Baltimore Development News [Archive]

SoBoChris

February 7th, 2005, 06:01 PM

Yet another great sign from the Westside!

Optometrists eye building restoration
Architecture: Edward Gunts
Barenburg on west side to get $150,000 face-lift

Originally published Feb 7, 2005

The Great Fire of 1904, which started 101 years ago today, destroyed more than 70 blocks of downtown Baltimore, including 20 banks, eight hotels, nine newspaper plants and four lumberyards.

Now one of the survivors will be restored for another century of use as part of the city's efforts to revitalize the west side of downtown.

The Barenburg Building at 100 Park Ave., constructed in 1892 to house a bank and now home to Barenburg Eye Associates, will get a $150,000 face-lift this year to return its stone and brick exterior to the way it looked before the 1904 fire.

The five-story building has been owned since 1980 by optometrists Mark Gordon and Howard Levin and their wives. Gordon and Levin use it as the headquarters for their practice, Barenburg Eye Associates, a network of optometric offices that was founded in 1912 and now has eight locations around the Baltimore area.

Gordon and Levin upgraded the building's interior in the 1990s and intend to restore the exterior starting in the next few months. They plan to spend another $150,000 to restore the adjacent four-story building at 202 W. Fayette St. and make it part of their practice.

It's a clear vote of confidence in the west side as a place to do business.

"We're packed with patients," Gordon said. "We have a very large following, and we only anticipate that will increase. Park Avenue is our No. 1 office. People will come downtown for good services."

The project is small compared to the 3.6-acre "superblock" project planned nearby, a $100 million development expected to contain hundreds of residences and dozens of retailers in a mix of new and recycled buildings.

But it demonstrates how older buildings can continue to play a role in the west-side renewal efforts - and even set the tone for larger projects - when owners value the historic nature of the buildings they control.

With its rounded corner, rusticated granite base and conical roof tower, the Barenburg Building is one of the most distinctive structures on the west side, even though some of its features have been obscured over time. A report on file with the Maryland Historical Trust, by O'Connell and Associates, calls it "a study in late nineteenth century stylistic eclecticism."

DRC Inc. of Ellicott City is the general contractor for the restorations of 100 Park Ave. and 202 W. Fayette St. Both will comply with federal restoration standards, so the owners will be eligible for tax credits for historic preservation.

As part of the Barenburg Building restoration, awnings will be removed to reveal large arched windows overlooking Park Avenue and Fayette Street. The brickwork will be cleaned and repointed. The cornice and ledges will be repaired.

"A lot of the windows that are closed up are going to be reopened," said architect Peter Notari of Notari & Associates, the design firm working with the owners.

"When we take off what we're going to take off, it will go a long way toward bringing it back to its original state," Notari said.

"They're not just going to take it back. ... They're going to make it look better," said Baltimore Development Corp. President M. Jay Brodie, who praised the project during an announcement last week about the status of the "superblock" project.

The Barenburg Building was constructed to house the Border State Savings Bank, which was incorporated in 1874.

The building was partially reconstructed in 1914 to move the main banking rooms to the ground floor, add an apartment for the directors and shift the entrance from the corner to the Park Avenue side. A 1920 photo shows a sign pointing to a barbershop in the basement.

The Great Fire of 1904 began at 10:48 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, and burned for 30 hours, until 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8. It killed five people and destroyed about 1,500 buildings and 2,500 businesses, leaving 35,000 workers jobless.

One of the characteristics that makes the west side of downtown different from and in some ways more interesting than Baltimore's central business district is that it contains buildings that pre-date the fire and represent a variety of architectural styles.

By contrast, Baltimore's financial district was largely destroyed and rebuilt, so it contains many buildings dating from 1905 but few that were constructed before. There tends to be a certain sameness to streets where all the buildings were constructed within the same decade.

The Barenburg Building is noteworthy, Gordon said, because it marks the spot on the west side of downtown where the Great Fire stopped. To the west of it, buildings survived. But "all the buildings across the street are much newer."

Barenburg Eye Associates was founded by J.W. Barenburg, a physician who started an optometric practice on Eastern Avenue and expanded to Park Avenue in 1937.

Barenburg ran his Park Avenue office from 1937 to 1955 and lived upstairs in the building during that time.

Gordon said he and Levin kept the name when they bought the practice because Barenburg was so well known and respected - the place where many Baltimoreans got their first eye exams. "It's been an institution for so long," Gordon said. "He was ahead of his time."

Brian21

February 7th, 2005, 07:41 PM

fanofterps

February 7th, 2005, 08:27 PM

45% are under contract. Bulkhead work is going on AT the site. The actual construction of the foundation and buildings should begin in late spring. Sales department feels once they begin constructing the building sales will pick up full speed(people want to see a product).

2 page supplement appeared in Feb 6th New York times advertising the Ritz. The ad showed great pictures of the city.

I think that another skyscraper should be constructed in the Mechanic Theatre's place. Its the perfect spot. right over top of the subway system dowtown smack dab in the CBD.

Also cityscape will look in the skyline although it will be partially blocked from the south by the 100E. Pratt. Can't wait until it begins construction :)

StevenW

February 7th, 2005, 11:38 PM

StevenW

February 7th, 2005, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by Brian21
I think that another skyscraper should be constructed in the Mechanic Theatre's place. Its the perfect spot. right over top of the subway system dowtown smack dab in the CBD.

Also cityscape will look in the skyline although it will be partially blocked from the south by the 100E. Pratt. Can't wait until it begins construction

I'd love to see a nice, quality styled skyscraper built there, too, Brian. ;) :)
Make it a 55 story mixed-used tower. It should rise to about 700 feet tall, with a beautiful crown. :D
Now that's a pretty picture. ;) :D :D :D

StevenW

February 8th, 2005, 04:10 AM

TADA!
http://www.mdgovpap.net/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/5458-7-039.jpg

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect4/baltsamp.jpg

http://www.btco.net/ghosts/ads/walls/pw_Baltobarghouse.jpg

http://www.vm3d.com/DOMESTIC/POLYGONAL/Baltimra.jpg

You like? :D
Just picture what CityScape, 300 East Pratt, One Light Street, Water Tower, Zenith and the other towers will look like added to our already nice, dense skyline. :D
I love that model. Wish I could buy it. It costs $1,000.00 :D

scando

February 8th, 2005, 05:21 AM

I think that another skyscraper should be constructed in the Mechanic Theatre's place. Its the perfect spot. right over top of the subway system dowtown smack dab in the CBD.

Also cityscape will look in the skyline although it will be partially blocked from the south by the 100E. Pratt. Can't wait until it begins construction :)

There have been suggestions made a couple years ago that the Mechanic site could be used for a tall building. I first heard about the idea when they were starting work on the Hippodrome but so far nobody has come forth with an idea. I have to admit that I am sceptical that anybody would choose that site for a tall building when there are still other sites closer to the water (McCormick site, etc) that havn't been built on yet.

StevenW

February 9th, 2005, 12:52 AM

City searches for Charles Street developer

Heather Harlan
Staff
The Baltimore Development Corp. is searching for a developer to revitalize a Charles Street site that includes the former Chesapeake Restaurant.

The city's leading development agency issued a formal request for proposals Tuesday, asking development teams to submit plans for the area between Penn Station and the Charles Theater, Everyman's Theater and Tapas Teatro restaurant.

More specifically, the site includes 1701-09 N. Charles St., the former Chesapeake Restaurant building, a four-story building that has been vacant since the mid-1980's; 20 E. Lanvale St., a surface parking lot; an alley between North Charles Street and East Lanvale Street; as well as 22 and 24 E. Lanvale St., two vacant townhouses.

The city envisions a single or mixed-use project that either features rehabilitation or new construction, according to the Baltimore Development Corp. Projects should be supportive of arts and entertainment venues in the area, the organization noted.

"Reliance on public funds is discouraged and subsidies by the city should not be anticipated,'' according to a statement from the Baltimore Development Corp. The site is offered in "as-is'' condition.

Deadline for submission is noon on Friday, April 29.

Plus, this is a good article, too.
Read it:
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/02/07/story3.html?jst=s_rs_hl

waj0527

February 9th, 2005, 07:46 PM

more about the Charle's Street RFP:

City targets defunct Chesapeake for renewal
Restaurant viewed as part of N. Charles St. gateway
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun Staff
Originally published February 9, 2005

City officials, armed with the power of condemnation, are moving to breathe new life into the former Chesapeake Restaurant and other long-vacant properties at the gateway to the Charles North neighborhood, part of the city's arts district near Penn Station and the Charles Theater.

Baltimore Development Corp. said yesterday that it is seeking proposals from developers to transform the former landmark restaurant at 1701-1709 N. Charles St., a parking lot and two vacant townhouses around the corner on East Lanvale Street.

Future uses could include a theater, shops, a restaurant, a nightclub or apartments. The agency, the city's economic development arm, said it would seize the properties if deals cannot be reached with the owners.

"On behalf of the neighborhood and the city, we think it's time to move on it," said M. J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the development agency. "It's a critical area in the city from an economic development point of view, and it doesn't look good."

The area is re-emerging as a hub of the city's Station North arts and entertainment district, anchored by Everyman Theater, Club Charles and the Charles Theater, which expanded with four new screens in 1999 and spurred the opening of restaurants such as the adjacent Tapas Teatro.

But the former Chesapeake, at Charles and Lanvale, has been shuttered and on and off the market for more than 15 years.

Brodie said the city has given up waiting for the Chesapeake's owner, attorney Robert Sapero, to find a buyer for the building. The development agency has been granted City Council authority to proceed with condemnation and has made an offer to Sapero based on the higher of two appraisals. If he rejects the offer, the city could go ahead with condemnation, Brodie said.

Sapero said yesterday that the the agency's tactics are "questionable" and that he has been negotiating with restaurant operators and other potential buyers to reopen the restaurant in some form.

"Whatever the BDC is doing is very interesting ... and at the least I guess it's premature," he said. "I'm certainly not in favor, to put it politely, in terms of what their wishes are."

Sapero said he has been waiting for the area to be rejuvenated sufficiently to support a high-end restaurant.

"I was not going to open the Chesapeake to anyone who would affect the image of the property ... being a fine dining venue," he said. "My interest for the most part was to have whoever would operate the place to be either a national entity or someone that had the strength locally to operate a top-notch facility."

The property being assembled by the city also includes a parking lot behind the Chesapeake. The parking lot owner, Michael Shecter, declined to comment yesterday.

Brodie said the development agency has been working with the neighborhood for a couple of years to identify key problem properties.

"The Charles Theater is doing wonderfully. Tapas Teatro is turning people away," Brodie said. "It's an area of town where other people are showing that they can do well, and yet this property is sitting vacant and underutilized."

City officials said they envision a single-use or mixed-use project with housing on the upper floors.

Rebecca Gagalis, executive director of Charles Street Development Corp., said the Charles North area has become a priority for the nonprofit group, which is working to revitalize Charles Street.

"Some really great uses have opened up over the years that have given a synergy to the area," Gagalis said. "The Chesapeake is a missing piece that has been vacant for so long. The Chesapeake being redeveloped will create a connection with Penn Station and further enhance the area and generate interest in other properties."

She said she is seeing some of that interest, with people moving in and renovating houses.

Dale Dusman, president of the Charles North Community Association and pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, said the neighborhood supports the development agency's action.

"That block is the gateway into our community," Dusman said. "We're anxious to see the building in use. We have some good solid attractions, and the Chesapeake is a crucial building."

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get home delivery

waj0527

February 9th, 2005, 09:36 PM

Does anyone know anything about any efforts to revitalize Baltimore's now defunct Chinatown? Ive been reading snipets here and there, but I was wondering if anyone has anything of substance.

I know there's a Baltimore Chinatown Enterprise (BCE), which is a charged with the task of bringing back Baltimore's Chinatown District, but I havent found a website or anything.

The reason Im asking is because a friend told me that the BCE recieved a substantial grant (close to $60 million)to redevelop our old Chinatown which is along Howard Street near Park Ave. He didnt know who provided the money or what the plans were, so I was a bit skeptical. If true, this could be a HUGE boost for the Westside/Mt. Vernon areas. Any reply would be great.

StevenW

February 9th, 2005, 11:23 PM

Baltimore has a "ChinaTown"? :? :? :? :? :?
Since when? :?
How big is it? Or, was it?
I always wanted Baltimore to have a ChinaTown. I love San Francisco's ChinaTown. It's awesome! Just imagine if Baltimore had one like San Francisco. :D

waj0527

February 10th, 2005, 12:07 AM

Baltimore had a Chinatown but is now defunct. It actally hasnt been around for several years. If you travel along Howard Street near Park Ave. you can actually see some buildings with Chinese characters on them. There's a pretty good Chinese resturant thats basically the last evidence of the apparently once thriving district. If you google for 'Baltimore Chinatown' you can find out more.

I'd really like to see this brought back.

Eerik

February 10th, 2005, 12:53 AM

Baltimore's Chinatown has never been all that large...even during its "hey-day". There were some dashed hopes of revival back in the late 70s and early 80s. While every year there is some sort of parade during Chinese New Year (shouldn't there have been one today?) complete with the dragon and firecrackers, for all intents and purposes, the old Chinatown at Park and Mulberry Streets is long gone.

On the East Coast, I believe New York City and Philadelphia have the largest Chinatowns. The one here in Washington DC is also fairly large, although the immigrant community for the most part left long ago along with the Chinese goods. Today, with the exception of a handful of Chinese restaurants and the Chinese Gate, all that is left are national chains like Fuddrucker spelled-out in Chinese...

scando

February 10th, 2005, 05:22 AM

StevenW

February 10th, 2005, 05:25 AM

scando

February 10th, 2005, 05:28 AM

scando

February 10th, 2005, 05:42 AM

:(
You know, with all this new development going on with tearing down old neighborhoods in east Baltimore and the like, why couldn't there be a new ChinaTown? A themed neighborhood to rival the other big ChinaTowns. I understand the demand has to be there. What is the Chinese population of Baltimore, currently? If a new, much bigger, well designed ChinaTown was constructed, would Chinese people come here? From the States? China? Other countries?
I mean, I can't tell you all how much I loved ChinaTown in San Francisco. It's a great neighborhood/town. The open markets, restaurants, shops, and other businesses and residences are all so great and fit together so well. You really can get lost there and feel like you are in a different country. China! ;)

Also, I read some time ago that there was an effort to create a "spanishtown" or "Latintown" of some kind. Anything on that? Has it come to fruition? I have not heard anything about that in a long while.

I think that the Chinatown concept is pretty much obsolete in Baltimore. There are a significant number of people descended from Chinese immigrants but those people have gone into all walks of life outside that area. There are a few concentrations of recent immigrants in areas such as the Rogers Forge Apartments in Towson but Chinatown? Not likely. The Latin area has grown significantly in recent years. It is located in upper Fells Point and east of there. There are lots of restaurants, bars, night clubs, grocery stores, etc but the area hasn't become much of a magnet for the non-Hispanic population except for some small businesses in lower part of Fells Point.

jaysonjaz

February 10th, 2005, 06:35 AM

:(
You know, with all this new development going on with tearing down old neighborhoods in east Baltimore and the like, why couldn't there be a new ChinaTown?

Well knowing all of my asian friends from this area at UM @ Baltimore, I think you'd have more luck with a Koreantown or Vietnamese town. I think there are a lot more people from those areas around Bmore than actual Chinese

Eerik

February 10th, 2005, 09:42 AM

The “problem” with ethnic neighborhoods like Chinatown and other immigrant communities is they developed and evolved on their own. Any attempt to revive or recreate an ethnic enclave by fabricating the context becomes a sort of “Disney-esque” reality which often times ends up failing.

However, this discussion of a “Chinatown” is most interesting since it brings to surface two notions: what is real and what is artificial.

I would offer that the Chinatown in San Francisco developed due to some sort of need, maybe even chance on part of an influx of people with a common culture clustering and sharing goods and services in a defined area. While in the process it became a regional and national draw, and today I’m sure San Francisco provides at least some sort of subsidy to help maintain the district, for all intents and purposes the original impetus was one based on need or desire and not on a larger public or municipal grand plan.

Take Baltimore’s Latin-town as another example. It wasn’t until after the fact that city government even became aware of a developing concentration of Latinos in Upper Fells Point.

Here in Washington DC, at one time we had a large Chinatown. Chinese immigrants clustered along the northern edge of the downtown core and over a period of time established shops and community centers; found work as well as housing.

However, reality wasn’t what we romanticize about today: living conditions were often crowded, often times filthy, and as a rule most lived at a sub-standard income level. No one considered the circumstances ideal, and all efforts (and spare income) generally was targeted toward “the American dream” of a better job and life -- if not for themselves -- then at least for their children.

Today, one could say the Chinatown here in DC has been revitalized. Yet in many regards, it’s a failure. While you will certainly find “Chinese elements” like a restaurant serving Asian food, or a Chinese knick-knack store, for the most part, the neighborhood has been drastically “de-Asianized”. With the advantage of hindsight, I must chuckle at the all too recent gestures and overtures which promised to help sustain Chinatown (via projects like the MCI Center) where hopes were pinned on people flocking to the neighborhood for a combination of entertainment, dinner at a local restaurant, and ultimately a thriving Chinatown.

What we ended up with was a boom all right. Property values shot through the roof. With revitalization came new construction and even higher property values. Those few Chinese-centric merchants from the pre-redevelopment days ended up being priced out of the area. Today, where a Chinese restaurant once existed you’ll find a Hooters, a CVS, or some other faceless chain. The only Asian elements left in the area is the name of the Metro Station (Gallery Place/Chinatown); the Chinese arch/gate spanning H Street; and the Chinese themed street lamps.

In the case of Baltimore, obviously anything is better than what we have now. However let’s try and remember what we’ve learned from the past, i.e. lessons learned from Howard Street. Instead of attempting to re-create the past entirely -- be it the experience of the old shopping district at Howard and Lexington, or a new Chinatown -- I think it would be far better and smarter to use the elements already present to perhaps develop a new vernacular, story or experience.

While down here I would really challenge anyone who could call Seventh and H Street as the epicenter of a Chinatown, in reality, the flavor of the neighborhood as it has been preserved and redeveloped is quite spectacular. The “old Chinatown” has been reborn into a very unique urban experience that one cannot find elsewhere. Likewise in the future, I hope a revitalized Westside will offer Baltimore the same. If some of the old existing structures can be reworked programmatically with new…as in what was done at the old Stewarts department store…the quirky old buildings along with new buildings offer exceptional promise. As we read in The Sun a few days ago about the Barenburg Building renovation at 100 Park Avenue, we have some excellent opportunities to reinvigorate and create unique and new experiences not found anywhere else!

Eerik

February 10th, 2005, 09:59 AM

Not only was there a little, two block Chinatown, but if you look at faded signs, there is a sign for a Baltimore branch of the Koumintong, a pre-Mao political group. In the 70's not only was Chinatown there but there was Abe Sherman's well known book store and the New Era bookstore, which was an orthodox bolshevik propaganda house. You could spend hours, if so inclined, in the basement poring over reports on 1938 Siberian hydroelectric plant progress. Baltimore doesn't have local color like that anymore. The only other thing that remains there is Morris Martick's amazingly quirky former speakeasy then restaurant with its snakeskin wallpaper and Morris himself, about 90, still cooking.

It's hard to figure out at this time, why anybody would want to spend 60 M on those blocks. The 80's Chinatown project never happened, that area isn't all that close to the prime Westside area and it certainly isn't close to the harbor or anywhere else that is happening. It kinda seems like everything around there will get fixed before Park Ave.

Ahhh… Abe Sherman. What a loon! That old geezer really was as feisty as reported! Back then during the pre-Borders and pre-Barnes & Noble magazine selection days, old Abe had one of the largest, if not best selections of printed material around. Abe too often reprimanded a good friend of mine for merely “thumbing” through a magazine. If you wanted to read it, you first had to purchase it!

In fact, one of the hardest concepts for me to grasp was the idea that browsing and “thumbing” was encouraged at the new bookstores. Even today when I see someone grab a book or magazine off the shelf at Borders and then read it while they sip their flavored coffee-of-the-day…I simply shudder thinking what old Abe would say!

I don’t know if Park and Mulberry are too distant of the Westside action. After all, Park Street runs parallel to Howard; the Pratt Library is located at Mulberry and Park, which is only a few blocks southwest of Mt. Vernon. It would need to be a subset of the Westside development. It would be almost impossible to create a relationship with the Charles Street corridor development.

waj0527

February 10th, 2005, 02:14 PM

Thanks for all the input guys.

StevenW

February 10th, 2005, 03:27 PM

Great points, Eerik. :)

In other news:

West side leads city's resurgence

'Progress': Downtown Partnership to report today on gains in quality of life.
By Jamie Smith Hopkins
Sun Staff
Originally published February 10, 2005
Baltimore's long-struggling west side is outperforming the rest of downtown - even the waterfront - on jobs and some other measures of economic vitality, a sign that redevelopment efforts are gaining traction.

That statistical barometer of health comes from the nonprofit Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc.'s 2004 "state of downtown" report, which will be released today and paints a mostly positive picture of the city's core. Downtown as a whole lost about 765 jobs but gained twice that number of residents. It also registered a significant drop in office vacancies.

But the west side stands out as the only area that gained jobs, and it also added parking, housing and retail.

"It's clear to me that so many projects are now under way on the west side that the momentum will just continue apace," said Anirban Basu, chief executive of Sage Policy Group, a Baltimore economic and policy consulting firm unconnected with the report. "The data are clear: There is progress."

The Downtown Partnership's report measures key signs of health, including employment, investment and office vacancies, from July 2003 through August 2004. Past reports have called for major initiatives to combat problems - such as too little parking and too many outdated office buildings - but this time the nonprofit simply recommends a continuation of smaller-scale efforts: deterring aggressive panhandling, attracting more retail, improving mass transit.

"The question is no longer 'is downtown going to survive,' because it's absolutely surviving if not thriving," said J. Kirby Fowler Jr., president of the group, which runs programs and advocates for downtown. "The focus now is on quality of life."

In its report, the nonprofit defines downtown as an area roughly bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on the west, Interstate 83 on the east with a jag outward to Central Avenue, Key Highway on the south and North Avenue on the north. That includes the west side, the waterfront as far as Harbor East, Mount Vernon and the central business district, which the Downtown Partnership has renamed City Center because more and more residents are moving into the corporate core.

Living downtown

The increase in housing and people throughout downtown is a key reason, Fowler said, why he judges the area to be more vital even though jobs continued to decline.

There were 7,500 people living downtown last summer, up 1,500 from a year earlier. By the end of this year their numbers are expected to rise to 10,000 - double the population in 1999.

The new residents since 1999 earn an average of $54,000, and 65 percent of them came from outside the city, according to the report.

"Downtown's diversifying and transforming itself into a 24-hour neighborhood," Fowler said.

More residents should make it easier for the city to get more retail. The Downtown Partnership, which tracked retail for the first time in this report, estimates that the area had more than 2 million square feet of retail space between summer 2003 and summer 2004. Nearly a third of that - 650,000 square feet - was available to lease, though a fair bit was either under construction or nearing construction.

The group traveled to a retailing conference in New York at the end of the year to market this space and the growing downtown population to national chains.

