Media Coverage

Under Armour’s celebratory launch of its new Baltimore Peninsula flagship store this month was much more than a typical retail ribbon cutting. Amid student marching bands, sports mascots and skyrocketing smoke, a mix of business leaders and elected officials joined athletes to get a first look at the new development project. Read Op-Ed.

Early results of an initiative to improve the Baltimore region’s business and social reputation has found that U.S. business leaders who are familiar with Baltimore tend to rate it positively and describe it as “friendly,” “connected” and progressive-leaning. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee wants Baltimore to stop defending itself. The nonprofit on Tuesday unveiled a batch of research that will be used to guide an effort to remake the city’s image and attract more investment. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee and UpSurge Baltimore announced plans to combine efforts under the GBC umbrella in early 2025. Read More.

A major regional economic development organization is making the tech and startup world an even bigger priority by bringing one of that scene’s biggest entities under its umbrella. Read More.

An organization known for helping Baltimore-based technology startups plans to join forces with the Greater Baltimore Committee early next year in a bid to better link the startup and corporate communities. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee is merging with a tech-focused economic development organization in a move that could woo federal funders to invest more in Baltimore. Read More.

For GBC President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas, All In 2035 was one of several actions that the organization took to establish its role following its 2022 merger with the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore. Read More.

“A one-year milestone is not enough in itself,” Thomas said of what he called a significant reduction in crime.  “But it gives you a sense that there is a concerted effort to address what is one of Baltimore’s stagnant issues.” Read More.

GBC President and CEO Mark Anthony Thomas appeared on the TJ Smith Show yesterday to discuss the region’s public safety reductions, the importance of the Red Line, and the work GBC is doing to set the stage for continued regional collaboration. Watch the interview.

GBC CEO and President Mark Anthony Thomas said that while the organization doesn’t have a formal view on the matter, he’s seen land banks across the country that have worked well and others that have been less effective. Read Article.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and the Baltimore Development Corporation recognized 16 business and organizations at the 50th annual Mayor’s Business Recognition Awards, honoring those that have demonstrated exceptional civic leadership and a commitment to improving the quality of life in the Baltimore region. Read Article.

 Baltimore is about to enter the next phase of redeveloping Harborplace after city voters passed Question F, allowing MCB Real Estate to move forward with its proposal. Mark Anthony Thomas from the Greater Baltimore Committee explains the impact. Watch Segment.

With just 1% of the country’s 112,000 real estate businesses led by diverse entrepreneurs and leaders, the Diversity in Commerce Real Estate (DCRE) conference, now in its sixth year, remains one of the few spaces where companies, investors, and electeds come together to highlight development opportunities and on ramps for new entrepreneurs in the field. Read More.

Baltimore has more than 13,000 vacant and abandoned houses and buildings, a number that officials say has barely budged in decades. On Tuesday, state and local leaders announced a new initiative to redevelop those buildings. Read More.

Governor Wes Moore has signed an executive order establishing the Reinvest Baltimore program, a collaborative effort to tackle Baltimore’s longstanding issue with vacant properties. Watch Segment.

State and city leadership converged Tuesday for a new plan that will address vacant properties in Baltimore a larger scale. Baltimore has more than 13,000 vacant structures and more than 20,000 vacant lots. Watch Segment.

Legislation needed to create a first-of-its-kind tax zone aimed at rehabilitating thousands of vacant properties in Baltimore will be introduced to the Baltimore City Council on Monday, a crucial step in executing a $3 billion housing plan proposed by Mayor Brandon Scott. Read More.

Gov. Wes Moore set a target Tuesday of eliminating 5,000 vacant Baltimore homes in five years, committing state support and making the issue an administration priority. Read More.

Five people are joining the Circle of Influence, as they are being honored as Influential Marylanders for the third and final time. Those being inducted in 2024 are Scott Dorsey, Merritt Companies; J. Kirby Fowler, The Maryland Zoo; Terrance Hasseltine, Maryland Sports Commission; Sandra Kurtinitis, Community College of Baltimore County; and Leslie Simmons, Lifebridge Health. Read More.

A newly launched $5 million grant program aims to help nonprofit groups assisting small businesses and communities hurt by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The Greater Baltimore Committee and the Baltimore Community Foundation said they are accepting letters of interest on a rolling basis. Read More.

