Maryland Business

A new Wegmans was announced for Owings Mills and a federal agency might hold up the Constellation/Exelon merger. Meanwhile, a legendary Baltimore Sun photographer’s prints are going to auction — much to his daughter’s chagrin — and plans for a downtown Baltimore casino are finally revealed. Here are the Top 5 business stories of the week:

1. FERC could delay Constellaton-Exelon decision until April — by Ben Mook

Constellation Energy Group Inc. and Exelon Corp. are calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make a decision about the companies’ proposed merger by Jan. 5 after learning the regulatory agency could delay the deal until April.

On Oct. 13, the companies submitted to FERC an agreement they had come to with the independent market monitor for PJM, the regional power grid. The agreement resolved some possible issues the market monitor had. However, FERC said that the agreement effectively reset the clock on its approval process and it could have up to 180 days more to make a decision.

2. Caesars proposes ‘dramatic’ gateway for Baltimore casino — by Nicholas Sohr

The development group led by Caesars Entertainment Corp. touted its proposed 260,000-square foot casino on Russell Street as a “dramatic new gateway to downtown” Baltimore.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More troubles for the organizer of the Baltimore Grand Prix, another round of terminal shuffling at BWI and a drop in casino revenue were among the most-read business stories of the week. Baltimore’s newest hotel and a contentious hearing over a controversial East Baltimore redevelopment round out the Top 5:

1. Baltimore threatens to cut ties with Grand Prix organizer — by Nicholas Sohr

City officials to sever ties with the organizer of the Baltimore Grand Prix unless the company pays its bills and climbs out of the red and into profitability.

Baltimore Racing Development owes the city more than $1.5 million, according to city figures, and has been beset by lawsuits from unpaid vendors since the inaugural race over Labor Day weekend.

The threat from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to end the five-year contract four years early throws the future of the race into doubt even after Baltimore leaders continue to hail the event as a success.

2. AirTran moving terminals at BWI — by Nicholas Sohr

Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will shuffle the locations of some of its air carriers next week and again in December to prepare for a $100 million expansion project slated to begin in the spring, officials announced Wednesday.

The changes at BWI will allow for the continued growth of Southwest Airlines Co. The low-fare carrier is already the dominant airline at Maryland’s airport and will take a 70 percent share of the market when it completes its acquisition of AirTran Airways next year.

3. EBDI leaders hit on job creation at hearing — by Melody Simmons

Former residents and job seekers from East Baltimore hammered at officials of East Baltimore Development Inc. on Wednesday about missed employment opportunities and delayed housing during a packed hearing in the City Council chamber on the controversial $1.8 billion redevelopment project, now in its second decade.

The two-hour investigative hearing, a continuation from a March 30 hearing called by Councilman Carl Stokes, drew a crowd of about 120 and was at times informative and contentious.

4. Four Seasons to add luster to Baltimore — by Melody Simmons

Inside the city’s newest luxury development, the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, many of the walls and chandeliers shine with an elegant gold luster. The floors are Turkish marble, hickory and black walnut. Modern art makes a bold statement and a stately grand staircase greets visitors near the front doors.

The $200 million Harbor East property is set to officially open Nov. 14, and teams of workers are busy preparing the site and putting up finishing touches on project where rooms and suites cost between $279 and $1,500 per night.

5. Casino revenue drops in October — by Nicholas Sohr

Maryland’s casinos brought in $12.9 million in October, a decrease of $1 million from the month before, according to figures released Monday by the Maryland State Lottery Agency.

Hollywood Casino Perryville accounted for $9.1 million, a 20 percent decline from October 2010. Casino officials have attributed that strong showing one year ago to the buzz surrounding the slots parlor in its first full month of operation.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Just weeks before Baltimore hosts its first ever Grand Prix, two of its investors have filed suit against the race’s organizer, and the Charm City Circulator is being expanded to Fort McHenry. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Baltimore Grand Prix sued by its founder – by Rachel Bernstein

Steven Wehner, the man responsible for the original idea to bring auto racing to the streets of downtown Baltimore, has filed a nearly $750,000 complaint against the organizers of the Baltimore Grand Prix.

