Breakfast links: WMATA releases details of dramatic service cuts due to budget shortfall
Platform at Potomac Yard Metro station. While this station just opened last year, others could close under proposed operations budget cuts. by BeyondDC licensed under Creative Commons.
WMATA budget shortfall would mean 67 bus routes cut, 2,300 layoffs, 10 shuttered Metro stations, and more
If WMATA’s $750 million budget shortfall is not filled next year, WMATA CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke explained in a briefing, the transit system will face cuts including all Metro stations closing at 10 pm, 10 stations closed altogether, fare increases up to $7.20, decreased train frequency, the elimination of nearly half of all bus routes, and 2,286 employees would be laid off. (NBC 4 Washington)
Group of Virginia state lawmakers approve plan to lure Capitals and Wizards to Alexandria
In the latest competition between Greater Washington jurisdictions over stadiums and other anchor tenants like the FBI, Virginia state lawmakers who make up the Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission approved a plan to entice the Capitals and the Wizards across the river to Potomac Yard. The incentive package, which would include a new Virginia stadium authority, still needs approval from the full General Assembly and local officials in order to move forward. (This article may be behind a paywall). (Post)
Baltimore Mayor floats $3 billion plan to tackle vacant properties
Under Mayor Brandon Scott’s plan, Baltimore would provide 10% of the funds through borrowing and an unusual application of Tax Increment Financing, while philanthropic and community investments would account for another 10%. Much of the plan depends on $900 million in as-yet-uncommitted state support, including a proposal to share sales tax revenue with Baltimore, at a time when the state budget is tightening. (This article is behind a paywall). (Baltimore Sun, Afro Baltimore)
Tuesday is the last day at Hotel Harrington, a downtown institution for over 100 years
“Washington’s Tourist Hotel” closes its doors for the last time today. Opened in 1914, the hotel has attracted generations of budget-conscious tourists to rooms that have…let’s call it character, as well as patrons of all types to its bar and restaurant. With the closing, customers lament that downtown is losing one of its few remaining “dives.” (This article may be behind a paywall). (Paul Schwartzman / Post)
Two-story Herndon office building to be redeveloped into 400 apartments
The property has been sold to a partnership of three Japanese firms who plan to build 400 homes over eight stories on the site, which is near the new Herndon Metro station. Construction is expected to begin in April 2024. (Emily Wishingrad / BisNow)
Continuing recent trend, nearly one-quarter of DC home sales are all-cash
In the first ten months of 2023, 24% of home sales in DC were all cash, a rate that has ticked up since pre-pandemic, when the rate of all-cash sales was 17%. The trend is most prevalent in the neighborhoods where houses are most expensive: West End tops the list, with fully 60% of transactions so far in 2023 all-cash. (Urban Turf)
Maryland wants data centers, but energy needs may outstrip electric grid capacity
Frederick County is courting data centers, showcasing its proximity to the almost 300 centers across the river in northern Virginia where they form the densest concentration of data centers in the world. But the energy needs of these centers are staggering, and Maryland’s electric grid may not have the capacity. Officials are struggling to find the right balance between encouraging a business that is primed for growth while making progress toward environmental goals. (Josh Kurtz / Maryland Matters)
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