As Maryland businesses continue to recover from the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and the Baltimore Community Foundation have announced a new grant program to provide assistance. Read More.

 In December, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, BUILD and the GBC announced an agreement calling for public investment to redevelop at least 37,500 properties as a way to combat vacant housing. The Scott administration pledged city investment of $300 million over 15 years to spark the project. Read More.

Leaders across Baltimore government, business and academia had the chance on Wednesday to show federal officials different innovations across the city. Representatives from the Economic Development Administration, making their first visit since Baltimore was designated one of the country’s 31 Tech Hubs, toured Morgan State University innovation labs, got a look at the new University of Maryland BioPark 4MLK building and attended several roundtable discussions. Read More.

Federal officials got a look Wednesday at some of the people and places behind Baltimore’s plans for a regional technology hub during a site visit that could help the region secure future funding after missing out on the first round. Read More.

Across the country right now, there are 31 tech hubs tasked with the goal of changing the way our world works. One of those hubs is developing the next big tech right here in Baltimore. Watch Video.

From artificial intelligence (A.I.) to robots to manufacturing, Baltimore continues its work as a newly designated federal tech hub. Leaders at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration got an inside look at some of Baltimore’s top tech programs on Wednesday. Watch Video.

U.S. Economic Development Administration officials advised local tech industry leaders to develop a stronger strategic focus during a visit Wednesday that came about a month after the region lost out on a round of federal grant money. Read More.

It’s been a seven-decade streak of population loss and disinvestment for Baltimore’s neighborhoods.  The post-industrial headwinds that shook the economic foundation of America’s rust belt left a trail of abandoned industrial sites and brownfields, crumbling infrastructure and blighted communities from the Midwest states to the Black Butterfly of Baltimore. Read More.

A newly launched $5 million grant program aims to help nonprofit groups assisting small businesses and communities hurt by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. The Greater Baltimore Committee and the Baltimore Community Foundation said they are accepting letters of interest on a rolling basis. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee and the Baltimore Community Foundation announced a multi-million dollar initiative to provide support grants to small businesses impacted by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge served as a vital artery for commerce, linking multiple counties and supporting global economic activity. Watch Video.

A $5 million grant program aimed at supporting Baltimore-area small businesses hit hard by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge launched Aug. 21, marking a new push to rebuild economic stability in the region. Read More.

Small businesses are getting a helping hand. Greater Baltimore Committee and Baltimore Community Foundation announced the “Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Small Business Support Grants” program. $5 million will be parceled out to nonprofits who are directly helping impacted communities and businesses. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) Wednesday announced the opening of Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Key Bridge Small Business Support Grants, a $5 million initiative designed to provide funding to intermediary organizations that assist small businesses and communities affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Read More.

After missing out on up to $70 million to create a federally designated tech hub, the Baltimore region is gearing up to win a share of funding that could be distributed next year. Read More.

Graham said she finalized an agreement last week to conduct an extensive study on the economic impact of the 2024 Artscape. It will be conducted by the Greater Baltimore Committee, Visit Baltimore and possibly the Office of the Comptroller of Maryland. Read More.

“It’s these kinds of cultural events that make the difference in people loving a place and being a part of a place,” said Mark Thomas, President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “I like Artscape because it really makes a difference in exposing people to the art scene and the culture. This is a great thing for us to continue to invest in and make sure it becomes even more impactful.” Read More.

GBC Executive Vice President of Policy and Research Jennifer Vey was featured on the latest episode of CREWBaltimore Conversations discussing the diversity of the Baltimore Region’s economy, represented by the $4.2 billion in investment activity registered across dozens of sectors over the past year. Listen to Podcast.

“We have the intention of being a leader in Equitech and elevating a post-industrial city that has had equity issues,” Thomas said. “The themes across the 12 selected were the focus. We would have been an outlier among them.” Read article.

Heads of some of the region’s main innovation support entities, from public and private universities to a new investment fund, broke down their respective employers’ ongoing local impact. Read article.

GBC recently released its All In 2035 Economic Plan, which chart’s the organization’s vision for the region’s economy. We ask Thomas about how infrastructure fits into his organization’s plan, and about the fastest growing sectors of Baltimore’s workforce. Listen to Interview.

