Maryland

Baltimore Mulls ED Pilot Programs to Support Minorities and Women in Business

The Mayor’s Council on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) for Baltimore, Maryland has released a report   with suggested improvements and recommendations for the future direction of the city’s MWBE program.

Baltimore MWBE program report

Baltimore MWBE program report (photo – baltimorecity.gov)

The report, titled “A New Day A Better Way,” suggests some of the usual stuff, including changes to contract administration, procurement law and vendor payments to ensure inclusiveness in public works and spending.

But the report also specifically suggests concrete steps the city should take to include MWBE firms in five economic development projects in high-growth sectors that will give these firms an initial push in the right direction.

One of these projects is the “Green, Healthy and Sustainable Homes Project.” The city has already identified 5,000 home renovation and weatherization projects and allocated funding.

The report suggests that as a pilot effort, recruitment for the Green Homes project’s implementation should focus on MWBE firms, and the city should provide the training and certification required to get these firms listed as approved contractors for work on the project.

Another suggested pilot is under the Urban Solar Initiative, wherein a task force will be created to come up with a public-private partnership model that can generate the financing required for wide-spread solar panel array installations in residential, commercial and public city-owned buildings across the city.

The city has already identified public property suitable for solar installations, which together can account for an annual minimum of 50MW of electric power. Again, the report suggests that special efforts be made by the city to ensure inclusion of MWBE developers and firms involved in solar panel installations.

A third suggestion involves a change in tourism marketing strategy and include initiatives that will enhance tourism to culturally diverse points of interest that are outside of the core downtown and inner harbor area most tourist focus on.

They suggest boosting public transportation to these outlying areas, and offering nominal rate listings on Visit Baltimore’s website and marketing materials for attractions, restaurants and entertainment outlets located in these areas.

The other two programs recommended by the report include the Digit All Star Program to help MWBE firms in the IT sector with workforce development, and affirmative action to ensure diversity in the Innovation Cluster Initiative that will promote commercialization of intellectual property in specific fields.

Baltimore, Maryland Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake said that the benefits of economic growth must extend to all of the city’s communities.

Sharon R. Pinder, director of the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development, said that this strategy, once implemented, will not only change the trajectory of the city’s MWBE program, but will also help transform the city’s wealth creation dynamics.

Read the full “A New Day A Better Way” report – Download (pdf)

MD Congressional Delegation Makes a Pitch for FBI HQ Relocation

The pitched battle between Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia to secure the new FBI headquarters entered a new stage after the entire Maryland congressional delegation sent the agency heads of the FBI and GSA letters asking them to select a viable site in Prince George’s County, MD as the future home of the FBI.

FBI headquarters

FBI headquarters (photo – fbi.gov)

This FBI headquarters relocation project has been in the works for a long time now.

The FBI and GSA had decided that modernizing or demolishing and replacing the current J. Edgar Hoover Building headquarters was not feasible, and they decided the FBI and its 11,000 employees in the D.C. area should be consolidated into a single new location.

The initial plan was to sell the Hoover building and use the sale proceeds and savings from consolidation to pay for the lease of the new headquarters.

A site would be chosen, and a developer would be given the contract to build the facility and lease it to the FBI. The new site would have to be within 2.5 miles of the D.C. beltway, and no more than two miles from a metro station.

This was back in Dec 2011, and there have been quite a few new developments since then. For starters, the GSA has decided that instead of selling the Hoover Building, they should simply hand it over to the chosen developer as an exchange deal in return for a new state-of-the-art complex.

This system neatly cuts through a lot of bureaucratic red tape involved in the buying and selling of federal properties. It disposes of the GSA’s excess real estate inventory while simultaneously leveraging the property to create savings for governmental agencies. This approach has been championed at the GSA by Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini.

The GSA put out an RFI (request for information) for this proposal, and received 35 bids from developers interested in the swap.

In their letter to Tangherlini, the Maryland congressional delegation said they applaud the RFI issued by the GSA.

