3K State Employees Will Be Relocated To Offices In Downtown Baltimore, Gov. Larry Hogan Says
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday 3,300 state employees from 12 state agencies will be relocated to offices in downtown Baltimore to help support economic development.
In a press conference, Hogan said the move will help support the economy in the Central Baltimore business district.
The Maryland Department of Human Services' 700 employees and the Maryland Department of Health's 1200 employees will be the first to move to Baltimore.
"Strong Maryland depends on a strong Baltimore City, which is why the entire state government has been working hard to improve the city," Hogan said.
Project CORE has helped to remove more than 4,500 units of blight and leveraged over $1.9 million in public and private sector investment and community redevelopment projects. The state has also invested $9 billion in direct state aid to the city as well as $1.3 billion for public safety and crime control efforts. They've also invested $4.7 billion in Baltimore city transportation.
Although the economy has been bouncing back as more coronavirus restrictions are lifted, Hogan said in downtown Baltimore, vacancies in the central business district are up 34% and major businesses like T. Rowe Price and Bank of America have announced they are relocating to other parts of the city.
""We were pleased to work together with President [Bill] Ferguson and the legislature to budget for $50 million to help pay for the relocation of state agencies and their thousands of employees to this area of downtown Baltimore," Hogan said.
The state currently occupies 2.2 million square-feet of office space in the city.
Commercial space is also open for businesses to rent downtown.
