3,100-Acre Sparrows Point Site Could Become One of the Largest Ports on the East Coast
The 3,100-acre Sparrows Point site may not look like much now, but, in the not too distant future, it could become one of the largest ports on the East Coast. At least that what its new owners, Sparrows Point Terminal, and other state and local officials have planned for it.
By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor
The 3,100-acre Sparrows Point site may not look like much now, but, in the not-too-distant future, it could become one of the largest ports on the East Coast. At least that’s what its new owners, Sparrows Point Terminal, and other state and local officials have planned for it.
Last month, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown and Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger met at a press conference with leaders from Sparrows Point Terminal and other officials to talk about the site’s redevelopment potential. They believe Sparrows Point offers an ”unique redevelopment opportunity” as it is both strategically located and has easy access to existing rail lines, highways and a deep-water port.
Sparrows Point Terminal, a branch of Redwood Capital Investments, purchased the former steelmaking facility in September. According to the Baltimore Business Journal, it paid $110 million for the property. The price tag is greater than the $72.5 million the former owners, Hilco Trading of Illinois and St. Louis-based Environmental Liability Transfer, paid for the property in 2012. And the investments won’t stop here. Sparrows Point Terminal also signed agreements with the Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and will invest an additional $48 million to make sure the remediation of the site remains on schedule.
Baltimore County’s Sparrows Point Partnership devised the plan for the redevelopment of Sparrows Point. It will transform the site into a “hub for port-related, energy, advanced manufacturing and distribution uses,” and will create thousands of new jobs.
“The future for returning thousands of family-supporting jobs to Sparrows Point looks brighter than it has in many decades. I want to commend the O’Malley-Brown Administration for working with Sparrows Point Terminal to reach an important environmental agreement, the vital first step in returning the Point to prosperity. Sparrows Point is now poised to once again be a vibrant economic engine for Baltimore County and the entire State,” Kevin Kamenetz said in a press statement.
According to a Baltimore County news release, work to clean up the former Bethlehem Steel site at Sparrows Point is half complete. It is expected to continue for another 24 months.
Image courtesy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
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