"I think we're about to cross the threshold into more and higher-quality retail ... the kind of stuff there hasn't been in downtown Baltimore for a long time - maybe ever," said M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of Baltimore Development Corp.

Developers' conversions of old offices to new apartments and condos have also helped the office market: Downtown's vacancy rate was 14.4 percent between summer 2003 and summer 2004, compared with 18.5 percent the year before.

Downtown continues to struggle to hold onto its employment base, though it's not losing jobs as fast as it once did. The 765 lost jobs amounted to a drop of 0.9 percent. The 12 months before, employment dropped by 2.9 percent.

Most of the job loss came from white-collar businesses, particularly finance and insurance companies. Insurance firm Euler Hermes ACI moved to the suburbs. So did the American Urological Association and logistics company John S. Connor Inc.

But a handful of large firms announced that they were staying, including mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price Group Inc., which extended its Pratt Street lease until 2017 last year after considering whether to move all operations to its Owings Mills campus.

"There is a strong preference among a number of the employees who work downtown ... to remain," said George A. Roche, Price's chairman and president, noting that new parking garages have eased the crunch for space that had pushed some firms out in years past. "There is a continuing improvement in the city."

Downtown parks and streets still need work, said Wally Pinkard, chairman and chief executive of the Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm Colliers Pinkard. But he's very encouraged by the state of the area overall, noting an uptick in the number and price of commercial building purchases.

"I've never seen anything close to the institutional interest in our downtown buildings," said Pinkard, also chairman of the Hippodrome Foundation Inc.

The city as a whole gained 9,600 jobs during the same period that downtown lost them, according to the U.S. Labor Department, which can be explained in part by the fast-expanding Johns Hopkins University and Hospital's non-downtown locations. Economists see downtown's employment situation as a positive trend because job loss slowed - and they think that now more employers are adding rather than subtracting.

Downtown has held up much better in the past few years of fallout from the 2001 recession than it did in the 1990s, when it was hit by wave after wave of consolidations, Basu said. "You will see the cycle turn, and it will turn in favor of downtown," he said.

The west side has already seen a turn: It added 130 jobs between summer 2003 and summer 2004, largely because of expansion at University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Biotech park

At UMB's new biotech park, the first building is almost done and close to being fully leased. The renovated Hippodrome Theatre reopened last February. Across the street, workers are building Centerpoint, a retail-residential complex that will have nearly 400 units and more than 30,000 square feet of space for businesses.

This month the city picked a team of developers to renovate the 3.6-acre "superblock" within Howard, Fayette, Clay, Lexington and Liberty streets into housing, retail and office space.

Despite the progress, Joe Cronyn, a partner at the real estate consulting firm Lipman Frizzell & Mitchell LLC, warned that "it's not time to declare victory quite yet." The area's on the right path, he said, but hasn't hit critical mass in its battle against blight. The superblock needs to get off the drawing board and Howard Street needs more economic activity.

Ronald Kreitner, executive director of the nonprofit WestSide Renaissance Inc., predicts that critical mass will come within two years.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get home delivery

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2005-02/16232926.jpg J. Kirby Fowler Jr., president of Downtown Partnership, stands near Centerpoint complex rising on Eutaw Street.
(Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)
Feb 9, 2005

StevenW

February 10th, 2005, 03:34 PM

Downtown jobs dip, but optimism high
:)
Heather Harlan
Staff
Downtown lost less than 1 percent of its employment base, or roughly 770 jobs, from July 2003-August 2004, according to a new report from Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

The figures mark an improvement over the previous year, when the downtown job base dipped about 3 percent. The area, which extends to Mt. Vernon and Key Highway, is now home to more than 2,500 businesses, providing about 88,600, the report shows.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., said the city, like others was struck, by the national economic downturn, but weathered it well. "The good news is that we seem to coming out of it,'' he said.

Downtown, he said, continues to gain momentum in other areas. For the second year, about $2.5 billion is being poured into downtown, according to the new report.

And, the number of residents continues to grow. According to the report, there were roughly 7,500 downtown residents between July 2003 and August 2004.

That number is expected to reach 10,000 by the end of 2005.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

StevenW

February 10th, 2005, 03:49 PM

An awesome link: http://www.gbc.org/Member%20news/newmemberprofiles.html#Anchor-Baltimor-52112
Check it out!

Plus:

City targets fall 2005 for creation of public-private harbor management entity
1-19-05 -- Baltimore City's interim Inner Harbor manager, Andy Frank, is so encouraged by progress along the city's waterfront that his goal is to have a public-private harbor management entity in place by this fall, he told the GBC on January 19.

Frank, vice president of the Baltimore Development Corporation, was appointed Inner Harbor coordinator in May, 2004 after a GBC-report found that management of the city's waterfront was uncoordinated and fragmented, jeopardizing the future of one of the city's most valuable economic resources.

For the last seven months, Frank has been meeting regularly to coordinate the work of more than a half-dozen city agencies responsible for elements of harbor management and to address issues raised in the October 2003 GBC report, he reported.

The report recommended creating an entity similar to Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management, Inc., which oversaw the Inner Harbor's initial development and managed most planning and operational issues relating to the Inner Harbor.

Frank joined the mayor's Chief of Staff Clarence Bishop and Planning Director Otis Rolley III in outlining the city's current economic development strategy to members of the GBC's Built Environment Committee and President's Advisory Council.

Highlights along the waterfront cited by Frank include:

$26 million in promenade construction since 2000. The promenade that will ultimately afford pedestrians a 7-mile walk around the city's inner-harbor waterfront is now 90 percent complete, Frank said.
Completion of a new master plan for Baltimore's waterfront.

Other economic development highlights cited by Frank include:

Construction of a new National Institutes of Health building at Bayview, a $290 million investment that will consolidate in one building the three NIH agencies located there.
the pending completion of the Centerpoint project and the city's move to acquire the so-called "superblock" and other properties ripe for redevelopment on Baltimore's west side;
the selection of a development team for Phase One of the 80-acre life sciences park and neighborhood revitalization on the east side;
an $80 million revitalization project for Charles Village:
the creation of eight "Main Street" districts in city neighborhoods.

Bishop, the mayor's chief of staff, reported that $6 billion in economic investment activity is currently under way in Baltimore.

In the area of neighborhood planning and development, Rolley reported that the city has moved from a policy of "snaggle tooth" demolition of vacant houses to "whole block" demolition, while working with communities to identify areas where redevelopment could occur successfully.

Rolley also said he was "excited" to see the high degree of interagency cooperation that now occurs in Baltimore City in dealing with planning and economic development issues.

Meanwhile, Mayor O'Malley has expanded his economic development cabinet meetings to include the GBC. The Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore also participate regularly in economic development meetings of the mayor and his cabinet, Bishop reported.

Ron C

February 10th, 2005, 07:41 PM

Well knowing all of my asian friends from this area at UM @ Baltimore, I think you'd have more luck with a Koreantown or Vietnamese town. I think there are a lot more people from those areas around Bmore than actual Chinese

There does seem to be a noticeable Korean presence around Maryland and North Ave.

For what it's worth, according to the 2000 census, the highest concentrations (dark green areas) of Asian populations (between about 10-20%) are in census tracts 401 & 402 (central business district), 1206 (either side of Charles St. north of North Ave), and 1202 (Charles Village). I imagine many of them are students at UMAB and Hopkins.

http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/55/36539455.gif

Other census data can be found at:

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US2404000&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=baltimore&_cityTown=baltimore&_state=04000US24&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=

StevenW

February 10th, 2005, 10:05 PM

Great map! Thanks, Ron C. :)

Eerik

February 10th, 2005, 10:31 PM

...very interesting maps. Take a look at the concentration of the Latin population in Baltimore:

http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/17/36549917.gif

scando

February 11th, 2005, 05:33 AM

I don’t know if Park and Mulberry are too distant of the Westside action. After all, Park Street runs parallel to Howard; the Pratt Library is located at Mulberry and Park, which is only a few blocks southwest of Mt. Vernon. It would need to be a subset of the Westside development. It would be almost impossible to create a relationship with the Charles Street corridor development.

Park Ave isn't distant at all but it seems pretty much forgotten and it doesn't mesh with the goal of connecting the CBD with the University of MD campus. I can see it improving someday but my bet is that it will be the last part of the area to improve. There just isn't enough there of interest. The buildings are pretty bland, it's north of the CBD-UMD connection and it's off Howard St. Abe Sherman is long gone, Martick won't be there forever. Who knows though, maybe it might catch on as a restaurant row or something like that. I'm not holding my breath waiting.

BigBalto

February 11th, 2005, 10:18 PM

It would be goog idea to pick up a copy of the baltimore biz journal.
Good info on the Balto arena

StevenW

February 11th, 2005, 10:43 PM

Tell me! Tell ME! What's it say? Please....? :D

StevenW

February 11th, 2005, 10:46 PM

Miss USA means money, exposure for Baltimore City

Baltimore officials predict the city will gain nearly $1 million in economic impact when it hosts this year’s Miss USA pageant in the spring. But the real gains will be made in less than 10 minutes.
- Kara Kridler

StevenW

February 12th, 2005, 12:12 AM

Check out this link: http://www.godowntownbaltimore.com/publications/State%20of%20Downtown%20Reports/SODT_05.pdf

It's to the State of Downtown 2004 info. :)
Good stuff! :) :D

StevenW

February 12th, 2005, 12:17 AM

waj0527

February 12th, 2005, 03:23 AM

That whole Baltimore Street corridor needs to be addressed. Big time.

The buildings are great. They're intresting and historic. It could be a great residential/retail mix. Baltimore Street between Charles and Gay is just SCREAMING to be redevloped. The block can stay. It just needs to be fixed up and "de-sleezified" (yes, I just create a new word). If done right, an "entertainment" district and a healthy residential/retail can successfully co-exist.

As for that particular site, obviously I'd like to see an office tower. A nice slender 600 footer perhaps :) . But...in lieu of that, I'd take a slightly smaller mixed-use tower. Perhaps a residential/hotel/retail mix.

fanofterps

February 12th, 2005, 04:50 AM

Ruppert Homes plans to build 30 homes in Fells Point/Canton and 70 in Locust Point. See www.rupperthomesinc.com. Also, I agree with Waj057 that Baltimore St is a mess and need a whole makeover.

I would like to see the city build a new arena near Camden Yards and rip down the old one and put luxury apartments where the Baltimore Arena is. Also, they can move the bus stops and redo Baltimore St with high end stores.

That whole Baltimore Street corridor needs to be addressed. Big time.

The buildings are great. They're intresting and historic. It could be a great residential/retail mix. Baltimore Street between Charles and Gay is just SCREAMING to be redevloped. The block can stay. It just needs to be fixed up and "de-sleezified" (yes, I just create a new word). If done right, an "entertainment" district and a healthy residential/retail can successfully co-exist.

As for that particular site, obviously I'd like to see an office tower. A nice slender 600 footer perhaps :) . But...in lieu of that, I'd take a slightly smaller mixed-use tower. Perhaps a residential/hotel/retail mix.

scando

February 12th, 2005, 07:40 AM

StevenW

February 12th, 2005, 03:25 PM

Did you guys hit this link yet? http://www.godowntownbaltimore.com/publications/State%20of%20Downtown%20Reports/SODT_05.pdf

It's great! :D A yearly review of Downtown Baltimore development. :)

NewBaltimore1980

February 13th, 2005, 12:35 AM

The Block has shrunk but is amazingly resistant to extinction. I think de-sleezification (another new word) would be like removing the noise from a football game though. Hopefully development will eventually just squeeze it into a smaller and smaller package.

I think Mayor OMalley should just go in there like Rudy Giuilani did and say, that this will no longer exist and shut the whole block down.

jaysonjaz

February 13th, 2005, 12:49 AM

I think Mayor OMalley should just go in there like Rudy Giuilani did and say, that this will no longer exist and shut the whole block down.

I watched a story about Times Square on the History Channel and they said the way Rudy cleaned up the place was they passed a law saying that there couldn't be adult businesses within 30 feet (or something that that) of each other.. that drove the weak ones out of business.. then as the area improved.. that drove the others ones out...
I would love to see the block gone forever.. I am sure the power is within city council.. I just don't think there’s the will.

StevenW

February 13th, 2005, 01:30 AM

Why not? :? Do you think they may go to those places, maybe? :? :D ;)

robert parsons

February 13th, 2005, 02:28 AM

robert parsons

February 13th, 2005, 02:43 AM

IF THEY DO GO WITH THE IDEA OF PUTTING UP A SUPER HIGH RISE AT THE MACANIC SITE , DO IT UP LIKE THE WITH A MALL UNDERNEATH THE TOWER LIKE WTC IN NYC USED TO BE LIKE OR LIKE LIBERTY PLACE IN PHILLY?????

Eerik

February 13th, 2005, 08:00 AM

Perhaps I am a sleaze-ball, but The Block has never really bothered me. As long as the existing businesses obey the law, I think it would be unfair to close them down; the practice of eminent domain has always bothered me. While I am not proud of past episodes of prostitution and drug activity in the area, at least one positive feature of The Block is no matter what time of the day or night, or week, this is one part of the city that actually feels like a real city.

In the morning, you’ll find office workers on their way to work grabbing their breakfast; lunchtime also does a very brisk business. I know of many who worked at One South Street for Alex. Brown that would grab their morning chow on The Block. Evenings of course you have the occasional tourist or nearby “local” alongside the weekend bachelor-party crowd frequenting the show bars. While I have never been inside any of the show bars, I understand the laws governing “skin exposure”, touching, and other “acts” are controlled not only by city and State laws, but also dancers themselves. The Block is pretty tame. Drive down to Washington DC or go to some other city and pretty much do what you want at a show bar…

Yes, The Block today has been compressed into a less than two-block stretch; however being that it is immediately next door to the central BCP station, leave it alone. If the Baltimore Police Department can’t control a stretch of the city right under its nose, then I think the real problem isn’t The Block but rather with the police department...

About ten years ago the city and State raided The Block. They were there to wipe out all the purported prostitution, drug activity, and seedy folk who were rampant and present. The raid that night included hundreds of police, various criminal squads from all the agencies. With the exception of a few minor offences (and boy did they have to look for them) the city was left empty handed. While you will still hear about all the seediness, prostitution and drugs…I think the city was embarrassed and beaten with the outcome. Especially once the ACLU and the flood of attorneys started to file suit. While I do not know for sure, it has been suggested the city was told to “back-off” or else.

Again, I’m not a fan of prostitution and the drug trade, but the one thing I appreciate is that with The Block what you see is what you get. There are a couple of times where I have walked down Baltimore Street at night. I have felt safer there than most side streets in Bolton Hill, Mt. Vernon or even Fells Point. It’s genuine, it’s full of people and street activity, and it’s the only district in the city actually alive around the clock. My only fear of redeveloping The Block into another “entertainment district” is that Baltimore will end up with another Cordish-type development that we now have at Marketplace. Talk about cheesy…

So, before we start closing down The Block, let’s make sure we have a better alternative...

StevenW

February 13th, 2005, 04:03 PM

Eerik, what do you think would be good to see developed at the parking site at East Pleasant Street, Saratoga Street, Guilford Avenue, and Holiday Street? I'm curious as to your comments on that site. :)

Thanks. :)

NewBaltimore1980

February 13th, 2005, 08:47 PM

Again, I’m not a fan of prostitution and the drug trade, but the one thing I appreciate is that with The Block what you see is what you get. There are a couple of times where I have walked down Baltimore Street at night. I have felt safer there than most side streets in Bolton Hill, Mt. Vernon or even Fells Point. It’s genuine, it’s full of people and street activity, and it’s the only district in the city actually alive around the clock. My only fear of redeveloping The Block into another “entertainment district” is that Baltimore will end up with another Cordish-type development that we now have at Marketplace. Talk about cheesy…

So, before we start closing down The Block, let’s make sure we have a better alternative...

Eerik, the problem with Baltimore is that they are not tough enough on prostitution and the drug trade. If there is any evidence of drugs in a business it should be shut down immediately and those involved should be prosecuted. You say you appreciate the block for what you see is what you get, but really if you see it, then it should be taken away. There is never an excuse for drugs. Baltimore is in such a bad state right now for the very reason of drugs that leads to the typical urban problems.

A cordish-type development is a good thing for a city. It take the trash and moves it out of downtown and provides jobs, economic relief, and a tax base. Seedy dollar stores and wig shops does not do anything good for the city or its residents.

Eerik

February 13th, 2005, 09:58 PM

BigBalto

February 13th, 2005, 11:08 PM

Page 2B: Saturday, Feb.12,2005: The Sun

SENATE PANEL OKs SLOTS BILL ALTERED TO APPEASE HOUSE

Proposal would allow up to seven sites but doen't specify locations.

NewBaltimore1980

February 14th, 2005, 01:36 AM

Re-read my previous post; as long as the existing businesses obey the laws, then I propose the city let them stay. Crime is evident wherever you find people. The reason we still have The Block is because merchants along East Baltimore Street are conducting their businesses within guidelines of the law. If they weren’t, individually, or collectively they would have been shut down long ago…

If crime is truly a concern, then what about all the folks who leave drinking establishments in Fells Point, Federal Hill and Canton and jump into their cars at night to drive home? Aren’t they committing a crime by drinking and operating a motor vehicle? One could argue the city should shut those establishments.

The irony about The Block is that both the Police Department Headquarters and the city’s Planning Department in the Benton Building anchor it. As Charles Center demonstrated, you can plan all you want; yet the people, i.e. “the market” will decide what works and what doesn’t. And, as I noted in my previous post, if the city police can’t tame crime in a stretch of the city literally right UNDER IT’S OWN NOSE well then what is the rest of the city supposed to hope for?

While I say kudos to Cordish for his redevelopment of the old power plant, his development at Marketplace is not an exemplar of urban redevelopment. I would categorize it as really tacky Disneyesqe. If we want a viable Baltimore, we need to start looking for real solutions, not simply cheap band-aids and lame excuses…

I am not sure what planet you are on, but the Marketplace development is extremely successful. Its a great spot for nightlife, includes offices, and ties into the inner harbor. Also the new Restaurant Row brought in great restaurants like Ruth Chris, Blue Sea Grill, etc. I think its made Baltimore very viable as it pulls people into the city to night time entertainment.

Also the bars in Fells POint are not putting people into cars. In fact the majority of people who go to those places are responsible and take taxis, or walk or have a designated driver.

Not sure what your idea of success is, but I dont think revitalizing a porno district is going to help

scando

February 14th, 2005, 05:26 AM

The Block continues to exist for several reasons. For one, there isn't a pressing alternative development for that area. Also, having an area with such a concentration takes some of the pressure off other areas and thirdly, being where it is, it probably gets more scrutiny than it would if it was off in an area like Edmonson Highway. We'd be fooling ourselves to think that that a city this size wouldn't have a market for sleaze. Knowing where it is allows me to know where not to walk.

jaysonjaz

February 14th, 2005, 05:49 AM

Eerik

February 14th, 2005, 06:28 AM

I am not sure what planet you are on, but the Marketplace development is extremely successful. Its a great spot for nightlife, includes offices, and ties into the inner harbor. Also the new Restaurant Row brought in great restaurants like Ruth Chris, Blue Sea Grill, etc. I think its made Baltimore very viable as it pulls people into the city to night time entertainment.

Also the bars in Fells POint are not putting people into cars. In fact the majority of people who go to those places are responsible and take taxis, or walk or have a designated driver.

Not sure what your idea of success is, but I dont think revitalizing a porno district is going to help

Shhh! Well first of all I can’t help but laugh at the suggestion all Fells Point patrons are responsible taxi-takers or have designated drivers. I’d laugh out loud, but at this hour, I’d wake up the entire house. While I would like to believe all Baltimoreans are responsible and saintly, unfortunately we’re all human. Please tell me that was tongue in cheek?

So, I drove up to Baltimore Sunday afternoon to take a look at The Block. Three things surprised me:

1) The Block actually looked cleaner than before. The last time I drove down that stretch of Baltimore Street must have been about two years ago. But since the last time, it appears the streetscape project has spruced up the area with new sidewalks, lampposts, and a new coating of street asphalt.

2) The Block looked smaller. Maybe due in part to the beautiful concrete and steel garage built by the city for the now departed Alex. Brown on the north side of 400 East Baltimore Street, or the hulking garage for One South Street?

3) Baltimore Street has been reopened (one lane) to proceed onto Frederick Street and further onwards towards President Street past the Police Department. Being that this stretch of Baltimore Street was once again open to vehicular traffic, I took the opportunity to swing past the Marketplace development and one thing did not change: my opinion that Power Plant Live is a cheesy and hideous Las Vegas-style circus. No class whatsoever. With the exception of Ruth Chris, all of the garish neon, weekends of binge drinking and vomit make The Block look peaceful and tame to me.

Folks, while we would all love to see all of the CBD inhabited or occupied by a Fortune 500 (Baltimore based) corporation or a residential project; unfortunately we are not a New York. If in the process of attempting to be like a New York or Chicago, we wipe out every last detail of who we are, or whitewash over every idiosyncrasy, all we’re going to be left with is a faceless downtown with no character, sense of place, or individuality. Go and visit downtown Dallas, Atlanta, or Houston. If that’s too far, come to Washington DC. You can’t compare their downtowns with Baltimore. If you still don’t understand, take the Baltimore subway to Owings Mills, or drive out to Tysons Corner and stand in the middle of the six-lane highway and ask yourself what makes that experience different than -- let’s say -- the 500 block of North Charles Street?

Eerik

February 14th, 2005, 06:42 AM

As much as I hate the block and porn shops and all of that, I don't really see any other business ventures taking shape there just yet. If there was business going all the way up Calvert St. to Baltimore St. and business redevelopement was being held back by the block, then I think we have an opportunity for redevelopment.
Unfortunatly redevelopment will only happen where the market forces are calling for it. There are still tons of areas downtown that can use complete revitalization. I think we should put our efforts into the rest of Baltimore St/ Calvert St. and Fayette. Put the Superblock into the mix and then I'm all for destroying the block.
Just my opinion :)

I totally agree. If in five…ten…or fifteen years from now there is market demand for The Block, let the market do the bidding and work. While porn and sex shops aren’t my idea of prestige either, I’d rather have that (under the watchful eye of the city) than yet another stretch of underutilized and boarded-up storefronts in the CBD.

At least the 500 block is generating some kind of tax revenue. While the activities within the buildings are questionable, at least the structures are being maintained. Develop all the other parts of downtown first that sorely need the investment…

Eerik

February 14th, 2005, 07:05 AM

BTW, what do you think would be good to see developed at the parking site at East Pleasant Street, Saratoga Street, Guilford Avenue, and Holiday Street? It's a good sized site, but, it's right by I-83. :D
I'd like to see a hotel with retail or an office building with retail and/or residences. Maybe some entertainment venue of some kind. What type of entertainment venue does Baltimore not have, or not have an abundance of, that it could use?
Think about it. :D

This is a problematic area programmatically for the city. It is neither “here” nor “there” and since most of the urban context in this area was obliterated over forty years ago, there is very little context to draw upon. Today it is really a wasteland of sorts…

One of the reasons there has been very little development in the zone north of East Lexington and East of Calvert has been just that: investors have no idea what potential (if any) this zone possesses. Developers, and more so investors aren’t known for their visionary and “idea” thinking. While they can foresee potential to make money, if the clues aren’t there for them to notice and read, you might as well forget about it.

