Tradepoint Atlantic

When the steel mill at Sparrows Point closed in 2012, it was an economic disaster for Eastern Baltimore County. But now during this COVID-19 driven recession, the old Bethlehem Steel site, which is being redeveloped as Tradepoint Atlantic, is a job-hiring bright spot.

Lettuces and herbs soon will be growing on an environmental cleanup site in eastern Baltimore County. 

The Bethlehem Steel site at Sparrows Point was a toxic wasteland when Tradepoint Atlantic began developing it five years ago. 

The company Gotham Greens’ mission is to grow produce where you would least expect it. 

The Baltimore County Council is weighing whether to use tax money to help the developer of the old Bethlehem Steel site in Sparrows Point.  At a hearing Tuesday, council members appeared receptive to Tradepoint Atlantic’s request for up to $78 million.

Officials at Tradepoint Atlantic say a study of a proposed public financing deal with Baltimore County should be made public in the next couple of weeks. WYPR Morning Edition host Nathan Sterner discussed that with reporter John Lee.

Tradepoint Atlantic, the developer of the old Bethlehem Steel site in Sparrows Point, plans to ask Baltimore County for up to $150 million in tax increment financing, also known as a TIF.

The developer says it needs the financial help from the county for roads and water and sewer systems.

The environmental cleanup of Sparrows Point in Eastern Baltimore County is approaching what the developer of the site says will be a milestone. The ongoing cleanup is now focusing on the Tin Mill Canal, which in the hey day of the steel mill was the site of major contamination.

Tradepoint Atlantic, the developer that is bringing economic life back to Sparrows Point in eastern Baltimore County, plans to ask the county this year for help to pay infrastructure costs at the site. When that happens, the county will be balancing Tradepoint’s promise of thousands of jobs with a tightening budget and expected opposition from those who might see it as corporate welfare.

MTA bus 63 pulls up to Tradepoint Atlantic at Sparrows Point in Southeast Baltimore County. This route’s only been running for a couple of weeks and there are no passengers on Angela Davis’s bus. But Davis expects that to change.

“It’s cool that the buses are coming down here to the jobs so people can get to work,” Davis said.

At an open house hosted by Tradepoint Atlantic at its Sparrows Point headquarters, Tom Hewitt, the Director of Service Development for MTA, laid out for Tammy Reeder plans for a new bus service. Currently, the closest bus stop to Sparrows Point is about three miles away. 

Michelle Eubank and Wayne Warble were making the rounds one recent Sunday, taking care of the dozens, if not hundreds, of feral cats that inhabit the old Bethlehem Steel property at Sparrows Point.

They poured food and water into dishes and placed them at four sites with names that harken back to the old days, when Sparrows Point was home to the largest steel mill in the world.

Under Armour is the latest company with plans to set up shop on the property that once was home to Bethlehem Steel in Baltimore County. The company announced plans Tuesday that it says eventually will bring about one thousand jobs to Sparrows Point.