I know some users prefer this map to be hidden / out of the way. Do you think it should be hidden by default for all users unless specifically shown? Or...do you think just having a setting to hide it would be sufficient.

Hidden by default
Hidden by default. On a related note, I think it would be nice to have the option to enable the map on the "Open Project" window to show a pin for each project.
Maybe something like this (hidden by default), and then it just remembers if the user has it shown / hidden in local storage:
