A plan to pump over $110 million in public funds for repairs and upgrades to the aging William Donald Schaefer Tower last week sparked a vigorous debate by some top Maryland officials.
The 37-story tower at 6 St. Paul St. with offices for 800 state employees is facing “catastrophic failure” if immediate repairs are not made, the Department of General Services (DGS) warned in December. In turn, the state is planning to spend more than $110 million to repair and upgrade the building — at the same time other downtown office towers are vacant, tanking in property value and heading to auction.
The state repairs would take place over several years and aim to extend the Schaefer tower’s viability by 50 years, acccording to details in the state’s Fiscal Year 2025 capital improvement budget. As part of that work, the state Board of Public Works on July 3 authorized an emergency request for $2.7 million to design a new HVAC system and other structural renovations at the tower.
But Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, a member of the three-member board, questioned whether millions in taxpayer funds should be spent upgrading a building when the central business district market is in crisis.
“This emergency procurement is fine, and I’m happy to vote yes on it, but $110 million is about three elementary schools, so it’s a lot of money,” Lierman told DGS Secretary Atif Chaudhry during last week’s meeting. “I have to question whether it’s worth it for us to put $110 million into this building rather than move employees to other buildings.”