On the Jayne Miller Podcast, Mark Anthony Thomas of the Greater Baltimore Committee discusses Baltimore being a federal Tech Hub and the organization’s efforts around the Key Bridge. Watch Interview.

Outside of Baltimore City Hall, the Greater Baltimore Committee is focused on the city’s economic development. GBC’s president and CEO, Mark Anthony Thomas, tells 11 TV Hill what his organization is doing to support that effort. Watch Video.

The Greater Baltimore Committee hosted its inaugural Baltimore Region Investment Summit on Thursday, an event that showcased the region’s assets and key players in an attempt to woo investors and entrepreneurs. Jeremie Feinblatt, vice president of strategy for Resonance Consultancy Ltd., talked about how his organization was working with the GBC on raising Baltimore’s profile — and changing its reputation by creating a better brand. “Brands matter,” he told the packed auditorium at Maryland Institute College of Art’s Brown Center. Read More.

Mark Anthony Thomas has been a lover of cities since he was a child, from how they are developed to whom they are built for. It’s no surprise, then, that he has spent most of his career leading competitive economic development strategies and public-private partnerships, including work for the nation’s two largest metropolitan areas, Los Angeles and New York City. Today, he is one of our region’s leading voices on economic development in his role as CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), with a vision to evolve the nearly 70-year-old nonprofit into a modern civic organization. Read More.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Blackbird Labs CEO Matt Trembly and Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels were among those announced Tuesday by the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) to speak at the inaugural Baltimore Region Investment Summit, an official spinoff event of the SelectUSA Investment Summit that will showcase the Baltimore Region’s economic potential in an effort to attract investment. Read More.

Living Classrooms Foundation is proud to collaborate with the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Greater Washington Partnership, and the Baltimore Orioles to host a special event featuring David M. Rubenstein, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group and the new owner of the Baltimore Orioles. This exclusive discussion will occur on June 14, 2024 at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park & Museum, Living Classrooms Foundation HQ, 1417 Thames St., Baltimore, MD 21231. This national heritage site honors the first Black-owned shipyard in the United States. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee joined the Site Selectors Guild to help spur economic growth in the region. Read more about what this partnership means for potential new business. Read More.

Tiburzi served as chair of the Greater Baltimore Committee from 2017 to 2020, helping to tackle many city challenges, including public safety. Of particular significance to him was keeping the Preakness Stakes here. Read More.

Some of the area’s most influential community organizers and leaders were honored as The Baltimore Banner’s second class of Emerging Leaders on Wednesday night, which was presented by CFG Bank. The 13 honorees shared their stories about how they’re making an impact in Baltimore and beyond at an event at The Center Club in downtown Baltimore. Read More.

Mark Anthony Thomas has long believed the Greater Baltimore Committee needed to better define its purpose and goals to make a mark on the region’s economic development. A new 10-year strategic plan, unveiled Thursday evening, sets out to do that. The plan calls for a “sea change” in what it describes as a lack of urgency in attracting business and nurturing entrepreneurs. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) will hold its 69th annual meeting at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point on May 23. The event will mark the unveiling of the organization’s 10-year economic opportunity plan, which will create a roadmap to achieve a globally competitive and equitable economy in the region. Read More

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) is pleased to announce the selection of the place-branding experts Resonance Consultancy Ltd. (Resonance), the market research firm Ipsos, and the Baltimore-based strategic communications firm Timbre Strategies to undertake a business investment and civic oriented messaging, branding, and earned media initiative for the seven-jurisdiction Baltimore region following a thorough vetting and selection process. Read More

The Baltimore region’s business community has long identified public transportation as a crucial component of our region’s economic competitiveness. A world-class transit system bolsters inclusive economic growth, ensures access to opportunity and attracts top talent to the region. That’s why it’s so important that we celebrate the action taken by the Moore-Miller administration and the Maryland General Assembly this session to make smart, fiscally responsible investments in our region’s transit. Read More.

Senior officials from the White House, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation and Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works met with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld to discuss progress and continued collaboration in response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Watch Video.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) unveiled its inaugural Baltimore Region Investment Scorecard at a meeting earlier this month. The report card for Baltimore’s economic growth highlighted such figures as over $4 billion in business activity for 2023 and 347 deals totaling $4.2 billion. Those deals consisted of 140 development and 207 investment initiatives, according to the organization, and Baltimore City secured $2.6 billion of that investment. Read More.

