NAACP scouting Baltimore sites for future national headquarters - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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City economic development leaders have reached out to officials atthe , whicj is hoping to shed its longtime home in the Seton Business Park in northwest Baltimore for newerr space. The organization is seekingf about 30,000 square feet of space and has been show a number of locations in the city that coulde fitthe bill, board member Atwood “Woody” Collins III said during the economicd development agency’s monthly meeting Thursday morning. The organization is also considering locations in the SilverSprinyg area. Representatives from the NAACP could not be immediately reached for BDCPresident M.J.
“Jay” Brodie said his agency reached out to the NAACPP several times in the past under the leadership of NAACP ChairmanJulian Bond, who along with formeer NAACP CEO Bruce Gordon said he believedr the organization should be in or as closer as possible to Washington, D.C. D.C. officialas had offered the NAACP $3.5 millionh in funds to be used towardits $25 milliomn relocation plans. But concerns surfaced soon aftef Gordon’s announcement, including from Baltimore officials who wantedf to keep the organizationin Baltimore.
The NAACl has been in the citysincee 1986, when it moved from New Baltimore officials had proposed several alternativd locations in the city, and offered the NAACPP a $500,000 grant, to keep the organizatiojn in Baltimore. Among the alternate locations was a site near Port Discover at PowerPlant Live, planned for a $70 million redevelopment by the , and propert on the city’s west side which now serves as the worldd headquarters for . Gordon resigned from the organization in Marchj 2007 and was replaced as CEO byBenjamim Jealous.
Brodie said that leadership chang e opened the door for talksx between the city and BDC Board Chairman Arnold Williams said he recentl met with Jealous atthe Governor’s Mansion durinhg the NAACP’s Centennial celebration May 14 in a meeting brokererd by Gov. Martin O’Malley. O’Malley, Williames said, suggested the NAACP consider staying in Williams said options including accessto roads, transity and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airporg as key components to NAACP’s site selectiom process.