Business

Solar company CI Renewables has moved its headquarters to Mount Washington from New Jersey and formed a partnership with Baltimore’s Mayson-Dixon Cos. The move will allow CI Renewables to invest more heavily in commercial Maryland developments at the same time it is finishing a 12-project solar installation in Howard County government buildings in Ellicott City and Columbia. The new partnership will build on new federal and state incentives and grants to move toward more sustainable energy plans for the future amid the climate crisis, said Josh Smith, managing partner of CI Renewables. It will also help to move solar products into disinvested communities in the city and surrounding counties.

It took nearly six years to move a little more than four miles, but Marriott International Inc.’s long-planned headquarters relocation to downtown Bethesda is substantially complete. Executives hosted a media tour Monday of the global hospitality company’s new corporate home ahead of an official ribbon-cutting ceremony next month. The last group of employees moved into the 21-story, 785,000-square-foot building at 7750 Wisconsin Ave. last week, after Marriott (NASDAQ: MAR) announced its intention to relocate from the Rock Spring business park in suburban Bethesda in October 2016. In that time, the company has weathered a global pandemic that significantly impacted its finances and trimmed its workforce.

Following the acquisition of a neighboring parcel, the developer of an evolving mixed-use project in downtown Bethesda has filed amended plans with the Montgomery County Planning Board to construct a larger building than was originally proposed. The development, part of a larger undertaking previously dubbed Bethesda Market, sits about a quarter mile south of the Red Line’s Bethesda Metro Station.

Maryland raised a record $1.5 billion for the state from gambling revenue in the last fiscal year, the lottery announced Monday. The new all-time state record includes money raised by the lottery, the state’s six casinos, sports betting and fantasy sports wagering. The revenue for the last fiscal year beat the amount raised in the previous one by $120 million, the lottery said. Maryland’s fiscal runs from July 1 to June 30.

Montgomery County is offering another round of rental assistance to mom-and-pop business owners still feeling the ill effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The county is using funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in early 2021 to establish a $2 million relief fund that will provide grants to small businesses for three months of rent, up to $10,000.

The Navy is no longer considering competing proposals to lease Greenbury Point, one to build a new golf course, the other to turn the space into a public park, a spokesperson for the service said Monday. “We received competing proposals from Anne Arundel County and the Naval Academy Golf Association for a sole source lease and management of Greenbury Point, which makes it no longer possible to consider either party’s request,” Naval District Washington Director of Public Affairs Ed Zeigler said in a statement.

Tony and Ashley Gerald bring a lot to the table when it comes to opening a restaurant. The Westminster couple, married for nearly eight years, have almost 30 combined years of restaurant experience, got their starts working at Carroll County restaurants when they were teenagers and first met working at Applebee’s. They talked about opening their own business ever since, but life and raising three kids kept extending their plans. Last year, they got antsy.

If you’ve ever been frustrated that your phone is charging at a snail’s pace (most likely while the charger is overheating), you may be in luck. A Frederick company, Pirl Technology, is working to develop more effective chargers for not only cellphones but also for electronic vehicles and other devices throughout the household. The company’s first product, a multiport cellphone charger, delivers 25-30% more power to the device than other chargers and is cool enough that it doesn’t need a fan to stop from overheating.