Port Covington

A city-within-the-city on Baltimore's sleepy South Shore? That's what Under Armour's Kevin Plank has in mind for Port Covington. His company, Sagamore, has planned a massive mixed-use development there, centered on a new UA corporate headquarters. And they've asked taxpayers for the biggest financing package in city history - $660 million in bond funding for $535 million in infrastructure improvements. Why, many residents are asking, should a brand new mini-city get such massive aid when the old one has such urgent needs?

Municap and other reports on Port Covington TIF Series 2020 Bonds

Rewriting history: City now says Under Armour “isn’t relevant” to Port Covington project

As expected, $148 million in TIF bond sales was approved today by the Board of Estimates. The sole dissenter was Baltimore’s presumptive next mayor, Brandon Scott.

Port Covington developer seeking tax incentives gave over $80,000 to officeholders and political committees

A top contribution went to Mayor Young, who is leading the push to award the unprecedented TIF tax package.

ACLU letter seeking postponement of Port Covington vote

Text of the June 16 protest submitted to the Baltimore Board of Estimates by ACLU of Maryland, Step Up To Lead, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Public Justice Center and Jews United for Justice.

Postpone Port Covington TIF funding, ACLU and others urge

The protest to the Board of Estimates focuses attention on Baltimore’s lame-duck mayor and its presumptive “open government” mayor.

Mayor Young commits $148 million in bond funding to jumpstart Port Covington project

The biggest TIF tax increment funding in city history includes many risks to Baltimore taxpayers, a review of publicly undisclosed material shows. A BREW EXCLUSIVE.

Fear that “the public” has lost a park, as private developer creates outdoor bar in South Baltimore

Marc Weller removes some trees and erects a massive tent at West Covington Park, improved over the years by more than $7 million in public funds.

Kevin Plank’s vision wasn’t big enough for Amazon

With a limited view of what Baltimore could be, city leaders fail to lure the pioneering online retailer.

Pugh seals the Amazon headquarters proposal with a kiss

Mayor says “we’re shovel ready,” but the competition is intense – and that may prove costly to taxpayers.

Brew’s Port Covington reporting wins a “Best of Show” from Md.-Del.-D.C. press group

Environmental and local government reporting also earn Baltimore Brew first-place division honors.

Construction at Port Covington delayed at least nine months

A year ago, Kevin Plank promised Baltimore extraordinary benefits in return for tax subsidies. Now reality is settling in.

An equity Rx for Port Covington: Transit

A wise use of TIF funds for Kevin Plank’s grand development? To build light rail, not more expressway ramps.

City commits $23 million more for ramp improvements at Port Covington

Despite additional TIF money, Kevin Plank’s request for federal funds may hit a roadblock in 2017.

Port Covington TIF: signed, sealed and delivered

The mayor signs bills giving Kevin Plank’s development Baltimore’s largest public financing package ever.

Deciphering the deal cut on Port Covington

Letting the perfect be the enemy of good? Or selling out citizens with a weak agreement?

Fiery rhetoric fizzles as Port Covington advances

Kevin Plank’s project gets 12 yes votes, including one from Stokes.

BUILD asks Young to pull Port Covington vote from committee

Stokes and others say more time is needed to review key documents, resolve issues.

Echoes of Harbor Point process as Stokes halts Port Covington voting

Education funding protection and other issues too weak or not clear, Stokes says.

Stokes uncorks on eve of BUILD announcement

Deal comes after two other groups rejected Port Covington developer’s “final offer.”

Kevin Plank comes out of the shadows

Under Armour CEO, quiet until now, touts Port Covington as Baltimore’s “new economic engine.”

Groups reject Port Covington developer’s final offer, calling it “empty”

After Stokes stepped away, bargaining went sour, say two of three coalition groups.

Revolving door rankles as critics challenge housing waiver for Port Covington

Former city official who enforced Inclusionary Housing law helped developer dodge it.

As tempers flare over Port Covington, parties are pushed to negotiate

Critics propose swapping out funding for parks and kayak landings for affordable housing.