Recorded in early October 2023, but released in April, GBC CEO Mark Anthony Thomas talks with Mike Rosenfeld, Matt Moore, and Bill Cole on the podcast Baltimore Conversations about GBC’s ongoing transformation, the landscape for economic development across the United States, and how GBC will support the region’s growth in technology, manufacturing, and other key sectors. Listen to Podcast.

“There’s a lot of people investing in Baltimore. We actually hold our own against other markets, but that story had never been told. So, part of my work in coming to the GBC is to center true economic leadership,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of GBC. Watch Video.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) hosted a roundtable discussion March 18 at Coppin State University in Baltmore with U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, to discuss the Baltimore region’s federal Tech Hub designation and the submission of the Phase 2 application for funding. Read More.

“One of the top things that people ask me is, how are we going to better tell the Baltimore region story?” said Mark Anthony Thomas, CEO and president of GBC. “What you find is it’s not just an ad or a commercial, how we better tell our story is in all these different ways. One is making sure the world knows that people are investing in Baltimore.” Read More.

For those who feel like Baltimore has endured more than its share of bad news in recent months — the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge providing the biggest example but hardly the only one — the Greater Baltimore Committee may have provided just the timely antidote you need. The business advocacy group recently compiled a “Baltimore Region Investment Scorecard” to survey for the first time how, through various measures, the Baltimore area is doing in terms of investment, job growth, deal-making and tax revenue. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) Friday announced the launch of the Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Alliance, which brings together leaders and organizations from philanthropies, businesses and the surrounding communities to support the families, port workers, first responders, small businesses and communities affected by the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Read More.

A group of Baltimore businesses and community organizations has raised more than $15 million for families, workers and businesses impacted by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse through a recently formed alliance. Read More.

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cristina Lopez as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Carter McClure as the organization’s first Regional Innovation Officer (RIO) supporting the Baltimore Region’s federal Tech Hub designation. Read More.

“Locally, and even internationally, people are getting a real-time lesson on the importance of the Baltimore Port,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC). “When we saw the accident, initially, we did not assume the port would be shut down indefinitely. Now, we are learning that it will have a longer impact on our economy. We just don’t know how dramatic that will be.” Read More.

The Baltimore Tech Hub is one of the contenders for a substantial $70 million federal fund supporting five key projects around artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology. These projects are a testament to the region’s dedication to technological growth, aiming to boost not only the industries but also job creation in the area. Read More.

Anticipation is building for the pending decision on Baltimore’s Phase 2 Tech Hubs application to the US Economic Development Administration (EDA). Read More.

Before a car ends up at your local dealership, it most likely passed through the Port of Baltimore first. “The port is like our original economic driver,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, President & CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. Read More.

GBC’s Pulse Check will feature key economic leaders and debut the inaugural Baltimore Region Economic Scorecard. The Scorecard quantifies the past year’s local, domestic, and international investment activity to provide a deeper look into the impact of global business trends on the region’s economic growth. Watch Video.

A Baltimore City Council committee amended and then voted to support a legislative package that partially clears the way for a $500 million private redevelopment of Harborplace by MCB Real Estate. Read More.

Baltimore will make the case for why international businesses should invest in our city during the inaugural Baltimore Region Investment Summit on June 27, the Greater Baltimore Committee announced Thursday. The local event will be a spinoff of the United States Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA Investment Summit, a foreign direct investment conference that aims to attract international businesses to invest in U.S. growth markets. Read More.

Mark Anthony Thomas has only been in Charm City a little more than a year and it’s already made an impression on him. Even though he’s had a career that’s put him in a few major cities, he still ranks Baltimore at the top. Read More.

Baltimore has succeeded in a competition with more than 400 other jurisdictions to receive a designation by the federal government as a “tech hub.” Read More.

I believe strongly in Baltimore. For the last four years, I’ve served as president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System, working alongside a talented team of medical experts providing cutting-edge help and healing to Baltimoreans and Marylanders. Read More.

