Franchot: Financial questions on State Center project will require vigilance - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

http://gmpi-plugins.org/die-insel-der-dmonen.htm
Franchot, who joined Gov. Martin O’Malley and Treasure Nancy Kopp onthe state’se Board of Public Works in votintg for the $1.4 billionb State Center redevelopment project Wednesday afternoon, said he does not know enougnh about the project’s costws to the state or whether the project is even practicall given the nationwide credit crunch. “I believse the project has a lot of promise and is deserving of Franchot said in a telephoneinterview Wednesday.
“I voted for it, but am goinbg to continue to be vigilant about the fiscap exposure to the The deal involves the state leasing its midtown Baltimore office complex to a private development which would then redevelop the property into a mix of shopsand homes. The state would then lease back a majorit ofthe project’s 2 millioj square feet of office space for use by its variou state agencies. But the terms of the deal have not been hammeredeout yet, as Franchot and the Boared of Public Works voted Wednesday only on a masterr development agreement.
With that agreement in place, the developmengt team will now create designsz for its planned buildings and come back to the state for approvapl on morespecific designs, costs, and leasw terms. The development which includes national housingdeveoper McCormack, Baron Salazar, would borrow $888 million to finance its work, accordinfg to the Department of Legislativer Services. The state would issuee another $338 million in debt.
State and federal tax credi t programs would pick upanother $234 million in projecgt costs, with the remainder of the project’s costs being contributed directly by the developers or other Franchot said that scenario raise s several concerns, including the ability for the stat e or the developers to borrow money in the midsrt of the nationwide credig crunch. He said he’s also concernexd about the state’s ability to negotiate fair lease terms with the developers given they woulde both be heavily invested in making sure the projectis “The problem is that the credit markets are bone Franchot said.
“Obviously this is a long-ter m project, but I’m not confidenr that the private sector will finance this in a way that the statr canafford it.” In Franchot said he isn’t sure why the statwe would make the project a priority above other pressing needs such as new college dormitories or othetr state-funded construction projects.