According to the complaint, Baltimore Racing Development LLC was to have paid Wehner $575,000 over five years to purchase his 10.2 percent interest in the organization. But the filing claims that BRD has defaulted on its payments. Attached to the filing is an exhibit of the agreement between BRD and Wehner from May 12, 2010.

2. Charm City Circulator to be expanded to Fort McHenry – by Melody Simmons

Expansion of the 21-bus Charm City Circulator to include the Fort McHenry Monument and National Shrine will soon take place with the help of a $1.5 million federal transportation grant.

The Circulator will expand its territory into the city’s southern reaches — just as the bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 gets underway.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

A new name for a Baltimore neighborhood, the possibility of a new hospital in Prince George’s County and a new funding for a Baltimore tech start-up. Here are the Top 5 business stories of the week.

1. Baltimore Internet company snags $750K in funding – by Alissa Gulin

410 Labs — which this month released to the public an email service called Shortmail.com — has garnered coast-to-coast support from both individuals and prominent venture capital firms, particularly from California’s Silicon Valley, the nucleus of national high-tech development and manufacturing.

That’s a fairly unique achievement for a new company like 410 Labs in a city like Baltimore, said several people involved with the year-old venture. And to some investors, Shortmail’s early success — 10,000 users registered within a week — indicates that co-founders David Troy, chief executive officer, and Matt Koll, chief operating officer, must be doing something right.

2. Middle East may become Beacon Park after a makeover – by Melody Simmons

Developers of an 88-acre site in East Baltimore will soon unveil a new blueprint for the stalled $1.8 billion redevelopment that includes a proposal to rebrand the area and change the name of the Middle East community to Beacon Park.

Sources close to the project say the study by the Baltimore advertising agency Carton Donofrio Partners includes plans to jump-start residential development there by 2014.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The classic example of the Yiddish word “chutzpah” has always been the guy who murders his mother and father, then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new contender.

After Landow Partners contested Penn National Gaming’s winning $10.25 million bid for Rosecroft Raceway during an auction last week, attorney Richard G. Mason actually said this at Wednesday’s bankruptcy hearing:

“This has to stop now. [Landow Partners] have turned out to be sore losers, so let us move forward.”

Excuse me? An attorney for the company that bankrolled the opposition to the approval process for Cordish Cos. Arundel Mills casino for years so that it could protect its gambling franchise in West Virginia and try to change the rules of the game after it didn’t follow those rules and lost its chance to put slots at Laurel Park, calls another company “sore losers” and wants to “move forward?”

I’ll bet David Cordish had a good laugh when he read that.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The most-read stories of 2010 by The Daily Record’s business reporting team mirror many of the big ongoing stories that have dominated the news since the economy cratered two years ago — failed banks, slot machine gambling, struggling commercial real estate developments, and City Hall politics.

1. Two Maryland banks closed by regulators – Ben Mook

Federal regulators closed two troubled Maryland banks, including one that was believed to have been the oldest black-owned financial institution in the state. Bay National Bank and Baltimore-based Ideal Federal Savings Bank Friday became the fourth and fifth Maryland banks to be closed over the last two years.

2. Baltimore’s FiOS chances getting slimmer – Staff and Wire reports

Verizon is nearing the end of its program to replace copper phone lines with optical fibers that provide much higher Internet speeds and TV service. Its focus is now on completing the network in the communities where it has already secured “franchises” — and that means major cities such as Baltimore and downtown Boston will be left without FiOS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The two five-alarm downtown fires in Baltimore and the aftermath swept headlines on The Daily Record.com this week, but our exclusive interview with former Mayor Sheila Dixon is making a late run for the top spot.

1. 2 downtown fires leave business owners, workers with questions – By Ben Mook

The final impact on businesses affected by the two five-alarm fires in Baltimore over the last 24 hours — one in the city’s cultural district and the other in its adult entertainment district — remained uncertain as firefighters and emergency personnel worked to shore up the properties and find a cause.

