BALTIMORE, MD.  — Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) strongly endorse the Maryland Stadium Authority’s three-year plan for transforming Pimlico Race Course into a year-round, multi-use facility, which will connect the Park Heights neighborhood to nearby Mt. Washington community and the Sinai/LifeBridge campus. 

“MSA’s proposal for Pimlico will help transform Park Heights, create thousands of jobs for residents, and will result in more than $800 million in public and private investments,” said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. “We’re excited by the economic opportunity this redevelopment would jump start in an area that’s experienced decades of disinvestment. We look forward to partnering with the State, Maryland Jockey Club, and The Stronach Group to turn this plan into a reality and keep the Preakness Stakes at its home in Baltimore.”

MSA’s proposal calls for a unique plaza (the “Palio”), to serve as a scenic saddling area during Preakness Week and to serve the community the rest of the year with public concerts, performing arts, festivals and open-air markets. The multi-use clubhouse would benefit the community for 51 weeks each year, with social and civic events, after-school and summer programs, meetings, conferences, and fast-growing popular activities such as drone racing and eSports. 

“The redevelopment of Pimlico Race Course isn’t just about keeping the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore,” said William H. Cole, president and CEO of BDC. “It’s about connecting Park Heights to an important anchor institution, LifeBridge Health, and to nearby neighborhoods.  It’s about spurring equitable economic development that will encourage additional private investment and create jobs.”

The MSA study proposes potential public and private development that could include a mix of senior housing, townhouses, row homes and multi-family apartments, a police sub-station and a therapeutic riding center on unused portions of the track grounds, as well as space for a grocery store and other retail shops. This public-private partnership could set the standard for racetrack redevelopment nationally. To realize this transformative redevelopment plan would require participation from The Stronach Group with an agreement to keep the Preakness in Baltimore City. 
The redevelopment of Pimlico would also serve as a catalyst for Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge Health to expand their campus with more than $100 million in new facilities and more than a thousand new jobs.

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Reaction from the 41st District delegation to Annapolis – Sen. Jill P. Carter, Del. Samuel I. "Sandy” Rosenberg, and newly elected Dels. Dalya Attar and Tony Bridges -- along with Baltimore City Councilmembers Sharon Middleton and Yitzy Schleifer, to the Maryland Stadium Authority’s plan for turning Pimlico Race Course into a unique economic revitalization project:

“We are thrilled that the Maryland Stadium Authority’s plans for Pimlico Race Course not only keep the historic Preakness Stakes in place but call for investments that will turn the track grounds into a model of economic and community development.

“This far-sighted ‘win-win’ plan benefits the citizens of Northwest Baltimore and the rest of the city, the metropolitan region, the state, and Maryland racing.

“The people we represent welcome this extraordinary opportunity to bring jobs, housing and recreation to a site that is now barren except for 12 racing days.

“Thousands of good-paying jobs will be created. Retail stores will open. Investments will serve as a catalyst for the Pimlico community. We will insist that this project maximize local and minority hiring, as well as minority business opportunities. 

“Two Twenty First Century schools, Pimlico and Arlington, are re-opening within a mile of the track.

“LifeBridge Health expects to use its Preakness Way property on the eastern end of the Pimlico track as a destination campus, including a large outpatient center for the community.

“Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the first baseball stadium to win the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award – the mark of an environmentally sound facility.  We should do the same here.”