The proposed development would include a 15-story building with 404 units and 730 beds, rented by the bed, as well as ground-floor retail. The project is a partnership between UMB and private developers led by Wexford Science & Technology. The university would lease the site to the developer for 99 years.

The Baltimore Development Corporation estimates that the city would forgo $80.6 million in property taxes over the 25-year agreement and collect $4.5 million by its end. The Scott administration’s position is that the steep tax discount is needed to spur construction on vacant lots that otherwise would remain undeveloped.

At the Oct. 21 Board of Estimates meeting, members appeared supportive of the proposal. Comptroller Bill Henry raised a concern about preventing the university from transferring the property to itself in a way that could undermine tax requirements.

The With Us For Us coalition, made up of labor unions and community and civic groups, says the discount should be smaller and shorter. The group also wants the developer to use union labor, stronger public oversight and clawback provisions requiring repayment of discounted taxes if the developer fails to meet its commitments.

A key proposed benefit for the city is profit-sharing. But when City Council President Zeke Cohen asked Baltimore Development Corporation senior vice president Jeremy Watson whether the city was likely to receive a share of profits, Watson said, “I think it’s a low probability.” He said the profit share should be viewed as an opportunity rather than an entitlement.

The proposed deal comes as Baltimore considers other major development tax incentives, including one tied to Harborplace’s redevelopment. Advocates warn that long-term abatements could constrain future city revenue at a time when public services and infrastructure need funding.

The coalition’s concerns also include how the city handled the proposal. The Baltimore Development Corporation approved the project’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement at a late-August meeting that critics say was improperly closed to the public. Baltimore Brew and the Baltimore Business Journal have challenged that meeting before Maryland’s Open Meetings Compliance Board.

A city lawyer also denied a public-records request for documents about applications under the city’s new downtown tax incentive law, saying offers and evaluations are withheld until a contract is reached after Board of Estimates approval. Under the law, the city is required to provide an annual report to the City Council president’s office.

The tax discount would apply to currently vacant lots on the 600 block of West Lexington Street, which do not now generate property-tax revenue. The dispute is over whether the public benefit of developing the site justifies the scale and length of the proposed incentive—and what enforceable obligations the city should require in return.