Baltimore Police Garage Repairs Double Cost, Completion Delayed to 2027

City officials informed the Board of Estimates on December 12, 2025 that repairs to the granite clad police parking garage on East Baltimore Street will cost more than eleven million dollars and now carry an April 2027 completion date. The latest approval added three million two hundred fourteen thousand five hundred eleven dollars and fifty one cents to a project that began as an emergency repair this year, nearly doubling the original price tag approved last year.

The garage suffered a localized structural collapse on August 24, 2023 when a concrete slab fell from the fourth level through the third level, leaving a hole in the decking and prompting an immediate shutdown. An initial sounding survey in late 2023 identified superficial delamination caused by years of leaks and moisture infiltration. The Board of Estimates approved a six million eight hundred thousand dollar emergency no bid contract on February 12, 2024 to stabilize the structure and set a one year completion target. Subsequent engineering work and expanded testing found more extensive delamination and internal rusting of steel girders, leading to an extra work order of one million five hundred thousand dollars in June 2024 and the recent additional funding.

The building housed vehicles for police leadership, evidence storage for the Crime Scene Unit, and office space used by the homicide squad. On May 20, 2025 cracks formed in the ceiling of four basement bays used by the Crime Scene Unit and concrete began falling, forcing evacuation of workstations and drying cabinets used for fingerprint and DNA processing. "It’s a miracle nobody was injured," said a person with knowledge of the incident. City engineers acknowledged that vibrations from contractor equipment may have contributed to the partial collapse.

Department of General Services Director Berke Attila told the spending board that the project "it took about 80% of our annual CIP." Based on the figures he cited, the share of annual capital program funds consumed by the repairs was closer to fifty five to sixty nine percent after accounting for engineering expenditures already incurred. Attila also warned that additional costly work change orders could still be required.

Employees in the complex report ongoing jackhammering and vibration that has shaken the interconnected ten story police headquarters building and left temporary steel props in place in basement bays. "I am appalled by how much money the city is willing to throw at this problem," said a BPD employee. Inspectors from the Maryland Health Department found the Forensic Services Division in compliance with applicable regulations in August, but the disruption to evidence processing and the strain on the city capital budget highlight broader questions about maintenance, oversight, and contingency planning for critical municipal facilities.