This is a follow-up report to “Cranes, Trains and Fewer Automobiles,” a report on TOD in Maryland and San Diego that appeared in the September 2025 issue of Site Selection.
In April 2026, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced the Maryland Transit Administration would advance the Light Rail Modernization Program (LRMP) in the Baltimore region. The $1.4 billion investment will modernize the Baltimore Central Light Rail Line from Hunt Valley to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
“Those are significant investments in the Baltimore region transit system that will greatly enhance and improve the reliability and the experience of the systems, will inherently create value for the land around the systems and reinforce the need to develop land for this use so that Marylanders have the ability to live and work near transit and really get the most out of that investment,” says David Zaidain, chief of transit-oriented development at the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Some of the project details include 52 new low-floor trains, improvements in all 33 stations that include accessibility and comfort upgrades, updated traffic operations and upgraded infrastructure with new track, power and control systems. These improvements should cut wait times in half, with service running every seven minutes (current wait times are approximately 15 minutes), quicker and easier boarding for passengers, fewer maintenance-related service interruptions and safer intersections where trains and road traffic meet.
“It’s going to create a really amazing opportunity for development and revitalizing business districts such as Howard Street in Downtown Baltimore,” adds Zaidain. “It’s going to be an opportunity for the state and local jurisdictions to work together to not only realize transit-oriented development but bring economic development around these systems as a whole in the region.”
“TOD is a huge priority for the state of Maryland and for the Moore-Miller administration. There are significant investments happening … It’s an important time in the Baltimore region for transit and TOD. We are very excited to be doing the work we’re doing.”
— David Zaidain, Chief of Transit-Oriented Development, Maryland Department of Transportation
Planning began last year for the LRMP development, with phase 1 station construction and new vehicle testing to take place between 2027 and 2030, mixed-fleet operations to run in 2031 and 2032 while old vehicles are phased out and phase 2 station construction will take place in 2032 and 2033. Implementation of LRMP is anticipated to be complete in 2034.
“We have said from the beginning that if this is going to be ‘Maryland’s Decade,’ it has to be ‘Baltimore’s Time,’” said Gov. Moore when the LRMP program was advanced in the spring of this year. “Part of making that real means making sure our investments in Baltimore’s Metro and Light Rail System lead to opportunity — opportunity to live near transit, opportunity to strengthen communities near transit and opportunity to create work, wages and wealth near transit. That is what it means to leave no one behind.”
The state has already invested $400 million in the Metro line running between Rogers Avenue and Charles Center, and the first few steps have been taken in securing a development partner for the north parcel located at the Rogers Avenue Metro Station. The parcel consists of 9.06 acres of state-owned land that can be used for dense, mixed-use projects that will integrate with the Metro station and surrounding residential area. The site has the potential to accommodate over 400 new housing units.
A site visit for the Rogers Avenue Metro Station Joint Development solicitation that took place on April 20, 2026, included registrants from consulting and tech services company ICF, engineering and design firm Kimley-Horn, engineering and nuclear organization AtkinsRéalis, architecture and design firm ODE Baltimore and Dominion Community Development Corporation.
Zaidain, whose agency works closely with the Maryland Transit Administration on development projects, explains that MDOT’s priority when developing state-owned land around transit systems starts with understanding transit needs and what new light rail investment is going to do in terms of station configuration and tracks — all of which is part and parcel of what MDOT reviews before going to market for a development partner.
“It’s really core to our mission to make sure that transit is integrated with the development and that we do that on the front end,” he says, noting that MDOT makes strides to publicize that the organization is business- and partnership-ready. “We are looking to make sure that we can come to agreements that not only support our transit but support the development and really position ourselves as being as business friendly as possible.”
When the Baltimore LRMP announcement took place in April of this year, the state made sure to key in important stakeholders. Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Aruna Miller, heads of local business communities and leadership from Johns Hopkins University and several other university systems were all in attendance at the roundtable and unveiling of LRMP’s advancement.
Bowie State MARC Station recently announced new state and county partners to start planning and building out the station’s undeveloped surrounding parcels. It’s one example of what’s to come for Maryland’s bold vision for new and better transit options in the state.
Photo Credit: Bowie State University
Other news in Maryland transit includes new development partners at Bowie State MARC Station, which announced it was ready for new projects and buildout last year. MDOT chose Mosaic Development Partners and Campus Apartments as the state’s joint development partner, and Prince George’s County selected BSU MARC Community Partners as the county’s development partner.
This area for potential TOD covers almost 100 acres around the station, making it one of the largest TOD projects along the MARC Penn Line and in Prince George’s County. Planning efforts will explore new bike and pedestrian paths, an extended MARC platform, a pedestrian bridge connecting to Bowie State University’s campus and affordable housing units as well as commercial and office space.
“TOD is a huge priority for the state of Maryland and for the Moore-Miller administration,” says Zaidain. “The governor really put his support behind a very important TOD bill that passed the General Assembly — the Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act, which looks at spurring economic development and eliminating barriers for TOD around transit. There are significant investments happening … It’s an important time in the Baltimore region for transit and TOD. We are very excited to be doing the work we’re doing.”
