A draft lease for MCB Real Estate’s proposed Harborplace redevelopment would give the developer a 95% reduction in property taxes through 2051, a benefit estimated at no less than $200 million over 25 years if the project is completed. The lease says MCB, co-founded and led by David Bramble, would pay 5% of the Baltimore property taxes otherwise due, while the project’s taxable value would remain based on the low assessments in place before construction begins. Under the draft’s terms, MCB could owe no more than about $1 million a year in property taxes after adding a projected $500 million in value to the site. At the city’s current rate of $2.248 per $100 of assessed value, a $500 million assessment would produce an annual bill of about $11.24 million without the tax break. The difference could mean roughly $10.2 million in annual savings by 2031, the year MCB hopes to finish the project, followed by two more decades of the same tax benefit. The lease is not yet in effect. The Scott administration is weighing a special meeting of the Board of Estimates to approve it. Mayor Brandon Scott and his two appointees control the board; Comptroller Bill Henry and City Council President Zeke Cohen have also indicated support for the downtown tax-abatement program. The City Council does not have a role in approving these tax breaks under the new state law. The break is enabled by Maryland’s Downtown PILOT program, which provides payments in lieu of taxes. Emergency legislation, HB 1232, passed by the General Assembly in April 2026 and signed by Gov. Wes Moore, was intended to aid a downtown facing falling property values, vacant commercial space and reduced foot traffic. The Greater Baltimore Committee told a House committee that downtown had lost more than $647 million in property value and had over 1.7 million square feet of office space vacant or considered at risk. Scott has argued that Harborplace’s transformation could generate other public revenue, including income, sales and hotel taxes. He told lawmakers that each dollar of property tax forgone through a PILOT could bring the city more than a dollar in returns through those other revenue streams. The draft lease’s terms have not been publicly detailed by the administration, and the available information does not establish how the city would measure the projected net benefit. The Baltimore Development Corporation approved MCB’s PILOT application on Aug. 31, 2026, without disclosing the terms. The proposed redevelopment would replace the mostly empty Light Street and Pratt Street pavilions with apartments, retail and commercial space. MCB has described the project as requiring $500 million in private investment. A group of residents and civic figures has sued to block the redevelopment, alleging that city officials bypassed legal requirements and rushed rezoning to benefit a favored developer. The plaintiffs are seeking to prevent demolition and building permits while the case proceeds in Baltimore Circuit Court. Separately, developer David Tufaro has applied to the Maryland Historical Trust to have the pavilions considered for historic-landmark status. The draft lease requires MCB to show it has the equity, capital or financing commitments needed for construction. But it says that proof would be required only when the developer applies for building permits for each phase. That timing could allow demolition to move forward before MCB demonstrates financing for the full project, though the lease text does not by itself establish what permits the city would issue or when.