Leif Dormsjo, executive vice president for RedGate Real Estate Advisors, talks to Baltimore residents. RedGate was selected as a consultant for redevelopment at the State Center Complex. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
Community members expressed cautious optimism Wednesday over the newest effort to revitalize the aging State Center Complex in Baltimore, a decades-old development challenge that has been a point of “frustration” and “opportunity” for nearby communities.
Around 50 people gathered at Baltimore Unity Hall Wednesday evening to hear from state leaders about the next steps toward revitalizing the 28-acre complex in midtown Baltimore.
Residents like Joelle Johnson, president of the Madison Park Improvement Board, were eager to hear more about how the redevelopment plans could serve the surrounding communities, and expressed hope that future meetings offer more details.
“We’d like to know what amenities will be offered to the community,” Johnson said following the community meeting.
It was the first of three planned meetings to connect with community members over the “strategy” phase of redevelopment for the State Center Complex, currently home to several state agencies, including the departments of General Services, Health and Labor.
Its aging infrastructure has led to health and safety concerns, including legionella found in the water systems as recently as 2024. Around 1,500 state employees have been relocated to other offices, but thousands still work in those buildings.
Efforts to revitalize the complex have spanned decades and gubernatorial administrations.
The State Center Complex is located near a Baltimore subway station and a Light Rail stop. It’s also a connecting point for several Baltimore neighborhoods, making it a tantalizing opportunity to create a new hub for retail and community in the city, if only officials could complete redevelopment efforts.
“It’s in the middle of Mount Vernon, Seton Hill, Upton, Bolton Hill – it is really touching a lot of neighborhoods,” said Baltimore City Councilman Zac Blanchard. “And for a long time, it has been underutilized, underloved – a bit of a hole between the communities.”
In 2024, the Moore administration agreed to pay $58.5 million to settle a legal dispute that emerged from the previous attempt to redevelop State Center. That settlement payment allowed the state to revamp those conversations and try again.
Sen. Antonio Hayes (D-Baltimore City) anticipated that some community members may be skeptical about the latest attempt.
“For many residents, State Center has long represented both a tremendous opportunity and tremendous frustration,” Hayes said Wednesday. “For decades we have watched plans come and go, redevelopment proposals stall and legal disputes in the labor process.”
Hayes said that he was confident the Moore administration plans to see the redevelopment efforts move forward.
“This has the potential of being a transformative project for Central West Baltimore, and we want to make sure that it is done in a way that the community is at the forefront and has a great deal of input,” Hayes said
In September, Gov. Wes Moore announced the selection of a consultant team, led by Redgate Real Estate Advisors, to begin strategizing the redevelopment of State Center into a “mixed-use, transit-oriented” development.
The planning period for the redevelopment strategy is expected to be end this fall but it will be some time before anyone breaks ground on the project.
In the meantime, community members and stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments on the redevelopment plans through the new State Center development website, launched earlier this week by the Maryland Economic Development Corp (MEDCO).
Some of the goals for the redevelopment plans include growing housing supply including affordable housing options, bringing in new job opportunities and improving the walkability and safety of the sidewalks near the area.
After the meeting, Julian Frost, a new Bolton Hill resident who lived in Mount Vernon for two years prior, said it was important that future development plans, such as the selection of contractors to build out the eventual remodel, are transparent to the public.
Officials: State Center settlement marks the end of one era and the beginning of another
“The presentation was light on details but I understand it was meant for orienting us toward next steps,” Frost said.
Frost would like to see the new plans include taller buildings so that the renovation can also incorporate space for public recreation, like a green space or another area for leisure.
“I’d like it to be a demonstration on what is possible for urban design,” he said.
Talks on redeveloping the campus go back as far as 2005, during the administration of Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R). The Board of Public Works first approved a redevelopment project in 2009, under Gov. Martin O’Malley (D).
That project ultimately fell apart, and then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) filed a lawsuit in 2016 to terminate the $1.5 billion project. The ex-developer countersued. Then in 2024, the Moore administration agreed to pay a $58.5 million settlement and start anew.
Leif Dormsjo, executive vice president for RedGate Real Estate, said there is likely “planning fatigue” from neighborhood associations and community members but urges residents to continue providing input for the redevelopment project.
Eric Brown, 69, with the Marble Hill Community Association said he was glad that the development plans were “being rehashed” as the “business climate and economy has changed” since the last attempt to rebuild state center. He hopes that this attempt to redevelop State Center is successful.
“It could be the magnet to bring life back into the communities,” Brown said.
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Originally published at Marylandmatters.Org