Business

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority still has a $184.7 million gap to fill in the upcoming fiscal year’s operating budget, which is in the early stages of being developed. At a finance and capital committee meeting Thursday, officials from Metro’s financial office told board members of a few ideas they have about how to fill that gap in the fiscal 2024 budget, for the period starting in July 2023.

Johns Hopkins Medicine will continue to accept CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield insurance, ending a stalemate that threatened to cut off coverage for thousands of patients from some of the region’s most-sought-after medical providers. Hopkins and CareFirst, the state’s dominant insurer, said in a statement Wednesday morning that they had reached a multiyear contract that will ensure patients will remain “in network” when they see a Hopkins doctor.

Construction of a 165-unit affordable housing development will kick off Thursday in Park Heights as another component in the multi-year overhaul of the Northwest Baltimore community. The $48.5 million Cold Spring Lane project will add four stories of one, two and three-bedroom apartments to the neighborhood now being redesigned and redeveloped after years of neglect.

A new $1.5 million grant from the Maryland Department of Commerce announced Tuesday matches private funding for Notre Dame of Maryland University’s recently established endowed chair position in biology to advance groundbreaking research and scholarship. Named in honor of one of Notre Dame’s most distinguished alumnae, the Dr. Mary Kay Shartle Galotto ’64 Endowed Chair in the Biological Sciences, will provide additional support for a scientist to collaborate with NDMU undergraduate students and faculty on interdisciplinary research needed to solve complex global challenges. The position will also strengthen existing community partnerships and develop new ones to bolster the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region’s growing bioscience and health industry.

Baltimore’s newest entertainment district now has a new name. The Walk @ Warner Street, aims to be a destination for those who wish to golf, gamble and watch live music in Baltimore. The area, just south of M&T Bank Stadium and Orioles Park at Camden Yards, now has more than $100 million of private investment helping it take shape. By the time The Walk @ Warner Street is fully ready for consumers, partners said that number will double. The area now looks like a construction site but within the next year it will be a pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare that connects the stadiums and the district. The Walk @ Warner Street, already home to the 8-year-old Horseshoe Casino, will soon welcome a 65,000-square-foot Topgolf complex and the Paramount Baltimore, a concert venue under construction that will have a seating capacity of 4,000.

Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International, which entered the all-inclusive resort business in 2019, has signed a management agreement for a W-branded, adults-only, all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. The announcement comes a month after Marriott opened another all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, the Sanctuary Cap Cana, its 30th all-inclusive property in the Caribbean and Latin America. The new resort, expected to open in 2024, will be the 349-room W All-Inclusive Punta Cana Uvero Alto, a beachfront resort with spa, three pools with pool bars and 11 restaurants and bars.

The downtown Baltimore arena has a new name: CFG Bank Arena. The city-owned facility held an unveiling ceremony Monday afternoon attended by city officials and a few celebrities. The downtown arena has undergone multiple name changes in its 60-year history and was known recently as Royal Farms Arena and Baltimore Arena. The price of the naming rights was not disclosed at Monday’s unveiling.