Regional Strategic Investments
The Baltimore Region is fortunate enough to have a strong foundation of assets upon which economic opportunity has been built. While the region has seen steady growth and development over the past 20 years, being globally competitive in the 21st Century economic landscape demands strong collaboration between jurisdictions and across sectors to fully realize the economic potential of such sites.
As we tell the Baltimore story across healthcare, higher education, life sciences, manufacturing, and logistics, what is critical is that we tell the story of the impact we have to the nation.
—University of Maryland Medical System CEO (and GBC Board Chair) Dr. Mohan Suntha
Partnership with economic and development leaders
GBC works closely with local economic development professionals to understand the full scope of the Baltimore Region’s strategic assets. Having this knowledge enables the organization to serve as a bridge between developers, end-users, and the public sector to identify and address priority site and facility needs at a strategic level.
Elevating the importance of regional assets
GBC leverages its voice to champion established and shovel-ready sites that align with the broader economic ambitions of the Baltimore Region. The organization provides vital research and advocacy attesting to the impact that large-scale industrial sites and commercial development projects have in enabling the region’s business sectors to compete on a global scale.
Baselining the region's economic progress
Having actionable data on investment activity serves to showcase the strength of the Baltimore Region’s strategic sites to the wider world. In April 2024, GBC held the first-ever Pulse Check: The Scorecard Summit which quantified that the Baltimore Region attracted more than $4.2 billion in new investments and expansion announcements over the previous year. In 2025, our second-annual Pulse Check event quantified more than $4.4 billion in new investments and expansion announcements. View the Scorecard Data.
Media Coverage
Steel manufacturer J.D. Fields will join Tradepoint Atlantic’s industrial complex in Baltimore County, a move expected to create 150 manufacturing jobs with the support of $50 million in funding. “You can see why we’re a little bit excited about the momentum … that Baltimore and the Baltimore region has right now — because it’s real and we know who and what it took in order for us to get here,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said during a Tuesday news conference announcing the plans. “The answer is simple: everybody.” Read More.
Baltimore’s historic waterfront is set to realize continued transformation through more than $3 billion of investment across a series of major mixed-use real estate projects. Spanning a combined 231.5 acres, the efforts — led by developers Beatty Development Group, MAG Partners, MCB Real Estate and the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore — reflect an era of public-private collaboration with the city to enhance downtown living, commerce and recreation. Read More.
Last year, I had the privilege of speaking at GITEX Global in Dubai, one of the world’s largest technology conferences. My topic: Why Baltimore — and how the trends shaping the U.S. economy can help cities like ours thrive. Read More.
Today, economic resilience hinges on how cities and regions align their assets to attract capital, command attention and capture culture-shaping opportunities. Baltimore is proving that when we lead with collaboration, we can deliver major wins. Read More.
From the $240 million transformation of CFG Bank Arena to the $68 million Performing Arts Center in Columbia to construction of maker spaces, cultural centers, artists flats and enhanced museums, private, public and nonprofit organizations are seeing value in investing in arts and culture. Read More.
Following a 2003 report issued by the Greater Baltimore Committee citing the city’s declining attention to its crown jewel, the Inner Harbor, a small group of businesspeople led by Mike Hankin came together to explore how the private sector could partner with local government to revitalize and reimagine the waterfront. Read More.
An annual basketball tournament held during Black History Month and bringing a wide economic footprint will stay in Baltimore through the end of the decade, local officials announced. Read More.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) tournament will be held in Baltimore through 2029, city and state leaders announced Wednesday. The 2026 men’s and women’s basketball tournament will take place in Baltimore between February 24 and March 1, leaders said. Read More.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D) and several other leaders recently announced that the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will continue to call Baltimore home through 2029. Read More.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournaments, held in Baltimore since 2022, will remain in the city through 2029, the conference said Wednesday. A Division II conference headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CIAA had held its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Charlotte for 15 years up until 2020. But Baltimore then beat out Charlotte to host for three years, and that agreement was later extended. Read More.
On a street corner in West Baltimore’s Poppleton neighborhood, colorful signage plastered on doors and windows promises the opening of a new grocery store in the middle of a food desert. Market Fresh Gourmet, scheduled to arrive in mid-2026 following COVID-19-related delays, is one of a number of planned investments for the Baltimore area made through Opportunity Zone tax incentives. The legislation was passed by President Donald Trump in 2017, during his first term, and designed to spur economic growth in low-income areas. Read More.
More than eight years after their introduction, Opportunity Zones (OZs) are again on the federal docket. The bipartisan economic development tool, championed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC), was introduced in 2017 to spur long-term investments in designated, qualifying low-income census tracts by allowing investors to defer or reduce taxes on capital gains. Read More.
Lakey Boyd, chief economic officer at the Greater Baltimore Committee, pointed to the positive business implications of the Port of Baltimore’s speedy path to recovery after last year’s catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. “We’re trying to tell the story of a massive proof point of resilience and adaptability in Baltimore. We can respond quickly,” Boyd told Transport Topics. “We are staying on track to continue to produce, and we’re really looking forward.” Read More.
“Tradepoint Atlantic is the future of our industrial sector, it is the future of American logistics and manufacturing, and it is a company that is the epitome of ‘Bold Moves’ that distinguishes the region from the rest of the country.” Watch Video.
Mark Anthony Thomas, President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, speaks with WBAL’s C4 and Bryan Nehman on the mission of GBC and the state of business in Baltimore. Watch Video.
The developer behind a reimagined Harborplace said last week’s referendum is just the beginning. “We see it as a huge win for the city,” David Bramble, managing partner and co-founder of MCB Real Estate, said Wednesday. Read More.
What constitutes a Renaissance and is Baltimore having one. Colin Tarbert, president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC), says he doesn’t like to overuse the term when speaking about planning and construction activity in the city, but he can see why people might think the city is experiencing one. Read More.
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.
The Harborplace pavilions are largely empty, yet the allure of the Inner Harbor continues to draw visitors. GBC CEO explains the potential impact of the project. Watch Video.
Artscape’s top official said Monday that city leaders should consider moving its main stage concerts indoors and rescheduling the mammoth outdoor arts festival to its traditional weekend in mid-July, after summer storms caused cancellations on both Friday and Saturday night this year. Read More.
Artscape recently returned to Baltimore, drawing thousands to the event that has become a hallmark of artistic expression and community spirit. Held from Aug. 2 to Aug. 4, 2024, artists and art lovers from around the region and beyond descended on Baltimore in hopes of experiencing good music, great food and innovative art exhibits. Read More.
Following the bank’s rapid expansion into the Baltimore Region, the bank pledged $20 million in 2022 through 2027 to small businesses, entrepreneurs and community developers focused on curbing the city’s vacant housing epidemic. The firm believes its business here depends on a stronger working class and is putting money in the hands of those who can supply jobs, wages and affordable housing. Read More.
Following the success of the 2024 Baltimore Region Investment Summit, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) Monday announced that Baltimore will once again host an official SelectUSA Investment Summit spinoff event on May 15, 2025. 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.
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. Read More.
GBC’s Pothik Chatterjee and Nick Henninger-Ayoub made a visit to the WJZ studios to promote Pulse Check: The Scorecard Summit. Watch Video.