On Monday, the Maryland House of Delegates voted to pass a bill that would put certain parameters on any effort to resuscitate the stalled State Center redevelopment project in West Baltimore. Problem is, redeveloping the site was a bad idea when first hatched by former governor Robert Ehrlich, and it got worse in the administration of Martin O'Malley.

Now Gov. Larry Hogan needs to rethink it entirely rather than tweak it, or it will merely enrich a few developers at the expense of state and city taxpayers.

The latest version of the $1.5 billion, 28-acre project north of downtown called for replacing aging buildings that house about 3,500 state workers with new offices, retail and green space. Comptroller Peter Franchot has suggested building a new arena there, and a recent taxpayer-funded study suggested apartments, medical offices and senior living be built on the site. The House bill adds a requirement for community involvement in the process, restaurants, a high-quality grocery store, adequate parking, and local and minority business hiring, in addition to making state agencies the lead tenants.

Read the full article here.