The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) is a nonprofit corporation on contract to the City of Baltimore, Maryland, to act as its economic development representative by providing development assistance to new and expanding companies inside Baltimore.
It was formed in 1991 by a merger of three Baltimore non-profit organizations that had similar economic goals but different areas of service. The oldest of these had been in operation since 1959.
The BDC oversees development of major downtown projects, as well as development of Baltimore city-owned business and industrial parks.
The BDC was recently the subject of Maryland Court ruling declaring that its Board of Directors meetings and all internal documents were subject to Freedom of Information Act requests under the Maryland state sunshine law.[1][2]
The corporation and the City are under public criticism for the planning, financing and construction of the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel. The $301 million, 750-room hotel near the city baseball and football stadiums is an almost entirely publicly-funded project (through city bonds), expected to open in August 2008. Hilton Hotels Corporation is expected to contribute around $7.1 million to the project.[3]