I hope that in another five to fifteen years, we’re going to see a new push for inexpensive space within the CBD. I’m truly one of those who believe we’re about to witness a burst of the housing bubble, something that will slow development for a while. Interest rates have really skewed the market, and a correction is long overdue. Once that happens, investors are going to be looking for opportunities in undervalued areas, hence demand will focus on this area with low to mid-scale residential, some retail, along with light industrial.

If I were a developer, while personally not a big fan of these, I would build a parking structure with about 350-500 spaces with no medium to long-term outlook. Parking is still sorely needed in the CBD, while not as sexy as a condo or office, getting a bank loan should be fairly easy. Meanwhile I would wait out to see what 417 East Fayette Street decides to do with the eastern edge of the CBD. Big things will be coming our way…

NewBaltimore1980

February 14th, 2005, 03:36 PM

I hope that in another five to fifteen years, we’re going to see a new push for inexpensive space within the CBD. I’m truly one of those who believe we’re about to witness a burst of the housing bubble, something that will slow development for a while. Interest rates have really skewed the market, and a correction is long overdue. Once that happens, investors are going to be looking for opportunities in undervalued areas, hence demand will focus on this area with low to mid-scale residential, some retail, along with light industrial.

If I were a developer, while personally not a big fan of these, I would build a parking structure with about 350-500 spaces with no medium to long-term outlook. Parking is still sorely needed in the CBD, while not as sexy as a condo or office, getting a bank loan should be fairly easy. Meanwhile I would wait out to see what 417 East Fayette Street decides to do with the eastern edge of the CBD. Big things will be coming our way…

I have to disagree with you again. Although I believe the housing bubble will pop in a majority of the country, there is a housing shortage in DC, a 'smart growth' initiative in many surrounding counties, and plenty of housing available in the city. PLus you have to compare the values of houses from DC to Baltimore and the liklihood of more people starting to do that commute. People are commuting from Martinsburg, WV and they will commute from Baltimore to DC.

Having said that, I agree there will be slowing of the growth, but even with higher interest rates you still cannot beat the value of Baltimore real estate. In fact I believe that when the interest rates go up and the bubble starts to burst, it will be a great boom for cities like Baltimore who still will have reasonable priced real estate.

NewBaltimore1980

February 14th, 2005, 03:38 PM

This is absolutely huge!!!!

I really think we are not giving enough credit to the East Baltimore development. This is going to be the prime area to live in the city in five to ten years and it is already beginning.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/02/14/story3.html

Hopefully the city will not put up and roadblocks and try to save public housing in a growing market, where private housing can exist.

I can't wait to see the Chapel NDP apartments leveled in two weeks!!

waj0527

February 14th, 2005, 04:29 PM

You're right NB, thats great news or the city. The great thing about it is that similar initatives are taking place on the West side too (not Downtown's westside, but the real Westside). The deal between the city and the massive New Psalmist Baptist Church is probably the most exciting on the westside. Its very much like what they're doing over by Hopkins.

Has anyone noticed that he 33rd Street corridor is cleaning up very nicely. Not only is Hopkins building and improving, but the Greenmount intersection is getting better. The new grocery store looks great. The 'Stadium Place' complex is coming along very nicely. The YMCA and two apartment buildings are up now and from what I understand more is coming.

NewBaltimore1980

February 14th, 2005, 06:31 PM

StevenW

February 15th, 2005, 11:23 PM

Florida firm in $2.7B deal for area retail space

Heather Harlan
Staff
Regency Centers Corp., a publicly traded shopping center developer and owner, and its Australian joint venture partner, Macquarie CountryWide Trust, have acquired 31 properties in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The deal, which will give the companies about 3.5 million square feet of retail space in the region, is part of the joint venture's purchase of 101 properties nationwide from CalPERS/First Washington. Valued at $2.74 billion and expected to close in the second quarter, the overarching transaction will give Regency Centers and Macquarie about 13 million square feet of retail space nationally.

The Baltimore real estate includes Elkridge Corners Shopping Center, Festival at Woodholme, Northway Shopping Center, Parkville Shopping Center, Southside Marketplace and Valley Centre.

The national portfolio is 96 percent leased and spread across 17 states as well as D.C. Macquarie will own 65 percent, with the remaining belonging to Regency.

Based in Jacksonville, Fla., Regency (NYSE: REG) will own or manage 392 retail centers totaling more than 49 square feet of gross leasable space in 26 states when the deal is finalized. The company specializes in developing, operating and owning grocery-anchored, neighborhood and community shopping centers.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

waj0527

February 16th, 2005, 02:07 AM

From the BBJ:

Clipper Mill draws tenant from county

Heather Harlan
Staff
Biohabitats Inc. is relocating its corporate headquarters from Baltimore County to the city.

The company, a design and consulting form specializing in ecological restoration and conservation planning, expects to shift its 25 employees from Timonium to Clipper Mill by mid-summer.

Clipper Mill is a mixed-use development featuring 235 residential units and more than 90,000 square feet of office/studio space. Developed by Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. of Baltimore, the project is located in the Hampden section of Baltimore City, just off Falls Road, adjacent to Druid Hill Park.

Tim Burkett, operation team leader for Biohabitats, said the company's growth fueled a search for new and expanded office space.

"We're kind of buttoned up against the walls here,'' said Burkett of the Aylesbury Road headquarters.

The company looked at alternative offices throughout the Hunt Valley corridor and into the city before selecting Clipper Mill, where Biohabitats signed a lease for 7,500 square feet of space.

The deal represents a coup for Baltimore City, whose economic development leaders are often fighting to keep companies from moving their operations to the suburbs.

Typically, rents are cheaper in Baltimore County, and parking at most projects is free. According to a fourth quarter 2004 report from MacKenzie/Cushmann & Wakefield, average asking rents for office space in Baltimore City and the central business district were $18.53 per square foot, compared to $14.29 in the eastern part of Baltimore County and $15.08 in the western part of the county.

Burkett said the central location of Clipper Mill to the homes of the company's employees played largely into the decision to move.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

Eerik

February 16th, 2005, 07:30 AM

Nice view: Cities of all sizes embracing high-rise living
Tue Feb 15,10:12 AM ET Top Stories - USATODAY.com
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY

Within an hour of learning that billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump had signed on to build a luxury high-rise downtown, Stephen Page was ready to buy in.

Page and his wife, Linda, paid "close to $1 million" for a 34th-floor, two-bedroom condominium in Trump Tower Tampa, a 52-story, $220 million edifice to elegance that will be the tallest residential building on Florida's Gulf Coast when it opens in 2007.

This city of 321,000 is perhaps best known nationally for its Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl two years ago, and tourist attractions such as Busch Gardens. It might be the last place one would expect to find people living among the clouds, in digs outfitted with valet services, exotic wood finishes and imported marble floors with inlaid onyx.

But 3½ years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - when the images of passenger jets slamming into New York City's landmark skyscrapers seemed to underscore the nation's vulnerability - high-rise living is enormously popular. And not just in New York, Chicago and other places long known for it. High-rise condominiums are under construction or planned in dozens of cities.

Cities across the country are witnessing a renaissance of downtown living, and, in every center-city ZIP code, some of the most sought-after addresses tower above the urban landscape. The buildings often include on-site amenities such as concierge service, restaurants, pools and spas. Some are combined with luxury hotels, and some cater to the very well-heeled - Trump Tower Tampa units range from $700,000 to more than $6 million.

"We're seeing only a few (high-rise) office buildings, but dozens and dozens of high-rise residential, mostly condos," says Ron Klemencic, chairman of the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The group monitors skyscraper construction worldwide.

"Immediately after 9/11, there was a lot of concern for tall buildings," Klemencic says. "That, for residential buildings, has gone by the wayside. There still is concern over very tall, prominent office buildings. But people have realized that we live in this free and open society, and we have to maintain our lifestyle as before, and that means living and working in tall buildings."

The lure of luxury
Sharing that sentiment is Trump, who is known to millions as the blunt boss of TV's The Apprentice. His holdings include some of Manhattan's most prestigious residential towers, a luxury condo tower in Las Vegas and hotels and casinos in Atlantic City.

"There is no doubt that Sept. 11 had a big impact on high-rise living," Trump says. "At the time, I was planning to build the world's tallest building in Chicago, but then scaled back the plans to a 90-story tower. However, I think one of the reasons that people have decided to live in tall towers once again is the luxury services and amenities they receive, not to mention the great views they see."

For Page, the possibility of a terrorist attack wasn't really a consideration. "I feel very comfortable," he says of his Trump Tower Tampa condo. "It's not going to stick up 1,000 feet high."

"When I saw it was a project of (Tampa Bay developers) SimDag-RoBEL and Trump, I just knew it was going to be the best address in town. I had to have one," says Page, 40. "Everybody's talking about it. I think it's going to be phenomenal."

It's not surprising that 9/11 fears have eased, because other nations have endured repeated terrorist assaults without people altering their lives, says housing expert John McIlwain of the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C., research group that tracks land-use trends.

Neither ULI nor Klemencic's organization keeps statistics on the boom in high-rise living. But anecdotal evidence is plentiful:

• Denver developers plan to begin construction this year on a 50-story downtown skyscraper that will house a five-star Four Seasons hotel and the most expensive condos in city history. It will be one of the city's tallest buildings.

• In downtown Milwaukee, construction is underway on two luxury condo projects, the 33-story Kilbourn Tower, with units reportedly selling for $700,000-$2.8 million, and the 34-story University Club Tower, with most units over $1.5 million. They will be Wisconsin's tallest residential buildings.

• Portland, Maine, has its own downtown condo boom, including the proposed 12-story Waterview, which will have 94 units priced from $250,000 to $475,000 when it opens in 2007.

• Just 16 years ago, Seattle voters banned skyscrapers over 45 stories. Now, Mayor Greg Nickels is calling for new high-rise residential buildings, part of an effort to double the downtown residential population over the next 20 years.

• Miami, no stranger to downtown high-rises, is seeing explosive growth in the market, with 70 projects either built, under construction or planned. If all the projects materialize, about 55,000 condominium units would be built in the city over the next 10 years.

• Las Vegas is in the middle of an unprecedented surge in high-rise condos, with 1,000 people a month plunking down deposits on units. About 20,000 units in 122 buildings have been approved, and nine buildings are under construction. "We're undergoing the Manhattan-ization of Las Vegas," real estate consultant Stephen Bottfeld says.

Even quintessentially suburban places are cashing in on the trend. In Orange County, Calif., south of Los Angeles, more than 6,500 high-rise condos are under construction or on the drawing board. And on Long Island - one of America's first suburbs - Charles Wang, founder of Computer Associates and owner of the New York Islanders hockey franchise, wants to build a 60-story hotel/condo project that would be Nassau County's tallest skyscraper.

Many projects around the nation aren't "high-rise" by Manhattan or Chicago standards, but they often dwarf local norms.

Boomers feed the demand
Real estate and land-use analysts say many factors are driving the nation's high-rise condo-mania:

• A major demographic shift. Baby boomers are inheriting wealth at the same time that they're becoming empty nesters. "We're retiring earlier, and we want to be able to lock and leave," Bottfeld says. "For people in their 50s to their 70s, their most precious commodity is time."

People don't want to spend time mowing lawns, sitting in rush-hour traffic or getting in their cars to pick up the dry-cleaning. If they live in a downtown high-rise, there's no grass to cut, they often can walk to work and cultural events, and many high-rises have on-site concierge service to take care of life's every little need.

• Real estate as an investment. Many high-rise condo buyers are young professionals of both sexes and single women who purchase them as homes - and as their primary investment vehicles.

• An emphasis in some cities on "smart growth." These principles, which promote the protection of open space by concentrating development close to jobs and services and connecting it with mass transit, fit perfectly with high-rise living.

Page, a developer who lives near Clearwater, about 20 miles from Tampa, says that one attraction for him was access to the city's nightlife. "We love Tampa," he says. "We go there almost every single weekend. We'll sometimes stay at one of the nicer hotels there. Well, now, we can just stay at our own place."

'Never get in the car'
Trump Tower Tampa, which will adorn a revitalized Riverwalk on the Hillsborough River in downtown's financial and cultural districts, is attracting buyers who live on Harbour Island, a tony residential enclave near downtown.

"It's the convenience of downtown living," says Jody Simon, a managing partner of SimDag-RoBEL. "You'll see more restaurants and shops. To be able to walk out your door and take a stroll down to your office and never get in the car - that's what people want."

Trump Tower Tampa will be the city's tallest - and most luxurious - high-rise residential building. But Mayor Pam Iorio, who has made downtown residential development a priority of her administration, says three other sets of twin-tower condominiums are planned.

More than 5,000 downtown housing units, many of them high-rise condominiums, have been approved, says Christine Burdick, president of Tampa Downtown Partnership, a non-profit organization that represents downtown property owners and others.

Burdick discounts questions about whether there are enough people here who can afford Trump Tower Tampa. "There is money in this area," she says. "There are people who want to invest in a quality housing product."

Trump, responding to e-mailed questions, says his building will pump energy into Tampa's revitalized downtown.

"A livable city needs downtown residential development," he says. "It's one of the reasons that Manhattan is so great. I believe high-rise living is here to stay."

StevenW

February 16th, 2005, 12:07 PM

Great article! :)
Thanks.

StevenW

February 16th, 2005, 11:23 PM

A good article: http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/02/14/daily19.html
Talking about housing and all. :) ;)

StevenW

February 17th, 2005, 12:11 AM

Does anyone remember this proposed tower?

http://www.pfarc.com/97003/02.jpg

http://www.pfarc.com/97003/01.jpg

Sure is a shame it did not go up. :(

jaysonjaz

February 17th, 2005, 07:39 PM

Is that One Light Street?

Speaking of disapointments, has anyone driven by the Lockwood Place project recently? It looks terrible. It looks totally uninspired. I think I could design a much more interesting place. It looks like its only going to be 3 stories tall.

I can't belive the city would allow such an attrocious project to go ahead on a signature lot for this city.. :bash: simply stupid

We went from this:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2004-07/13534492.jpg

to this:

http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-lockwood-place.jpg

NewBaltimore1980

February 17th, 2005, 08:22 PM

Is that One Light Street?

Speaking of disapointments, has anyone driven by the Lockwood Place project recently? It looks terrible. It looks totally uninspired. I think I could design a much more interesting place. It looks like its only going to be 3 stories tall.

I can't belive the city would allow such an attrocious project to go ahead on a signature lot for this city.. :bash: simply stupid

We went from this:

http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-lockwood-place.jpg

to this:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2004-07/13534492.jpg

I agree, thats why we should let the market decide what to build, not the city planners.

Hugh Jaramillo

February 17th, 2005, 10:21 PM

I agree about Lockwood Place. The city really missed the boat on that project! The only positive thing that can be said for it, is that at least it fills in that awful void that was there before, where all you could see was the wall of the parking garage built in back of it. But the word uninspired is really an understatement. However I blame Kurt Schmoke (or is that Smuck) for bringing this about. Originally that site was supposed to be the new home of the law firm of Piper Rudnick and instead they left downtown entirely for a suburban style campus out in Mt. Washington. That was a huge loss in terms of high paying jobs for the city tax base, but that jerk just sat by and let it happen. I think that Baltimore now must be the only city where the major law firm is located in the suburbs and not in the downtown! Does that send a message to other corporations who might be considering relocating to downtown Baltimore? Lets hope that they at least get some upscale shops in that otherwise bland new 3 story building. like maybe a Virgin Records, HMV or Sephora but I have a feeling it will be more like Taco Bell or Olive Garden.

jaysonjaz

February 17th, 2005, 11:18 PM

Lets hope that they at least get some upscale shops in that otherwise bland new 3 story building. like maybe a Virgin Records, HMV or Sephora but I have a feeling it will be more like Taco Bell or Olive Garden.

Well I had heard all along that Olive Garden was one of the tennants.
However I do believe you are correct. We need to get some special stores there.. People will come downtown to go to unique stores that they can't find in the surburban malls..

StevenW

February 17th, 2005, 11:36 PM

"Baltimore lauded as filmmakers' town"

Julekha Dash
Staff
Baltimore is one of the top 10 cities for independent filmmakers, according to a recent issue of MovieMaker, an industry magazine.

In the winter 2005 issue, Baltimore is ranked number nine on its annual countdown of the best cities for independent filmmakers to live and work. Film production incentives and accessibility of film resources were some of the criteria considered in the ranking.

The magazine recognized Baltimore's "one-stop shopping" system, whereby permits and fees are obtained in one location.

Baltimore shared the honor with New York, Austin, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Portland, Ore., Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando, Fla.

The film industry has generated nearly $200 million in economic impact in Baltimore. The city has been the location for Hollywood film productions such as 2004's "Ladder 49," starring John Travolta, and John Waters' "A Dirty Shame."

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

What ever happened to the people, I forget who they were, that were going to build a couple of movie studios in the city? :?
Does anyone knowwhat I'm refering to? :? :D
That would be a big PLUS for the city's movie scene development. :)

StevenW

February 17th, 2005, 11:38 PM

BTW, yes Jason, that is One Light Street. Or should I say, "was One Light Street". :(

NewBaltimore1980

February 18th, 2005, 03:04 PM

Well I had heard all along that Olive Garden was one of the tennants.
However I do believe you are correct. We need to get some special stores there.. People will come downtown to go to unique stores that they can't find in the surburban malls..

Unique and upscale. Especially at the harbor. People are not going to come downtown to go to 'hippie' stores or ecletic stores that cater to a lower class of people. We already have plenty of that in Baltimore.

Eerik

February 18th, 2005, 10:14 PM

I agree, thats why we should let the market decide what to build, not the city planners.

Interesting comment and thought-chain:

The original comment "I can't believe the city would allow such an atrocious project to go ahead on a signature lot for this city" followed by the thought "that's why we should let the market decide what to build, not the city planners" is somewhat of a contradiction.

Are we suggesting the city should have prohibited the current construction in favor of something larger?

So are we, or are we not in favor of city planners meddling? To me it appears the market did exactly that -- decide what to build. Apparently the pro forma didn't work out in favor of something larger. Keep in mind the city did not pull the plug on the latest idea, or any of the earlier proposals. The market dictated their fate...

If things change, it appears the structure can be easily replaced. The four storey parking garage at the north end of 100 E. Pratt Street became a 28 storey tower; Festival Hall was torn down and replaced with the expansion of the convention center, etc.

(Although the two photos above do demonstrate two extremes. It would be interesting to hear from the various developers over the last ten years as to what they were thinking, where they were getting their market data, etc. PLUS, it would be interesting to hear what BCCC thinks about the current construction.)

Eerik

February 18th, 2005, 10:41 PM

I don't know if anyone heard or read about it, but the Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved the payment of $122,985 to pay for the relocation of The Peanut Shoppe from the SE corner of Lexington and Liberty Streets. The Peanut Shoppe moved last year to a new location on Baltimore Street, right below the Mechanic Theatre. The Peanut Shoppe is one of the first acquisitions/relocations for the West Side in the super-block development.

StevenW

February 18th, 2005, 11:26 PM

"(Although the two photos above do demonstrate two extremes. It would be interesting to hear from the various developers over the last ten years as to what they were thinking, where they were getting their market data, etc. PLUS, it would be interesting to hear what BCCC thinks about the current construction.)"

I've often wondered those questions too, Eerik. It would be nice to know.
But, how? If there is an e-mail address or a link of some sort, I would try to contact someone and ask them. They might tell me, who knows?
Good comments, though.

StevenW

February 18th, 2005, 11:32 PM

BTW, Eerik, if you get the time and are able, would you please post all those older proposed highrise projects? Those renderings are great. I think I saved a few. The name of the projects and the developers name and/or projects address would be great, too. I know there are alot of new guys here that probably have not seen these projects of old. :)

jaysonjaz

February 18th, 2005, 11:43 PM

So are we, or are we not in favor of city planners meddling? To me it appears the market did exactly that -- decid what to build. Apparently the pro forma didn't work out in favor of something larger. Keep in mind the city did not pull the plug on the latest idea, or any of the earlier proposals. The market dictated their fate...

If things change, it appears the structure can be easily replaced. The four storey parking garage at the north end of 100 E. Pratt Street became a 28 storey tower; Festival Hall was torn down and replaced with the expansion of the convention center, etc.

Heres some text from the Sun Article about this from August 2004:

""We're going to scrap our hotel project and apartments and go back to the three-story retail," said Tony Rodgers, vice president of A&R Development Corp. "We would put ourselves at significant financial risk if we were unable to finish the job by the given deadline of July 2005 for the retail."

The decision came hours after developers, who had proposed 29 stories of hotel, luxury apartments and retail space at 600 E. Pratt St., received their second rejection from the city's Design Advisory Panel in two weeks.

Work will begin immediately on the alternative 90,000-square- foot retail project estimated to cost between $10 million and $15 million, Rodgers said late yesterday.

"It is disappointing," Rodgers said. "We're very interested in doing the project. We just can't take the risk. Time was tight anyway. If we thought we were close to understanding what the design panel wanted, we may have submitted another plan. But our team left saying we would have to start back at [the beginning]."

The Lockwood Place project has languished for years, hostage to bureaucratic, legal and economic woes since the state legislature granted Baltimore City Community College permission to market the site, which it owns, to developers as a way to enhance its revenue in 1998.

A substantial financial penalty would result if the deadline for completing the retail space is not met, Rodgers said, because of financial guarantees made to the college and Kravco Co., the original developer. He would not reveal the amount of the possible penalties."

So you have a developer who was willing to build a 29 story building, but the city Deisign Advisory Panel didn't like the original proposal.. So it was the city who stopped the old project from going ahead.. and they think this is better?
:bash:

Eerik

February 19th, 2005, 01:34 AM

You really can not blame the Lockwood Place problems on the city. While it is obvious from the article pulled from The Sun which states the city's Design Advisory Panel rejected the design, A&R Development jumped into the arena at a very late point in the development of this parcel. The Lockwood Place development has been a nightmare from the start.

I'll remind you that the Kravco Co. along with A&R Development signed a ground lease with BCCC in 1999, promising to construct 100,000 square feet of retail as part of the original deal. Of course for awhile the development team itself stalled, in part due to the 9/11 economic downturn/post dot-com bubble. First they dropped the idea of a hotel in 2000, and then both the office and retail. In January 2003, after getting Trammell Crow as a third-party developer, site work started on the office tower and the city granted tax breaks...payments in lieu of taxes...to Kravco with the promise of a finished retail complex. David Brown entered the scenario by partnering with A&R Development Corp. While he is involved with the Symphony Center development, most of his work is traditionally suburban, and is relatively new to the city-scene.

So when the tower proposal appeared, it was the revival of an old idea, yet due to economic constraints that the developers themselves have assumed...none that the city imposed. The developers wanted money, the city made an offer with the pretext the retail be finished within a specific timeframe. There really was no way the tower could be built within this timeframe. Even in the article offered from The Sun, it plainly states: "A substantial financial penalty would result if the deadline for completing the retail space is not met, Rodgers said, because of financial guarantees made to the college and Kravco Co., the original developer. He would not reveal the amount of the possible penalties."