Yellow crime scene tape was plentiful at both sites Tuesday, keeping passersby and onlookers with cell phone cameras from getting too close. The tape, though, also limited business owners’ access in some places as they tried to gauge how much damage there was, which ranged from total losses to minor smoke and water damage.

2. A year later, former Mayor Sheila Dixon is taking it one day at a time – By Melody Simmons

One year after the misdemeanor embezzlement conviction in Baltimore City Circuit Court that led to her resignation, former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon offered a long-awaited apology for the scandal and said she still holds political aspirations that include a possible run for mayor.

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday at The Daily Record, Dixon said she is performing community service at Our Daily Bread and smaller city nonprofits, working as a consultant to help pay a $45,000 charitable donation mandated in her plea agreement and trying to rebuild her life.

“I disappointed the city, my family and myself,” Dixon said of the conviction on Dec. 1, 2009, that led her to resign on Feb. 4 as part of a plea agreement with the Maryland State Special Prosecutor’s office.

3. Donna’s preparing for 6- to 12-month hiatus due to fire damage – By Ben Mook

A little more than a day after a fire ripped through a historic building in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon district, the owners of at least two affected businesses in the building that suffered the bulk of the damage said they remain committed to reopening as soon as repairs are complete.

Park Place, a 109-year-old building at 800 N. Charles St., was heavily damaged both from the fire that broke out early Tuesday morning and from the efforts to contain it. The roof collapsed on the building, which in turn buckled portions of floors on the top levels.

4. Hollywood Casino Perryville’s November revenue down 33 percent – By Jon Sham

Hollywood Casino Perryville generated $7.6 million in revenue in November, a decrease of about 33 percent over the $11.4 million generated in October.

The Maryland Lottery reported Monday that each slot machine averaged $168.64 in revenue per day, which is significantly less than the $210 per machine per day the state said it would eventually average. Since the casino opened in late September, it has averaged $215.99.

5. After meeting, Maryland racing future still uncertain – By Ben Mook

The fate of Maryland’s horse racing industry remained in question Monday, but state officials and representatives of the racing industry met behind closed doors in an effort to open up a dialogue.

Stakeholders from the racing industry, including racetrack owners Penn National Gaming Inc. and MI Developments Inc. met with state officials at the Maryland State House to hammer out details for the 2011 racing season at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course. After 3½ hours though, the consensus was that there was no consensus yet.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

With lots of news in Maryland’s slots and horse racing industries this week, stories from The Daily Record’s government reporter Nicholas Sohr dominated our staff business content. The Daily Record also made news as our publisher, Chris Eddings, was promoted within the Dolan Company and our associate publisher, Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, was selected to take his place.

1. Racing panel rejects Maryland Jockey Club plan by Nicholas Sohr

The state rejected on Monday a “stop-gap” plan for Maryland thoroughbred racing that featured a drastically reduced racing schedule, a decision that fractures the ownership of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park and injects more uncertainty into the future of the industry.

The corporate parents of the Maryland Jockey Club were expected to present a comprehensive business plan as the final step in gaining Maryland Racing Commission approval of the partnership. But, commissioners said what the club offered lacked details and members of the horse industry called for them to vote it down.

2. Fischer-Huettner named Daily Record publisher by Daily Record Staff

Suzanne Fischer-Huettner has been named publisher of The Daily Record.

A 37-year-old Maryland native who has been the newspaper’s associate publisher and vice president, Fischer-Huettner is the first woman publisher in the company’s 122-year history.

The announcement was made Thursday night at The Daily Record’s Leading Women event, which recognizes the achievements of Maryland women under 40, by Christopher A. Eddings, who is stepping down as publisher.

3. $12.4M spent on Anne Arundel slots referendum by Nicholas Sohr

The high-stakes battle over the right to build a casino in Anne Arundel County cost $12.4 million, according to a report published Wednesday by the state.

The Maryland Jockey Club spent $7.5 million on its failed referendum campaign to derail development of a casino at the Arundel Mills shopping mall. Subsidiaries of The Cordish Cos. — the casino’s developer — and the mall owners spent $4.9 million.

