Medco expands site‑readiness, infrastructure loan and cannabis incubator programs as agency highlights financing activity

Department of Legislative Services analyst Elizabeth Weibel told the Education and Economic Development Subcommittee that the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (Medco) is a non‑budgeted, primarily self‑funded entity that develops property and issues revenue bonds. Weibel highlighted two new programs in the fiscal 2026 plan: a $10 million Strategic Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund established by recent legislation to provide loans for infrastructure and real estate projects aimed at underutilized properties, and a $7 million Certified Sites matching grant program established by executive order to ready sites for business attraction.

Weibel said the initial $10 million for the infrastructure revolving loan fund is expected to support three to four major projects in fiscal 2026. She described Medco’s overall financial picture as stable, with operating assets and facilities (including student housing and the Chesapeake Bay Conference Center) contributing to net asset totals. The conference center has underperformed for several years and is covering operating costs but not full debt service; lenders have granted forbearance, Weibel said. Medco expects to sell one underperforming student housing facility at the University of Maryland Baltimore campus, which would remove associated debt from Medco’s books.

On capital projects, Weibel said Medco is renovating the Catonsville Armory in Baltimore County to create a cannabis business incubator as required by the 2023 cannabis reform law; the capital bill includes $7 million in pay‑go funding for that project. The Viva White Oak mixed‑use public‑private partnership in Montgomery County received $6 million in pre‑authorized GO bond funding; the Principio rail spur in Cecil County — to serve a planned calcined‑clay plant — received GO bond funding in fiscal 2025 with early project management support from Medco.

Tom Sadowski, Medco’s executive director, told the committee that Medco issued about $1.2 billion in revenue bond financing in calendar 2024 and has approximately $4 billion in outstanding bonds. He highlighted Medco’s role in student housing, research campus partnerships (including work tied to federal research labs), and increased engagement with minority‑owned small businesses: Medco reported investing roughly $58 million with minority firms last year, up from about $32 million the prior year.

Weibel also noted the governor’s DECADE Act would, if enacted, shift certain programs to Medco (she cited proposed transfers of the RISE zone program and the Build Our Future grant program from the Department of Commerce). Medco representatives said the corporation will continue to support site readiness, transit‑oriented development and partnerships with higher‑education and federal research assets.

No formal votes were recorded during the Medco presentation; the subcommittee received DLS analysis, agency testimony and took no immediate committee action.