What was once known as “Murder Mall” will now become headquarters for a city office, after Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration awarded $16 million for the project being developed by campaign supporter P. David Bramble.

An arm of MCB Real Estate, which Bramble co-founded, will build a new four-story building with more than 63,000 square feet of space and plans for a cafe at the site of the former Madison Park North Apartments in West Baltimore, which is now called “Reservoir Square.”

The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), which has about 50 employees, will lease the building for 32 years, moving its workforce there and also using the space as a career center for the community.

The facility is expected to open in 2026. At the end of the lengthy lease, the city will have the opportunity to purchase the building.

The Board of Estimates, which controls city spending, unanimously approved the deal Wednesday morning.

The area, which runs along the 800 block of West North Avenue, was known as “Murder Mall” because of the violence and drug trade that had been commonplace there for decades.

In addition to the $16 million from the city, MCB will finance the rest of the construction with $21.5 million in bonds sold by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation, a state-created entity whose board is appointed by the governor. The city’s lease for the MOED building is designed so the city’s rent payments, beginning in three years, will cover MCB’s debt obligations on the construction.

“By partnering with the private sector, we are delivering projects we would not otherwise be able to deliver if we attempted to do it solo,” Scott said in a statement Tuesday. The mayor has made development in “overlooked” parts of Baltimore a focus of his administration and touted the opportunity at Wednesday’s meeting to help improve an area once known for violence by bringing jobs and new resources for the community.

The spending board approved Wednesday’s agreement with the Denver-based P3 RS Office Holdings, which will own the new MOED building and hold the ground-lease.

That arrangement could allow the owner to avoid paying property taxes on the lot: MCB is in the process of applying for a tax exemption on behalf of P3, a spokesperson with Comptroller Bill Henry’s office said, but as of now the building would be subject to those taxes.

While the contract with P3 states that the city’s “ultimate goal” is to own the building, that won’t happen until years after the conclusion of the 32-year lease. A provision in the contract states that P3 would have full control of the building and accompanying parking lot for another 10 years after the end of the lease, at which point the city could take over.

The more than thirty-year lease is lengthy compared to typical commercial real estate contracts.

Over that period, the city is expected to owe at least $17.95 per square foot on the 63,000-square-foot facility, beginning in 2026. This base rate is still subject to the interest rate on the state bonds, but would not exceed $24.23 per square foot.

In addition to annual rent, the city’s contract requires it to pay for all of P3′s operational, maintenance and insurance expenses, on top of reserve funding for future repairs and improvements. The city is also expected to provide janitorial services for the building.

Future plans for the Reservoir Square development call for 120 townhomes and, eventually, a grocery store.

Bramble, a West Baltimore native, has long stressed the need to redevelop blighted and less-than-desirable portions of the city. In an email, a spokesperson for MCB wrote that West Baltimore deserves investment as much as any other neighborhood, and that it would take a combination of public and private dollars to “advance these neighborhoods.”

“Ultimately, we are pleased that the mayor sees the opportunity to use city dollars to leverage over $100 million of private capital and bring life back to this disinvested part of Baltimore,” the spokesperson wrote.

The Reservoir Square deal is the latest collaboration between Bramble and the Scott administration.

MCB Real Estate is also the owner of Harborplace, the two pavilions lining the Inner Harbor. Bramble’s group has ambitious redevelopment plans for his slice of the city’s waterfront, but Baltimore voters will have to approve a ballot initiative in November allowing Bramble to build residential towers there.

In March, the City Council approved two other bills making Bramble’s plans viable and agreed to put the third measure, which requires amending the city charter, to the voters this fall.

It’s estimated the Harborplace redevelopment will cost $900 million, and $400 million will come from public coffers.

Bramble and Scott are friendly, and the developer and members of his company have made campaign contributions to the mayor in the past. It’s common for developers to donate to campaigns of politicians.

Adam Willis contributed reporting.