Port Covington counting on “Creative Class migrants”

Developer’s study stresses influx of millennials – raising questions about race, demographics.

Poor residents and unions want more from Port Covington deal

Hearing draws hundreds, most criticizing Baltimore’s largest ever development financing deal.

Mayor on Port Covington: It will keep millennials coming

Rawlings-Blake, on WYPR, defends city support for Kevin Plank’s development project

Citizens shut out but Council drills down on Port Covington

At hours-long hearing, Kevin Plank’s project gets some scrutiny.

Critics: Port Covington deal financially risky, worsens segregation

Coalition pressing city council to “slow the roll” of Under Armour CEO’s project

Is Kevin Plank getting “free money” while the city takes the risk?

A close look at the financial package proposed for Port Covington, a subject of tomorrow’s City Council hearing.

Port Covington city council hearing tomorrow, discussion tonight

Citizens will sound off on Kevin Plank’s proposed waterfront city-within-the-city.

A poor, black city supporting kayak and boat slips?

BUILD analyst says financing for Port Covington may be costlier than developer says.

Analysis: Benefits appear limited in community pact with Sagamore

Defending the deal, state Sen. Ferguson says “ongoing partnership” is more important than dollar figure.

Six neighborhoods sign a benefits agreement with Sagamore

Over 20 years, Plank’s company pledges millions in direct payments, transfer fees and “raised funds.”

As expected, BOE approves TIF package for Harbor Point

Does Harbor Point’s overruns offer a warning about Port Covington?

BUILD joins chorus of critics questioning Port Covington

Faith and community group recalls the “broken promises” of other city redevelopments.

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Ex-mayor’s pro-Port Covington op-ed prepared by developer

UPDATE #1: Baltimore Sun and Sagamore Development won’t say who approached the newspaper with the op-ed. UPDATE #2: Schmoke responds.

Washington offers a reality check on Port Covington

ANALYSIS: Federal rejection of Kevin Plank’s grant application comes as no surprise.

Major blow for Port Covington as feds reject grant application

Big dreams and dicey moments at Port Covington event

Sagamore Development headlines a fundraiser that, for the most part, went according to script.

Blunt talk about race as Port Covington master plan is approved

Sparks fly as the project powers through the Planning Commission.

As planning vote nears, critics call Port Covington racially divisive

Kevin Plank’s proposed mini-city on the Middle Branch triggers wildly different reactions.

Today’s storm: sewage spews into the Middle Branch

Aging infrastructure next to the planned new city of Kevin Plank.

Consultant hired by city to assist in Port Covington planning

Parsons Brinckerhoff to coordinate sweeping transportation improvements.

Latest edition of The Brew-WYPR Accountability Index

Shedding light on a crucial city issue.

A victim of Port Covington: the “Other Baltimore” in Westport

Is a poor black neighborhood being held hostage by Kevin Plank’s plans?

A pep rally for Port Covington

“Let’s not sweat it,” says Port Covington supporter who lives in Catonsville.

Reutter and Steiner talk Port Covington

A conversation about TIF financing: What it does and what the risks are.

No real consequences for violating the Open Meetings Act

“Scot-free” is the best way to describe the repercussions to a public body that illegally closes a public meeting in Maryland.

BDC violated Open Meetings Law by shutting out reporters, board rules

Discussion of the Port Covington TIF was not exempt from public disclosure.

Slow the roll of the Port Covington TIF subsidy, protesters say

“TIFs divert new tax money away from the general fund and put new pressures on city services,” a critic tells a City Council hearing.

City wants state agency to float Port Covington TIF bonds

“A new twist” spurred by concerns about Port Covington’s potential effect on Baltimore’s credit rating.

This year Sagamore will be at the Las Vegas convention populated by city officials

The annual networking bash, RECon, will not only include Baltimore’s two top elected officials, but officers from the company seeking unprecedented city bond money to develop Port Covington.

Finance Board approves Port Covington TIF subsidy

Mayor pushes through low-income housing exemption for Port Covington

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake gets her way – thanks to her majority control of the Board of Estimates – but not before being chastised by her two fellow elected officials.

