BALTIMORE-The city of Baltimore and Beatty Development LLC have reached an agreement on minority participation in the construction of the 3-million-square-foot Harbor Point project.

As the City Council prepares to hold hearings on a proposal to provide $107 million worth of tax incremental financing for the project, the city and Beatty agreed to a strategy that will go beyond the 25% minority and 12% women-owned businesses thresholds for typical city-financed projects, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Sharon Pinder, director of the Mayor's Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Development, says the agreement requires Beatty to break down large contracts to draw smaller firms; seek out minority and women-owned businesses as tenants at the project; and launch a new mentoring program for small businesses.

“I think what's monumental here is that there's an agreement upfront before the shovel hits the dirt,” Pinder says. See story in the Baltimore Business Journal.