BWI Airport gets $38M boost; TD Bank settles claims

Good morning Baltimore!

It's still raining out there but things should dry up soon. Expect temperatures to be warmer than yesterday in the mid-40s and 50s.

Now, onto the news of the day.

BWI Airport to get $38 million in federal funding

BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport will receive $38 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support its A/B Connector and Baggage Handling System projects. The funding, announced Monday in a press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation , is part of $1 billion for airports nationwide. The improvements at BWI will be the airport's largest-ever terminal enhancement project, totaling around $452 million. Work, which is focused on expanding and upgrading operations for Southwest Airlines , will include a new baggage handling system, a direct connection between concourses A and B, new restrooms, food and retail concessions and more.

Expect more office vacancy by 2030

As much as 1.4 billion square feet of U.S. office space could become functionally obsolete by the end of the decade. That's 330 million square feet more than the normal 13% vacancy rates on which analysts typically count, reports The Business Journals' Ashley Fahey. The numbers come from a new analysis by 戴德梁行 , which examined which categories of office space could become outdated in the coming years. Unsurprisingly, it's expected obsolete space will be largely contained within older office buildings that aren't renovated, sustainable or in desirable locations for today's office tenants.

Could you share a desk with your coworker?

As companies move to shed office space, the concept of desk hoteling — or sharing a desk, office or workspace, is becoming more popular. Last week, Google asked its cloud employees and partners at its five largest U.S. locations to share desks using an alternating schedule. The company will use a matching process to pair deskmates who are then required to agree on desk setup and "establish norms." If workers come in on their unassigned desk day, they will be asked to use "overflow drop-in space." The change comes 谷歌 is working to reestablish back-to-office patterns and work toward "real estate efficiency." [CNBC]

Baltimore's historic preservation tax credit extended

The Baltimore City Council voted this week to extend the city's historic preservation tax credit by one year instead of the previously recommended five-year extension. The change comes as City Hall has long promised to review the city's tax incentives and how they are spent — or rather not spent — in struggling neighborhoods. In fact, a recent analysis by city finance officials found the 25-year-old Historic Rehabilitation and Restoration Tax Credit has been overly generous, largely without benefitting disinvested areas. [Baltimore Banner]

TD Bank to pay $1.2 billion to settle claims

Toronto-based TD Bank Group has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to settle claims it was facing in connection to the Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme case. Stanford, a former investment advisor in Texas, was convicted in 2012 of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme that defrauded 30,000 investors from over 100 countries. TD has denied any liability or wrongdoing related to the scheme, and in a statement Monday said it provided correspondent banking services and opted to settle to "avoid the distraction and uncertainty of continuing a long legal proceeding." [Philadelphia Business Journal] TD Bank is the 15th largest bank in Greater Baltimore with $598.57 million in local deposits, as of June 2022.

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Lawmakers seek new plans as Pimlico, Laurel Park redevelopments grow more costly

Plans to redevelop Pimlico and Laurel Park race courses, which were in full swing prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, are now in flux as rising costs have nearly doubled the estimated $375 million redo. In an effort to forge ahead with the projects, Maryland officials and other stakeholders are working to develop a new plan that would likely involve closing one of the two race tracks. Interestingly, the new outlook is that Pimlico is the track to save, even though earlier proposals focused more on Laurel. [Maryland Matters]

Leidos CEO and Chairman to retire

The CEO and Chairman of Leidos Holdings Inc., one of the region's largest employers, is retiring. Roger Krone will leave the position he's held since 2014 on May 3, at the Virginia-based government contractor's annual stockholder meeting. Taking his place at Leidos will be Thomas Bell, the current chairman and CEO of Reston, Virginia's Rolls-Royce North America. [Washington Business Journal]

The power of Pickleball

If you haven't played pickleball yet, you probably will soon. The sport — which combines aspects of tennis, badminton and table tennis — is the fastest-growing sport in the nation. According to the Association of Pickleball Players , 14% of American adults played the sport between August 2021 and August 2022. The growing interest in pickleball has led to the opening of new courts to help meet the demand, including here in the Baltimore area. [Columbus Business First]

This newsletter was written by Carley Milligan, Digital Editor at the Baltimore Business Journal. I can be reached at [email protected].?