They added that “We strongly encourage GSA to choose a site in Prince George’s County Maryland. We understand that competition for this facility will be fierce among the region’s jurisdictions, but we firmly believe that an honest analysis of the cost of operations, security, convenience of location for staff, transportation options, and the promotion of regional equity in federal facility distribution should make Maryland the choice location for the FBI.”

The letter notes that a full 43 percent of FBI employees reside in Maryland, while Virginia has 33 percent and Washington D.C. only 17 percent.  They claim that moving the headquarters to Maryland would make it more convenient for a majority of employees, save on transportation costs, and would boost employee morale.

They also added that Maryland’s wealth of cybersecurity companies and contractors makes it a strategic location for the FBI, and would provide the agency greater access to experts working on cybersecurity R&D and applications.

AREVA to Relocate North American HQ to Charlotte, NC

French Nuclear Energy company AREVA will be expanding its operations in Charlotte, North Carolina to include its North American headquarters, which is currently located in Bethesda, Maryland.

AREVA

AREVA (photo – charlottechamber.com)

AREVA currently employs 562 people in Charlotte and another 78 at its Columbiana Hi Tech subsidiary located in Greensboro.

The company plans to create 130 high-paying new jobs in North Carolina by the end of 2016 and invest $404,000 into its Mecklenburg County location.

Compensation will vary by job function, but the average annual wage for the new jobs is expected to be more than $130,000 plus benefits.

“We are working to make our state the very best place to live and do business,” said NC Governor Pat McCrory. “Businesses have choices, and we are proud that AREVA has chosen North Carolina for its headquarters.”

The project was made possible in part by a performance-based award from the state Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) program. Under the terms of the company’s JDIG award, AREVA is eligible to receive up to nine annual grants equal to 65 percent of the state personal income tax withholdings from the eligible new jobs created.

Over nine years, the JDIG award could yield aggregate benefits to AREVA of upto $2.5 million. In addition, up to $851,000 in additional funds from the company’s JDIG award could be added to the state’s Utility Fund for infrastructure improvements in economically distressed counties.

“North Carolina is a great place to do business because of its quality of life, extensive business infrastructure, investments in workforce development and commitment to forming partnerships with industry,” said Michael W. Rencheck, CEO of AREVA.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce, Mecklenburg County, City of Charlotte, the Charlotte Chamber and Duke Energy were all involved in securing the project for the state.

“The Charlotte Chamber is honored to be a part of AREVA’s dynamic growth and commitment to our city and state. Announcements such as this provide further proof of our emerging energy hub status,” said Bob Morgan, Charlotte Chamber president.

AREVA has 46,000 employees worldwide, including 5,000 employees at more than 40 locations in North America.

Maryland’s Chicken Litter Power Purchase Creates 224 Jobs

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced the State of Maryland, in partnership with the University System of Maryland, will enter into a power purchase agreement with Green Planet Power Solutions (GPPS) to purchase a minimum of 10 MW of electricity produced from animal waste in Caroline County.

Use of chicken litter

Use of chicken litter (photo – usda.gov)

The contract, awarded via the competitive Clean Bay Power process, has multiple sustainable development benefits. It:-

-          promotes the use of renewable energy;

-          reduces Maryland’s contribution to agricultural runoff in the Chesapeake Bay; and

-          encourages job creation while promoting Maryland’s farm industry.

The Green Planet Power Solutions project, which will be built in Federalsburg and use chicken litter as its primary fuel source, will create 200 construction jobs and 24 permanent jobs.

It will reduce 230,000 pounds of nitrogen runoff annually, and save Maryland between $53.2 million and $80.0 million in avoided energy costs over the fifteen year contract period.

The state did not reveal exactly how much the contract was worth for GPPS, but the Maryland FY2014 budget does include $2.5 million for manure to energy projects.