In late October, the greater Baltimore region was designated as a federal tech hub by the Biden administration. The Economic Development Administration made 31 such designations from more than 400 applications. There is $10 billion in investment available through the program. Read More.

Mayor Brandon M. Scott, in partnership with the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), hosted the 49th annual Mayor’s Business Recognition Awards on Dec. 13. Read More. 

Sparrows Point Alliance, a nonprofit, grassroots organization of Maryland community groups, business organizations, and labor unions, officially launched Wednesday to support the continued revitalization of Sparrows Point. Read More.

Greater Baltimore Committee CEO Mark Anthony Thomas writes about his group’s goals for establishing a better economic narrative for the region. Read More.

“Baltimore’s vacancy challenge is complex, and is an amalgamation of many economic and social issues. It is also a backdrop for other challenges,” GBC CEO Mark Anthony Thomas writes. Read More.

On Dec. 11, Scott and the organizations’ leaders are set to host a public action meeting at Greater Harvest Baptist Church in Southwest Baltimore to update residents on their strategy to finance the rehabilitation of these homes. Read More.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott unveiled an ambitious $3 billion plan Monday to attack the city’s thousands of vacant properties, promising to address a decades-old problem with funding from a newly created Tax Increment Financing zone and a yet-to-be-secured state investment. Read More.

A coalition of Baltimore faith and business leaders and Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration Monday unveiled an estimated $8 billion plan to revive thousands of vacant and abandoned homes funded by the city, state and private donors. Read More.

Baltimore’s designation as a federal tech hub could funnel millions of dollars into the city, but there is still plenty of work left to do. Read More.

The GBC offices hosted the launch event for Blackbird Laboratories.

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Baltimore has now been designated as a federal tech hub, officials announced Monday. Watch Video.

Could Maryland become the center of predictive health care in America? That’s what state officials and business leaders hope with the designation Monday of the Baltimore Tech Hub. Read More.

The Baltimore area was chosen Monday as one of 31 federal tech hubs, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to make the region part of a national effort to advance America’s tech industry through competitive grants. Read More.

President Biden designated 31 communities across the U.S. as Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs on Oct. 23 as part of the CHIPS and Science Act. Read More.

With the relaunch of this transit project, business leaders pledge to be more proactively engaged and supportive of the Red Line. Read More.

Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott addressed the importance of transportation investments in Baltimore and what the state has done thus far on Oct. 16. Read More.

With about $6.5 billion in new investment headed to Baltimore by 2028, plans to revamp the city’s image in the coming few years need to “go big,” veteran developer Bill Struever said on Monday. Read More.

Officials underscored the crucial role that the east-west connector can play in revitalizing downtown and the region along with projects such as a redeveloped Penn Station and other transit-oriented development. Read More.

Leaders of several Inner Harbor attractions are working on building projects that will transform their properties – and affect the experiences their visitors have. Read More.

GBC President & CEO Mark Anthony Thomas appeared on the TJ Smith Show, where he discussed the importance of envisioning bold new strategies for connecting what’s happening in Baltimore’s downtown core to revitalization efforts in the region at-large. Watch Video.

MLR Partners Principal Mark Renbaum was among the developers urging officials to adopt pro-growth policies and economic incentives to spur transit-oriented development.

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National Aquarium President & CEO John Racanelli announced that construction on a $14 million “Harbor Wetland” project would begin next month. 

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MCB Real Estate Co-Founder and Principal David Bramble outlined how the guiding philosophy for the Harbor Place redesign is to make it a place Baltimoreans are attracted to.

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This commentary by the Sun Editorial Board noted that realizing transit-oriented development projects like the Lutherville rail station requires a focus on equity.

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An influx of federal funding opportunities could spur a transit-oriented development boom throughout the Baltimore region.

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GBC COO Sharon Markley Schreiber was named as a Woman to Watch. Read her illuminating interview discussing her work for the organization.

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Mark was also featured on this recent update providing his key takeaways on fostering regional collaboration and growing quality jobs.

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The Baltimore region was named as one of the top emerging centers for biotechnology developments.

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Mark Anthony Thomas spoke to WMAR on the Multi-year Agenda and the process of developing a plan to address vacant housing.

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Wes Moore speaks on his hopes for the Red Line’s development

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GBC and the Greater Washington Partnership are working together to form a stronger regional transit plan.

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