Both days' incentive discussions happened in closed session.

Reconvening or new meeting?

BDC spokesperson Tamarah Lawrence said the board announced the second meeting during its advertised Aug. 25 session, and first called it a reconvening. That single word could decide the whole complaint.

The complaint filed

The Baltimore Business Journal and Baltimore Brew asked Maryland's open-meetings watchdog to weigh in. Rolley says BDC will respond through the appropriate process.

“We believe that the lack of notification on an agenda and then the secretive nature of holding meetings ... is a violation”

A ruling could reset it all

If the watchdog sides with the newsrooms, BDC may have to redo the meeting and approve the incentives again, setting the process back weeks or months.

What happens next

The PILOTs need the Board of Estimates, where Scott controls the majority and has already voiced support. They are not on next week's agenda; the board meets again in October. The TIF needs a City Council bill, due before year's end.