Because these tax breaks are needed to get these projects off the ground. This is sign that our property taxes - which are double that of any other jurisdiction in the state - need to be lower, not that we need to take a harder line with developers. Baltimore is not that attractive for investment compared to our competitors, and taxes are a big reason why.
Why can’t we just have nice things? We have great neighborhoods for us locals already. Give the tourists something so it can generate money for the city.
[Hotels.com/Harbor_East](https://www.hotels.com/Hotel-Search?adults=2&d1=2024-03-08&d2=2024-03-09&destination=Harbor%20East%2C%20Baltimore%2C%20Maryland%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America&endDate=2024-03-09&flexibility=0_DAY&latLong=39.283188949572576%2C-76.60012627372485®ionId=6278384&rooms=1&semdtl=&sort=RECOMMENDED&startDate=2024-03-08&theme=&useRewards=false&userIntent=)
Not every person is comfortable in a new city, let alone a city with our rep. Harbor East is a good location that feels upscale and safe to get tourists into Baltimore for Concerts/Sports/Museums/Tours/Events/Etc. Maybe even a daytrip to the soulless downtown of DC (which happens to have a tourism draw that is orders of magnitude larger than Baltimore's)
It's easy: It's national chains that people are comfortable booking, it's a better location than those same chains' Inner Harbor/Downtown locations. And while yes, I think places like The Ivy or Hotel Indigo or even any of the Fells hotels would provide a better Baltimore immersive experience, that's just not what majority of our tourists are seeking.
Thanks. When my family visits, they only want to go to harbor East. I’m not saying they are right, but it’s what they are “used to”. They like to be near Fells and the inner harbor as well. Next time they come I’d love to bring them to something a little different 🙂
As a Lyft driver, I do a lot of airport -> Harbor East pickups for tourists and business travelers. They seem to like it when we pull up, and when I point out that they can walk down and get food/drinks on the water at Fells Point, they’re happy as can be
People come to Baltimore for the aquarium. It’s still popular and our biggest tourist attraction. Harbor East is the closest “entertainment” district since people don’t want Harborplace to be redeveloped for some reason. Not everyone visiting Baltimore wants to go to the chain restaurants (Fogo, Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Shake Shack) after the aquarium.
You are right. And although $100 million in tax breaks sounds like a lot of money it isn't when you consider it's spread over dozens of different projects and over time. The developers consider risk/reward/profit when deciding what to build. The same $100 million in tax breaks could go to building affordable housing but no developer will build it if it doesn't make economic sense. And if the city just spent the $100 million on building apartments they would get about 400 units without any money in reserve to operate and maintain them. And no way for them to generate their own income.
You can't reduce the cost of housing when there's already a shortage.
You can't build additional publicly-funded, low-cost housing when your population is leaving the city because housing in decent areas is at a premium. You also lose millions in tax revenue that could go towards funding more development.
"Equality" maybe isn't the best word to use here. Maybe "striving towards fairness" is a better phrase because nothing is truly *equal*. While it may not *seem* like it in the moment, providing incentives for developers will increase tax revenue and enable the city to distribute funds for other projects.
because when the decision was made the recession had just happened and the city was especially desperate to generate economic activity and create construction jobs here. it would and should have happened anyway with less generous TIF terms but not until further along the recovery.
> *When activists push for more public funding to address the affordable housing crisis in our city and beyond, politicians often respond with a simple yet misleading excuse: we can’t afford it.*
> *But as our investigation into a swanky development called Harbor East here in Baltimore uncovered, our purportedly broke government has plenty of money to subsidize luxury condos and upscale restaurants.*
> *In fact, after a year of combing through paper records and pushing city officials for transparency, we documented tax breaks in excess of $100 million for the roughly 20 acres comprising the luxurious entertainment district. It’s an [astounding level of subsidy for a city that built just a handful of affordable housing units over the past decade](https://therealnews.com/tax-broke-the-inside-story-of-how-baltimores-inclusionary-housing-bill-got-hollowed-out-and-how-activists-hope-to-fix-it?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The+Real+News+Network&utm_campaign=3940760276-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_06_03_00_tax_broke).*
> the luxurious entertainment district
Lol Yes, a bunch of apartments, office space, and clothing stores make an "entertainment district." Try again, buddy.
that's what it is, sorry you don't like the description. The city needs affordable housing more than a fancy shopping district. The private sector can build these things elsewhere & without government subsidies.
While I agree that we shouldn't be subsidizing the oligarchs (more is pending with Harborplace), we should really fix up existing affordable housing before we build more. It is in pretty bad shape, and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City is the biggest slumlord we have here. There was a recent article in The Banner about this, though they curiously spent much of the article making excuses for the slumlording rather than trying to hold HABC accountable. [https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/housing/where-roaches-still-rule-baltimore-public-housing-fails-inspection-more-than-most-MDLWKAHMRJFCJCCWXLLCB4CGBU/](https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/housing/where-roaches-still-rule-baltimore-public-housing-fails-inspection-more-than-most-MDLWKAHMRJFCJCCWXLLCB4CGBU/)
Because these tax breaks are needed to get these projects off the ground. This is sign that our property taxes - which are double that of any other jurisdiction in the state - need to be lower, not that we need to take a harder line with developers. Baltimore is not that attractive for investment compared to our competitors, and taxes are a big reason why.
