Mobtown Beat
Paterakis Looks for EZ Money in “Impoverished” Harbor East
Baltimore Development Corp., is fighting to reinstate tax breaks.
Published: August 15, 2012
Bakery magnate John Paterakis has helped build up Harbor East from an industrial wasteland to a ritzy neighborhood, complete with million-dollar condos and high-end restaurants like Charleston, Pazo, and Chazz. In fact, the rehabilitation is so complete that the state recently pulled its Enterprise Zone status—a federal designation reserved for truly impoverished areas—and the tax breaks that go along with it.
But Paterakis’ Harbor East Development Group LLC, through the Baltimore Development Corp., is fighting to reinstate EZ status so he can keep a more-than-$150 million tax break to expand Harbor Point (and build a new headquarters for Exelon Corp.) and help offset the projected $1.5 billion cost of its 2.9 million square-foot office project.
At an Aug. 8 BDC hearing, protestors showed up in full baseball uniforms as the “Tax Dodgers” to (sarcastically) cheer the effort. On Aug. 13, the City Council introduced a resolution, co-sponsored by eight of the 15 council members, to reinstate the Enterprise Zone.
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