Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis brought his legendary on-field intensity to City Hall Wednesday to promote his new $200 million Gateway South development project.
“Baltimore is my heart, Baltimore is what I believe in,” Lewis said at a news conference in Baltimore. “This is part of my long-term goal to give back,” he said of the 11-acre project that will include 600,000 square feet of class A office space, 100,000 square feet of restaurants, a sports complex and a new Greyhound bus terminal, just south of M&T Bank Stadium.
Lewis, part of a development team selected by the city to oversee the project, said the gateway will create a striking vista for visitors driving to the city.
“As you enter the city, you?ll see the power of the people of Baltimore,” he said of the mixed-use project.
For Lewis, the key to the project will be his Ray of Hope center, which will offer tutoring, mentoring and counseling services to city?s youth, part of his ongoing effort to give city youth opportunities to succeed.
“If you maintain a C average, you will be able to use the center for free,” Lewis said.
Lewis, joined with Mayor Sheila Dixon to promote the project at the news conference. Dixon said the preliminary development plan is in sync with her long-term goals for the city.
“This project is exactly in line with my vision,” she said. “It?s green, and will promote both jobs and opportunity in the city.”
Baltimore Development Corporation President M.J. “Jay” Brodie said the project, which would be financed in part by Lewis? development team and partly by the city, is worth the $200 million price tag.
“It will take dilapidated and outdated industrial space and create a new, green building complex that restores the waterfront wetlands and wildlife habitat, while bringing new people and activities to an underutilized part of the city,” Brodie said.
