While MCB Real Estate works to line up financing for the $900 million mixed-use development it plans to build after tearing down the Harborplace pavilions at Pratt and Light streets, the company is nearing completion on another local project it has been working on.
MCB and its development partners recently offered a preview of a four-story, $44 million office building at 850 W. North Ave. that will be the new headquarters for the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED).
MOED provides job placement, training programs and support services to residents around the city. Its mission is “to promote economic justice in Baltimore City by connecting individuals with meaningful employment opportunities and businesses with the city’s brightest talent.”
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 30, 2025, for the 63,000-square-foot employment hub, which is part of the $170 million Reservoir Square development that also includes market-rate townhouses by Ryan Homes. Besides MCB, the development team for MOED’s new headquarters includes MLR Partners and Atapco Properties. MOED is calling its new building the American Job Center.
The preview showed that construction is substantially complete and the building is furnished. MCB Managing Partner P. David Bramble and others spoke to invited guests.
“The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development’s new American Job Center is expected to open to the public in late fall 2026,” states a sign in a first-floor window. “Before we open, Baltimore City residents aged 18 and over can receive in-person assistance at our Employment Connections Center and Neighborhood Job Hubs…Go to bit.ly/contactmoed to see our locations & request assistance!”
PILOT agreement for Harborplace
Before the North Avenue building opens, city officials are expected to seek approval from Baltimore’s Board of Estimates for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement that would substantially reduce the amount of property taxes MCB would have to pay on its completed Harborplace project.
MCB’s plans call for the two Harborplace pavilions to be torn down and replaced with two residential towers, offices, shops, restaurants and open space. Construction is expected to take five years or more.
The Baltimore Development Corporation’s board has already approved MCB’s application for a PILOT arrangement for its Harborplace project, but the exact terms have not been disclosed and the PILOT still must be approved by the city’s spending panel, the Board of Estimates.
MCB is seeking to build its project on land that is owned by the city and would be leased to the developer on a long-term basis. MCB already leases 3.2 acres from the city at Pratt and Light streets — the amount occupied by the Harborplace pavilions. It is seeking to increase its footprint to include a one-acre open space called McKeldin Square and a five-lane section of Light Street that separates McKeldin Square and the pavilions, giving it a total of 4.5 acres.
Before MCB can move ahead with its project, the Board of Estimates must approve a revised or amended lease that spells out exactly what land the city agrees to lease to MCB and the lease terms, including any profit-sharing arrangement between the city and the developer.
Draft lease
According to the Baltimore Brew, a draft lease reflecting the PILOT arrangement indicates that if MCB completes its multi-phase development, it would be required to pay only “’five percent (5%) of the Baltimore City real property taxes otherwise due’ through 2051, plus the current, very low property values ‘preceding the commencement of construction activities.’”
Based on the draft lease terms, “MCB would likely pay no more than $1 million a year in total property taxes if it adds a promised $500 million in value to the property,” the Brew notes. “This compares to over $11 million due if the completed project paid the current city tax rate ($500 million x $2.248 per $100 of assessed value = $11,240,000).”
The difference “would result in an annual tax savings of roughly $10.2 million by 2031, the year when MCB hopes to complete the project, leaving the company with 20 more years to enjoy the same tax benefits,” wrote the Brew’s Mark Reutter.
City officials say the lease could be presented to the Board of Estimates for its consideration as early as its next scheduled meeting, which is on Oct. 21. The Mayor’s Office is also weighing whether to ask the Board of Estimates to hold a special meeting to consider the lease, according to the Brew.