Everyone was surprised by the sudden announcement and intention to build the tower. It was all spur of the moment, and in hindsight I can't believe The Sun, BDC and myself had any realistic hope that this thing would actually get built. The idea appeared on the Baltimore development scene as quickly as it evaporated. Blaming the city is a lame excuse.

jaysonjaz

February 19th, 2005, 01:56 AM

So when the tower proposal appeared, it was the revival of an old idea, yet due to economic constraints that the developers themselves have assumed...none that the city imposed. The developers wanted money, the city made an offer with the pretext the retail be finished within a specific timeframe. There really was no way the tower could be built within this timeframe. Even in the article offered from The Sun, it plainly states: "A substantial financial penalty would result if the deadline for completing the retail space is not met, Rodgers said, because of financial guarantees made to the college and Kravco Co., the original developer. He would not reveal the amount of the possible penalties."

Well if the problem was penalties, then the city could have extened the deadline for the penalties.. anything to make a good project to go through..

but i'll guess we'll just have to disagree about whos at fault here :-P

Eerik

February 19th, 2005, 04:20 AM

No one is “at fault” per se. The law is the law, and in the case of PILOTS, I assume the developers decided to take what they could and make whatever they could make. Just as 414 Light Street to this day sits empty (the former McCormick factory) as a parking lot (with a prime harbor view) the 29-story Lockwood tower wasn’t feasible to construct. Even the current program is better than what was there before…an asphalt parking lot.

Believe me, the city won’t prevent large-scale development wherever it can reap additional dollars. CHAP and others really don’t wield any power. There are lots of examples in Baltimore were design guidelines were abolished; where zoning laws have been totally overturned in favor of development: 100 E. East Pratt, 200 E. Pratt, Harbor East…

In the end, be it ten years or fifty years from now, something bigger and better will replace the structure under construction.

scando

February 19th, 2005, 06:44 AM

However I blame Kurt Schmoke (or is that Smuck) for bringing this about. Originally that site was supposed to be the new home of the law firm of Piper Rudnick and instead they left downtown entirely for a suburban style campus out in Mt. Washington. That was a huge loss in terms of high paying jobs for the city tax base, but that jerk just sat by and let it happen.

It's amazing that the Schmoke administration was so clueless that Baltimore pretty much missed the 90's. Their motto should have been changed from "The City That Breeds" to "Baltimore - About as good ever likely to be". In spite of my reservations about the O'Malley administration, things have happened and inertia has changed direction. The Lochwood Place property was only one of the major losses of that era. It seemed as though the previous administration was intent on chasing anything not State funded out of the city.

scando

February 19th, 2005, 06:49 AM

it would be interesting to hear what BCCC thinks about the current construction.)

BCCC doesn't have much of a track record for urban development. It was they who rejected the Piper Rudnick proposal in favor of Lochwood Place, which always looked second class. If you check out their remaining building downtown, you can see that they were never much as architectural critics.

Eerik

February 19th, 2005, 10:51 AM

Schmoke was a victim of a national downturn in the national, and to a greater extent world economy. If you switched Schmoke with O’Malley, I think the state of the city today would be no better or worse. Schmoke arrived on the scene at a bad time; Baltimore was in a freefall. The same holds true for leadership at the BDC: around the same time they ousted Freeman in exchange for Brodie. (Unlike the comparison of the mayors, I must admit my bias for Brodie due to his previous experience at PADC.)

Lockwood has been a mess from the beginning. Ironically BCCC originally rejected a proposal by the Cordish Co. to develop a parking and retail center that would have included a department store. Having just finished the Pier Four complex, Cordish was looking to expand his success across the street.

Along comes Piper who announces they want to vacate a dozen or so floors at the One South Charles tower and get a view of the harbor. Cordish makes a proposal, but the BCCC is leery of the retail focused Cordish, continues to court other developers. (Of course in the end, Cordish jumped past Lockwood and developed the old Brokerage complex into Power Plant Live.)

Meanwhile next door, the owner of Inner Harbor Center at 400 E. Pratt St., David Leibowits starts to churn. Since the Inner Harbor Center is a small office building in total square footage, Leibowits always wanted to expand his 400 E. Pratt holdings. A long time ago he had RTKL drawn up plans for a 15-storey addition that would be built on top of the parking garage. So Leibowitz having the plans in hand was expected to court Piper to 400 E. Pratt…

So what does he do? Leibowits abandons the Inner Harbor Center plans, and jumps into the Lockwood proposal as a potential developer. The college…most likely suspicious of his intentions told him to take a hike. (You may recall Leibowits proposed a two-towered development for Piper at the SW corner of the Lockwood site, pretty much where the new building stands.)

Meanwhile, BCCC is getting tired and exhausted of the entire process. Just before the end of the “Digital Harbor” along with the bursting dot-com bubble, BCCC picks Kravco to develop the project. Why? First and foremost Kravco promises to get the entire project developed and built all in one phase.

Along comes the economic downturn, the “headquarters” hotel for the convention center is debated/contested and eventually built more than a mile away at Harbor East (keep in mind plans called for a 30+ storey hotel at one time for the Lockwood site) and of course 9/11. Piper being anxious for new space (little did we know at the time they were looking at a merger and desperately needed new/expansion space ASAP) gives up and leaves the city altogether!

In the end, I can’t find real fault with the city, Schmoke, O’Malley or Piper. The two detriments were BCCC and its board along with the economy. The original hotel tower would have been bad had it been built since it was still too far away from the convention center. While Piper would have been a great tenant, the blur of developers along with the uncertain economy clouded the prospects for development. The apartment tower proposal that appeared and disappeared back in the summer of 2004 would have been an interesting (new) programming component, but the developers were a bit too inexperienced and unwilling to take the risk. In the end, “the ship ended up leaving the harbor” for the BCCC. They missed several opportunities. But I still think something will be built replacing the current retail component. While not as valuable at the vacant Light or 300 Pratt Street property, it won’t be viable (for long) just selling plates of pasta or music CDs.

Eerik

February 19th, 2005, 10:55 AM

BCCC doesn't have much of a track record for urban development. It was they who rejected the Piper Rudnick proposal in favor of Lochwood Place, which always looked second class. If you check out their remaining building downtown, you can see that they were never much as architectural critics.

While BCCC didn't reject Piper (they rejected the developer)...I do agree their [remaining] building is somewhat of a disaster. Recall they had to reclad the building: it used to be covered in orange-red tile that began to fall off the overhang! Fear was that someone would get hurt!

NewBaltimore1980

February 19th, 2005, 03:51 PM

fanofterps

February 19th, 2005, 05:08 PM

The city really went downhill with Schmoke and is still trying to recover. All you have to do is look at T. Rowe Price , Baltimore Life and Piper. They employ approx 2500 people in the suburbs and they left the city in the Schmoke era.

We had the largest employment and population loss in the history of the city during his tenure.

Schmoke's policies were the cause of the downturn of the city neighborhoods. He knocked down those highrises without any plan on where to put those people. Those people then brought their 'gimme' vouchers to the neighborhoods and ruined many more neighborhoods.

Hugh Jaramillo

February 19th, 2005, 11:56 PM

What people forget is that since the city of Baltimore has lost most of it's middle class to the suburbs since the 50's, there is precious little wiggle room left for maintaining taxes that make living in the city competative with the suburbs. That and the poor public schools, means that what you have left are the drug addicted "gimme" people and childless upper class who can afford to buy into the Ritz Carlton and Harbourview life styles. Residents of the city like myself pay the highest residential tax rate in the state, so when yet another corporation leaves the city or worse is aquired by an out of state one, guess who ends up having to make up the shot fall?

On another topic. Does anyone have some renderings that they can post of some residential developments being done in the city by Metroscape Development? They are building homes in 3 projects that I know of: Dewar's Land in Canton, Stone Hill Walk in Hamden and Roland Gate in lower Roland Park. I am particularly curious as to why anyone would want to live in the latter development since it is visually unattractive and bordered by busy Cold Spring Lane. Also across the street from the Cathedral on North Charles in Homeland just south of Taplow Road, there is a plot of undeveloped land that has been there since time immamorial that recently had a sign that said Power Homes was building new homes there. They seem to have begun working on that site because I noticed that the scrub had been taken away and only the pretty mature trees that line the perimeter have been left standing. If anyone has a rendering of those homes, I would REALLY love to see them, as I live not too far from there.

Eerik

February 20th, 2005, 01:25 AM

So specifically what were Schmoke’s policies that caused the downturn in the neighborhoods and downtown? I’d be interested in hearing about actual policy here…and not simply “oh, and he didn’t care about businesses”. Was it his stance on the tax rate? Was it how he lobbied in Annapolis and to a lesser degree his influence with the Clinton administration?

The demolition of the high-rises on both the east and west sides appear to have been a success, after all. Many residents now either rent housing in far superior conditions or own their property. For example, the east side is developing affordable housing where the Flag Houses once stood. While I don’t know if it’s all that cheap, starting prices at $200,000 should be of benefit to the city. At least what is being developed is worth more now than what was there before, and with Section 8 housing many previous residents now have a new chance.

However, I would encourage a fairer tone here when describing the residents of some of these developments. For example, to say “Those people then brought their 'gimme' vouchers to the neighborhoods and ruined many more neighborhoods” or as in an earlier post about the Hopkins area where hopefully increasing property values will push out the “riff raff” and gentrify developing areas; such statements are offensive and overlaid with racial overtones.

If that is the way you feel about the state of these developments, well fine. But the city, the developers, and even the financiers of these developments would not agree with this stance. In one posting we read hopefully the “riff raff” will be moved, yet another posting states this is a bad idea. As with the abovementioned east and west side housing projects, great effort was taken to address concerns of longtime residents that they be given the opportunity to remain in what they deemed to be their neighborhoods, their homes. I find it extremely troubling to suggest all of this new development simply push-out the existing residents. To do so would be socially irresponsible, unfair to the existing residents, and illegal by laws not only in Baltimore, but also in the State of Maryland as well as in Federal jurisdictions.

Eerik

February 20th, 2005, 01:39 AM

What people forget is that since the city of Baltimore has lost most of it's middle class to the suburbs since the 50's, there is precious little wiggle room left for maintaining taxes that make living in the city competative with the suburbs. That and the poor public schools, means that what you have left are the drug addicted "gimme" people and childless upper class who can afford to buy into the Ritz Carlton and Harbourview life styles. Residents of the city like myself pay the highest residential tax rate in the state, so when yet another corporation leaves the city or worse is aquired by an out of state one, guess who ends up having to make up the shot fall?

While in principle I agree with you, and also lament the loss of large Baltimore based corporations, be it via merger and acquisition or other means, I worry about the tax situation in Baltimore since there doesn’t seem to exist even a vague notion of hope.

Probably the worst-case scenario would be for the status quo; ultimately the health of the city continues to deteriorate.

As we all know, it is unlikely there will be an influx of new large corporations into Baltimore. So our “private” source of income into the city coffers looks doomed.

The only other major influx of revenue would be the current nationwide trend of residents moving back into urban areas. Such an influx does encourage renovation of existing housing as well as new construction, but along with new taxation. And that is where I foresee a problem:

As more people move into an area, the demand for housing will increase, as well as the price of housing. Simultaneously the assessed value tends to increase, which results in higher taxes.

So, in many ways you are trapped. You pay a high rate now, or as more people moved into a jurisdiction, the rate also increases. Would that mean somehow your rate would remain about the same or stabilize, drop (!?!) or… I really don’t know. But by no means do I ever see it becoming competitive with the suburbs. The value of living in the city will always be like trying to measure the book value of intellectual capital for a company.

scando

February 20th, 2005, 05:46 AM

So specifically what were Schmoke’s policies that caused the downturn in the neighborhoods and downtown? I’d be interested in hearing about actual policy here…and not simply “oh, and he didn’t care about businesses”. Was it his stance on the tax rate? Was it how he lobbied in Annapolis and to a lesser degree his influence with the Clinton administration?

At the time I was living and working in the city and socialized with people who were dollar house renovators and neighborhood activists, etc. Basically everybody I knew at the time had a story about how the Schmoke administration had either told citizens asking for services to forget about it and don't ask again. People doing business in the city, looking for some sort of cooperation with the government were snubbed or never had their phone calls returned. All this was a big change from the way the Schaffer administration had worked and really turned off a lot of people on a very personal level.

It wasn't policy and it wasn't that Schmoke didn't know the right words to say. It was that his people acted as though they didn't want our business, didn't want us living in HIS city. I wasn't the only person that felt that way. Pretty much everybody I know eventually came to the same conclusion. Only the truly committed stayed after a few run-ins with the government. Furthermore, the man had no vision for the city, except, "Not too bad of a place if you don't expect much". He was much more the manager than the leader. If you ever heard his regular radio show at the time, it was obvious that his interest was in getting too down in the details with too little emphasis on the big picture and not recognizing that he had to sell people on living and doing business in the city.

Ron C

February 20th, 2005, 11:38 PM

At the time I was living and working in the city and socialized with people who were dollar house renovators and neighborhood activists, etc. Basically everybody I knew at the time had a story about how the Schmoke administration had either told citizens asking for services to forget about it and don't ask again. People doing business in the city, looking for some sort of cooperation with the government were snubbed or never had their phone calls returned. All this was a big change from the way the Schaffer administration had worked and really turned off a lot of people on a very personal level.

It wasn't policy and it wasn't that Schmoke didn't know the right words to say. It was that his people acted as though they didn't want our business, didn't want us living in HIS city. I wasn't the only person that felt that way. Pretty much everybody I know eventually came to the same conclusion. Only the truly committed stayed after a few run-ins with the government. Furthermore, the man had no vision for the city, except, "Not too bad of a place if you don't expect much". He was much more the manager than the leader. If you ever heard his regular radio show at the time, it was obvious that his interest was in getting too down in the details with too little emphasis on the big picture and not recognizing that he had to sell people on living and doing business in the city.

Well, I can't agree with this from my personal experiences. I have lived in Baltimore through 3 administrations and found the services and the interest about the same throughout all three. I know firsthand that the Shmoke administration responded positively when the residents of Otterbein requested that parking be limited to residents only (by permit) when Camden Yards was built. The city originally wanted to allow 2-hour parking without a permit, and the residents specifically requested that there be no parking at all without a permit. The city wanted the 2-hour limit for convenience of visitors, but they agreed it was more important to keep us happy. During that time, the city also beefed up police presence in the neighborhood at residents' request. As far as I know, whenever the neighborhood or condo associations requested a meeting with the city, they responded.

Eerik

February 21st, 2005, 05:02 AM

Ah, so you’re the reason it’s difficult for me to find convenient and cheap parking whenever I drive up from DC! (Just kidding.)

While I do believe Schmoke had the reputation of being too “wonky” and not much of a hands-on mayor, if I recall properly, many of the cuts in services were made to address extremely serious budget deficits. His was an era of municipal bankruptcies; he was very hesitant to make cuts in the budget but his primary goal was to do whatever necessary to maintain the health of the city’s bond rating. Schmoke was smart to realize that once the bond rating soured, any attempt of borrowing money would become more difficult and expensive. We can say whatever we want to about him here, but the fact of the matter is that a larger percentage of today’s investment in the city has a lot to do with the groundwork laid by his administration: everything winning the Empowerment Zones, which planted the seeds for development along Central Avenue, Hopkins-north, and Southwest Baltimore; salvaging the projects outlined in the city’s ongoing five year capital program; and his unpopular move at reducing the city’s property tax.

I believe that down the road, Schmoke will get more credit as the true picture becomes clearer and in hindsight we see what he was up against. Schmoke was in many ways the true visionary, since he had the guts to come out and question many standing policy decisions: from the efficiency of city agencies through the extremely unpopular proposal of legalizing certain forms of drugs. The man thought outside of the box more than any mayor in Baltimore’s history than perhaps Mayor McKeldin.

StevenW

February 21st, 2005, 05:30 PM

Get ready. :) Here come today's development articles from the Baltimore Business Journal:

City moves to acquire Abell site
Brodie: Rundown building holds up west side effort
Joanna Sullivan
Staff
Baltimore City will take over the historic Abell building on downtown's west side if owner Michael Abrams doesn't sign a contract to renovate the property by Feb. 28.

The 127-year-old vacant property remains an eyesore across from the renovated Hippodrome Theatre, the linchpin of the sweeping west-side revitalization effort. Its sorry state -- trees were growing out of its upper floors -- has infuriated officials pushing for the neighborhood's rebound.

"It's been a source of frustration," Mayor Martin O'Malley told the crowd at the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore's annual meeting Feb. 10. "We do have the ability to go and take it, and we will."

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, who heads the Baltimore Development Corp., said the city is reappraising the property at 329 W. Baltimore St., the first step in forcing the building's sale. According to state tax records, the property's assessed value was $202,700 as of Jan. 1, 2004.

Brodie said Abrams has the option of signing a contract with Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse for a planned renovation to avoid the building's condemnation and sale. Struever is planning apartments and retail for the site. City officials would prefer that Abrams move on the project with private money.

"Bill Struever says he's only been having this discussion with Abrams for eight years," Brodie said. "There hasn't been a more frustrating effort. [Abrams] has sat in front of me and made numerous promises."

Ken Mills, who's heading the project for Struever Bros., could not be reached for comment.

Abrams, of Silver Spring's David & Annie Abrams Realty Corp., could not be reached for comment.

In an October interview, Abrams said the delays have come from the high costs and intricacies of renovating an historic property. The Abell Building, built in 1878 by Baltimore Sun magnate A.S. Abell as an investment property, is best known for its cast-iron facade and its blend of Neo-Grec and Italianate features. It's considered Baltimore's finest surviving warehouse from the period.

"The most difficult issue with any historic building is you really can't do Band-Aids," Abrams said. "You have to do it all at once."

Abrams said he had been working with Struever Bros. on a deal to sell the property but that he received no help from the city on the project. He said then that he would fight any condemnation efforts by the city.

"They're trying to put undue political pressure on a private businessman," he said.

The city has the authority to condemn the building because the Abell Building is part of the urban renewal plan for the west side, which allows it to use eminent domain to restore dilapidated properties.

John C. Murphy, a Baltimore attorney who has been representing other west-side property owners faced with eminent domain, is critical of the city using its power to take over properties there. He said the Abell Building case has been unusual because the city has tried to save money by pushing the owner to do it himself.

"I sort of come to the view that the city just ought to let the private market take its course," Murphy said. "Here in Baltimore City, we have a thriving private market -- Canton, the waterfront, Federal Hill."

Murphy said the use of eminent domain in creating the Inner Harbor was justified. But he said rehabilitating a neighborhood through eminent domain, as in the case of the west-side revitalization, hurts actual investment in properties. He said private developers are loathe to invest in a property that could easily be condemned by government.

"It also assumes the city has skill in this whole thing," said Murphy, who is trying to recover relocation costs from the city for a former tenant of the Abell Building. "I don't think they necessarily do."

Such talk rankles Ronald M. Kreitner, executive director of WestSide Renaissance Inc., a group headed by Orioles owner Peter Angelos that represents about 40 stakeholders. He said projects such as the Hippodrome, Centerpoint, a massive retail and residential complex spearheaded by Bank of America, and other west-side development projects wouldn't have happened without government help.

"There was no evidence that the market was doing anything on its own," Kreitner said. "I don't think there was enough confidence without there being public support. Public support was essential in assuring people things were going to happen."

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Little Italy restaurateurs say vacant spots idle far too long
Julekha Dash
Staff
The owners of two long-vacant former restaurants in Little Italy have no immediate plans to develop the properties, disappointing area residents and business owners who want to see commercial activity breathe new life into the aging empty spaces.

According to state records, Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos bought 9,400-square-foot restaurant Mama Cellina's in 1999 for $550,000.

"I don't know what plans there are, if any, at this point" to revamp the space, said Tom Marudas, vice president of Artemis Properties Inc., Angelos' real estate firm.

Another vacant restaurant, Panino's, stayed open for a few years during the mid-'90s, after the owner of the former Denitti's restaurant sold it to Vince Culotta, who owns Sabatino's restaurant. Currently an individual is using the 8,400-square-foot space for personal storage, said Phillip Culotta, Vince Culotta's son. Vince Culotta could not be reached for comment.

The owners "do plan to do something with it" eventually, Phillip Culotta said. Both properties date back to the 1920s.

Mary Ann Cricchio, who owns Da Mimmo restaurant, would like to see a family-owned business, rather than a chain operation, make use of the vacant spaces.

Although it would bring more competition, another restaurant in the Mama Cellina space would "brighten up the area," said one restaurant owner, who wished to remain anonymous. "It's an eyesore," said the business owner, referring to the former Mama Cellina's restaurant.

That's a far cry from the restaurant's early days, when it was known as Maria's 300, said Roberto Marsili, a former president of the Little Italy Community Organization. One of the neighborhood's first restaurants, Maria's 300 heralded Little Italy's debut as a tourist attraction, drawing stars such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

"It doesn't look like a nice gateway to Little Italy," Marsili said. "Even a parking lot is better than what is there now."

Some business owners would like to see the spaces filled with any kind of commercial activity there.

"More tenants is better if it brings more traffic for us," said Ahmad Ebrahimpour, who runs gift shop Cose Belle nearby.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

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Spinnaker close to selling out
Heather Harlan
Staff
Bozzuto Homes Inc. has sold all but one condominium at its upcoming waterfront project -- Spinnaker Bay -- in downtown Baltimore.

Thomas "Toby" S. Bozzuto Jr., assistant vice president for Bozzuto Development Co., confirmed that 31 of the 32 condo units at Harbor East off President Street are under contract.

And in what he believes to be a record for Charm City, Bozzuto said two of those units have gone for more than $2 million each. The priciest condos are two levels and encompass about 4,000 square feet of space.

Both the pace and the price of the sales shows Baltimore's growing appetite for condominium living.

Long shunned by price-conscious shoppers who seemed to prefer rowhouses, the downtown condo market is brimming with empty nesters eager to leave the suburbs and young urban professionals in search of homes closer to their offices.

Nathan Huntman, a customer relations coordinator with Bozzuto Homes Inc., said the interest is largely local. "It's actually been fairly diverse," he said. "A lot of it is local. Some of it is from D.C."

Bozzuto said he wishes that the Greenbelt-based company had planned for more condominiums. The other portion of the $97 million complex, which takes up a city block, consists of 315 apartment units.

"We purposely did a smaller percentage because at the time, there had never been a very successful condo project in downtown Baltimore," said Bozzuto, adding that construction on the building began about two years ago.

With construction now wrapping up, Bozzuto has launched leasing on the apartment portion of the development. The apartment units, which feature granite countertops in the bathrooms and kitchens, range in size from 550 square feet to 1,500 square feet. At $2.25 a square foot per month, an average rent will run about $1,900. Monthly rents will cap at roughly $3,375.

Spinnaker Bay, which fronts Lancaster Street, includes a garage that the apartments wrap around. And on top of the garage is a pool and garden area.

Heading downtown
MacKenzie/Cushman & Wakefield is bolstering its downtown office.

The Lutherville-based commercial real estate firm is relocating William "Bill" V. Whitty, a senior vice president and principal, to the city. Whitty, who will serve as the managing partner for the downtown office, specializes in leasing office and flex buildings.

Whitty will be joined by a new appraiser from Cushman & Wakefield's Valuation Group, David J. Masters, as well as the existing brokers in the office at 111 S. Calvert St.

All told, the new managing partner will oversee six brokers, including those in the Industrial Services Group. Dan Hudak, Brad Cole and Toby Mink make up the industrial team.

