State Center ads say governor waging ‘war’ on Baltimore

State Center LLC, the developer behind the troubled eponymous redevelopment project in Baltimore, launched radio ads on Wednesday accusing Gov. Larry Hogan of declaring war on the state’s largest city.

The ads accuse Hogan of cutting funds to schools, crippling Baltimore’s mass transit system by nixing the $2.9 billion Red Line project and trying to kill the proposed $1.5 billion overhaul of State Center.

“We need to stop Hogan’s war on Baltimore before it’s too late. We need to save State Center and protect investment in our city,” the script for the ad reads.

The ad campaign is running on several radio stations primarily broadcasting in the Baltimore and Annapolis areas, including WBAL-AM, WNAV-AM and WLIF-FM. The campaign is expected to last for two weeks and will cost between $25,000 and $50,000.

Despite the harshness of the ads, Chris Coffey, who works for the developer as a consultant, said the goal of the blitz is to bring the governor back to the table and to strike a deal allowing the project to move forward.

“This is too important. This shouldn’t be in court,” Coffey said.

In an emailed statement Amelia Chassé, a spokeswoman for the governor, chastised the development team.

“From the start, these developers have only cared about making as much money off of Maryland taxpayers as humanly possible and this latest publicity stunt only further proves how far they are willing to go. The local community could care less about which developer ultimately works on this project – what they care about is getting the project started and getting it done successfully,” Chassé wrote in the message.

The radio ads represent the latest salvo in the battle between State Center LLC and the Hogan administration over the redevelopment proposal to replace an aging state office complex with a massive mixed-use development in the heart of Baltimore.

Both sides are suing each other in Baltimore City Circuit Court after the Board of Public Works, which is controlled by the governor, rescinded state lease agreements for office space at the development in December.

Plans to redevelop the property in the city’s Madison Park neighborhood go back almost a decade to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.’s administration.

The redevelopment was stalled by a legal challenge backed by Peter Angelos, who questioned the process used to select a developer. But in 2014 the Court of Appeals ruled the plaintiffs waited too long to challenge the procurement process.

In July, the developer and the state entered a mediation process that was expected to last 30 days. However, the process dragged on for months before collapsing late last year.

Since the state essentially killed the project, State Center LLC has been trying to rally public support.

Earlier this month the developer held a community meeting to show grass-roots support for building a grocery store at the Fifth Regiment Armory on the site. Elected officials, such as City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young, have also publicly urged the governor to restart negotiations with the developer.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Coffey said he believes the governor thought the developer would slink off after the lease agreements were rescinded. But, he said, State Center LLC and its supporters intend to keep pushing the state after the ad campaign ends.

“I think they thought we would just go away,” he said.

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