By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Sen. Cory McCray (District 45) is defending his involvement in a proposed apartment development in East Baltimore, pushing back on criticism over his ties to developer Ronald Lipscomb and his efforts to secure state funding for the project.
The Baltimore Democrat, who sits on the board of East Baltimore Development Inc. (EBDI), says the deal reflects a long overdue attempt to bring investment and housing to a part of the city that has seen little progress in recent years. Opponents have concerns about the deal’s transparency.
“Our job is to make sure investment is taking place,” said McCray. “Since I’ve been in the Senate, we have not had a groundbreaking or a ribbon-cutting, when I’ve had that all around.”
The senator cited the Perkins Somerset Oldtown (PSO) project, which is revitalizing East Baltimore neighborhoods into a vibrant, mixed-income community. McCray noted the project has already had several milestones.
During his time on EBDI’s board, McCray said the organization has been slow to produce results.
“I’ve been in the Senate since 2018,” said McCray. “That’s seven years without some level of tangible results for that specific community, which is disheartening for me and keeps me up at night.”
EBDI was formed in 2003 as part of a public-private partnership to transform 88 acres of land next to Johns Hopkins Medical Campus that are now known as Eager Park. McCray said his seat on the board came with his role as the district’s state senator.
The piece of land, known as parcel B, that was sold to Lipscomb sits between Ashland Avenue and East Madison Street.
Some of the contention around the deal has stemmed from a discrepancy between its appraised value and sale price and McCray’s effort to secure state funding for the project. In 2021, it was appraised at $5.25 million, but EBDI later approved it to be sold for $1.35 million.
A June article from The Baltimore Banner asserted that McCray pressured his fellow board members to sell the property at the lower price to Lipscomb. McCray denied this, pointing to a unanimous vote of approval from the board and a flawed appraisal process.
“Anybody that does any level of development would know there’s not one parcel without a structure in East Baltimore worth $5 million,” said McCray. “When they did the appraisal, the comparable had projects from Harbor East. Anybody from Baltimore City knows there’s a large difference between Harbor East and East Baltimore. two totally different worlds.”
Cheryl Washington, president and CEO of EBDI, said she did not feel pressured by McCray to reduce the sale price. She explained that the sale was part of a larger strategic move by EBDI in 2021 to regain control of several undeveloped parcels, including parcel B, from Brookfield Properties.
The firm had inherited master development rights after acquiring Forest City New East Baltimore Partnership, which was originally selected through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2006 and included Lipscomb on the team.
A purchase and sales agreement for parcel B had not been finalized at the time and, according to Washington, the organization decided that its sale would be completed as part of the broader transfer of master development rights.
She said Lipscomb’s firm, Dahong Shuxing, initially made an even lower offer, but EBDI negotiated it up to $1.35 million. The board ultimately approved the deal.
“The appraisal reflected an estimated value under ideal conditions,” Washington wrote to the AFRO in an email. “It didn’t account for the real-world challenges of redeveloping a site in a historically disinvested community—especially one requiring environmental remediation, infrastructure upgrades and facing current market constraints like rising construction costs and interest rates.”
She added, “The decision reflected a balance between market realities, community benefit and strategic goals. Senator McCray supported the project, but I did not experience his involvement as pressure.”
In 2024, McCray secured $1.44 million in state grants for the project by amending a bond bill. The money was first directed to CARE Community Association, a small nonprofit in East Baltimore, to reimburse development-related costs.
But, the nonprofit withdrew from the project. Cynthia Gross, president of CARE Community Association did not believe her organization was being meaningfully included in the decision-making process. The Market Center Community Development Corporation is now the intermediary.
“It was my opinion that some opinions were not considered valuable or valid, and it was just best to walk away,” Gross wrote the AFRO.
The funding arrangement raised ethical questions over whether McCray, as a board member, should have disclosed his role in directing state funds to a project connected to the organization. It also created uncertainty around whether the money could be used for a development that was not entirely affordable housing.
Washington explained that initially EBDI and Dahong Shuxing agreed to a market-rate project, but the current plan now includes a mix of 20 percent affordable units and 80 percent market-rate units—aligning with EBDI’s vision of fostering a mixed-income community.
After reviewing the facts and context of the legislative award, EBDI determined that there were no conflicts.
“We confirmed there was no obligation for the legislative award to be disclosed to EBDI’s board, that nonprofit fiscal sponsors are common in such cases and that the award could be applied to projects that include both market-rate and affordable units,” wrote Washington.
She also noted that public subsidy is common and even essential for projects in historically disinvested neighborhoods, like Eager Park.
“Most development in EBDI’s footprint have relied on some level of public investment,” wrote Washington. “In this case, Senator McCray helped secure funding to offset development costs and support a project the community has long been promised. His efforts contributed to making the project viable.”
Beyond the sale and funding structure, the decision to partner with Lipscomb has also drawn scrutiny. The developer, who has faced legal and financial trouble, has been a controversial figure in Baltimore’s development landscape. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution amid a bribery investigation involving a Baltimore City Council member and was sentenced to probation.
He was also connected to the investigation of former Mayor Sheila Dixon through gifts he gave her while she was city council president—gifts that became a part of the charges leading to her resignation. Although Lipscomb testified before a grand jury, he was never charged in the case.
McCray said he has no problems with Lipscomb. He also noted that Lipscomb is the minority developer on the project, while Larry Jennings, of Baltimore-based ValStone Partners, is the prime.
“Ron Lipscomb is on a number of major deals—not just in our city, but in our state. To say his name all of a sudden like he’s not a relevant developer in the state of Maryland is almost backwards. He’s a player,’ said McCray. “Am I not supposed to do development with him when I don’t have an abundance of people coming to East Baltimore saying I want to work with you?”
McCray acknowledged that Lipscomb has contributed nearly $10,000 to his campaigns in the past, but the contribution is minimal compared to the total amount he’s raised over the years.
“If you look at my campaign finance reports, I’ve probably raised $600,000 to $700,000 in a seven-year period. It’s a small percentage that’s been equated to something that’s this large onus,” said McCray. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a campaign contribution.”
He said the money he raised through campaign contributions is routinely reinvested into his district, helping to fund local events, support neighborhood organizations and fill resource gaps for East Baltimore residents.
McCray said the scrutiny he’s received over the East Baltimore project has been misplaced and his actions have been mischaracterized.
“I don’t think it’s a controversy. There is nothing controversial about the subsidy, nothing controversial about the campaign financing and nothing controversial about the affordable housing point,” said McCray. “There’s an institution that had a level of bias and that didn’t have cultural competency. They wrote an article that will go away at some point in time, and they probably won’t write about it when there’s a ribbon-cutting or when we have a groundbreaking.”
