Board of Public Works approves more than $782 million for projects across Maryland
Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman joined Governor Wes Moore in approving more than $782 million today during a meeting of the Board of Public Works. Treasurer Dereck E. Davis was unable to attend.
During the meeting, Governor Moore highlighted his recent executive order directing state agencies to invest in strategies that will increase housing production in Maryland. The Board of Public Works approved a $5 million loan through the Neighborhood Business Development Program to redevelop an underutilized property in the Remington neighborhood in Baltimore City into a mixed-use development that would include 60 modern workforce apartments. Comptroller Lierman expressed her excitement at the project, calling it, “a great use of this space and a furthering of the Renaissance of Remington.”
Comptroller Lierman also shared her appreciation for working alongside the Moore-Miller Administration and the steps taken to address housing concerns in Maryland, including the recent Housing Needs Assessment, released by the Department of Housing and Community Development. As a delegate, Comptroller Lierman championed the housing needs assessment to better understand the state’s housing challenges and needs.
Next month, the Office of the Comptroller anticipates releasing its Housing Report that will examine the state of housing in Maryland and “underline how essential it is we build, and that we build for people who want to live in Maryland, raise a family here, retire here, and more,” Comptroller Lierman said.
Governor Moore and Comptroller Lierman also approved a $279 million contract for Child Placement Agency Services to provide Treatment Foster Care and Independent Living Program to young people in Maryland. Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López highlighted changes the agency has made to modernize its approach to serving 3,746 youth in the state’s care, including focusing on kinship care, reducing hospital and hotel overstays, and rate reform, which could positively change the way the state engages with child placement providers.
Comptroller Lierman commended the work of the Moore-Miller administration and advocates who brought the issue to the forefront, while also highlighting her work as a delegate to address the hospital overstay issue for youth. “It’s cruel, it’s unnecessary to subject youth to overstays in hospitals and hotels, and I think it says a lot about states when you’re engaging in these kinds of practices, where your priorities are,” Comptroller Lierman said. “Under this Administration, what we’ve seen is a shift in priorities to make sure we’re taking care of the kids who have been left in the situation they did not ask for and that is out of their control.” She called this a key first step in the state’s commitment to ensuring the best possible outcomes for youth.
The Board of Public Works also approved contract extensions for several employee health benefit services, including dental insurance, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts. Department of Budget Management Secretary Helene Grady explained that the extensions were necessary due to the open enrollment timeline and to allow for additional time to undergo a new procurement for those services.
In all, the Board of Public Works approved 87 items, representing a total State expenditure of $782,623,645.98, including:
- Grant agreements for 21 recipients for 22 projects located in 11 counties with a total value of $14,110,100.
- Five items awarding $19,777,726.26 to prime certified small business primes.
- Four items awarding $6,080,352.68 to certified minority business enterprise primes.
- One item awarding $575,045.58 to an Employment Works Program provider.
- 10 items awarded with established participation goals for minority business enterprises.
- Two items awarded with established participation goals for veteran-owned small business enterprises.
The next meeting of the Board of Public Works will be held on October 1, 2025.
