MD: Baltimore’s State Center to become hub of transit, housing, retail, officials say

A development project intended to revamp Baltimore’s 28-acre State Center into a residential and retail hub is in the works, state officials said Thursday.

Maryland Department of General Service Secretary Atif Chaudhry announced the launch of the “major” redevelopment plan to the office center during a press briefing co-led with Joe McAndrew, the assistant secretary for project and delivery for the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The state and city will work together to “transform the complex in Baltimore into a vibrant, mixed-use, transit-oriented development,” Chaudhry said during the briefing. “Today marks a major turning point in how we reimage our State Center campus … .”

The general services and transportation departments are working with the Office of Real Estate and Economic Development and Maryland’s Economic Development Corporation.

In a news release issued Thursday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that the “next chapter for State Center will expand our mission to create jobs, build housing that’s affordable, and create new pathways to work, wages, and wealth in all corners of the state.”

The timeline for the development is estimated to take two and a half years, in order to “execute the necessary activities leading to a Master Developer Agreement (MDA) with a potential development partner,” according to proposal issued by MEDCO.

The State Center, located in Baltimore’s Madison Park neighborhood, is adjacent to two major public transportation stops: the State Center Metro Subway station and the Cultural Center Rail Station, in addition to being close by Baltimore’s Penn Station.

The 1950s-era campus currently has 3,600 employees in its offices working for various state agencies, according to Eric Solomon, the director of communications for Maryland’s Department of General Services. Four agencies remain at the center: the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Health, Maryland Tax Court and the Department of General Services.

The employees are in the midst of being relocated, with all moves predicated to be completed by the end next year.

The development plans are in their early stages, and officials say the total costs of the project is not yet known. However, McAndrew announced in the briefing that $500 million is going to replace the metro rail car fleet; $1.3 billion is being spent to replace the light rail car fleet; and $450 million in state funding, which will leverage more than $5.5 billion in federal funds, will be used to construct modernized Frederick Douglass Tunnel. McAndrew said that such investments will enable “more frequent” and “reliable service” to and from Penn Station.

Aspirations to renovate the State Center date back to 2004, when state officials imagined a building an additional 2,000 residential units and 250,000 square feet of office space to the center.

In November 2024, a protracted legal battle between government officials and State Center LLC ended in a $58.5 million taxpayer-paid settlement to the developers after former Gov. Larry Hogan abandoned plans to modernize the site.

But state officials said the current project is benefitted by the fact that it isn’t starting from scratch and that there is the ability to draw from previous studies and reports.

“This is about building a dense vibrant inclusive and walkable neighborhood where residents can live near parks transit housing and opportunity,” Chaudhry said, noting that the government agencies were working to update market and financial feasibility analysis for State Center, as well as considering the potential reuse of existing buildings.

“For years, residents have waited to see meaningful progress here, and this redevelopment will deliver critical opportunities for housing, workforce development, transit access, and neighborhood revitalization,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in Thursday’s release.

Sam Janesch contributed to this article.

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