Bioscience in the Counties:
In Harford County a developer is planning to build a 300-acre business and technology park at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The park could generate up to 10,000 jobs. Just down the street at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center there is a 20,000 square foot bio-manufacturing center and a 120,000 square feet of life science laboratory space. This is not what one normally thinks about when Harford County comes to mind.
But the truth is that technology and bioscience are actively developing in every county in our region. And that is what makes the Greater Baltimore region, as a whole, an area where critical mass is forming that will support a first class life science and technology hub. Too often we focus on what is closest to us and known to us – specifically, the two large bioparks being built in Baltimore. Certainly the development of the UMB Biopark on the west side and the East Baltimore Life Sciences and Technology Park are significant and will serve as the center of activity. But these parks are pieces of a much larger picture. Let’s consider for a minute all that is here.
There are 39 life sciences companies in Baltimore County. Among these are Becton Dickinson in Sparks, the largest bioscience employer in the region and one of the leaders in helping to build our bioscience community. Others include Alpharma, Quest Diagnostics, and Shire Pharmaceuticals, to name just a few. Of course, Baltimore County is also home to BWTECH at UMBC, the university’s own research park that includes both an incubator and mature life sciences companies such as InVitro Technologies and Next Breath.
In Anne Arundel County, small clusters of life science companies work on gene therapies and clinical trials. Their services are complemented by the Chesapeake Innovation Center with member companies that specialize in informatics, homeland security, visualization and other technology areas related to America’s security requirements.
Howard County is home to Martek, a $184 million company known as an innovator in the research and development of products derived from microalgae. In 2004, the company’s revenues grew by 61%. Columbia is home to diagnostics firms like Hemagen Diagnostics, Inc. and Ravgen as well as service providers such as Cell Technology, Inc. These companies benefit from their proximity to the National Institutes of Health as well as to the major research universities in Baltimore.
Even Carroll County has companies working on agricultural bioscience and cloning. Our region is rich with resources and the number of life science and technology companies, incubators, and laboratories is growing every day.
Our role in the business community is to make sure that the environment for their growth stays rich with opportunity. That means advocating for state legislation that will encourage smaller companies to grow with the help of tax credits. It means providing forums for companies to interact with one another. And it means encouraging venture capital to invest its money here – in the Baltimore metropolitan region. There is new energy in this endeavor and we are committed to keeping that energy alive.
With the Regional Business Report, this is Don Fry, President of the Greater Baltimore Committee, for WYPR.
Baltimore’s Hot Real Estate Market:
The real estate market in Baltimore is hot. Properties are snapped up as quickly as they come on the market in many neighborhoods and construction of high-priced condos and townhomes is evident all around the harbor. The number of dwelling units associated with multifamily permits is at the mid- 1990s level. What a difference a year can make.
At this time last year the City faced a $40 million budget gap that was filled by levying new taxes. This spring, the City budget has a $37.5 million surplus – generated largely by the increased revenues brought about by the housing market boom.
This new development and redevelopment has generated net fiscal benefits. The City’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes a property tax cut of two cents for each $100 of assessed value. Granted, this small cut is largely symbolic, but the symbolism won’t be lost on anyone in the region and gives all of us boost in spirit.
Certainly Live Baltimore’s energetic efforts to entice the Washington workforce to relocate to Baltimore have been successful, as have the revitalization efforts on the west side and in Canton, Fells Point and Patterson Park area.
The close proximity of the UMB Biopark to the Poppleton neighborhood assures that property values will rise quickly in that area. And on the east side, Forest City, the company chosen to develop the first phase of the East Baltimore Life Science and Technology Park, plans to build at least 650 housing units.
This reinvestment and building will result in more tax dollars coming into the city coffers from both real estate taxes and piggyback income taxes. Higher income homeowners not only will pay more real estate taxes and income taxes to the city but will provide a boost to restaurants, retail establishments, and entertainment and attraction venues.
While the higher priced condos and properties attract the glamour and media attention it is imperative that ample housing opportunities exist throughout the city for all income levels.
City leaders and the business community recognize that developing a broad inventory of housing for income levels is a key to the economic growth of the City.
Most developers want mixed income housing in the neighborhoods in which they are developing. Developers on both the west and east side of Baltimore want to keep a neighborhood mix so that those who work in the area can live close to work.
Building a stable tax base fueled by home ownership and good jobs will guarantee a steady revenue source for years to come. The GBC advocated for such action in its 1999 report entitled “First Things First.”
Currently pending before the City Council is legislation that would require any developer who is proposing a residential development project of thirty or more units and is seeking any form of public financial assistance to set aside 10% of the units for affordable mixed income housing.
As our elected city officials carefully consider this legislation and its impact, it is incumbent upon them to enact a bill that will truly create mixed income housing throughout the city without throwing cold water on the unprecedented housing market and the revenue derived from its success that our city has just recently come to enjoy.
For the Regional Business Report, this is Don Fry, President of the Greater Baltimore Committee for WYPR.