BALTIMORE — It's the part of Baltimore City the mayor calls the "economic engine." But how can the city start to rev it up again?
Downtown, at the convention center on Thursday, the mayor contends his office has an answer.
Speaking to dozens at the Baltimore Downtown Partnership's annual meeting, the mayor billed the plan "Downtown RISE."
"Downtown RISE will be our city's playbook to revitalize downtown and lays out immediate actions that will help to reshape the appearance and vibrancy of our downtown."
The mayor's Thursday speech was scant on details; the full release of the plan is intended for early next year.
Mayor Scott shared a few short-term goals, including repairing sidewalks, making traffic patterns better, and creating a public safety-focused operations center.
Scott called renewed attention to the city's intention to bring employees back in-person three days a week next year, urging other businesses to bring theirs back.
"We are going to do everything we can to bring our neighbors back downtown, and we hope that you will too," Scott told the crowd.
The mayor points out four areas they'll try to address: public safety and cleanliness; community and economic development; arts, culture, entertainment, and placemaking; and infrastructure development.
"These are the things that will help us strive and grow Baltimore's downtown, which we all know is our economic engine," Scott said.
"I haven't seen the plan yet," Gov. Wes Moore (D) told reporters in Baltimore Thursday night, "but I'm excited for any plan that's going to continue to find ways to revitalize downtown, to increase safety, and increase options and opportunity for people."
Outside the mayor, the Downtown Baltimore conference featured several high-profile speakers, including Sens. Ben Cardin (D) and Chris Van Hollen (D).
Partnership president Shelonda Stokes called attention to more than $6 billion in investment from now until 2028.