“Clean Bay Power is a prime example of how Maryland is leading the nation’s efforts in clean energy, sustainability and a growing green jobs sector,” said Gov. O’Malley. “It is only through a diverse, renewable fuel mix that we will be able to reach our aggressive goal of generating 20 percent renewable energy by 2022, create jobs through innovation, and protect our precious environment.”

The Clean Bay Power project is an effort by the Maryland Department of General Services, in coordination with the Maryland Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration, and the University System of Maryland.

“We are confident that Green Planet Power Solutions will move Maryland closer to our renewable energy goals,” said Department of General Services’ Secretary Alvin C. Collins. “Obtaining electricity from poultry manure or animal waste helps Maryland government to reach its goal of generating 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources, all the while improving Bay water quality and supporting the agriculture industry.”

Maryland $336M School Construction Funding To Create 8200 Jobs

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced $336 million in school construction funding and upgrades for Maryland’s public schools in the proposed FY2014 budget.

Maryland schools

Maryland schools (photo – marylandpublicschools.org)

The funding is lower than the $396 million in the state’s FY2013 budget, but is still expected to create, support and leverage an estimated 8,199 jobs.

The lion’s share ($325 million) of the investment goes to the Public School Construction Program, including $25 million for air conditioning in schools.

Another $6.1 million will go to the Aging Schools Program, and $4.5 million for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds.

These QZABs provide investors with federal tax credits in lieu of tax free interest payments to make improvements to schools serving a significant number of students from low-income families.

“In 2006, Anthony [Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown] and I visited temporary learning shacks where there should have been modern classrooms, and pledged to do everything in our power to put our children in state-of-the-art, 21st century schools,” said Gov. O’Malley. “Our balanced approach of cuts and targeted investments has enabled us to build the #1 public school system, invest in our key priorities, and at the same time put us on track to eliminate the structural deficit.”

The total school construction commitment under the O’Malley-Brown Administration to replace temporary learning shacks with proper classrooms now stands at nearly $2.4 billion.

“The best investment that we can make in our State’s future is in our children,” said Speaker Michael E. Busch. “The commitment that we have made in school construction not only improves the learning environment for the State’s future workforce, but also puts construction workers, one of the hardest hit employment sectors in the State, back on the job.”

For four years in a row, Maryland’s public schools have been certified #1 in the nation by Education Week Magazine. The dropout rate has been driven down 12 percent since 2006.

“The $25 million we’re investing in air conditioning for our schools will help move us towards our goal of having every child in Maryland learning in a building that meets their needs,” said Lt. Gov. Brown. “Air conditioning isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity that helps fight against mold and allergens in the air, which can cause students to miss class because of asthma or severe allergies. And we won’t rest until all 1,396 of Maryland’s schools are safe places for our children to learn.”

Prince George’s County EDI Fund Update

Last year in November, Prince George’s County, Maryland launched a $50 million Economic Development Incentive (EDI) Fund that was intended to be used to “employ, develop, and invest” in Prince George’s County residents.

Prince George's County, MD EDI Fund

Prince George’s County, MD EDI Fund (photo – princegeorgescountymd.gov)

County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III provided the first annual EDI Fund update, which shows a lot of promise for the fund and Prince George’s County, if it continues to provide the same results.

As per the update, the fund has made loans worth a total of $2.4 million to six different companies, and has leveraged a combined $26.8 in private investments so far. The EDI Fund has been credited with saving 480 jobs and creating 510 new jobs in the county.

“Our Economic Development team has been steadfast in promoting the EDI funds and attracting new businesses to the County,” said Baker. “Their hard work and efforts are evident in the companies that now have a Prince George’s County address. We are proud to highlight these businesses, job opportunities and tout their available services. Our continued goal is to reach and welcome more potential EDI eligible companies.”

One of the recipients was Landover, MD-based Man and Machine, which got $500,000 to make and provide a germ-free keyboard and mouse to hospitals. The biggest loan made was $1.2 million to a new Hampton Inn in Camp Springs, MD.

Software company IMS was provided a $110,000 loan to facilitate its relocation to Calverton, MD.  These loans may be forgiven if the recipients hit their job creation goals and retain the jobs over the long term.