MacKenzie first debuted the downtown office in October 2003.

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Developer Blair forges ahead with pricey harbor complex
Heather Harlan
Staff
Development of the planned apartment complex on the former Bohager's bar site in Fells Point is moving ahead, a year after the Baltimore Development Corp. denied tax breaks for the controversial waterfront project.

Wendy Blair, one of the developers behind the proposed 701 Eden St. building, said this week that she and Elm Street Development LLC of McLean, Va., are developing 238 apartment units, ground-level retail, parking and possibly some condominiums on the site.

The decision is a reversal from Blair's initial comments following the city's refusal of a payment in lieu of taxes -- or PILOT -- for the then $60 million development. In March 2004, Blair said the project would not work without tax breaks.

But this week, with the storied Bohager's bar demolished and site cleared, she was singing a different tune: "We went back and forth and looked at possibly doing condos," Blair said. "We're still on the fence. It was all about making the numbers work."

Initially, the development team proposed a 13-story tower with 306 apartment units. To make the financing work, the developers had to trim the number of units, she said. Blair and Elm Street Development have secured financing, although the local developer declined to elaborate on the source.

Apartment units will range in size from 600 square feet to 1,260 square feet, with monthly rents spanning from $1,290 to $2,709. Units with a water view will likely be more. Blair stressed that those prices are an estimate and are still in question.

But, the Baltimore developer said, a bigger question remains: Just how deep is Baltimore's housing market?

Throughout the city, developers are constructing apartments, condominiums and townhomes. Nearby at President and Aliceanna streets, Bozzuto Development Co. is nearing completion on Spinnaker Bay. That project will include 316 apartments, 32 condominiums, a 431-space garage and about 42,000 square feet of retail space, according to the company.

On the other side of the harbor off Key Highway, Ritz-Carlton has broken ground on 174 condo units, restaurants, a spa and a 22-slip marina. From the west and east sides of the city to the central business district and Locust Point, housing is cropping up faster than some Baltimore leaders can track.

Robert M. Aydukovic, director of the Downtown Housing Initiative through the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., has his pulse on city housing numbers.

Since 1999, 1,800 new apartment and condo units have been completed in downtown Baltimore, which encompasses the area bordered by Martin Luther King Boulevard on the west, Bolton Hill on the north, Inner Harbor East on the east and Key Highway on the south.

Further, there are 1,039 units under construction, 226 in the building permitting process and 2,800 in the active planning stages. Aydukovic said the numbers will grow as the under-35 set and the baby boomers continue to flock to the city.

"Demand is already here," he said. "And we have more demand coming. What we've seen to date is peanuts. We've got at least 10 more years of this."

The baby boomers, in particular, have proven they like the ease of city living as they enter their 50s and 60s, he said. And with the youngest boomers still in their 40s, that demand is not expected to wane.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

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OPINION:

Baltimore needs a new arena
The First Mariner Arena was already obsolete when it opened as the Baltimore Civic Center in 1962.

Its rectangular shape and odd design made the building a national laughingstock and were primary reasons why the National Basketball Association fled town in 1972 and the National Hockey League never gave the city a second glance as it expanded.

But no one can deny that the still-busy arena has become a center of civic life in Baltimore. For more than four decades, people have gathered inside to see all manner of sports, concerts, the circus, etc.

Baltimoreans deserve better than the First Mariner Arena for these activities. It is heartening that some progress is being made on replacing it. Accounting giant KPMG and architectural firm Odell Associates Inc. were recently awarded a $100,000 contract to study whether the city needs a new arena and, if so, where it should be located.

The cost for a new arena will be high for a city and state strapped for money, but the study hopefully will examine the economic spinoff a new building would provide.

The bottom line is this: The interested players -- the state, the city and private stakeholders -- need to get a new arena for Baltimore within the next decade.

Citizens have been waiting for some 30-odd years.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

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Crazy like foxes: Developers see east side opportunity
High risk, high gain. It's a simple concept that keeps entrepreneurs going.

Michael Goss, a developer, is betting that an onslaught of development -- including a massive biotech park -- in troubled East Baltimore will create a demand for high-end housing there. He is building $800,000 rowhouses on North Castle Street, just one block from Johns Hopkins' sprawling medical campus.

He knows many think he is insane for even trying such a project. It would be easy to dismiss his pie-in-the-sky approach. But all you have to do is look at a map of the area nearby to see that billions of dollars of investment will soon be pouring in. The Business Journal outlined the planned projects and their location in a Special Report by Reporter Alan Zibel last week.

The location eventually will be ideal for Hopkins employees tired of their commutes or downtown workers looking for high-end townhomes.

Besides the biotech park, the nearby Chapel NDP project will bring a $110 million housing, retail and office project to the neighborhood. Townhomes are slated for the former Peterson Lumber property on Fayette Street. And two retail districts, the Old Town Mall and Monument Street, are undergoing renovation efforts.

The neighborhood still faces significant challenges -- crime, drugs and boarded-up properties are pervasive. But turning it around is doable.

The pioneers who first took a chance on Otterbein and Federal Hill in the 1970s and early 1980s faced the same kind of skepticism. They recouped their original investment long ago.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

waj0527

February 21st, 2005, 07:35 PM

Thanks Steven. I was just about to ask if anyone had any development news. We all know the Schmoke administration was horrible for the city, but its time to move on.

Baltimoreguy

February 21st, 2005, 11:07 PM

Thanks Steven. I was just about to ask if anyone had any development news. We all know the Schmoke administration was horrible for the city, but its time to move on.
AMEN. Pleeeeezzzzzzz no more Schmoke Era. Its gunna make my sick. 800,000 dollar homes near Hopkins. Who would have thought that was possible. Hopefully Baltimore can start to gain more population. It would be nice to see Baltimore at 670,000 in 2010.

StevenW

February 22nd, 2005, 12:23 AM

"It would be nice to see Baltimore at 670,000 in 2010."

Aw, come on. Why not hope for an even 700,000 peeps? ;) :D

Furiine

February 22nd, 2005, 01:05 AM

Great articles Steven. There seemed to be a huge gap between the last development news and all the homicide headlines in between that I was getting a little worried. I hope the homicide issue will curb soon. What's going on in East Baltimore should really help drive out the uninviting aspects. :) The biotech park is a huge lift.

waj0527

February 22nd, 2005, 01:41 AM

Shoppers Food to open E. Baltimore supermarket
57,000-square-foot store to be near Bayview
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun Staff
Originally published February 19, 2005

Shoppers Food Warehouse plans to open its first new Baltimore City supermarket in a shopping center to be built in East Baltimore, an area targeted by city officials in an initiative to bring much needed grocery stores to the city.

Officials of Manekin LLC, the developer and part owner of the former industrial site on Eastern Avenue at Interstate 95, just east of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Bayview campus, said yesterday that they had been in negotiations with the supermarket chain for about three years.

Manekin plans an $8 million project for the site in an enterprise zone, which includes demolishing a vacant Anchor Fence plant and building a 77,000-square-foot shopping center, anchored by the 57,000-square-foot supermarket.

The new shopping center, Eastern Plaza, will feature about five or six small shops, either restaurants or service-oriented retail, as well as a free-standing bank and restaurant, Manekin said.

The site is across Eastern Avenue from an 11-year-old Home Depot store, the first to be built in the city.

"There's a lot of demand for it, and a lot of support from the community," said David E. Meiners, a senior developer for Columbia-based Manekin.

Meiners said the site's urban location presented somewhat of a challenge.

"It's an infill site, and the parking is a little tighter," he said. "Generally [supermarkets] want to have more parking than was available on that site. We felt like it was a benefit to the community and worked hard to convince them there would be enough customers nearby that could walk and that the center itself had enough parking."

The Shoppers chain operates 59 stores in Baltimore, Washington and Northern Virginia as Shoppers Food Warehouse and a newer prototype, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy. Many of Shoppers' 15 stores in the Baltimore region were converted from Metro supermarkets, a wholly owned chain of Supervalu Inc., which also owns Shoppers.

Shoppers signed a 20-year lease with Manekin late last month for the new store, its first in the Baltimore area since the last Metro store was converted in November 2003. The Eastern Plaza store will employ 120 to 130 people.

'Spurred us'

"We've had 18 months to look at our success doing business as Shoppers, and that has spurred us to continue investing in Baltimore," said R. Kevin Small, vice president of store development for Shoppers, based in Lanham.

"There's a great opportunity for us there. It is a city store and it is highly visible. It allows us to bring in our prototypical format into the market."

Under its newest format, Shoppers, known as an "everyday low price" operator, will devote about 35 percent of the store space to perishables and include an in-store bank and pharmacy.

Shoppers operates one other city supermarket, on Fort Avenue in South Baltimore, and is eyeing other potential sites in the city and elsewhere in the region, Small said.

City officials have been trying to woo full-service supermarket operators to under-served neighborhoods, such as in East Baltimore.

National and regional supermarket chains have been making forays into the city. Last summer Giant Food opened a 67,000-square-foot supermarket on East 33rd Street in Waverly. Safeway, a national chain, has been investing in urban areas in recent years, opening stores in Baltimore's Canton in 1996, Charles Village in 1997 and Northeast Baltimore in 1998.

"What is nice about [the Eastern Plaza] site is it required no public incentive," said Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., a city agency. "It increases the choice for people in Southeast Baltimore. We think there's enough demand in that area to keep all the grocery stores busy," including the smaller, independently owned grocers.

"Southeast Baltimore is fertile ground for development and rising incomes and a number of supermarkets have been looking" there, he said.

Demolishing begun

Manekin has begun demolishing the former Anchor Fence plant, built in 1927 for chain-link and ornamental fence manufacturing. The plant served as headquarters for Anchor Fence from 1980 until 1997, when Master-Halco acquired the company and relocated operations to Edgewood.

Manekin expects to start construction this summer and complete it in early 2006.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get home delivery

NewBaltimore1980

February 22nd, 2005, 02:52 AM

scando

February 22nd, 2005, 05:33 AM

I believe that down the road, Schmoke will get more credit as the true picture becomes clearer and in hindsight we see what he was up against. Schmoke was in many ways the true visionary, since he had the guts to come out and question many standing policy decisions: from the efficiency of city agencies through the extremely unpopular proposal of legalizing certain forms of drugs. The man thought outside of the box more than any mayor in Baltimore’s history than perhaps Mayor McKeldin.

His "out of the box" thinking really got to be a liability for the city and its never-ending quest for external aid. His "City that Reads" campaign seemed cruelly ironic. Once he started on the road with his legalizing drugs campaign (a complete non-starter), and spending city money to post signs declaring Baltimore to be a "Nuclear Free Zone" (what??), it was a excuse for various other politicians who didn't like him because of his attitudes and possibly his race, to label him as wacko and punish the city for his "sins". He should have kept that to himself until he got out of office.

waj0527

February 22nd, 2005, 05:50 AM

Redesign of Center Plaza delayed again; City will take on project
Plan at least a year behind schedule, organizers say
By Jill Rosen
Sun Staff
Originally published February 21, 2005, 8:50 PM EST

One of downtown Baltimore's longer-suffering projects, the redesign of Center Plaza, has been delayed again.

The promised transformation of the barren concrete expanse just west of Charles Street and north of Fayette Street into a grassy parklike setting was supposed to begin last June and be ready for outdoor lunches this summer.

Now it's at least a year behind schedule, project organizers say, because of a disagreement with the owners of the parking garage underneath the plaza.

The $5.6 million overhaul of the spare, 3-acre plaza, built in the 1960s as one of the signature components of the Charles Center urban plan, has been in the making for more than three years.

About a year ago the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore announced that with contributions from the city, state and private property owners, it finally had the financing to start construction.

Not long after, however, the nonprofit foundation handling the renovation realized that the parking garage owner, Edison Properties, wanted $750,000 before they'd allow work to be done on their property.

The money would pay for garage repairs that had nothing to do with the project, said Downtown Partnership President J. Kirby Fowler Jr., calling the demand "entirely unreasonable."

"If we would cause harm to the garage, we would have been happy to compensate them for that," Fowler said. "It was too big a hurdle."

To overhaul the plaza into a green park crisscrossed with inviting promenades and shade trees, the concrete surface now covering it would have to be demolished, stripped down to the "membrane" that separates it from the garage.

Steven Rosefsky, Edison's vice president and general counsel, said the company "fully supports" the plaza renovation, but has concerns that it could damage the parking garage roof.

"We're really seeking sound construction practices," Rosefsky said. "It's unfortunate we're construed as the sole impediment to this project."

The delay frustrated Michele Whelley, the former Downtown Partnership president who fought for more than a year to cement financing for the renovations.

"To have this happen at the 11th hour was difficult to swallow," said Whelley, who now works for a Baltimore commer cial real estate firm. "The issues brought things to a halt."

Though the construction disagreement has delayed the project by nearly a year, Fowler said it could be back on track soon.

The foundation is handing off management of the project to the city.

Because the city has rights to an easement on the plaza, construction could begin, with or without Edison's approval, making moot the company's de mands.

Kurt Kocher, spokesman for the city's Department of Public Works, said the city plans to put the project up for bid soon, with construction beginning as soon as late summer.

"We can expedite it," Kocher said of the project. "It works out for everybody."

"It would have been a better result if Edison had been able to reach an agreement with us," Fowler said. "But the city's got great powers to come in and get a project off the ground."

Because the plaza is something of a backyard for the office buildings and residences that surround it, as well as a gateway to downtown's struggling west side, which the city is trying hard to resuscitate, it's important not to let it languish, project organizers say.

"The area is becoming so strong with the investment beginning to surround the plaza and the west side development creeping eastward," Whelley said. "It's such an important nexus."

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get home delivery

waj0527

February 22nd, 2005, 05:52 AM

Condo plan links past, present
Architecture: Edward Gunts

Originally published Feb 21, 2005

If you look closely at the five-story building on Madison Street in Baltimore, you can see the remnants of large, east-facing windows that were open when the property was an African-American church, starting in the mid-19th century.

In the 1920s, it was acquired by a Johns Hopkins Hospital physician, given an art deco facade and converted to medical offices and apartments.

Now it's changing again - to become Baltimore's newest luxury condominiums.

The Revels is the new name of the $3.5 million project under construction at 104 W. Madison St. in the Mount Vernon historic district. The building is being recycled by Tower Hill Development and Consulting, a four-year-old company headed by Matthew Hoffman and Chris Regan.

When work is complete this summer, The Revels will contain 13 upscale condominiums, with open living spaces, wood floors and stainless-steel appliances. Peter Fillat Architects is the designer. Prices start at $185,000, and all have been reserved.

Hoffman said he and Regan are transforming the building to appeal to young professionals and others who want to avoid suburban traffic congestion and be part of the "vibrant activity" of midtown and downtown.

"We felt that, based on the luxury apartment rentals, there is strong demand for condominiums" in the area as well, he said. "This neighborhood has so many cultural gems, and the harbor is so overpriced at this point, that it all makes sense."

When residents move in, they will be part of a building steeped in history. But it may not be apparent to most passers-by because the exterior was extensively altered nearly 80 years ago.

According to Tower Hill, the brick and wood-frame building was constructed about 1844 by Mount Zion Baptist Church. It was sold in 1847 to Baltimore's First Presbyterian Church, which wanted temporary worship space while it was building its permanent home a half-block away - the building now known as First and Franklin Street Presbyterian, at Madison Street and Park Avenue.

In 1850, 104 W. Madison was "assigned" to the African-American members of First Presbyterian Church and renamed Madison Street Presbyterian Church. One of the congregation's early ministers was Hiram Rhodes Revels, a North Carolina native who led the church from 1858 to 1863. He subsequently moved to Mississippi and became the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate.

Madison Street Presbyterian was sold in 1927 to Edward Looper, a Hopkins physician who converted it to medical offices and residences. In an early example of "adaptive reuse," architect T. Worth Jamison reclad the church with a four-story art deco facade of limestone and brick and inserted a steel structure to support upper floors. A penthouse with an elaborate geometric brick cornice tops off the building. Tower Hill bought the property in 2003 and began its conversion last August.

By far the most significant person associated with the building is Revels, who was born in 1827 in Fayetteville, N.C., and became an ordained minister in Baltimore in 1845. After serving as minister of Madison Street Presbyterian Church, he became a chaplain in the Civil War and settled in Natchez, Miss., in 1866. He went on to become an alderman and state senator and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1869. Revels left the Senate in 1871 and returned to Mississippi to preach and lead a college. He died Jan. 16, 1901.

Tower Hill named the project The Revels "to create a link between Mount Vernon's rich history and its vibrancy today," Regan said.

"There is no better way to illustrate that link than by naming the physical structures that have witnessed so much history after the people who occupied them," he said. "If we can get one person to ask, 'What does Revels mean?' then we have given someone a nice place to live in Mount Vernon and contributed to preserving the neighborhood's cultural significance."

Film series on design

Three films about community planning and design will be shown next month at Baltimore's Neighborhood Design Center, 1401 Hollins St., as part of a film series called Community Expressions.

The films are Rural Studio, a documentary about the late Alabama architect Samuel Mockbee, on March 1; This Black Soil, about efforts to revitalize Bayview, Va., on March 15; and Little Castles and The Screen Painters, celebrating the Baltimore traditions of Formstone and screen-painting, on March 29. All begin at 6:30 p.m.

The series is sponsored by the design center and the Center for Art and Visual Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Admission is free to NDC members and UMBC students and staff; $5 for others.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get home delivery

waj0527

February 22nd, 2005, 05:53 AM

Long-vacant church to get new life as residences
Architecture: Edward Gunts

Architecture Column
Originally published Jan 24, 2005

While some of Baltimore's historic churches sit vacant and in need of new occupants, one has found a new calling.

The former Columbia Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Ridgely's Delight will live on as part of a new residential development called Ridgely Commons.

The 1844 structure at 657 Washington Blvd. is being transformed into four two-story condominiums, with features such as skylights, dramatic stairways and open-plan kitchens.

At the rear of the church property, builders are constructing two houses and 12 off-street parking spaces, including six garages.

These are the first new houses to rise in decades in Ridgely's Delight, a historic district just west of Oriole Park. Priced at $475,000 each, they're also the neighborhood's most expensive - a sign of its growing popularity.

Mixing old and new construction was the key to saving the former church, which had been vacant for more than a decade before construction began last year.

"To my knowledge, there's nothing like it in Ridgely's Delight - or anywhere else for that matter," said Mark Shapiro, who is developing Ridgely Commons with Mark Weinman.

Other developers had explored the idea of dividing the church down the middle and creating residences on either side. But Peter Fillat Architects proposed that Shapiro and Weinman subdivide the church so it would have four townhouse-like residences with party walls running parallel to Washington Boulevard, and access from the side.

That layout eliminated the need for corridors within the shell of the former church and gave each of four residences more space under the existing roofline, including the area under the ridge.

"Everyone else wanted to put an aisle down the middle," said architect Peter Fillat. But "Baltimore is used to townhouses. We figured, let's carve it into townhouses and make the most of the space inside."

The Washington Boulevard property is one of several former churches or synagogues in Baltimore that are no longer used for religious purposes. The former Bolton Street Synagogue at 1311 Bolton St. has been on the market since the synagogue moved to Roland Park last year. The former Sharon Seventh Day Adventist Church in the 1100 block of N. Calvert St. is also targeted for conversion to condominiums.

Washington Boulevard was known as Columbia Avenue when the church was established there. After the congregation moved out in the 1940s, it became a community recreation center, the Lions Club of Baltimore. The city acquired it in the 1980s and has been seeking developers since the early 1990s.

Until last year, the property contained several other church-related buildings, including an 1840 structure that served as the original sanctuary. They had deteriorated so badly while the property was vacant and open to the elements that they couldn't be saved, and Baltimore's preservation commission determined that they could be taken down if the front building was preserved. Removal of the deteriorated buildings created room to construct the new houses and parking spaces.

Breand Corp. of Eldersburg is the builder. Prices of residences inside the church shell start at $435,000, and all will be ready for occupancy before spring.

It's something of a surprise to walk down a narrow pathway from Washington Boulevard and discover two new houses behind the church, but that was the architect's intent. With large glass windows and sloping roofs, the houses are contemporary in design, but they aren't visible from Washington Boulevard and don't disrupt the impression of walking along a preserved 19th-century streetscape. The architects created a landscaped mid-block courtyard to separate the historic church building from the new houses.

Ridgely's Delight has benefited from the strong residential market that has helped many Baltimore communities. The opening of Oriole Park in 1992 also gave it more visibility and attention. As a result, a neighborhood that was largely known as a student-oriented rental community is now attracting upscale homeowners as well.

Those market changes influenced the final design, Shapiro said.

"Our original concept was to do apartments," he explained. "We thought the primary market would be students. As we got a better feel for the neighborhood, we sensed that it was becoming a neighborhood that preferred homeownership, so we switched our plans from apartments to townhouses. We think they will be very much in demand."

Baltimoreguy

February 22nd, 2005, 09:02 AM

"It would be nice to see Baltimore at 670,000 in 2010."

Aw, come on. Why not hope for an even 700,000 peeps? ;) :D
670,000 could be a realistic goal. Maybe 725,000 by 2020. 2003 643,000. 3,000 to 4,000 new residents a year would be great.

jaysonjaz

February 22nd, 2005, 03:20 PM

The UM Biopark is coming along great...
they close to finishing up the exterior of the first building

http://img197.exs.cx/img197/199/p21400185ky.jpg

They have more pics at their website: www.umbbiopark.com

NewBaltimore1980

February 22nd, 2005, 03:30 PM

670,000 could be a realistic goal. Maybe 725,000 by 2020. 2003 643,000. 3,000 to 4,000 new residents a year would be great.

I hope you are right, but realistically, until we really get in there and start knocking down a lot of the vacant housing (by the blocks) its going to be difficult to provide 'normal' market housing for the people who would move to Baltimore City. Plus until we are able to provide a good alternative to the mess called Baltimore City Public Schools, I dont think we are going to be able to keep families in the city.

I am encouraged to see the city finally starting to provide alternatives such as Charter Schools. I also wish more private institutions would open in the city that are specialized in the sciences or other disciplines that would help build a biotech base for our future industries. I also think that the State of Maryland should pass a bill to require a set number of hours of parental involvement in the schools. Also a community service requirement should be added to the curriculum in Maryland middle and high schools. This was done in parts of Pennsylvania and is working great. Some parents will never become a part of their child's schools and would have to be dealt with accordingly by having the students solicit volunteers to help them fulfill their parental involvement requirement. Perhaps pressure from the children will make some of the parents grow up and get involved in their childrens lives. At the very least, it will network the child with a volunteer who actually cares enough about them to meet their teacher.

waj0527

February 23rd, 2005, 05:01 AM

Apartments for teachers to open in city
Charles Village building to offer 36 units for rent in 'education community'
By Jen DeGregorio
The Associated Press
Originally published February 22, 2005, 12:35 PM EST

A renovated apartment building set to open this June in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood will be the first in the city to offer subsidized rent to teachers.

The Astor Court, located on the southwest corner of St. Paul and 25th streets, will offer 36 apartments in an "education community," where teachers can share common experiences in the building's meeting and research rooms. The Abell Foundation, a Baltimore-based philanthropy, funded the project to help attract new teachers to confront the problem of Baltimore's shrinking teacher population.