Like Harbor Point, Port Covington will be exempt from city’s Inclusionary Housing Law

“Same old smoke and mirrors,” say two housing advocates of the agreement that Mayor Rawlings-Blake is set to sign tomorrow with Kevin Plank’s development company.

Relying largely on the developer’s data, BDC moves ahead with Port Covington TIF

Pressed about the source of the market study used to assess the $535 million TIF financing proposal, the city’s financial consultant said it was commissioned by Sagamore Development, the private real estate arm of Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank.

ANALYSIS: Before City Hall loved TIFs, it shunned them as bad policy

BREW EXCLUSIVE: A detailed look at how TIFs, the financing subsidy now sought by Kevin Plank for his Port Covington project, evolved from a tool regarded as “politically polarizing” to a strategy embraced by city leaders.

Port Covington TIF meeting declared “closed,” reporters ejected

Arnold Williams, chairman of the BDC, invokes an exemption to the Maryland Open Meetings Act to discuss the $535 million TIF requested by Sagamore Development, Kevin Plank’s real estate arm.

Build Port Covington in manageable steps with a limited subsidy

Practically every “game-changing” mega-project hatched in Baltimore, says a veteran city planner, “has been packaged as all-or-nothing, and we usually end up with nothing.” So the first question we should ask is: What is the minimum investment that will create a solid foundation for Port Covington?

Candidates pressed on city financing for Under Armour’s Port Covington

How would mayoral hopefuls answer when asked about the mammoth TIF that Under Armour’s CEO wants from the city for his waterfront development? Speaking at a Morgan State forum, most stressed wringing concessions from the developer rather than rebuffing him.

Baltimore reacts, in some cases bitingly, to $535M Port Covington TIF

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s development arm today asked for the largest tax increment financing package ever sought in Baltimore. His big ask comes at a tough time as the city takes a hard look at the causes of inequity – and some point to development subsidies just like this one.

A wonderland of ideas for South Baltimore

Plank pledges continuous public access to the waterfront at Port Covington

A 266-acre mini-city is rising on the banks of the Middle Branch in South Baltimore. Last week the company whose new headquarters is at the center of it, Under Armour, took pains to say this Port Covington neighborhood of parks, offices, “maker-spaces” and more would not shut common folk out.

The wait is over: West Covington Park is quietly opened by city

Contractors for the Baltimore Department of Transportation today removed the fence that has separated the public from the National Aquarium’s West Covington Park for months. Meanwhile, documents show how much public money was allocated for the privately-owned park.

Prominent architects tapped for Under Armour campus at Port Covington

They have designed the homes of celebrities and fashioned the iconic look of Apple stores in New York, California and elsewhere. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson will now serve as master planners for Kevin Plank. A BREW EXCLUSIVE.

Spokesman for Kevin Plank’s real estate arm: We want West Covington Park to remain a park

Neither the CEO of Under Armour nor his real estate company has any intention of buying West Covington Park from the National Aquarium – or helping the Baltimore Rowing Club relocate to that site. So says a spokesman for Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Development.

Kevin Plank’s Sagamore has drawn up plans for a rowing club at West Covington Park

BREW EXCLUSIVE: The drawings provide the first tangible evidence that the development arm of Under Armour’s CEO has its eye on the South Baltimore park that remains closed to the public.

West Covington Park may open soon, but park near Hopkins is still delayed

DOT promises to open the fenced-off South Baltimore park soon. Meanwhile, another project DOT is responsible for supervising, Optical Garden on North Charles Street opposite the John Hopkins Homewood campus, is months behind schedule.

Kevin Plank jumps to the head of the waterfront development crowd

The man who built the wildly successful Under Armour brand is entering the business of Baltimore waterfront real estate, taking a seat alongside Michael Beatty and John Paterakis.

‘It won’t be like Port Covington!’ 25th Street Station developer tells Remington

Developer Rick Walker told the Greater Remington Improvement Association Monday night that the Wal-Mart-based development he hopes to do on the site of the former Anderson Automotive won’t be anything like the failed development at Port Covington, also anchored by a Wal-Mart, according to The Baltimore Messenger.