The EDI Fund was set up with a $50 million appropriation over a five year period, including $7 million for 2012. The fund requires special priority to be given to projects that maximize Local Minority Business Enterprise (LMBE) participation and hiring opportunities for the county’s residents.

Gwen S. McCall, president and CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, said last year that the fund provided much needed revenue to level the playing field for Prince George’s County.

“For years, surrounding jurisdictions were able to offer financial incentives to attract and/or retain businesses for their counties. We were limited. We could offer tax abatements, tax credits and land use, but we never had the stimulus funds to encourage businesses to stay or choose us over some other area,” said McCall.

At that time, they predicted that the fund would be able leverage private funds by 5:1, 10:1, or even higher ratios. That seems to be working out as expected, and the county has indeed been able to level the playing field, as demonstrated by the Nash Finch expansion project.

Nash Finch, a food distributor, chose Landover for an expansion because both the State of Maryland and Prince George’s County were able to offer $200,000 each as incentives.

Downtown Baltimore To Get $300M Harrah’s Casino

Caesars Entertainment Corporation announced that the State of Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission had approved a license to operate a video lottery terminal (VLT) facility in Downtown Baltimore to CBAC Gaming, LLC, the investment group led by Caesars and Rock Gaming.

Harrah's casino

Harrah’s (Photo – Antoine Taveneaux)

CBAC Gaming plans to invest more than $300 million to develop the casino which will be known as Harrah’s Baltimore.

In addition to 3,750 VLTs, the property will offer multiple food and beverage amenities, including a fine dining steakhouse and signature casual dining restaurants.

Construction of the 262,000 square feet casino and an adjacent parking garage is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2013, with an opening targeted in the second quarter of 2014.

“The development of Harrah’s Baltimore is part of our plan to develop casinos in urban areas that integrate into and support the surrounding communities,” said Gary Loveman, chairman, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment.

Prior to this, Caesars and Rock Gaming teamed up as Rock Ohio Gaming to open Horseshoe Cleveland, the first casino in Ohio. They will be opening Horseshoe Cincinnati in 2013, and Caesars has also applied for a license to open a property in East Boston in partnership with Suffolk Downs.

As far as Maryland is concerned, Harrah’s Baltimore is the fifth and last gaming license the state can give for a casino as per the state constitution. Lawmakers are debating whether to amend the constitution to allow table games at all casinos and create an additional gaming license for a sixth casino in Prince George’s County at the Rosecroft Raceway, 10 miles from Washington DC.

According to a study commissioned last year by the track’s owners, the $700 million Prince George casino could create a total of 7,636 jobs, including 2,000 permanent employees hired for the casino’s operation and other temporary jobs created for the construction.

It would generate $415 million in annual tax revenue, out of which $40 million would go to the county and the rest to the state. It would create a total economic impact of $2.5 billion for Maryland during the construction and the first five years of its operation.

Maryland Live! at Arundel Mills, which recently opened as the state’s largest casino, will be hiring 1,500 employees by fall this year. If the law is amended to allow table games, Maryland Live! will need another 800 staffers to man the tables. The casino is expected to pay the state $400 million in annual taxes.

Economic Development Plan To be Implemented in Hagerstown, Maryland

www.hagerstowncondos.com/

An economic development plan was discussed in the region of Hagerstown, Maryland as many government and business leaders got together.

A consulting firm called Urbanomics Incorporated conducted a study and determined that transportation is the regions strength.

The county is in close proximity to interstates and the Baltimore area which makes it ideal for transportation.

The consulting firm also pinpointed weaknesses of the region as the work force skill level is lacking when compared to other areas. Another weakness is that the attitude of the local people is really negative as they display a “no growth” attitude. Many of the political leadership is also disjointed which is also a weakness.