The building is also meant to help accommodate more than 375 new teachers coming to the city through the federal Teach for America program and the Baltimore City Teaching Residency, a subsidy program for professionals who want to become teachers.

"We wanted to provide an incentive for teachers to come to Baltimore," said Robert C. Embry, president of the Abell Foundation. "To provide affordable housing that is conveniently located in the city."

Teacher salaries -- which begin at about $34,000 in Maryland -- have risen at a much slower rate over the years than those of many other entry-level professionals, said Cheryl Bost, president of the Teacher's Association of Baltimore County. Low pay coupled with the challenges of teaching in inner-city schools have historically discouraged teachers from moving to Baltimore.

"Our salaries are not competitive and we have horrible pensions," Bost said. She pointed out that Maryland teachers get only about 40 percent of their final year's salary in the form of a pension, which Bost said is the worst compensation in the nation.

Teachers in Pennsylvania get about 70 percent of their final salary for pensions, she said.

"Anything that would make it more affordable for them to live would help recruit teachers to our area and retain the ones that we currently employ," Bost said.

Rent at The Astor Court will range between $425 and $450 a month for one-bedroom units, Embry said. Rents in Charles Village are generally about $600 a month, according to baltimorecollegetown.org, a Web site dedicated to helping college students find affordable housing.

While the state does offer other incentives, such as tax credits and stipends for some teachers, the idea of subsidized housing seems favored among teachers, Embry said.

"We've had focus groups of young teachers from out of town that helped design the project ... they're very enthusiastic in general," he said.

The Abell Foundation, which has made donations to Teach for America in the past, said it would like to sponsor similar housing initiatives to entice teachers to the city. But financing such projects can be difficult, Embry said. Many lenders do not want to put up the cash for housing that is expensive to renovate, fearing they will not see a return on their investment.

The four-story, 1920s-era Astor Court took Baltimore-based MLR Development Corp. more than five years to complete due to the lengthy process needed to obtain historic and environmental tax credits. Depending on The Astor Court's success, lenders might be inspired to fund similar projects in neighborhoods that need teachers.

Five years from now, downtown Baltimore might be a prime location for such projects, according to Robert Aydukovic, director of the Downtown Housing Council.

"The way the city's pricing has been going, at least in the downtown area, the apartments are out of [teachers'] price range," Aydukovic said.

"Right now everyone moving into downtown are largely childless people ... but sooner or later we're going to come to a point where people are going to begin to age, and the 20-somethings living downtown are going to have children," he said. When that happens, subsidized housing might be the only way young teachers can afford to live near schools, he said.

While low-income housing is often a tough sell in neighborhoods, subsidized housing for teachers would likely be more popular because of the positive image associated with the profession.

The Astor Court project is a welcome addition to Charles Village, where three nearby elementary schools are always in need of new talent, said Beth Bullamore, president of the Charles Village Civic Association.

"It's hard enough to attract quality teachers to the city, but when they have trouble finding rent they can afford, it's even worse," Bullamore said, adding that rent subsidies "might even make more people consider teaching."

"The nice thing about [The Astor Court] is that it takes a building that was having problems, renovates it, and brings a stable population ... employed people, the kind of neighbors you'd like to have," Bullamore said.

Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press

waj0527

February 23rd, 2005, 05:05 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2005-02/16399177.jpg

^^Here's a pic of the building. Hopefully it'll provide a boost to an area that could use more residential. Its right next to the Safeway thats on 25th Street.

scando

February 24th, 2005, 05:13 AM

Here's a pic of the building. Hopefully it'll provide a boost to an area that could use more residential. Its right next to the Safeway thats on 25th Street.

There's plenty of residential in that area, problem is that it is pretty low end. From what I read, this building is a "housing project" for teachers. That will be somewhat of an improvement. I hope this thing works, both for the neighborhood and the teachers.

StevenW

February 24th, 2005, 11:28 PM

Latest news:

I should have some good specific information soon on the CityScape tower.

Stay tuned. :)

Steve

StevenW

February 24th, 2005, 11:35 PM

Walking tours to lure visitors
Baltimore tourist officials will begin offering guided tours this summer in an effort to draw thousands of tourists north of the Inner Harbor to city museums and historic sites.
- Kara Kridler

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/newspics/reglewismushome.jpg

jaysonjaz

February 25th, 2005, 12:29 AM

Deal near for Port Covington
Development: The 52-acre retail site could be sold next month.
By Andrea K. Walker
Sun Staff
Originally published February 24, 2005
A deal is in the works for commercial property at Port Covington that has struggled for years to become a bustling waterfront retail complex.

Starwood Ceruzzi Inc. of Fairfield, Conn., is in negotiations with Bethesda-based Finmarc Management Inc. and Kodiak Properties, of Oklahoma City, to sell the 52-acre development, according to Finmarc. Starwood didn't return repeated phone calls, but a partner at Finmarc said the deal is expected to close next month.

"It is under contract," Marc Solomon, a partner with Finmarc, said in the past week. "We plan to complete the project and build it out as a nice retail shopping center."

Starwood wasn't able to fulfill plans it announced in 2001 to redevelop Port Covington as a strip shopping center with 10 to 15 tenants, in addition to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores that were built.

"Sometimes you need to change the plan to make things work," said John Meyer, a principal and real estate broker for KLNB Retail, which represents Wal-Mart in the Baltimore market.

Economic development officials consider the Port Covington site ripe for development. Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, a Baltimore development company, has preliminary plans to build a townhouse and condominium development adjacent to the Wal-Mart site. The company is in the design stage and hopes to start construction by the spring of next year.

"It has incredible access to Interstate 95, immediate access to downtown, and it's on the waterfront," said Josh Neiman, a senior development officer for Struever. "We're excited about the residential opportunity."

Susan B. Anderson, a retail real estate broker and vice president with H&R Retail Inc., had a client with a lease for 10,000 square feet in the planned strip shopping center.

Starwood initially might have been hurt by the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the economy soured and retailers cut back on new stores. The development company had trouble attracting tenants, including a grocery store that it hoped would anchor the strip center, economic development officials said.

Starwood also sold property at Hunt Valley Mall after an unsuccessful attempt to remake that shopping center in Baltimore County. It sold the Hunt Valley property to Owings Mills-based Greenberg Commercial Corp. New stores opened this month at the site, now a Main Street-style shopping complex called Hunt Valley Towne Centre.

The Port Covington site presents added challenges for retailers. A former rail yard, it is out of the way in an industrial area, went unused for more than a decade and had to be scrubbed clean of arsenic and petroleum contamination.

Wal-Mart has had less foot traffic than expected since it opened in April 2002. A spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain said at the time that it expected to benefit from additional shoppers visiting the strip center.

A regional Wal-Mart spokeswoman didn't return phone calls, but KLNB's Meyer said activity there has improved as the location has become better known.

"They knew there would be a slower ramp-up," Meyer said. "It's an urban location and off the beaten track."

When it opened, the Port Covington Wal-Mart was one of the retailer's first city stores in the Northeast. Only recently has the retail giant moved to expand into cities, where rents are higher and suitable locations harder to come by.

Meyer said Wal-Mart is looking to open other stores in Baltimore in the near future.

"It's really a very positive site," said Nan Rohrer, director of retail development for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., a local business group. "I think it's been a good thing for the city. It's really a matter now of how it grows from here and what face it takes."

Solomon said the Port Covington area is ready for retail development as the nearby downtown gains more residential units. The number of people living downtown is expected to reach 10,000 this year. Finmarc plans to add 135,000 square feet of retail to the site.

"We just feel now is the time with the revitalization of downtown and all of the residential development," Solomon said. "There is a need for more retail."

jaysonjaz

February 25th, 2005, 12:30 AM

Latest news:

I should have some good specific information soon on the CityScape tower.

Stay tuned. :)

Steve

Can't wait to hear the news

fanofterps

February 25th, 2005, 02:11 AM

Everytime I hear Struever's name I get excited. I wonder how many units he plans on. Tide Point, Bonds Wharf , Can Factory, Clipper Mill and now Brewers Hill have really turned around parts of the city.

Also, Pulte Homes plans to open sales center this spring for Silo Point (Locust Point Grain Elevator Project). Plans call for 120 townhouses.

Deal near for Port Covington
Development: The 52-acre retail site could be sold next month.
By Andrea K. Walker
Sun Staff
Originally published February 24, 2005
A deal is in the works for commercial property at Port Covington that has struggled for years to become a bustling waterfront retail complex.

Starwood Ceruzzi Inc. of Fairfield, Conn., is in negotiations with Bethesda-based Finmarc Management Inc. and Kodiak Properties, of Oklahoma City, to sell the 52-acre development, according to Finmarc. Starwood didn't return repeated phone calls, but a partner at Finmarc said the deal is expected to close next month.

"It is under contract," Marc Solomon, a partner with Finmarc, said in the past week. "We plan to complete the project and build it out as a nice retail shopping center."

Starwood wasn't able to fulfill plans it announced in 2001 to redevelop Port Covington as a strip shopping center with 10 to 15 tenants, in addition to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores that were built.

"Sometimes you need to change the plan to make things work," said John Meyer, a principal and real estate broker for KLNB Retail, which represents Wal-Mart in the Baltimore market.

Economic development officials consider the Port Covington site ripe for development. Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, a Baltimore development company, has preliminary plans to build a townhouse and condominium development adjacent to the Wal-Mart site. The company is in the design stage and hopes to start construction by the spring of next year.

"It has incredible access to Interstate 95, immediate access to downtown, and it's on the waterfront," said Josh Neiman, a senior development officer for Struever. "We're excited about the residential opportunity."

Susan B. Anderson, a retail real estate broker and vice president with H&R Retail Inc., had a client with a lease for 10,000 square feet in the planned strip shopping center.

Starwood initially might have been hurt by the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the economy soured and retailers cut back on new stores. The development company had trouble attracting tenants, including a grocery store that it hoped would anchor the strip center, economic development officials said.

Starwood also sold property at Hunt Valley Mall after an unsuccessful attempt to remake that shopping center in Baltimore County. It sold the Hunt Valley property to Owings Mills-based Greenberg Commercial Corp. New stores opened this month at the site, now a Main Street-style shopping complex called Hunt Valley Towne Centre.

The Port Covington site presents added challenges for retailers. A former rail yard, it is out of the way in an industrial area, went unused for more than a decade and had to be scrubbed clean of arsenic and petroleum contamination.

Wal-Mart has had less foot traffic than expected since it opened in April 2002. A spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain said at the time that it expected to benefit from additional shoppers visiting the strip center.

A regional Wal-Mart spokeswoman didn't return phone calls, but KLNB's Meyer said activity there has improved as the location has become better known.

"They knew there would be a slower ramp-up," Meyer said. "It's an urban location and off the beaten track."

When it opened, the Port Covington Wal-Mart was one of the retailer's first city stores in the Northeast. Only recently has the retail giant moved to expand into cities, where rents are higher and suitable locations harder to come by.

Meyer said Wal-Mart is looking to open other stores in Baltimore in the near future.

"It's really a very positive site," said Nan Rohrer, director of retail development for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., a local business group. "I think it's been a good thing for the city. It's really a matter now of how it grows from here and what face it takes."

Solomon said the Port Covington area is ready for retail development as the nearby downtown gains more residential units. The number of people living downtown is expected to reach 10,000 this year. Finmarc plans to add 135,000 square feet of retail to the site.

"We just feel now is the time with the revitalization of downtown and all of the residential development," Solomon said. "There is a need for more retail."

NewBaltimore1980

February 25th, 2005, 02:25 AM

waj0527

February 25th, 2005, 07:40 AM

^thats a Starbucks, right?

NewBaltimore1980

February 25th, 2005, 03:33 PM

^thats a Starbucks, right?

I had heard it was a Starbucks, the Vespa restaurant and 2 other retailers

jaysonjaz

February 25th, 2005, 04:46 PM

Mitchell sees 'red flags' on hotel bonds
Reservations expressed on financing by city; Independent bid review wanted; $290 million sought for convention site
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun Staff
Originally published February 25, 2005
The chairman of a key Baltimore City Council committee said yesterday that he has strong reservations about the city's plans to publicly finance and own a convention headquarters hotel and wants an independent commission to review proposals rejected earlier by the city's economic development agency.

Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., chair of the taxation and finance committee, wants an independent commission to re-evaluate all three bids submitted to Baltimore Development Corp., including plans for a hotel that would not have required full public financing.

City officials say the city needs a four-star hotel adjacent to the Baltimore Convention Center to boost flagging business at the center and compete for conventions with Philadelphia, Boston and Washington.

In what would be one of the most expensive city projects ever, BDC plans to seek approval from the City Council and Board of Estimates for about $290 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds to finance construction and other costs for a 750-room Hilton. The hotel would be built on an empty parcel just north of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with a goal of opening in 2008.

"This has raised a few red flags for me," said Mitchell, whose committee would have jurisdiction over the bill. "Obviously, the main one is, should the city be in the business of running and operating its own hotel, with 100 percent public financing. We're going down a road that the city hasn't gone down before."

Mitchell said he doesn't question that the city needs a convention hotel, only whether it has to be wholly publicly financed. "There are people [developers] out there who I think would put their money into a convention center hotel," he said.

The vice chairman of the committee, Councilwoman Helen L. Holton, also raised concerns about the way the city plans to get the hotel built.

"I understand the need for us to have a headquarters hotel, but we're not developers, we're government," she said. "I'd rather be the landowner and have someone else develop the hotel and take on the responsibility of making sure the debt is repaid."

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of BDC, said the city has no alternative.

"If there were another way to do it, we would be proposing it. We have concluded there is no other way to do it. It's not that we've reached this conclusion lightly or by ourselves."

He noted that other cities, such as Denver, have concluded that private equity is not available for major downtown convention center hotels.

Brodie said BDC is working with the Wall Street firm Piper Jaffray to secure an investment-grade rating for the bonds and win a favorable interest rate, possibly less than 5 percent.

"The ability to achieve that rate that has driven these deals in other cities," Brodie said. "No private entity can get anything like that rate."

A spokeswoman for Mayor Martin O'Malley said Brodie was also speaking for the mayor.

The city is pushing ahead with plans for the hotel at a time when publicly financed convention hotels around the country - including hotels in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; St. Louis and Sacramento, Calif. - have failed to meet projections as cities race to expand convention facilities while convention business is static.

The 404-room Radisson Plaza Hotel Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which opened in January last year, fell far short of forecasts, leading to a technical default in April on the city's hotel bonds and an operating loss of $1.75 million for fiscal 2004.

When convention bookings in St. Louis failed to live up to projections, the 1,000-room Marriott had to dip into cash reserves to pay its debt.

A new 500-room Sacramento Grand Sheraton, built with $92.9 million in bonds backed by operating income from the hotel and an adjacent garage, has boosted convention business by less than a third of the 60,000 hotel nights a consultant projected.

More than a year ago, BDC selected a development team headed by Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, which will have no equity stake in the hotel, to be operated by Hilton Hotel Corp.

Johnson's company, RLJ Development LLC of Bethesda, and partner Quadrangle Development Corp. of Washington, will be paid a fee based on services, such as advising city officials on negotiating a management contract with Hilton.

BDC plans to create a corporation to develop and own the hotel.

Brodie has said the hotel's operating income would more than cover the millions of dollars in annual interest and principal payments, estimated at $18 million. The city also would probably pledge the hotel's city-owned Pratt Street site, valued at $18 million, and the estimated $4.5 million in property and room tax revenue it is expected to generate.

Mitchell questioned whether the revenue would be adequate to pay the debt service on the bonds if the hotel, as planned, set aside blocks of rooms at a discount for conventioneers.

"If you're doing room blocks and you're giving a discount rates for conventioneers, how can you still make a lot of money to pay off the bonds in a short period of time?" Mitchell said. "That is a huge concern."

The councilman also said he had concerns about BDC's plan to pledge a portion of the citywide room tax, even though it would be used only if needed. The 7.5 percent room tax generated an estimated $17.6 million in fiscal 2004. All but $4 million was used for convention-related expenses.

If tourism and convention business declines and the new hotel's net revenues fall short of the projected $21 million by 2011, Mitchell said, "we put at risk the entire city hotel tax, and that's money that could go into the general fund."

Once BDC's bond legislation is introduced - possibly within a month - Mitchell said, he plans to move forward with a resolution to create an independent commission made up of representatives of the tourism and hotel industries to review all three hotel proposals submitted to BDC.

RLJ President Tom Baltimore did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment. Members of the two losing teams welcomed the prospect of a new review.

Robert Hazard, development adviser for Portman Holdings LP of Atlanta in partnership with Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills, Calif., real estate company headed by actor Will Smith and his brother, said it would be prudent for an independent group to review all the proposals.

"There's enough controversy and questions about the whole process that it really does need a third set of eyes to take a look at what was proposed and why the BDC rejected out of hand a privately financed hotel project," Hazard said.

He said the team proposed a deal that required no upfront money from the city and limited the city's exposure at $30 million. He said his team never got the chance to fully explain or explore with city officials the financial structure of its proposal.

"When we questioned how the process was going to work and how the City Council became involved, we were told the City Council wasn't going to be involved in the evaluation," Hazard said. "That suggested the BDC was going to be setting public policy, and we were concerned that the people elected to make public policy decisions were not involved."

Raymond Garfield Jr., a principal with Garfield Traub Development LLC, of Dallas, said his Believe Team's submission included a funding plan that limited the city's bond exposure.

Believe Team proposed a 750-room hotel on a site adjoining the parking garage of the Sheraton Hotel.

That site, Garfield said, would have cost $100 million less than the current estimates. The team had proposed a version of public financing and ownership in which the city would have had to back 30 percent to 40 percent of the bonds, but probably at a higher interest rate.

"We would love to be asked to come back in and discuss what was different about our proposal," Garfield said.

The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, which is charged with bringing conventions to the city, is supporting BDC's efforts to develop the publicly financed hotel, said Debra Dignan, associate vice president for convention sales.

Gsol

February 25th, 2005, 09:28 PM

I hope they are serious about reconsidering all three proposals. They should take a good look at the "Believe" submittal. That seemed the most practical, aside from being the tallest, it connects directly to the Convention Center without having to build ramps across streets. It leaves Camden Yards and the Old rail station unobstructed. This could work really well if the Sheraton's 350 rooms could be worked into the project, creating a 1,000 room facility on a less congested site.

One problem with this is, I believe, Hackerman owns the site or is heavily involed with the hotel. If this is so, I am sure he will run away from anything reeking of politics. He has pulled out of other involvements like the Bromo Seltzer Tower conversion.

Eerik

February 25th, 2005, 11:55 PM

This is good and bad news.

Obviously Baltimore needs to complete the convention center by building a suitable hotel that supports the center. Without it...the convention center remains incomplete...as it has since the expansion.

Funny thing is just as you lose faith in the competency of city government, along comes Mitchell. As he stated, there are plenty of developers out there that do this sort of thing, so why is the city doing this? I also agree with Holton's comments about city hall: "we're not developers, we're government". So if BDC is acknowledging the private sector can't afford to do it, how will the public sector be able to afford this?

I too liked the Believe Team proposal most, however with the shrinking convention industry (by way of an expanding supply of options) I'm extremely concerned about the current state of the hotel proposals. The benefits of the initial $250 million investment need to be realized, yet the last thing I want to see is a white elephant next to the convention center...especially one where Baltimore City (government) is left holding the bag. Maybe the funding mix as proposed by the Believe Team works best, I don't know.

However I do know the construction of a true convention center headquarters hotel needs to be done right. The financing and management must be viable. Get the ball moving before it’s too late; to a great extent, our current problem is we needed to move on this issue more then ten years ago as the center was being completed. At the time we were ahead of the curve compared to competing cities. Now we are trying to play catch-up in a sector that is tightening-up, which is another factor I hope the city considers when revaluating all the proposals.

StevenW

February 25th, 2005, 11:59 PM

Another good thing about the Believe Team's proposal is that it had a new larger arena at the eastern pratt parking lot that was not obstructive to the view of Camden yards. Imagine, a new hotel at the Conway street site that rises to 450 ft, tall AND a brand new state-of-the-art arena with seating of over 19,000!!!! Whoa! What a PERFECT place for that arena! Where would a better place be?! :?

Baltimoreguy

February 26th, 2005, 12:07 AM

Hackerman is a Schaefer ally, and O'Mallley can't stand Schaefer and vice-versa, so I wouldn't expect O'Malley/BDC to select Hackerman to Build the Complex. That my two cents

StevenW

February 26th, 2005, 12:53 AM

Hackerman is a Schaefer ally, and O'Mallley can't stand Schaefer and vice-versa, so I wouldn't expect O'Malley/BDC to select Hackerman to Build the Complex. That my two cents

You're probably right. :(

In a recent e-mail I received concerning the CityScape tower:

"We are working with an architect to finalize plans for the building. I
will e mail you answers to your questions in several weeks."

Patrick J. Duffy

Shelter Properties, LLC
218 N. Charles Street, Suite 220
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 962-0595 ext. 8421

Sounds good.
I have another lead going on as well. :D

fanofterps

February 26th, 2005, 05:14 PM

Anyone feel positive about these projects starting construction this year?

I would hate to see these projects end up as 1 Light Street and 350 Pratt St. They are still parking lots after being proposed 5 years ago.

You're probably right. :(

In a recent e-mail I received concerning the CityScape tower:

"We are working with an architect to finalize plans for the building. I
will e mail you answers to your questions in several weeks."

Patrick J. Duffy

Shelter Properties, LLC
218 N. Charles Street, Suite 220
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 962-0595 ext. 8421

Sounds good.
I have another lead going on as well. :D

NewBaltimore1980

February 26th, 2005, 05:16 PM

Anyone feel positive about these projects starting construction this year?

I would hate to see these projects end up as 1 Light Street and 350 Pratt St. They are still parking lots after being proposed 5 years ago.

Bohagers site already has a sales office, same with the water tower.

Has anyone heard anything about the Four Seasons Hotel? That was supposed to start a while ago, wasnt it?

waj0527

February 26th, 2005, 05:39 PM

The Four Seasons hotel is the next parcel to be developed in Harbor East. From what Ive read, its scheduled to be developed in two phases. First, the taller (hotel) tower snd meeting space will be built, then the residential component will follow.

StevenW

February 26th, 2005, 11:03 PM

I would love to see a rendering of what Harbor east will look like in, say, 5 years from now. :D Wouldn't you? :)

fanofterps

February 27th, 2005, 12:14 AM

Paterakis has the bucks to make it happen. I see Harbor East in 5 to 7 years having 5 hotels(2 Hiltons, 2 Marriotts, Four Seasons), 1,200 to 1,500 residential units, a movie theater, and hopefully 120,000 to 150,000 sq feet of much needed additional retail . Downtown really needs more retail for people to respect it as a place to live and not just work.

I would love to see a rendering of what Harbor east will look like in, say, 5 years from now. :D Wouldn't you? :)

StevenW

February 27th, 2005, 04:31 AM

"Downtown really needs more retail for people to respect it as a place to live and not just work."

Exactly. There needs to be a good balance. :)

jaysonjaz

February 28th, 2005, 01:10 AM

You're probably right. :(

In a recent e-mail I received concerning the CityScape tower:

"We are working with an architect to finalize plans for the building. I
will e mail you answers to your questions in several weeks."

