Business

DLA Piper, a global law firm with Baltimore roots, is moving its Baltimore office back downtown after more than two decades just outside the city limits near Mount Washington, with plans to relocate to Harbor East next summer. The law firm, formerly Piper & Marbury in Baltimore before two mergers, plans to announce Monday that it signed a 10-year-lease for one floor, more than 34,000 square feet, at 650 S. Exeter St. Before moving what was then the state’s largest law firm to a low-rise office building off Smith Avenue in 2000, the firm had its office downtown in a tower at 36 S. Charles St. It currently occupies 123,000 square feet in the glassy, cube-like Marbury Building in Pikesville, some of it originally needed for file storage and support functions.

President Biden’s announcement that it would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt prompted pushback from opponents — who then had their own Paycheck Protection Program loans thrown back at them. The Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, unveiled Wednesday, would also extend the pause on student loan repayment and restructure income-based forgiveness, comes with a roughly $500 billion price tag. Biden’s plan has drawn criticism from many Republicans who have argued the plan is unfair to taxpayers and those who had students loans that weren’t forgiven, and that’s how PPP found itself back in the spotlight. Many high-profile opponents have found their own acceptance and forgiveness of PPP loans floated as hypocritical when it comes to forgiving debts.

Theresa B. Felder, president of Harford Community College, has been selected as one of 26 leaders in the 2022-23 class of the Aspen Institute’s new presidents fellowship. The program supports community college presidents in the early years of their tenure as they work to achieve higher levels of student success. “I am truly honored to be selected as a member of the 2022-23 Aspen new presidents fellowship class,” Felder said. “I look forward to working with the Aspen Institute and my fellow presidents to identify best practices that will support equitable outcomes for all students at Harford Community College…”

Until Saturday, the group that runs the Howard County Fairgrounds was expecting between 5,000 and 10,000 attendees at the Asia Collective Night Market. Instead, more than 25,000 people showed up Saturday, and only a small fraction had places to park, snarling traffic and causing many other issues. “This is the first event I can remember in years that grew to a place that we didn’t know it was growing,” said Mickey Day, president of the Howard County Fair Association. “It was a first-time renter, first-time event.”

A company partnering with operators of the Maryland State Fairgrounds has been approved for a sports gaming license despite concerns that the company has yet to turn a profit. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission voted 6-0 with one abstention to award a license to Crown Maryland Gaming. The company, owned by Boston-based DraftKings, raised concerns from at least one member of the commission because of repeated annual losses totaling more than $3 billion over a five-year period.

The long-awaited Madison Park North project is now in motion. The desolate block off North and Park Avenues once called “murder mall” because of the violence there was primed Thursday for a $100 million redevelopment by MCB Real Estate, MLR Partners and ATAPCO Properties. The team held a groundbreaking event that drew close to 150 attendees and has signed a deal with Ryan Homes to build 120 market-rate townhouses for the project’s first phase.

The demand for Amtrak workers is on the rise as people opt for traveling by train. Amtrak is launching a nationwide hiring spree as struggles with airline cancellations and a reported 24% increase of luggage being mishandled last year have created the need for more workers to increase the railroad company’s operations.

Every day, Keondra Prier passes an 8-acre vacant lot in the Reservoir Hill community that was once home to a subsidized apartment complex dubbed “Murder Mall.” Prier, who is president of the Reservoir Hill Community Association, said there is “a deep desire, hope and wish” for the Madison Park North property to be turned into a resourceful and appealing space.