Leak-Goforth and the consulting firm Urbanomics will efficiently interview the leaders from the meeting and come up with an economic development plan in the next 6 months. The economic development plan will focus upon a long term plan for the next decade or two. The first five years of the plan will focus upon on a variety of action plans. The detailed action plans will show a variety of steps that need to be taken by local and county governments. The economic development plan should be considered a “living document” which detailed tactical plans according to the chairman of the Planning Task Force.

The counties industrial foundation and the regional commission gave nearly $100,000 dollars in grants for the economic development plan. Towards the end of the year, the consultants will look at all of the strengths and weaknesses of the region and determine the competition factors. The particular factors that will be looked at include which businesses and industries should establish themselves in the region of Hagerstown. The development of a business park was also focused on by a President named Gregory Snook.

Overall, the economic development plan will positively affect the region of Hagerstown, Maryland.

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Economic Growth and Job Creation Are Important Issues at G8 Summit

swampland.time.com/

During the recently held G8 Summit, many of the leaders agreed upon how the economy should be fixed across the U.S and many of the European countries.

President Barack Obama and many leaders across the world got together in the region of Camp David, Maryland and agreed that growth needs to be sparked and the debt must be cut in order for revitalization to occur in the economy across Europe and the U.S.

After the event was hosted, President Obama stated that job creation and economic growth were the most important issues that were discussed with the leaders. A total prescription was not put into place but many of the leaders came up with a general strategy that was agreed upon.

Many of the world leaders have solutions of their own but there was some wiggle room that was agreed upon. President Obama was considered to be the “International Host” as the debt crisis in Europe has the possibility to hurt the recovery that is occurring in the United States. Acquiring allies during the meeting was important to Obama as he needed answers for fixing the debt crisis. The German Chancellor whose name is Angela Merkel wanted government led growth to ease the pain of the debt crisis but many of the citizens were against the idea.

The release of the oil reserves was also an important issue that was discussed. The oil markets are very unstable and the leaders agreed to release any reserves so that the world markets will not be disrupted. The ultimate effects of releasing the reserves will lead to a calming of the markets and the decrease in the oil prices. Obama is also coming upon an election so he wants to make sure that consumers do not have a reason to be angry.

Overall, fixing the economy in the U.S and across the world is the most important issue today.

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Maryland DBED Switches to LOIS Site Selection Tool

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) has finally moved from a decade old custom site selection tool to a cutting-edge online database that allows site selectors to sift through 400 available commercial, retail or industrial properties and 1,400 buildings in Maryland that can be leased or purchased.

Maryland Business Properties - Site Selection tool

Maryland Business Properties - Site Selection tool (Photo - choosemaryland.org)

The interactive tool called “Maryland Business Properties” was launched at the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) annual meeting in Cambridge, where local economic developers learned they will get their special branded version of the database to integrate on their respective websites so they can maintain and update the data.

“Maryland Business Properties is the latest in a suite of free interactive tools that DBED introduced this year to give our citizens, businesses and economic development partners improved access to information and research, which helps to spur economic activity and create jobs,” said DBED Secretary Christian S. Johansson.  “With this new system, businesses looking to locate to the State or expand to a new site have a simple one-stop search to find their ideal home in Maryland.”

The tool allows for a customized search by property type, site size, location and zoning and rail service, with a database that is updated every week. It has a mapping feature based on Google maps, which lets users create analyses of market areas by demographics, household income, education and workforce data. A national mobile platform will be introduced later this year.

The platform is operated and maintained by Location One Information Systems (LOIS), a division of Kansas City Power and Light (KCPL). LOIS runs databases for 18 states, and has users in nearly 30 states representing more than 8,500 communities and 3,000 economic development organizations.

Maryland is now part of this network, and this doesn’t just mean that it will be easier for site selectors to find properties when they have decide to look for sites in Maryland. It also means that when site selection consultants search the central LOIS database, properties in MD will start popping up if they match the search criteria.

Maryland Business Properties is part of the Maryland Made Easy program, an interagency initiative to streamline procedures, simplify regulations and improve communications where business and government intersect.

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