Patrick J. Duffy

Shelter Properties, LLC
218 N. Charles Street, Suite 220
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(410) 962-0595 ext. 8421

Sounds good.
I have another lead going on as well. :D

In other news:
http://img11.exs.cx/img11/9849/bpd8mt.jpg ?

StevenW

February 28th, 2005, 04:02 AM

LOL! No, not THAT Patrick Duffy. :laugh:
In other development news, I've picked up another "reporting" job, so-to-speak. ;)

Please click here and see: http://www.scmsrn.com/050227-Press.htm

I am now reporting racing news and it's development in South Carolina. Yeah, I know it's different than these sites that primarily deal with city high-rise projects and all, but, I do like motorsports and this should be pretty fun. :D Plus you'll get to see a pic of me and my step-son Cory Mack, a very talented custom paiter. :)

Please go easy on me. :D :D :D

StevenW

February 28th, 2005, 04:06 AM

ps: the artwork on the wall behind me was done by my step-son along time ago. :D

StevenW

February 28th, 2005, 05:33 PM

Some good articles to read:

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/02/28/story7.html

and...

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/02/28/story3.html

and...

Economic development leaders: Downtown track deserves study
Heather Harlan
Staff
The idea of a downtown racetrack is gaining momentum as the slots debate escalates in Annapolis.

Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, and Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, individually said their organizations would be willing to help fund a feasibility study for the downtown track.

The notion of a downtown racetrack began raising eyebrows last year.

Proponents have talked about building a track to replace Pimlico on a large chunk of land south of the stadiums and west of Russell Street.

Despite the continued chatter about the concept, neither formal plans nor drawings exist. But economic development leaders believe the embryonic idea could be a way to bring slots to Baltimore.

"It certainly is a possibility and something that the state could get behind,'' Melissaratos said of the downtown track this week. "But it is more important to get slots passed first.''

Ideally, should slots pass in the House of Delegates and then survive a compromise with the Senate, Melissaratos said, city and state leaders would need to work with the Pimlico community before designing "a world-class track.''

For now, the House version of the slots bill names four locations that exclude Baltimore City. A compromise measure may not include specific locations.

Melissaratos said it is important to place slots in areas that could stimulate economic activity and development. "In the House, they're proposing four counties that don't necessarily make sense,'' he said. Those counties are Anne Arundel, Allegany, Frederick and Harford.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

and finally a cool link to "click" on: http://www.holabaltimorecity.org/

Comments anyone? :)

StevenW

February 28th, 2005, 09:24 PM

I have this week off and had some extra time so I decided to give Mayor O'Malley an e-mail.

Here it is:

To: Mayor Martin O'Malley
Subject: Hello

Mr. Mayor,

Hello. I hope you are doing good. It's been awhile since I've e-mailed you.

First I want to say that I seen the Travel Channel's special on Baltimore: "The Once and Future City, Baltimore", and it was great!
It really gives people a good taste of Baltimore and it's people. I, too, noticed that you play the guitar. I thought you played the sax. That's neat. I too play the guitar.
Anyway, well done on this great special. I hope it can air more.

My first question is this: Have you ever been to San Francisco and visited the "Union Square District"? It's a wonderful picturesque public square that is surrounded by world class retail such as, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neimen Marcus and the like. It also has a few very nice 4 and 5 star hotel surrounding the square, too. Very nice. The reason for me asking this is because I was wondering if Baltimore ever considered trying to create a square like the Union Square in San Francisco? It is such a magnet to residents and tourists alike. It would be a huge money-maker for Baltimore. I am aware of the few mix-use projects, including various retail portions that are underway and/or being planned, but I have not heard of any type of idea floating around the development community for a "square" with surrounded retail and hotel venues. Am I wrong?
Secondly, with the recent boom in the Hispanic community in Baltimore, and it's growing marketing base, has there ever been any talk of bringing back a larger sized, stronger "Chinatown" community for the city of Baltimore? People I've communicated with say they believe Baltimore's old Chinatown area is virtually all but gone now.
Is it an area worth considering to bring back?

Thirdly, have you heard any recent specific news on how the 300 East Pratt Street project is coming along? Allot of people are very interested. Although I must personally say that I am very excited about this new "CityScape" project underway. Very nice indeed.

Lastly, you know I and many other people have expressed our huge interest for Baltimore to build a much larger state-of-the-art arena. Where is this going now?

And now his responce:

Steve:

Thanks for your e-mail and for the questions.
First, the City has no money for the construction of a larger
arena.
Second, for up to date info about 300 East Pratt you can contact
Baltimore Development Corp. at 410-837-9305.
Third, there was a small Chinatown community years ago located
along about 2 blocks of Park Avenue between Saratoga and Franklin.
Parts of that area are now involved in the Westside development.
You'd have to check with BDC again for any info about whether they're
developing any particular Chinatown area.
And, no, I've never seen the Union Square District in San Francisco -
sounds very attractive - I just don't know where we'd put something
like that in our downtown area. I mean, our "square" is sort of Harborplace
with all the hotels and other development surrounding the harbor.
There's not a lot of "square" area for a development of that size.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, there you go. :D

Hugh Jaramillo

March 1st, 2005, 02:42 AM

Congratulations to Steven W on his new gig and good luck with that! However I hope that you will not neglect this site because you are one of the prime movers and one of the reasons that I was attracted to it. Please keep us posted as to developments with your new position and I hope to see more of your :) great postings on Baltimore development news continue on this site.

Gsol

March 1st, 2005, 04:09 AM

I second Hugh

scando

March 1st, 2005, 05:24 AM

Quoth the mayor - And, no, I've never seen the Union Square District in San Francisco - sounds very attractive - I just don't know where we'd put something like that in our downtown area. I mean, our "square" is sort of Harborplace with all the hotels and other development surrounding the harbor. There's not a lot of "square" area for a development of that size. So, there you go. :D

I think that he might be missing the point there. We seem to lack the market for big downtown stores more than the space.

StevenW

March 1st, 2005, 04:15 PM

Thanks, Hugh and Gsol. Don't worry, my first interest and/or passion is Baltimore development.
But I do encourage each and everyone of you guys to go and try to see if you can find out some info on our Baltimore projects. It's very fun, really. And it's not really as hard to get info as you would might first think. Allot of you guys live in and around the Baltimore area. Let's not forget, I live over 500 miles away! :D ;) If I can gather info being so far away, so could you. You see, that's what is so awesome about this site and others like it. You don't just have to be a "reader" or "browser", you can actually become part of the on-going info gathering process. :)
Getting everybody involved in some way has been one of my greatest desires for this website, actually. :yes:
Just think how powerful a voice we would have if ALL of us spoke out to our city leaders, developers and architects on how we felt on certain developmental issues? BTW, allot of you guys have a much greater competent understanding on these issues than I do, that's for sure. Allot of you guys are very informed about projects of old and new. Much more than I.
Allot of you guys can articulate much better than I. Allot of you guys are actually involved with on-going development scenes. And you guys know who you are. And I thank you very much for what YOU do. :) And I Thank Everyone for there continued support and contribution to this site. :)
scando, I think you are right, too.
That's another reason I ask questions like I do. It opens so many different ways of discussion. Your point is well made because his answer was based on his true belief that he thinks the problem is not demand for the high-end retail, but the lack of "space". Asking specific questions are nice and all but asking general questions, as the one above, there are so many possibilities. :D Asking yes and no questions sometimes aren't that fun. :D
Now what would be very interesting to see for me is for someone to e-mail the Mayor a "follow-up" question concerning his responce to the high-end retail position.Challenge him on the "space" vs. "Demand" or should I say, "Overall Likelyhood"
of this type of retail coming to Baltimore.
And, you see, someone else here could very easily call the telephone # above at the BDC and ask about the 300 East Pratt Street project. etc..... It would be so great. :)

Questions anyone? Comments? ;)

robert parsons

March 2nd, 2005, 06:58 AM

has anybody heard anything on the pier side towers at harborview?? i was going through the downtown part of Baltimore website whem i came accoss this. I hope this is the 22 storey building that has been in the planning stages since the start of harborview. the foundation and the under ground garage is already in place just need to add the tower.

StevenW

March 2nd, 2005, 04:32 PM

robert, are you talking about www.godowntownbaltimore.com ?
I'll have to check it out. Hadn't heard this one yet. :?
Thanks.
:D

StevenW

March 2nd, 2005, 04:36 PM

Were you actually downtown and seen this or at a website?

StevenW

March 2nd, 2005, 05:12 PM

Check these links out:

http://mail.dpob.org/Development/Development_Search.asp?SortColumn=LastOfPhaseType+DESC&Area=

http://www.mrce.com/pages/projects/1989-1.shtml

http://www.ashbourneproperties.com/Prop%20Pages/HarborView.htm

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=Harborview+Baltimore/v=2/SID=e/TID=F463_110/l=WS1/R=4/IPC=us/SHE=0/H=3/SIG=11nvr089v/EXP=1109860875/*-http%3A//www.harborviewcommunity.com/

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=Harborview+Baltimore/v=2/SID=w/TID=F463_110/l=WS1/R=11/IPC=us/SHE=0/H=0/SIG=124pi6b9l/EXP=1109861843/*-http%3A//www.coastal-properties.com/harborview.htm

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=2766679/K=Harborview+Baltimore/v=2/SID=w/TID=F463_110/l=WS1/R=19/IPC=us/SHE=0/H=0/SIG=127hlbm7p/EXP=1109861843/*-http%3A//www.sber.com/press/readArticle.asp?NewsID=59

This is the BEST one though:

http://www.lubertadler.com/CaseHarb-2167.html

jaysonjaz

March 2nd, 2005, 05:59 PM

Great links..
I had no idea they had this much more planned for that area...

Heres the overview...
http://img191.exs.cx/img191/3879/lamcshvsite2sm1qw.jpg

Multifamily
1) 200 unit Tower
2) 164 unit Low rise
3) 300+ unit Mid rise
For Sale Product
4) 77 Townhomes
5) 88 Pier Homes
6) Ritz Carlton Residences (Sold)
Other
7) Marina & Yacht Club
8) Future Apartments
9) Future Apartments / Mixed Use

And this is the midrise tower Robert was talking about
http://img191.exs.cx/img191/7623/lamcshvpic35me.jpg
* Improved site with underground parking in place
* Zoning and infrastructure permit 300+ unit mid rise development
* Candidate for development in 2005
* Possible condo elements

BigBalto

March 2nd, 2005, 08:43 PM

To new tower cranes on the rise:
The first one's for the Malt house project north east of Harbor East.

The second one is for the John's Hopkins project at Charles and 33rd
They only have the base installed right now.

StevenW

March 2nd, 2005, 11:18 PM

Great follow-up, Jason! :)
Thanks.

StevenW

March 2nd, 2005, 11:21 PM

Hey guys, excuse my ignorance please, but what is that big/long building just across the Key HWY and across from the #3 mid-rise? :D

jaysonjaz

March 2nd, 2005, 11:54 PM

Hey guys, excuse my ignorance please, but what is that big/long building just across the Key HWY and across from the #3 mid-rise? :D

Thats the "Digital Harbor" High School..

if someone whos been here longer than me can explain that name I would appriciate it.. I've always thought it sounded kind of corny

StevenW

March 3rd, 2005, 04:54 AM

Thanks, man. :)

scando

March 3rd, 2005, 05:09 AM

And this is the midrise tower Robert was talking about
http://img191.exs.cx/img191/7623/lamcshvpic35me.jpg
* Improved site with underground parking in place
* Zoning and infrastructure permit 300+ unit mid rise development
* Candidate for development in 2005
* Possible condo elements

I thought that I remember that after the highrise that is there was built, there was an agreement between the developer and the people in Federal Hill that no building any taller than a large townhouse would be built at the foot of the hill in order to protect the view. Anybody know if the somewhat tall building is still expected?

robert parsons

March 3rd, 2005, 07:30 AM

Thanks guys ,thats the bulding i was thinking of. I came accross it on the downtowntown partnership of Baltimore website , but the building was originally supposed to be 22 storeys and was part of the Harborview master plan. There was an article not long ago in the sun that talked about all the new construction on key hwy. This tower and a 6 storey assisted living building between this site and the high school was in the planning. I just wish that some of these developers would stand up for there projects instead of letting them fall to pieces and go run and hide in the corner. We need more people to step up to the plate like Ed Hale and Pateratkis to see the projects get developed!!!!! But thats my thought!

micrip

March 3rd, 2005, 09:49 AM

Thats the "Digital Harbor" High School..

if someone whos been here longer than me can explain that name I would appriciate it.. I've always thought it sounded kind of corny
That was originally the "new" Southern High School which, I believe, was built in the early to mid '70's. The original Southern high is now apartments and is near Federal Hill.

Harborview was originally planned to be MUCH larger...in fact if it had developed according to the original plan it would have been just as dense as Harbor East is turning out to be. The existing tower was to be the first of several of around that hieght or slightly lower, but it went up in the early '90's and was a tough sell at the time, so the whole project got scaled back. I remember seeing renderings of how it would have looked as viewed from Pratt and Light...it looked like a second skyline and dwarfed Federal Hill.

Eerik

March 3rd, 2005, 06:01 PM

Bingo. The tower we see today was supposed to be the first of six...and even the first ended up being much shorter than the original proposal. All were proposed in the 40-storey range, but between the Locust Point and Federal Hill residents voicing strong opposition to monstrous heights and the reputation Baltimore had in those days of being more of a city of rowhouse- rather than condo owners -- the project began to shrink in size and scope. The one thing HarborView did not lack was funding: Tom Marudas and Richard Swirnow had deep investment pockets. HarborView was funded by a bank in Singapore. Having foreign capital to play with in many ways gave HarborView a rather unique advantage during the recession in the late 80s and early 90s -- allowing the project to move forward while other projects went belly-up.

While 100 HarborView Drive did get built, the second tower stalled. It was planned with the first and supposed to be located immediately west of the first tower. As demand for the first tower was lackluster (rumor had it the "Baltimore bargain hunters" waited and expected the condos to go onto the auction block as had many similar earlier developments) the proposed height for the second tower dropped as well. By the mid-90s it was obvious the second tower was temporarily, if not totally stalled. By the late 90s there was talk again of possibly building the second building, but that again failed. I think the paradigm shifted with new developers and market trends when construction started on the low-rise apartments and townhomes.

However, if you walk the HarborView site, you'll notice the foundation for the second tower already built. It is the area fenced-off with the underground garage. There are a few interesting utility pipes that stick out of this structure. Would be interesting to know if this is the same site. If the decision is made to build, the second building could go up very quickly with the most of the infrastructure, building foundation complete.

StevenW

March 3rd, 2005, 07:01 PM

Here is some news concerning this new tower, guys.

Hello Steve,
Yes, the rumor is somewhat true. I'm not sure when the building will be
started or completed. I do know that it will be a 17 story high rise. As
far as pricing.....? I'll keep you posted. Thank you for your interest.

Sandie Pearce
Sales Center
410-528-1122

17 stories, not bad, I guess. :)

waj0527

March 3rd, 2005, 07:07 PM

Im so amazed at how resourceful you guys are.

StevenW

March 3rd, 2005, 07:21 PM

You can do it too, waj0527. :yes: :)
Be polite and persistent and know, at least, a little something about which you are inquiring about. :D Believe it or not, you and everyone else can and most of the time will get a responce. Mostly helpful ones, too. :)
Thanks.

StevenW

March 3rd, 2005, 07:25 PM

BTW, the internet is priceless. It's a HUGE resource in an of it'self! Allot of people just surf the web and/or seek out entertaining purposes for it's use. How sad. :(
It's a great tool and data recorder. :yes:

SoBoChris

March 3rd, 2005, 08:13 PM

Hey guys, I was flipping through the City Paper and ran across this: http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=9712

Have any of you heard about this project?

Eerik

March 3rd, 2005, 09:46 PM

Its always good to know what the rules are, and as such, this is only a development guideline. I really doubt we'll see any proposals in the near or distant future that would meet or exceed the existing or new-proposed building envelope along North Charles Street. And even if we do, the chances of the market permitting more than one development are slim at best...

...just take a look at a few of the past proposals for this area, i.e. the apartment tower at Waterloo Row, the proposed office building at the southwest corner of Charles and Chase Streets...

I would rather see developers fix up what's there now. There is an amazing capacity for midtown living in that area. It wouldn't take much capital to develop and upgrade the existing housing stock.

waj0527

March 3rd, 2005, 10:09 PM

NewBaltimore1980

March 4th, 2005, 01:15 AM

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 01:39 AM

Check all of this out:

Fight the City’s Plan to Allow 180’ Buildings on

Charles Street and Other Areas of Mount Vernon

Reference: Proposed Mt. Vernon Urban Renewal Plan

Talking Points: (don’t use them all, mix up the order, use your own words, and feel free to add your own ideas).

Why the architecture, historic atmosphere and scale of Mt. Vernon was important to your decision to move your home or business here, and the evidence you see of how it is driving our renaissance.

Investments you are making to your own property.

If you are from out of state, point out that you are not only bringing new investment to Baltimore , but new income as well.

The Planning Department’s proposed 180’ allowance for new buildings will destroy forever the historic fabric of Mt. Vernon which is our primary tool for drawing new residential investors.

Residents are driving the revitalization of Mt Vernon with over $23 million invested in the past 4 years. At the same time, there is no evidence of real investment in this community by the vacant parcel owners or the Charles Street Development Corporation, a group that is pushing for buildings of 200’ or more in height!

One vacant parcel owner in particular has taken viable properties out of operation (Gampy’s at 802 North Charles and 4 West Read) while residents are investing over $1M to restore the adjacent building (MacGillvray’s) and put it back into full service as an upscale retail space and apartments.

There are no height limits today, yet there is no construction on these lots today. It is clear the current owners are waiting for future financial windfalls. It is time to start building today with a much lower height limit – a limit that provides ample profits for good, responsible developers (like Struever Brothers who are building a wonderful six story building on Charles Street) while saving what makes Mount Vernon unique and valuable to everyone who lives and works here.

· The community does not want or need enormous structures that would strip away the historic flavor of our valuable community, ruin the pristine vistas of the Washington Monument and Charles Street and diminish the importance of the Belvedere, one of the most distinctive and beloved buildings in all of Maryland.

· Now is not the time to “give away the store” to developers who are only interested in making money at the expense of this irreplaceable architectural jewel of Baltimore, the community of Mount Vernon. Proposals to allow 200’ or even 180’ buildings come at a time when the community has finally rebounded enough to attract great development without excessive heights. No further incentive is needed to make this happen, as the Struever Brothers development in the 1200 block of Charles Street makes very clear. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply trying to pad their pockets as they systematically destroy one of the best things Baltimore has going for it.

· Reasonable height limits would encourage vacant parcel owners, owners who think Mount Vernon should simply be an extension of downtown, go where that vision is more appropriate, selling their properties to investors who are prepared to build high-quality, properly scaled buildings that are appropriate to this community and that would help maintain our economic diversity vs destroying it.

No respectable city in America would permanently destroy a major historic center to suit one or two wealthy developers. The O’Malley administration will be entirely to blame if this happens. It will carry this shameful legacy and bear the brunt of the anger of not just one community, but an entire city that cares deeply about this neighborhood and preserving its rich and irreplaceable architectural integrity.

Close with your strong belief that the renaissance of Mt. Vernon is well underway and that the commercial corridor will soon be a major economic engine for the city in much the same way that Georgetown , Greenwich Village or Boston ’s Back Bay are, and without the need to sacrifice this historic national gem.

Please stay on topic (“fight the height”), keep it to no more than a page and a half, and don’t try to include other complaints in this letter.

Address to:

Mayor Martin O’Malley

Mayor

100 North Holliday Street

Baltimore MD 21202

Be sure to cc: MVBA, 1221 N Calvert, 21201 (Attn: Jason Curtis) so we can do the following distributions for you:

Otis Rolley, III, Director, Department of Planning

Councilwoman Paula Johnson Branch

Councilman Keiffer Jackson Mitchell

Councilman Bernard “Jack” Young

Peter E. Auchincloss, Chairman, Planning Commission

Judith P. Miller, Charwoman, Commission for Historical & Architectural Preservation

Thank you for fighting the height and helping to save what makes Mount Vernon special to all of us.

http://www.citypaper.com/sb/70945/mobs_height.jpg

http://mvba.org/fight-the-height/heightnov15.pdf

http://mvba.org/fight-the-height/

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 04:22 AM

Bill would rename BWI after Marshall
House approves plan to honor late justice
By Ivan Penn
Sun Staff
Originally published March 3, 2005, 9:12 PM EST
Baltimore County Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. wants to honor the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall by renaming one of Maryland's crown jewels -- Baltimore-Washington International Airport -- after the civil rights pioneer.

Sen. President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he respects Marshall's legacy, but worries that tampering with a name known to millions of passengers around the world could damage a valuable economic asset at a time of growing competition with the region's two other airports.

Though the House of Delegates voted 105-to-24 Thursday in favor of Burns' bill to change the name, its fate rests with Miller and the Senate, where passage appears unlikely.

"I don't think so," Miller said when asked if the measure has a chance in the Senate. "It's an economic- development issue. We're competing with National and Dulles airports."

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has not said whether he will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk, though there is concern about any cost involved in changing the airport's name at a time of fiscal belt-tightening, said Shareese DeLeaver, an Ehrlich spokeswoman.

Still, the governor is "definitely open to the idea," DeLeaver said. "It would be a fitting way to honor one of Maryland's most prominent citizens."

Fiscal analysts estimated that the cost to change BWI's name would be as much as $2.1 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, because the state would assume responsibility for signs at the airport as well as for road signs and other incidentals.

Marshall, the nation's first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was a native Baltimorean who died in 1993 after serving on the court for 24 years.

A name change would support what some see as a growing trend nationwide for airports.

In 1998 National Airport became Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. In 2001, New Orleans named its airport for jazz musician Louis Armstrong.

Atlanta officials renamed the local airport Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in 2003 to include the names of two former city mayors. Mississippi renamed its airport that same year, adding the name of civil rights activist Medgar Evers to the Jackson International Airport.

"I think you're going to see this trend continue in major metropolitan cities," said Lanii Thomas, a spokeswoman for Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

In Atlanta, Thomas said, estimates put the cost of the name change at less than $100,000 for signs and other incidentals.

At Reagan National, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which also oversees Dulles International Airport, spent about $29,000 to add the former president's name. Other costs associated with the new name were absorbed by Virginia for road signs and by Metro, the public transit system for metropolitan Washington.

The Maryland Aviation Administration has begun a "thorough analysis to evaluate the impact of the name change" but had no details Thursday, said spokesman Jonathan Dean.

Burns and others said naming an airport after someone of Marshall's stature is a fitting tribute. Burns said he hopes to convince Miller to support the idea and have the Senate pass the legislation.

"This issue is very important to a lot of people," Burns said. "If I were talking about changing the name to Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, I could see some opposition.

"When you're talking about Thurgood Marshall, you're not talking about a midget," he said. "He's a national hero and even an international hero."

Marshall joined the nation's high court after pioneering legal strategies that ended discrimination, in particular in the Brown vs. Board of Education case that ended legal school segregation.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat whose county is home to BWI, said he sees no reason why the Senate would not support the change.

