Hundreds Pack City Council Hearing On Port Covington Project

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Hundreds packed it in for a City Council hearing on the Port Covington development project, WJZ's Rick Ritter reports. The project is focused on helping South Baltimore grow--but not everyone is on board.

Spearheaded by Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, the Port Covington project is expected to cost $5.5 billion, and Plank wants $660 million in public financing--money that would be paid back by the new property tax revenue the project is expected to raise.

"As fine and second to none as any destination in the country in the world," Plank said.

Whether the city should give it to him is what brought hundreds out to a City Council hearing Wednesday night. With more people than expected, it was forced to switch venues.

While the plan includes a new world headquarters for Under Armour and vows to create thousands of much needed jobs in that area, it's causing backlash. Some fear it's being fast-tracked for high-end workers and homeowners and the investment on Baltimore's end won't pay off as promised.

"Make sure that this deal benefits all of Baltimore," said a member of BUILD, an alliance of community groups.

Those who live there want a firm commitment on low income housing before anything is accepted.

"Our intent is to have a mixed income, diverse community," Jon Laria, lawyer for Sagamore.

Councilman Carl Stokes said there will be no vote on Port Covington for at least three weeks. Council will wait until they have the best possible bill.

"Under Armour is extremely proud of the high-performance headquarters envisioned for Port Covington. We are confident that the proposed campus will bring new innovations to athletes all over the world, set a new standard for urban redevelopment and help inspire a new narrative for Baltimore as a center of innovation and global commerce," said Neil Jurgens, Under Armour Vice President, Corporate Real Estate. "After 20 years of rapid growth, Under Armour is just getting started and our proposed global headquarters at Port Covington will fuel the company's growth well into the future. Under Armour is committed to Baltimore; Baltimore is the City we call home."

City Council will hold a work session next Wednesday. A location has not yet been decided.