The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • C1

urn i Jan. home sales down First year-over-year drop since February 2012 PG 3 JPMorgan suit Public interest group sues over mortgage settlement PG 2 Wt. Ik Business I it m. if Tax credit may widen Proposal would give 10-year break citywide for new apartments By Luke Broadwater and Natalie Sherman The Baltimore Sun Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday she wants to make a tax credit that has been used to spur apartment development downtown available citywide. The new proposal would offer a tax credit for 10 years for projects anywhere in the city, five years less than the existing incentive, the mayor said in her State of the City Address.

Rawlings-Blake said the existing credit is helping developers meet demand for rental units and is expected to generate $40 million in new revenue for the city over the next 20 years. "I'm extremely encouraged by the number of apartments that have come online since I introduced a version of the apartment tax credit," Rawlings-Blake said. "When communities saw the development that happened as a result of the tax credit, that's when there's a call to expand it. We're going to expand it in a responsible way." The current 15-year credit, which went into effect last year, can be used for projects of 50 or more market-rate residential units in downtown and seven other areas, including Station North and the Belair Road corridor. Projects must also meet environmental standards.

The credit starts in years 1 and 2 as a 100 percent break on taxes due for any value added to the property by the project, with that percentage gradually decreasing to 20 percent in years 13, 14 and 15, before being phased out completely. Details of the new credit, including how many units a project must have to qualify, will be released in a proposal later this spring, a spokeswoman for the mayor said. "I think it's a good idea," City Councilman James Kraft said. "Anything we can do to develop is a good idea. We can't go to the point where we create so many credits that we don't generate any tax revenue.

But this tax credit seems to be working and is having its desired effect." The city expects more than five projects downtown to apply for the existing credit. At least three apartment proposals are in the pre-development stage in areas outside of downtown, according to the city. City Councilman Nick Mosby said he is See TAX CREDIT, page 3 Flooring firm acquires a rival Deal makes Haines in Glen Burnie largest distributor in country AMY DAVISBALTIMORE SUN PHOTO have $500 million in annual sales after buying CMH Space. Bruce A. Zwicker is president and CEO of J.J.

Haines, which wil By Lorraine Mirabella The Baltimore Sun Glen Burnie-based J.J. Haines Co. Inc. cemented its spot as the nation's largest floor covering distributor with the recent acquisition of the third-largest distributor, CMH Space. Haines, a wholesaler that sells to nearly 10,000 independent specialty flooring stores in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States, finalized the acquisition Jan.

17 for an amount it declined to disclose. The combined company will have annual sales of more than $500 million, more than 750 employees and 38 locations. "They were the No. 1 distributor and took on No. 3, so they are the largest by far," said Michael Blick, president of trade publication Floor Covering News.

The acquisition, Haines' largest ever, will allow the more than century-old business to become a multidivision distributor, expand its floor-covering supplies business and create a division dedicated exclusively to selling Armstrong products, said Haines President and CEO Bruce A. Zwicker. CMH, based in Wadesboro, N.C., adds $190 million worth of sales in Haines' geographic territory, mostly flooring brands that Haines was not selling, as well as a much larger supplies business, Zwicker said. Besides lowering costs, the merger will help Haines quickly boost market share in the slow-growth floor coverings category, which typically expands at the rate of the economy and can follow the ups and downs of home sales, Zwicker said. "It's a very competitive business, very competitive on margins," Zwicker said.

"There is consolidation going on in the flooring industry at all levels, manufacturers, distributors and the retail sector." Consolidation among distributors has begun to level off, Blick said. About 75 floor covering distributors remain out of about 400 at one time, with hard-surface products such as laminate and ceramic driving the growth, he said. Haines was founded by John James See HAINES, page 3 BWI traffic is down for first time in years Airport saw 0.8 percent overall decline in 2013 but a 20 percent increase in international passengers "Our year-end results confirm that this remains a very robust air travel market," Paul J. Wiedefeld, the airport's CEO, said in a statement "Despite significant challenges, we had a strong year." Wiedefeld said the federal budget cuts known as sequestration and the federal government shutdown in October were the "biggest driver" in the decline, reducing business and leisure travel by federal employees and contractors. The Anne Arundel County airport is particularly vulnerable to budget cuts and disruptions within the federal government because of its proximity to Washington and Fort Meade and the high number of federal employees and contractors who live in the region.

That business "is very big for us," Wiedefeld said. Southwest saw a decline in BWI travelers See BWI, page 3 By Kevin Rector The Baltimore Sun Fewer fliers passed through Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in 2013 than in the previous year, ending a three-year streak of record-setting travel at the state's largest airport. The decline of 0.8 percent, announced by airport officials Monday, came after months of transition for BWI's largest carrier, Southwest Airlines, and amid disruptions within the federal government, one of the largest drivers of business to BWI. The decline also came despite four monthly passenger records at BWI January, March, May and December and a nearly 20 percent increase in international passengers, officials said. The airport's 2013 passenger volume of nearly 22.5 million fliers marks its second-busiest year on record, topped only by 2012.

KIM HAIRSTONBALTIMORE SUN PHOTO 2013 Airport officials attributed the decline in 2013 passengers to Southwest Airlines' acquisition of AirTran and to federal cuts and the government shutdown in the fall. Rate Effective November 25, 2013, 60 day lock-in, Rate subject to change without notice. Assumes 30 year term, 360 payments of $4.84 per thou sand borrowed. APR calculated on loan amount of $100,000.00 Loan LTV exceeding 80.00 requires PMI. Primary residence only.

Interest paid on required escrow account. Other rates and terms available, call for details. See our web page. Annual Percentage Rate. FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER.