Hughes spoke on Oct. 2 to members of the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission. The panel, known as the Augustine Commission, was formed by Gov. Larry Hogan and is chaired by Norman Augustine, former chair and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp.

Maryland experienced more than its share of economic setbacks during the recession and since then has had difficulty getting its sea legs back.

There are signs, though, that its economy is starting to gain momentum but as the Moody's Analytics report also highlighted, it is a complicated situation.

Baltimore's Coveted CBD Office Towers

Still, though, the signs of growth are noteworthy. In its Q3 analysis of the greater Washington DC area, CBRE noted that 7,800 new office-occupying jobs were added year over year -- far exceeding the 10 year average of 1,300.

In its Q3 Baltimore office report, Cushman & Wakefield reported another quarter of consistent demand with almost 240,000 square feet of net positive absorption with the office vacancy rate now down to 14.99% -- the lowest since the recession.

"Baltimore is showing all of the classic signs of a strong office market," said Matthew Myers, senior research analyst at the Baltimore office of Cushman & Wakefield, in a prepared statement. He added that new construction is approaching pre-recession levels, that CBD office towers are "a seemingly coveted asset amongst investors" and there is consistent job growth in office-using sectors.

The GATE at Aberdeen Providing Ground

But growth is uneven when one ventures away from the coveted CBD towers in Baltimore. In nearby Hartford County, for example, one of the chief economic drivers is The GATE at Aberdeen Proving Ground, according to MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services. During the second quarter, Aberdeen "saw a glimmer of light in activity due to limited funding being released to defense contractors; however, this was not enough to make a true dent in the vacancy rates," MacKenzie wrote in its report.

Hartford, though, as well has its pockets of growth, MacKenzie went on to note. "In the remaining areas of the county, proof of the economy improving is evident in the consistency of activity with most stemming from medical providers and professional service-oriented businesses."

In addition, very little product is being developed aside from the 100,000 square foot MedStar building at Emmorton and Plumtree Road, it said, which has led to a stabilization in rental rates.

Close-in Suburbs to DC

The Maryland suburbs of Washington DC are also seeing more activity, but none as comprehensive as the plans Lantian Development and 1788 Holdings announced this August for a 31-acre site in Rockville that they say is vastly underutilized in its current formation.

By the time they have realized their ten-year plan, which will be unveiled in greater detail at the beginning of the year, this part of Montgomery County will be unrecognizable from how it is today.

The two companies announced they had formed a JV to acquire a 31-acre site in Rockville for $50 million from TA Associates.

The site, fronting on Shady Grove Road between Choke Cherry Road and Gaither Road, currently contains seven separate two-story buildings totaling approximately 450,000 square feet of Class B commercial office space.

Their initial plans are to upgrade the buildings to attract more tenants to the properties.

But – once a final site plan approval is given by Montgomery County, they will begin work on the far more ambitious $500 million undertaking of developing the site into a mixed-use project supporting 1.5 to two million square feet of commercial office, medical office, retail, hospitality and residential product. It will be a ten-year $500 million undertaking that when complete, the developers say, will bring new energy to this part of Montgomery County.

University Projects

The office projects in Baltimore and the Rockville development, unfortunately, will likely be the exception more than the rule for the time being. More typical projects will be ones such as a 370-unit housing and retail community recently proposed for next to the College Park/UMD Metro and proposed Purple Line stations in the university's Research Park in the new College Park-Riverdale Park Transit District.

The development proposal includes 5,000 square feet of retail space and 395 parking spaces with the residential units located in a five-story structure above the garage.

A bridge over the Metro and MARC rail lines will link the Research Park to the adjacent Whole Foods and related development, now under construction in Riverdale Park Station.

The development team, led by Ronald D. Paul, has signed a letter of intent to lease university property located at 4301 River Rd.

Or here's another example, which Hughes mentioned in his testimony at the start of the month. UMB is planning to add a $115 million, 250,000-square-foot lab and office building at 873 W. Baltimore St. within the University of Maryland BioPark. It would, alone, employ 700 people, he said.