Board of Estimates Meeting; October 21, 2026

The Baltimore City Board of Estimates meeting on October 21, 2026, approved a Downtown Rise PILOT and profit-sharing agreement for the Lexington JV LLC project near the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The project would create 404 graduate-student apartments and retail space; the stated plan includes $160 million in private investment and $36 million in UMB infrastructure spending. The agreement provides a 95% abatement on taxes attributable to new building value for up to 25 years, with the city projected to forgo about $80.6 million in taxes and receive about $8.8 million in payments over that period; the city would also receive 18% of profits above a 20% return. The board approved the agreement by voice vote. The board also approved Recreation and Parks’ Winns Falls Campground restoration award after hearing a protest from Allied Contractors. The agency said all noncompliant bidders received the same 10-day opportunity to cure their MWBE submissions; the protest alleged that Triunfo’s revised package was improper and cited a potential $225,000 saving. The transcript does not state the final award amount or clearly identify the selected contractor.

The board noted an urgent DOT procurement with Galls LLC to continue supplying traffic-enforcement uniforms through November 20, 2026, while a renewal is processed. The existing contract is about $644,000, with roughly $180,000 in purchase orders issued and $463,000 remaining. Several other procurement-related items were deferred, including emergency lead-paint cleanup for three bridges and an urgent water-infrastructure item. A subsequent bid-opening segment recorded submissions for yard-waste composting, mowing and landscaping, computer-aided dispatch, trash and recycling, and urgent water-infrastructure rehabilitation; these were openings for agency review, not contract awards. The meeting also noted audits of city IT access controls and police overtime practices, including a reported $36,000 in improper H-day cancellation payments and proposed Workday control improvements.