Top 3: ‘It’s all about money’

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Since we have an abbreviated week, we’ve also got an abbreviated top 5 (we’re calling it a “top 3”). Units at the Ritz-Carlton Residences are selling, and the Maryland Transit Administration isn’t saying who’s getting the bid for two MARC lines.

1. Prices lower, Ritz units are selling – by Melody Simmons

Ownership of the $220 million Ritz-Carlton Residences is back in the hands of its Long Island-based developers nearly two years after the luxury development underwent a massive refinancing amid problems stemming from construction lawsuits and the recession.

The stately luxury development, perched at the water’s edge on Key Highway, remains one of the city’s most luxurious addresses — and units are beginning to sell faster thanks to new lower pricing, RXR Realty Senior Vice President Joseph Graziose said.

2. Family sues Hopkins over Belward – by Melody Simmons

The family of a major donor to the Johns Hopkins University has filed suit against the institution in Montgomery County Circuit Court claiming that Hopkins’ plans for a massive life sciences complex as part of the Great Seneca Science Corridor violate the original development agreement.

Tim Newell, family spokesperson and nephew of Elizabeth Beall Banks, the deceased owner of 138-acre Belward Farm, filed the suit along with other relatives on Nov. 10.

3. MTA, Keolis mum on bids to run MARC lines – by Nicholas Sohr

The deadline for proposals to take over operation of two MARC commuter rail lines passed Monday, but the Maryland Transit Administration declined to release the names of bidders.

The lucrative rail contract sparked a fervor in the General Assembly this spring as lawmakers debated, and ultimately approved, legislation that would force the parent company of a potential bidder to disclose its role in the Holocaust.