4. Eddings named publishing director for Dolan by Daily Record Staff

Christopher A. Eddings, publisher and president of The Daily Record, has been named director of publishing operations for The Dolan Company, owner of The Daily Record.

In his new role, Eddings will oversee the company’s business and legal newspaper and electronic publishing platforms throughout the country. He will continue to be headquartered in Baltimore with The Daily Record.

5. Racing plan for Laurel Park, Pimlico stuck at the starting gate by Nicholas Sohr

With Maryland thoroughbred racing and the Preakness Stakes in jeopardy, Penn National Gaming Inc. said Tuesday it will continue to work with its corporate partner to develop a plan for Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in 2011.

Penn National and MI Developments Inc. were dealt a setback Monday evening when the Maryland Racing Commission threw out their plan to slash live racing, opting to send the companies back to the drawing board rather than settle for an option the state’s horsemen said would spell doom for the industry.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Hotels love ‘em. Gas station operators are big fans of the extra customers at the pump. But West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania casinos, which I describe in today’s story about table games as “islands of gaming,” don’t have much of a direct impact on other surrounding businesses.

At the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, the co-owner of the nearby Turf Motel is ecstatic about the new gaming that’s attracting more gamblers. That means more customers for the Motel, which is planning an expansion to accommodate the expected boom.

After the casino opened, the Turf’s occupancy rates shot up from about 45 percent to 65 percent, said Ron Marcus.

“With table games my only hope is it’s going to increase another 20 [points],” he said.

At the Holiday Inn Express, occupancy averages 90 percent on the weekends — at about $160 per night.

“Most of time what they’re here for is the casino,” said General Manager Nelson Parkinson.

But hop in the car and drive a half-mile into town and the businesses on sleepy Charles Town’s main drag seem unaffected by the excitement just up the road. Unlike the casino’s parking lot, the cars parked here all boast West Virginia license plates.

The storefronts are mostly service firms (like law offices), eateries and consignment shops. Not much to sway the casino crowd, who can chow down in one of Charles Town’s five restaurants or the food court for a bite. (The casino is also opening a high-end steak restaurant this fall.)

“I don’t get a lot of casino traffic,” said Dan Vaira, the owner of The Dish, a farm-to-table bistro. “They have food at the track.”

For a little further “investigation,” photographer Max Franz and I dipped into the new ice cream shop on Washington Street to go spoil our dinners. There we found people taking a break from work, friends chattering about their days, moms with kids … but no tourists. Except us, of course.

Table games? What table games?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The group attempting to block developer David Cordish’s casino near Arundel Mills  is getting closer to its goal.

Last week the coalition of petitioners, made up of anti-slots community and civic groups and the Maryland Jockey Club, filed 16,702 additional signatures with the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections. The signatures are in support of a referendum to allow county citizens to vote on whether to permit zoning for the slots casino.

So far, the board has validated 13,136 signatures from 23,702 filed last month; 18,790 signatures are needed to place the zoning ordinance on the November ballot.

The Maryland Jockey Club is bankrolling most of this operation, and at last count, has paid $377,000 to the firm it hired to collect the signatures. Just a little coincidence here — the jockey club filed the additional signatures on the anniversary of the day its parent company declared bankruptcy. I wonder if Magna Entertainment Corp. sent them a card …

After the first set of signatures was filed, Cordish did a little filing of his own with a lawsuit that claims the signatures are not valid because they were collected in a fraudulent manner. Rob Annicelli, president of Stop Slots at Arundel Mills is not fazed.

“Neither two blizzards nor a baseless lawsuit by a casino developer could stop the extraordinary will and tireless efforts of county residents to place the slots zoning ordinance on the ballot,” he said in a statement. “Filing the baseless lawsuit is just another example of the kind of intimidating and bullying tactics that certain advocates of the zoning ordinance have employed. The people of Anne Arundel County really resent those kinds of intentionally intimidating and threatening tactics.”

Powered by Bookmarkify™