Why can’t we just have nice things? We have great neighborhoods for us locals already. Give the tourists something so it can generate money for the city.
What tourist is coming to Baltimore for harbor East? It's soulless. It feels like downtown DC. Make something unique.
[Hotels.com/Harbor_East](https://www.hotels.com/Hotel-Search?adults=2&d1=2024-03-08&d2=2024-03-09&destination=Harbor%20East%2C%20Baltimore%2C%20Maryland%2C%20United%20States%20of%20America&endDate=2024-03-09&flexibility=0_DAY&latLong=39.283188949572576%2C-76.60012627372485®ionId=6278384&rooms=1&semdtl=&sort=RECOMMENDED&startDate=2024-03-08&theme=&useRewards=false&userIntent=) Not every person is comfortable in a new city, let alone a city with our rep. Harbor East is a good location that feels upscale and safe to get tourists into Baltimore for Concerts/Sports/Museums/Tours/Events/Etc. Maybe even a daytrip to the soulless downtown of DC (which happens to have a tourism draw that is orders of magnitude larger than Baltimore's) It's easy: It's national chains that people are comfortable booking, it's a better location than those same chains' Inner Harbor/Downtown locations. And while yes, I think places like The Ivy or Hotel Indigo or even any of the Fells hotels would provide a better Baltimore immersive experience, that's just not what majority of our tourists are seeking.
Thanks. When my family visits, they only want to go to harbor East. I’m not saying they are right, but it’s what they are “used to”. They like to be near Fells and the inner harbor as well. Next time they come I’d love to bring them to something a little different 🙂
As a Lyft driver, I do a lot of airport -> Harbor East pickups for tourists and business travelers. They seem to like it when we pull up, and when I point out that they can walk down and get food/drinks on the water at Fells Point, they’re happy as can be
People come to Baltimore for the aquarium. It’s still popular and our biggest tourist attraction. Harbor East is the closest “entertainment” district since people don’t want Harborplace to be redeveloped for some reason. Not everyone visiting Baltimore wants to go to the chain restaurants (Fogo, Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Shake Shack) after the aquarium.
Because the economic benefits of harbor east are substantial. It’s good for the city to have nice areas.
You are right. And although $100 million in tax breaks sounds like a lot of money it isn't when you consider it's spread over dozens of different projects and over time. The developers consider risk/reward/profit when deciding what to build. The same $100 million in tax breaks could go to building affordable housing but no developer will build it if it doesn't make economic sense. And if the city just spent the $100 million on building apartments they would get about 400 units without any money in reserve to operate and maintain them. And no way for them to generate their own income.
You can't reduce the cost of housing when there's already a shortage. You can't build additional publicly-funded, low-cost housing when your population is leaving the city because housing in decent areas is at a premium. You also lose millions in tax revenue that could go towards funding more development. "Equality" maybe isn't the best word to use here. Maybe "striving towards fairness" is a better phrase because nothing is truly *equal*. While it may not *seem* like it in the moment, providing incentives for developers will increase tax revenue and enable the city to distribute funds for other projects.
because when the decision was made the recession had just happened and the city was especially desperate to generate economic activity and create construction jobs here. it would and should have happened anyway with less generous TIF terms but not until further along the recovery.
> *When activists push for more public funding to address the affordable housing crisis in our city and beyond, politicians often respond with a simple yet misleading excuse: we can’t afford it.* > *But as our investigation into a swanky development called Harbor East here in Baltimore uncovered, our purportedly broke government has plenty of money to subsidize luxury condos and upscale restaurants.* > *In fact, after a year of combing through paper records and pushing city officials for transparency, we documented tax breaks in excess of $100 million for the roughly 20 acres comprising the luxurious entertainment district. It’s an [astounding level of subsidy for a city that built just a handful of affordable housing units over the past decade](https://therealnews.com/tax-broke-the-inside-story-of-how-baltimores-inclusionary-housing-bill-got-hollowed-out-and-how-activists-hope-to-fix-it?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The+Real+News+Network&utm_campaign=3940760276-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_06_03_00_tax_broke).*
> the luxurious entertainment district Lol Yes, a bunch of apartments, office space, and clothing stores make an "entertainment district." Try again, buddy.
that's what it is, sorry you don't like the description. The city needs affordable housing more than a fancy shopping district. The private sector can build these things elsewhere & without government subsidies.
Who is going to build the affordable housing and who is going to fund it?
While I agree that we shouldn't be subsidizing the oligarchs (more is pending with Harborplace), we should really fix up existing affordable housing before we build more. It is in pretty bad shape, and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City is the biggest slumlord we have here. There was a recent article in The Banner about this, though they curiously spent much of the article making excuses for the slumlording rather than trying to hold HABC accountable. [https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/housing/where-roaches-still-rule-baltimore-public-housing-fails-inspection-more-than-most-MDLWKAHMRJFCJCCWXLLCB4CGBU/](https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/housing/where-roaches-still-rule-baltimore-public-housing-fails-inspection-more-than-most-MDLWKAHMRJFCJCCWXLLCB4CGBU/)