Office Complex

A planned $1.5 billion redevelopment of Midtown Baltimore's State Center complex came under harsh criticism Thursday from legislative analysts who told lawmakers that the current public-private deal "is not in the best interest of the state." In two afternoon briefings, for the Senate and House of Delegates budget committees, nonpartisan analysts questioned the viability of the State Center expansion, arguing that it is based on excessively rosy assumptions of commercial and housing demand in the city.

Maryland's treasurer warned Friday that a planned $1.4 billion development anchored by the state office complex in Midtown Baltimore may count toward the state's debt limit, raising questions about the state's ability to afford the huge undertaking. State officials also announced separately Friday a new lead developer to replace Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, which has struggled with mounting debt, and reiterated a goal to break ground on the State Center in 2010. The development has become a politically charged topic in Annapolis, where lawmakers are seeking more information about the state's financial obligations, while Baltimore politicians and community members say the project would revitalize the area.

The Maryland Transit Administration will hold a series of public meetings this week and next to explain its proposed changes to more than a dozen bus routes this August. The MTA is proposing two new "Quick Bus" routes - the No. 43 and the No. 48 - along the path of the existing No. 3 and No. 8 routes. The Quick Bus routes would make fewer stops than the current buses on those routes. With the addition, the No. 3 and No. 8 buses would not arrive as frequently, but many riders' trips would take less time.

A two-story shopping and office complex is planned for a key intersection of the Lauraville business district in Northeast Baltimore, the Baltimore Development Corp. said yesterday. The BDC selected developers JBL Great Baltimore Properties to build the $1.6 million project in the 4500 block of Harford Road and will begin negotiations to sell the developers the city-owned property. Montebello Crossing will be a 15,000-square-foot building with first-floor shops with outdoor seating and a second floor for studios, offices or other businesses.

The Army is scheduled to award a contract next month for the construction of a giant office complex at Aberdeen Proving Ground, one of the largest development contracts in Harford County, officials said. The office complex will house a military operation being moved into the county from New Jersey as part of the military base realignment, officials said. "It will be the first major step in the shift of about 10,000 jobs from Fort Monmouth to APG," said James C. Richardson, Harford County's economic development director.

The board of the NAACP is expected to vote this weekend on a proposal to relocate the civil rights organization's headquarters from Northwest Baltimore to the nation's capital. Those close to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People say the 64-member board is expected to approve the proposal to move to a new office and retail complex rising on the east bank of the Anacostia River. While the much-anticipated decision would solidify the organization's intent to relocate, it would be far from the final step in a plan that has been decades in the making.

The developer tapped by the Army to redevelop 540 acres of Fort Meade is proposing a $700 million office and retail project at the prime location just outside the main gate. The area around the fort is rapidly expanding as thousands of new workers start to flock to Fort Meade as part of a reorganization of the nation's military bases. Trammell Crow Co., of Dallas, has proposed building more than 2 million square feet of offices in about 15 buildings spanning three, park-like office campuses on 173 vacant acres north of Route 175, a vice president of the company said yesterday.

A Glen Burnie dentist found dead in his office had been beaten so badly that police had difficulty identifying him, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday. The body of Dr. Albert Woonho Ro, 51, was discovered Tuesday night at his dental practice at 1414 Crain Highway. According to police, Ro's wife called police from outside the dental office about 10 p.m. She told officers that she could not get in touch with her husband -- his car was on the parking lot, but he was not answering his office phone.

In proposing a redevelopment of the state office complex on Howard Street, the Ehrlich administration has correctly sized up the problem and potential of the 25-acre site. Its mass creates a visual and physical barrier, blocking access to nearby neighborhoods and isolating 3,500 state workers on an island of concrete and asphalt. With the announcement last week that the state has selected a development team for the site, the process to break down the barriers, real and perceived, can begin.

The state of Maryland is taking preliminary steps to transform its old, plain and sprawling downtown Baltimore office complex into the foundation for a brand new entertainment, retail and residential hub. In September, Maryland's Department of Transportation will begin looking for developers who can tear down the 25-acre network of state offices and build in its place a new government workplace, but one integrated with places to live, dine and shop....