The fixed-price proposal, which is expected to get a vote before Baltimoreâs mayor-controlled spending board on Wednesday, would lock in low prices for a subset of city-owned vacant properties â some at just $1.
City officials attempted to block an Inner Harbor rally hosted by the far-right website Church Militant in November of 2021, but the event went forward after a federal judge sided with the groupâs First Amendment lawsuit.
Though legislation clearing the way for MCB Real Estate's $1 billion Harborplace redevelopment was introduced before City Council in October, the body held its first and only hearing on the proposal three weeks ago and is expected to give final approval Monday night.
One building alone â 100 E. Pratt Street, known as the T. Rowe Price building â is responsible for $54 million in losses to the cityâs property tax base.
Demands from the Baltimore candidate come as the city must earmark close to half of its $641 million American Rescue Plan Act spending package before the end of the year.
While the two downtown hotels will initially serve as temporary shelter for unhoused residents, leaders intend to convert the buildings into longer-term, subsidized housing units.
The trio of bills advanced out of the councilâs seven-member Economic and Community Development committee with just one member, Councilman Ryan Dorsey, voting in dissent.
Councilman Zeke Cohenâs proposal to establish an independent redistricting commission could compete with a separate plan to reform the mapmaking process put forward by Council President Nick Mosby.
The City Council president argued Wednesday that Baltimore residents shouldnât conflate mistakes heâs made in his personal life with his work in City Hall.
Maryland lawmakers, for the fourth consecutive year, will consider a bill that would enable Baltimoreâs mayor and City Council to set a higher property tax rate for vacant, blighted and abandoned properties.
Since the start of the pandemic, Baltimore has quietly made headway towards closing its digital divide. But without action from Congress soon, nearly 80,000 households risk losing low-cost internet connections.
The priorities outlined by Dixon donât differ widely from those of Scott, whom she hopes to unseat in the Democratic primary this May, and one leading expert on Baltimore crime questioned whether the former mayorâs strategy brings anything âtruly newâ to the table.