Business

A new group called Renew Baltimore is pitching a plan to slash the city’s property tax rate in hopes of rebuilding the city’s population, bringing about “greater economic equity” and increasing revenue and stability. Like almost all cities, Baltimore’s largest single source of revenue comes from property taxes. The city has a property tax rate more than double that of neighboring counties, and Renew Baltimore said it has been killing economic growth and driving residents to leave for decades.

Public companies in Maryland have made few strides to include more women on their boards of directors in recent years, according to Executive Alliance’s 2022 Census Report.  The organization, which releases a yearly report evaluating women’s representation on boards, said that women hold only 23% of the board seats across the state’s 72 publicly traded companies. This figure is only a slight increase from 22% last year and remains lower than the percentage of S&P 500 company board seats — 30% this year — that are held by women.

A Baltimore materials company won a $2.7 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to create a new style of ceramic packaging for electronics, an innovation that is designed to improve the performance of electric vehicles and aircraft. Synteris uses 3D printing to create uniquely shaped ceramic packaging for power electronic modules, the devices used to transfer energy from a battery to something like an electric motor for a car. The company plans to use the grant for research and development, such as mechanical testing to showcase the viability of its ceramics, Chief Technology Officer Adam Peters said.

Restorative Therapies Inc., a company founded by a Johns Hopkins University professor to improve outcomes with patients dealing with spinal cord injuries and other neurological issues, is relocating its corporate headquarters from Harbor East in Baltimore to White Marsh. MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services represented both sides and brokered the 17,585-square-foot lease with Kenwood Management Company at 8098 Sandpiper Circle, a single-story building containing 47,680 square feet of commercial office space. Senior Vice President Matt Mueller and Senior Real Estate Adviser Henson Ford represented Kenwood Management Company and Senior Vice President and Principal Mark Deering and Vice President Matthew Curran represented the tenant in this transaction.

Baltimore company Catalyte has won part of a contract worth up to $15 million to create a new source of tech talent for the state of Maryland. The base $9 million contract could produce between 90 and 100 new jobs in the state, CEO Jacob Hsu said. The contract is split between Catalyte and Largo company Digital Network Group, although Hsu said there is no set allocation of how much each company would get. The contract also includes two possible renewal options for $3 million a year.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is promoting the state’s horse racing footprint during a state economic development trip to France and Ireland. Hogan, who is in his last year in office, and other state officials are visiting Paris and Dublin. The European sojourn started June 18 and will run through June 26. “Maryland is open for business, and our economic recovery continues to be one of the very best in America,” said Hogan in a statement.

Two Towson University dormitories that were once named for signers of the Declaration of Independence who enslaved hundreds are being renamed for the school’s first Black graduates. The University System of Maryland Board of Regents voted Friday in support of university President Kim Schatzel’s request to rename the dormitories for Marvis Barnes and Myra Harris, the university’s first Black students, who graduated in 1959 after segregation was outlawed, The Baltimore Sun reported.