The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday unanimously approved a $12.13 million a year, 463,000-square-foot lease for a portion of Metro West, the vacant, former Social Security complex on the edge of downtown’s west side, to house more than 2,500 state workers.
The 300-400 N. Greene St. property, owned by Greene Street Ventures, a partnership that includes a subsidiary of Towson-based Caves Valley Partners, will become the Maryland Department of Health’s headquarters. The deal would move the agency from the aging State Center complex under a program by Gov. Larry Hogan to help restock the struggling central business district with an infusion of 3,500 workers. The Department of Health is currently based at 201 and 300 W. Preston St.
The lease on Wednesday passed without discussion by Board of Public Works members Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, Treasurer Dereck Davis and Comptroller Peter Franchot. But the deal — the largest of the State Center leases — hasn’t been without its controversy.
Patrick Moran, president of a union that represents some state health department workers, told the Baltimore Sun that Gov. Larry Hogan was putting employees in a “dead zone” to appease his “developer friends.” And Davis, the state treasurer, postponed the vote on the lease at last month’s board meeting, saying he wanted to make sure the agency was getting a good deal.
