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Governor’s supplemental budget includes $900K for State Center legal fight
The court battle over Maryland’s decision to terminate lease agreements for future office space at a redeveloped State Center in west Baltimore appears set to drag on.
A supplemental budget from Gov. Larry Hogan submitted Friday includes a $900,000 appropriation for State Center litigation costs. The state and developer, State Center LLC, remain locked in a legal struggle following the Board of Public Works cancelling the lease agreements in December.
Maryland then sued the developer in Baltimore City Circuit Court, and State Center LLC filed a counter claim. The $1.5 billion project’s planned unit development allowed up to 2 million square feet of office space, 250,000 square feet of retail and 2,000 residential units.
The State Center redevelopment proposal stretches back to the administration of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. The project was delayed for years before he Court of Appeals, in 2014, unanimously ruled the plaintiffs waited too long to challenge the procurement process used to select a developer.
In July, State Center LLC and the state started a mediation process that eventually collapsed in the lead up to the leases being cancelled. During that time the developer has sought to pressure the Hogan administration to come back to the negotiating table using radio ads, community meetings and letters from city elected officials.
Do you have real estate news to share? Contact Adam Bednar at [email protected].
