Business

Encompass Health Corp. and the University of Maryland Medical System Tuesday announced they have executed a joint venture agreement to own and operate Rehabilitation Hospital of Bowie. The 60-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital, located at 17351 Melford Blvd., began serving patients in June. The joint venture combines the expertise and resources of Encompass Health, the nation’s largest owner and operator of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, and the University of Maryland Medical System, one of the largest private employers in Maryland, with 11 primary and specialty care hospitals and more than 150 locations across the state.

The longtime chief financial officer of the Maryland Stadium Authority is set to retire after 30 years with the agency, 20 of those as CFO. David Raith will retire at the end of the month, according to a notice filed by the authority with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and confirmed by the authority. A spokesperson for the stadium authority said Raith’s successor will be introduced at its next meeting on Aug. 1.

Crimson Coward Nashville Hot Chicken, a national fast-casual chicken franchise based in Downey, California, began an ambitious expansion plan for Maryland Tuesday, announcing it has signed leases for its first three locations in the state. Crimson Coward has plans to open 25 locations statewide, with the first three leases already executed in Owings Mills, Columbia and Pasadena through Annapolis-based real estate firm Hyatt Commercial.

As artificial intelligence finds its way into aspects of everyday life and becomes increasingly advanced, some state legislators feel a new urgency to create regulations for its use in the hiring process. Artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, has been adopted by a quarter of businesses in the United States, according to the 2022 IBM Global AI Adoption Index, a jump of more than 13% over the previous year. Many are beginning to use it in the hiring process.

Eight years after its sale fetched more than $66 million, the office tower at One South Street in downtown Baltimore sold last month for $24 million, a markdown that could be a barometer for the city’s commercial real estate industry. Commercial real estate prices across the country are slumping and many downtowns are struggling with vacant office space. The sale of One South Street — a 30-story building that opened in 1992 — appears to be the first post-pandemic sale of a downtown office tower in Baltimore.

Bethesda-based Marriott International Inc. and MGM Resorts International Monday announced today an exclusive long-term strategic licensing agreement and the creation of MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, which will launch in October and encompass 17 of MGM’s unrivaled resorts, representing more than 40,000 rooms in Las Vegas and other cities across the U.S.

Annapolis-based Fairwinds Technologies Monday awarded a $30 million contract to Comtech to provide tactical communications support for the U.S. Army. The contract for the Melville, New York-based company calls for the implementation of its software-defined Troposcatter Family of Systems (FOS) to enhance U.S. Army Beyond-Line-of-Site (BLOS) communications capabilities across all domains.

Pleasants Development Monday announced its plans to build Mount Airy Crossing, a mixed-use community that will offer a blend of senior housing, single-family homes and boutique shopping and dining options, along with more than 25 acres of parks and open space. The proposed development reflects substantial changes made in response to feedback received during a three-day public design charrette that Pleasants Development hosted in late May on its plan to develop a 91-acre tract of land along Route 27 into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.

Your Public Radio, the nonprofit that runs WYPR 88.1 FM and WTMD 89.7 FM, has hired a CBS Radio executive from New York to lead the Baltimore stations. Craig N. Swagler will take over as Your Public Radio’s president and general manager on Aug. 1, the nonprofit announced Monday. He succeeds LaFontaine Oliver, who departed Baltimore earlier this year to take over as CEO of New York Public Radio.