BALTIMORE — There's new hope for redevelopment of the State Center complex that takes up 28 acres in central Baltimore.
The state has agreed to pay $58.5 million to settle a suit filed by the developer.
It was taken up today by Maryland's Board of Public Works.
Gov. Wes Moore said the decision to settle moves forward "a long-term challenge," noting that a new plan will be made in the coming months for the future of State Center.
The state handed over the complex to Baltimore City in 2022.
The project's redevelopment has lasted three governors, five mayors and two lawsuits, he said.
Moore said at the Public Works meeting:
We're finally now in the position to move forward and move to a new chapter... My administration is committed to working closely with [Baltimore] Mayor [Brandon] Scott and his great team to truly finalize a vision and make sure we have a plan for this project to move forward.
The settlement will avoid "a prolonged and costly litigation" that would have continued, at taxpayer cost, Moore said.
State Comptroller Brooke Lierman talked about "the importance of this piece of real estate to the city of Baltimore."
"It's next to Symphony Center, Mount Vernon; it's on transit. I mean, this is prime real estate," she said.
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She noted that the state is moving out all of its employees, "but we have to move past all of what has happened over the past couple decades."
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