State Center offices all clear from Legionella as last building tests within normal limits

Racquel Bazos, The Baltimore Sun on Jan 3, 2025

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BALTIMORE — The last remaining building in the State Center office complex in downtown Baltimore has been cleared of Legionella bacteria following a retest in late December.

A Dec. 23 test on 301 W. Preston Street showed all samples were within normal limits of the bacteria, according to a statement from the Maryland Department of General Services released Friday.

Legionella is the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a kind of severe pneumonia. Infections can occur when someone breathes in water droplets containing the bacteria, such as in a mist or accidentally aspirating drinking water.

All water use restrictions have been lifted for employees of the building, which houses DGS offices in addition to other state agencies.

“DGS is dedicated to establishing a regular cadence of testing in the interest of promoting the health and safety of state employees and building visitors, as many state-owned buildings are old and facing deteriorating maintenance issues,” the department said.

State Center offices first tested positive for the bacteria in November, after DGS began a proactive water quality testing in October. 201 W. Preston St. and 300 W. Preston St. were the first buildings to have known Legionella after test results came in Nov. 8. The office at 300 W. Preston St. was cleared Dec. 9.

Another round of flushing and sanitization of the pipes in 201 W. Preston, 1100 N. Eutaw St. and 301 W. Preston occurred in early December. 201 W. Preston St. and 1100 N. Eutaw St. received clean test results Dec. 16, DGS said in an email last month.

Since State Center buildings were found to have the bacteria, other municipal buildings have had similar results: several courthouses in the city, City Hall and the Abel Wolman Building. All affected buildings have received remediation efforts from either city or state DGS.

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