East Baltimore’s Crown Cork and Seal campus will become part of a 40-acre development district that’s aiming to draw $500 million worth of capital investments, under City Council legislation that was introduced on Monday.
City Council member Mark Parker introduced a bill that would designate the campus part of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) zone known as the Crown Cork & Seal Development District.
The designation will help pave the way for $500 million in capital investments in the district, which includes the 16.8-acre Crown Cork & Seal property, whose principal address is 4425 Eastern Avenue, and two warehouses at 4301 and 4315 Eastern Avenue.
The properties were purchased in October of 2025 for $16 million by a joint venture that includes Cross Street Partners of Baltimore and Shift Capital of Philadelphia. The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) Board of Directors and the Baltimore City Board of Finance have already approved creation of a TIF district for the area, but the council’s enabling legislation is required to allow the city to sell bonds to help fund capital improvements. Moseley Inc. is the lead architect.
Founded in Baltimore
For decades, the Eastern Avenue property was the manufacturing headquarters of the Crown Cork & Seal Company, which was founded in Baltimore in 1892 for the purpose of making metal bottle caps, known as the “crown cork.”
Maryland native William Painter is credited with inventing the bottle cap in 1891 and building facilities to make them. In 1897 he opened a production facility in the 1500 block of Guilford Avenue and then the larger Eastern Avenue complex in 1906. Guilford Avenue served as the location for custom building the sealing machinery while the Eastern Avenue property became the hub of the company’s manufacturing operations.
By 1920 the company supplied half of the world’s bottle caps, and the Eastern Avenue factory was one of the largest manufacturing operations in the U. S. In 1958, the company moved its headquarters to Philadelphia. Its Highlandtown plant closed in 1987 as the use of aluminum and plastic containers rose and demand dropped for caps for glass bottles.
The property is currently home to more than 150 artists, craftspeople and light manufacturing businesses. It includes 24 buildings and approximately one million square feet of gross floor area. But 70 percent of that space is deteriorated and unleasable – creating the opportunity for new investment and renovation.
TIF financing plan
With the development district designation and TIF financing, Cross Street Partners and Shift Capital intend to rejuvenate the area in a way that will stimulate office, retail and industrial development and improve conditions for local artist, production and maker communities. They say they want to fortify the region’s creative economy and increase connections between the adjacent Greektown, Highlandtown, Brewers Hill and Canton neighborhoods.
Under the plan for the Crown project, bonds that the City sells will fund public infrastructure improvements within the development district, enabling economic activity that increases tax revenue. The public improvements will include new streets, utility infrastructure, exterior lighting, street plantings and public facilities.
The developers say these improvements will be made without the investment of any City money. They say that unlike a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) arrangement, which forgoes property tax revenue, property owners within a TIF district pay full property taxes for their properties.
Parker’s bill, 26-0242, was introduced on behalf of the BDC and the city’s Department of Finance. It will establish an assessable base for property tax valuation purposes and authorize the City to sell bonds against projected future tax revenue above that base.
The developers and public officials involved want the council to pass the bill as soon as possible. Enacting the legislation by Dec. 31, 2026, they say, would set Jan. 1, 2025 as the assessable base for purposes of calculating the amount of tax increment, meaning the base value for Crown would be $3.2 million. If passage is pushed to 2027, they say, the assessable base for the TIF district would become Jan. 1, 2026, meaning Crown’s assessable base would be set to its post-sale valuation of $16 million, significantly decreasing the tax increment available to pay debt service on the bonds.
Two subsequent bills, to be introduced in 2027, will follow this initial TIF district designation bill. They are: a “bond issuance” bill which will dictate the eligible uses of TIF funds and maximum dollar amount for TIF bonds, and a special tax district overlay that will provide the TIF bond debt service guarantee.
Local support
Crown’s redevelopment has already earned state support through $9 million in grants and loans and $4 million in state historic tax credits. The project also has support from local community groups, including the Southeast Baltimore Community Development Corp., the Highlandtown Main Street and Arts & Entertainment districts, the Brewers Hill Neighborhood Association and neighboring property owners.
Parker’s bill was assigned to the council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee for review. A date for a committee hearing has not been announced.