"I certainly think Thurgood Marshall is as prominent a Marylander as we have had," Busch said.

robert parsons

March 4th, 2005, 05:40 AM

Eerik

March 4th, 2005, 07:00 AM

Spot on Eerik. Most of the redevelopment project in the midtown area have been "fix-ups". I thought the MT Vernon neighborhood had already been through this type of thing. Isnt this why it took so much for the Aegon condo/apartment project to get approved? I think most developers are aware of how silly a 200-250' tower would look in neighborhoods like Mt. Vernon and Charles Village.

My problem with that area is its significant lack of notable retail and dining options. I liken Mt. Vernon to Dupont Circle in D.C. Look at that neighborhood, walk down Connecticut Ave. There's lots of retail, lots of food options, and lots of people. Theres no reason why 20-somethings and people in their early-30s and 40s shouldnt be DYING to live in that Mt. Vernon.

Think about it, it has a natural public square, ideal urbanity, great cultural and historic sites, charming architecture, Penn Station, the University of Baltimore (and its close to Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland) and great access to downtown and uptown neighborhoods. As of now though, I would want to live there because the amenties dont exist there. If I want to rent a movie or pick up a dozen of Krispy Kreme's doughnuts or go to the gym or whatever, I'd have to drive somewhere to do it. Great neighborhoods like Dupont Circle have all those things built-in.

Yes, Mid-town Baltimore is very much like DuPont Circle. There are some similarities between the two in terms of the Arts, culture and “urbaninity”. However for the most part DuPont is what Mid-town Baltimore wants to be and become.

With the exception of perhaps the old Hotel Cairo, most of DuPont isn’t what it is because of high-density development: it’s because it isn’t what you find elsewhere, particularly in the Washington suburbs. The “urban experience” is alive in DuPont because of people, wealth, and activity.

What Mid-town Baltimore lacks is the people and wealth. Bring those two to Mid-town Baltimore, and the activity will follow. (Of course how to do that is the million-dollar question!)

But I do not see how high density development will solve the Mid-town quest. As it is, supply vastly exceeds current demand. Why demolish and expand a supply for a demand that isn’t there…yet?

Instead, I suggest emphasizing what makes Mid-town Baltimore different from the Owings Mills’s and White Marshes of the world. Highlight cultural amenities such as Peabody and the Myerhoff, or the history in which you are immersed when visiting or living in this part of Baltimore.

We are currently living in an era where people…in metropolitan areas all over the United States are flocking back to the cities because cities offer what the suburbs do not. Why go ahead and drastically alter the upper hand now?

Eerik

March 4th, 2005, 07:08 AM

Backwards looking cities go backwards, your proposals are all backwards, Baltimore should look forwards and proceed with development.

Oh, NewBaltimore1980! Tisk, tisk…

We’re talking about Baltimore, not New York. You obviously do not grasp the intricacies of economics, the market economy, or urban affairs. Perhaps it is a Freudian issue you harbor, but I’ll take quality over quantity anytime…

Let’s develop Baltimore as much as we can, but let’s do it correctly, ok?

micrip

March 4th, 2005, 07:29 AM

The Mount Vernon area is considered by many to be one of the best urban spaces in the country. Tall buildings in this area would be completely out of place.

What makes Baltimore so appealing is the great variety of architecture and varied neighborhoods. There is plenty of room elsewhere for large buildings.

Baltimoreguy

March 4th, 2005, 09:28 AM

I don't have a a problem keeping high rises out of Historic Mt Vernon Square, but I don't see a problem near Chase Street. There are already a 20, 22,18, and 13,8 story buildings on Chase Street. I don't think that 10-20 story apartment buildings would be a problem outside the Mt Vernon Square either. There are already a number of taller buildings there. Peabody Court 12, Strattford 13, Westminster House 17, Basilica PLace 17, Gallery Apartments 21, 1010 St Paul, There are two many mid rises to 12 stories throughout the Mt Vernon Area to name. I think anything built in Mount Vernon should be brick or stone and made to fit in. I do beleive an emphasis on renovations of present midrises and townhomes.

Hood

March 4th, 2005, 02:11 PM

DIGITAL HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL IS THE NEW NAME FOR THE SOUTHERN HIGH SCHOOL. THE NAME CAME FROM THE IDEA OF ALL THE NEW CONSTRUCTION IN AND AROUND THE HARBOR. ALOT OF NEW COMPANIES MOVING TO CANTON AND TIDE WARF ARE ALL COMPUTER COMPANIES, HENSE THE NAME DIGITAL , BUT NOT SURE WHY THEY PICKED DIGITAL THOUGH???

The origin of the name from the Digital Harbor tag started because of the dot com boom and Baltimore's hope to attract tech companies to the new "funky" warehouse spaces being built along the water. The real reason why it is truly digial harbor high is that it is now a magnet school catering to students who want to train to work in the tech field. Its sort of a vocational school. Students get lap tops. They all plug into their desks in classrooms. Teachers work off computers. There is a television studio for training on that equipment. There is a print shop that is actually run by students and does printing for buisnesses for a fee. Its very neat and if you get the opportunity to go see it in one of their open house settings, I highly recommend it.

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 03:51 PM

Cool, thanks, Jeff.

I believe these "developers" should propose their ,LOL, "skyscrapers" elsewhere in Baltimore. Why not Harbor East? West Side? CBD? I agree that Mt Vernon proper and it's nearby area be void of any buildings that radicaly 'dwarf' the other very historical architecture.
http://www.citypaper.com/sb/70945/mobs_height.jpg
This does look weird. But if these developers really want to fit in and want higher buildings, then why not design them with high quality stone and/or brick with styles very similar to the buildings of Mt. Vernon? ie; a old-looking gothic/french-gothic structure, just as an example. Not a new modern-looking tall glass/steel building.
How about a building that is shorter in floor height, (say 10 to 15 stories), but has a very beautiful, elegant and tasteful crown that rises with perfect and welcomed acclaim by it's residents? There's the height in this area I'd only welcome. Not big, bulky, HULKY modern towers that clash with the others. And only erect about two or three of these such structures, well apart from each other, too. :D
Hope that did not sound to weird. ;)

From my understanding we all should know by 12 noon on Friday, April 29, 2005 what the proposals are for this area.

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 04:02 PM

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/newspics/0304strueverhome.jpg
Bill Struever

Struever in hot demand
Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse Inc. may be Baltimore’s quintessential developer: The company has taken abandoned blights, from The Can Company in Canton to the National Bohemian brewery near Patterson Park, and turned them into treasures. By refusing to let a building’s decay equal demise, Struever Bros. has helped uncover the potential of a city that 10 years ago was hidden by grime.
- Jen DeGregorio

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 04:05 PM

Good link: http://www.mddailyrecord.com/pdfs/squarefeetmar05.pdf

:)

StevenW

March 4th, 2005, 04:31 PM

In the link I posted above, on the 30th page it says, "Snively says (concerning Lockwood Place), that after the 90,000 sq. ft. retail portion opens this summer, that, 'future development there will include an ultra-luxury high-rise tower with the greatest accomidations". {I hope I quoted that correctly. I'm sure it was close enough, though.} :D

So, that is good news to hear that the residential portion of Lockwood Place is NOT dead. :cheers:

Baltimoreguy

March 4th, 2005, 08:06 PM

I don't have a problem with the height of the building, but it needs to be toned down for the area. It needs to be brick or stone to match the surrounding area. The building will not dwarf the area also. Two blocks North are a number of highrises St Paul at Chase 22 Floors, Horizon House 19 floors,The Belvedere 13 plus a huge ornametal mansard roofline, Chase House 18 floors, Plus I belive there is a 10 story building right across the street from the proposed one. There are also tons of 5 to 10 story buildings through out the Mt Vernon/MidTown area. The building needs to have a design that is classical to fit in.
Cool, thanks, Jeff.

I believe these "developers" should propose their ,LOL, "skyscrapers" elsewhere in Baltimore. Why not Harbor East? West Side? CBD? I agree that Mt Vernon proper and it's nearby area be void of any buildings that radicaly 'dwarf' the other very historical architecture.
http://www.citypaper.com/sb/70945/mobs_height.jpg
This does look weird. But if these developers really want to fit in and want higher buildings, then why not design them with high quality stone and/or brick with styles very similar to the buildings of Mt. Vernon? ie; a old-looking gothic/french-gothic structure, just as an example. Not a new modern-looking tall glass/steel building.
How about a building that is shorter in floor height, (say 10 to 15 stories), but has a very beautiful, elegant and tasteful crown that rises with perfect and welcomed acclaim by it's residents? There's the height in this area I'd only welcome. Not big, bulky, HULKY modern towers that clash with the others. And only erect about two or three of these such structures, well apart from each other, too. :D
Hope that did not sound to weird. ;)

From my understanding we all should know by 12 noon on Friday, April 29, 2005 what the proposals are for this area.

fanofterps

March 5th, 2005, 04:41 AM

New web site for Spinakerbay apartments. Building will open in a few months. Hope they do well renting the 315 units. It could pave the way for good things to come.

I don't have a problem with the height of the building, but it needs to be toned down for the area. It needs to be brick or stone to match the surrounding area. The building will not dwarf the area also. Two blocks North are a number of highrises St Paul at Chase 22 Floors, Horizon House 19 floors,The Belvedere 13 plus a huge ornametal mansard roofline, Chase House 18 floors, Plus I belive there is a 10 story building right across the street from the proposed one. There are also tons of 5 to 10 story buildings through out the Mt Vernon/MidTown area. The building needs to have a design that is classical to fit in.

robert parsons

March 5th, 2005, 05:43 AM

http://www.citypaper.com/sb/70945/mobs_height.jpg this tower and the rest of the development would go nicely on the other side of 83 where there are a lot of parking lots!!!! :) Or change the the skin and the facade of the buildings to resemble the washington monument!

scando

March 5th, 2005, 07:15 AM

http://www.citypaper.com/sb/70945/mobs_height.jpg

This picture appears to be concocted to propose a provocative worst case scenario. As it appears in the picture, this building, in addition to being totally out of context is also located in an alley behind buildings on Charles St. That's going to happen for sure. I guess one could just as well concoct, for persuasive puposes, a picture of a tall buiding on air rights above the Engineering Society building or ask the city to sell one of the squares in Mt vernon for a high rise condo.

Coming down to earth a little, my office window view of Mt Vernon (from a high rise building) reminds me that there are already quite a few sorta tall buildings in the area, even right at the perphery of the parks. I don't think we need to panic about this yet. Real estate in the area is not so hot that developers are going to buy blocks of brownstones and raze them for tall buildings. We need to be vigilant in regard to specific proposals but not create such a hostile environment that developers are scared away. As beautiful as the area is, it does need more life. There are parts of Mt Vernon that actually could benefit from more high rise development, notably around the western edge of UB and Symphony Place, including UB's large parking lot (the state is looking for a developer there). The other big empty space, the parking lot in Charles St where Thai Landing is, will be developed with a relatively not-tall building that suits the area.

Eerik

March 5th, 2005, 08:26 AM

The rendering...exactly what is that anyway? The perspective looks so skewed. Did someone simply take a building and duplicate itself on top of the other using PhotoShop? In some ways the rendering reminds me of the law building at Charles and Mt. Royal. The whole thing is so hypothetical and absurd that...

StevenW

March 5th, 2005, 02:55 PM

I guess the created building is made to look that way to dramatize the set-back even more than would be if the tower flowed continually upwards without deviation. That's my take.

In other news:

City shifts plans, will seek bids for convention hotel
Estimates from contractor exceeded projected costs
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun Staff
Originally published March 5, 2005
City development officials plan to seek competitive bids to build the proposed $290 million publicly financed convention headquarters hotel after construction estimates soared beyond projections.
The Baltimore Development Corp. said yesterday it hopes to issue a request for proposals from builders as soon as next week.
The city had been working with Baltimore-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. to build a city-owned, 750-room Hilton as part of a team led by Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television.

But BDC President M.J. "Jay" Brodie said yesterday that four separate construction estimates from Whiting-Turner came in over budget. The city is allowing an estimated $195 million for construction, including hotel furnishings and fees paid to development team members. Brodie would not say how much over projections Whiting-Turner's estimates were.

"Whiting-Turner has been professional and thorough, but they have not given us a figure that falls in the ballpark," Brodie said.

Brodie said the BDC was still on track in its plan to seek approval for a $290 million bond issue to finance the construction and other costs. The hotel, to be built on an empty parcel just north of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, should still be able to meet the goal of opening by 2008, with the switch to a new builder likely to cause a four- to six-week delay, Brodie said.

Brodie said BDC officials decided to seek new bids from builders after talking with Mayor Martin O'Malley, the city solicitor and the director of finance.

"The mayor's aware of BDC's decision to issue [a request for bids] for the design-build portion of the project, and he supports the decision at this point," said Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for the mayor.

Brodie said he had told Whiting-Turner chief executive Willard Hackerman that "this is a public policy situation, and we had to go out and look at other design builders."

"We need to test the marketplace to see what other good qualified design builders will give us, and Whiting Turner is invited to participate in this process," Brodie said. "Faced with the situation in front of us, it's prudent and appropriate to test the marketplace."

The decision to seek new bids from builders will have no effect on the hotel's design. And with the exception of Whiting-Turner, other members of the development team - Johnson's RJL Development LLC and Quadrangle Development Corp. as developers, architecture firm RTKL Associates and hotel operator Hilton Hotels Corp. - remain in place and will be paid fees for services rather than having an equity stake in the hotel.

Hackerman did not respond to a request for comment.

Two construction companies said yesterday they are interested in building the hotel.

New York-based Turner Construction Co., the nation's largest building contractor, plans to submit a bid.

"This is a great project, right next to the ballpark and across from the convention center; it will be the bellwether project for the city," said Chris Jahrling, a vice president and Turner's general manager for Washington, Maryland and Virginia. "We have done more of this type of product in the U.S. than anyone."

Faulkner USA, an Austin, Texas, national developer and builder specializing in convention headquarters hotels, will also submit a proposal, said Terri Dusek, a company spokeswoman.

The plan to publicly finance the hotel has raised red flags among some city officials, including the chairman of a key City Council committee. Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., head of the taxation and finance committee, said he wants an independent commission to review all three hotel proposals that had been submitted to the BDC, including plans that would not have required full public financing.

Yesterday, Mitchell reiterated his desire to explore other financing options.

"Oh, yeah, this will happen." :bash: :old: :drool: :ohno: :|

waj0527

March 5th, 2005, 02:59 PM

As for the "SOS" promotion, the mid-town NIMBYs were out in full force with this one. As we've said before, a developer would clearly either propose this "tower" elsewhere in the city or take it to the corner or 11th and H St. in downtown DC where it really belongs.

As for the covention center hotel, looks like we're still getting this, huh:

http://www.rtkl.com/images/portfolio_images/hiltonba179421525[2].jpg

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2002-11/5437774.jpg

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2003-10/9956299.gif

If so, I guess it could be worse. My question is, with the developers futre plans, where is the Zenith supposed to go?

waj0527

March 5th, 2005, 04:40 PM

check out this site. wonder how much these will sell for.

http://canalstreetmalthouse.com/

xzmattzx

March 5th, 2005, 09:04 PM

this has nothing to do with development, but if anyone wasn't aware, you can get a city life license plate in maryland.

http://www.worldlicenceplates.com/jpglps/USA_MD_SI1.jpg

fanofterps

March 6th, 2005, 01:48 PM

In Sunday March 6th Baltimore Sun Employment Section today under construction.

" We are seeking an experienced residential project manager to serve as an on-site owners representive for a 13 story apartment building to be built beginning spring 2005 in the Inner Harbor East area of downtown Baltimore".

This is the old Bohagers site. Anyone have pictures? Wow, Harbor East is exploding. 1 million square feet broke ground on Parcel B and now this. I heard
this 13 story building will be 236 residential units with ground floor retail.

jaysonjaz

March 6th, 2005, 04:20 PM

StevenW

March 6th, 2005, 08:40 PM

StevenW

March 7th, 2005, 12:11 PM

'Big Band Era' supper club chain slated for Harbor East project

Julekha Dash
Staff
An upscale seafood restaurant chain will land on the shore of Harbor East this fall, joining a development project that will include a Four Seasons Hotel and high-end housing.

Minneapolis-based Oceanaire Seafood Room has put Baltimore on its expansion plans, along with Miami and Philadelphia, which will also get new restaurants this year, said company CEO Terry Ryan. Currently, Oceanaire has eateries in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Dallas, Indianapolis and San Diego.

With Art Deco fixtures, the restaurant bills itself as a Big Band Era-style supper club. The 9,000-square-foot restaurant in the rapidly developing East Baltimore neighborhood will employ about 80 and open between September and November. The average bill is $50 per person.

Oceanaire is currently scouting for a general manager for the Baltimore restaurant, Ryan said. At each local restaurant, the company offers the executive chef and general manager part-ownership in the eatery. It also varies two-thirds of the menu to suit local tastes so the restaurant develops a loyal following among locals, rather than be known simply as a chain, Ryan said.

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. and H&S Properties Development Corp. are joint developers on the Harbor East project.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

StevenW

March 7th, 2005, 12:14 PM

"STOP THE PRESSES!!!" DO my eyes dceive me?!"

City talks to Macy's, H&M chain

Growth in downtown living may lure big stores
Heather Harlan
Staff
Baltimore economic development leaders are talking with two big names in the retail world, including Macy's, about the possibility of opening a downtown department store.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership, said his organization has initiated discussions with two department store operators, but declined to name which ones.

Commercial real estate sources familiar with the talks identified those companies as Macy's, part of the Federated Department Stores Inc., and H&M, which stands for Hennes and Mauritz.

With downtown Baltimore's population expected to hit 10,000 by year's end, large retailers are beginning to give Charm City more than a cursory look. In retail terms, 10,000 residents can represent a magic number, often indicating enough repeat business to make a store successful.

Add the number of downtown employees -- estimated at close to 89,000 -- to the residential base, mix in a few tourists and downtown foot traffic could amount to 150,000 people on a peak day, according to the partnership.

"Only recently have retailers started calling us," Fowler said. "Since the heydays of the '50s and '60s when Howard Street was thriving, we haven't seen anything like this in terms of retail."

Although many large retailers want to be along Pratt Street, department stores are trickier, Fowler said. Economic development leaders have floated the idea of both the west side and the former McCormick & Co. property at the corner of Conway and Light streets as possibilities.

"The challenges are parking and the cost of land," Fowler said.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said the overall challenges confronting today's department store operators -- from consolidation in the industry to competition from big-box retailers and the Internet -- could keep them away from Charm City.

Although downtown Baltimore is starved for a department store, Brodie said, "It's a very tough business -- very thin margins."

Retail experts throughout the Baltimore area questioned whether downtown could land a department store as operators are consolidating.

Earlier this week, Federated Department Stores Inc., the owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, announced it would acquire May Department Stores Co., which controls Hecht's and Lord & Taylor, in a transaction valued at $17 billion.

Thomas H. Maddux, president of KLNB Inc., a Towson-based commercial real estate firm, said the consolidation could go either way, possibly benefiting downtown.

Still, Maddux said downtown Baltimore needs to show it has 10,000 residents on the books -- rather than anticipates them, before a department store will make a decision.

John F. Harrington, a senior vice president with MacKenzie/Cushman & Wakefield, agreed. "Is there enough density in the city? I'm not sure it's there yet," he said.

Also hurting the Baltimore, Maddux said, is the lack of corporate headquarters, which have lured department stores to similar cities such as Pittsburgh, Pa.

"That's the one thing Baltimore never had -- a lot of Fortune 500 headquarters," Maddux continued. "We were always the branch location. Even though Pittsburgh is a zero growth market, the foundation is there."

But on the positive side, Harrington said Baltimore is starting to attract some high-end restaurants to the downtown area to meet the demand of new residents -- mainly empty nesters and young professionals moving into the city.

Will a department store be next? "I don't think we're there yet," Harrington said.

In the Baltimore area, Macy's already has stores in Glen Burnie, White Marsh and Owings Mills. Over the last few years, H&M has entered this region by placing stores in Arundel Mills mall and Owings Mills Mall.

NewBaltimore1980

March 7th, 2005, 07:01 PM

waj0527

March 7th, 2005, 08:25 PM

NewBaltimore1980

March 7th, 2005, 10:50 PM

jaysonjaz

March 7th, 2005, 11:04 PM

I agree with you that if we have a successful redevelopment of the super block with national chains (not local yokal dollar stores) then we will be able to support a Macy's downtown. However, currently there is no way it can be supported because you need the other stores to be a draw. If you dont have those other stores it will make more sense to go to Towson.

Just my humble opinion, but these sort of developments don't happen in a vaccum. I think once word gets out where a big store like this is going other medium sized stores will follow suit and scramble to organize around the location.

Hugh Jaramillo

March 7th, 2005, 11:34 PM

NewBaltimore1980

March 8th, 2005, 12:46 AM

Just my humble opinion, but these sort of developments don't happen in a vaccum. I think once word gets out where a big store like this is going other medium sized stores will follow suit and scramble to organize around the location.

I agree there is no vaccuum but I think it has to happen the other way around. Smaller stores first then bigger stores. Hey just my opinion, but the way the market is now, the department stores are not as hip for the young professional. THat is the market we are getting in Baltimore, so we need the hip stores then the traditional can be supported. I am all for a Macy's downtown, but if we get a Macy's and it doesn't work, its going to take a really really long time before someone else is going to risk coming downtown.

fanofterps

March 8th, 2005, 03:06 AM

waj0527

March 8th, 2005, 04:00 AM

I'm pretty sure thats it. Great news. Its about damn time..lol.

jaysonjaz

March 8th, 2005, 04:07 AM

Attention: Breaking News

Guys and Girls I'm almost positive this address is the Zenith. Building permits were issued the end of February for a 21 story apartment tower with 191 dwelling units and 201 parking spaces. See Baltimorehousing.org (Section Building Permits-Inner Harbor). I love this residential development for the city. Can we add the Water Tower and 350 Pratt Street next?

I was actually going to post on that soon.. it looks like they're begining to prep the site. Over the past few days they have removed all the fencing around the lot and there is bulldozer on the site, leading me to believe that they're going to start this soon
:)

StevenW

March 8th, 2005, 04:27 AM

Great work guys! Does anyone have a rendering of the 13 story building that is going in where the Boehagers used to be? Would love to see it and also any renderings of parcel B that might be around.

The new convention center hotel doesn't look all that great to me. I would prefer a taller building that would fill in that part of the city with an attractive high rise. Give it some Viagra!

No rendering yet on that 13 story building. :(
And, the area that the convention hotel is going to be built on has a height restriction so that's why there won't be a tall building there like we all would like. The area there is in the path of the helocopter medivac flight path. :(
Now, if they would have chose the Believe Team's Conway Street Porposal, THEN we would have our taller tower. :) But, ..... no..... :(

StevenW

March 8th, 2005, 04:33 AM

Have any of you guys ever been to San Francisco's Union Square?
To me, when I think of a shopping venue worth imitating, then this is the one! ;) :)
What a great urban setting! If you have not been there, then when you get the chance, you need to go there! :D You'll understand. I think it would work for Baltimore if and when the city gets the 10,000+ people living downtown AND all the other neighborhood's residents AND tourists too! ;)

fanofterps

March 8th, 2005, 04:56 AM

I have been there. I love Union Square and Newberry(spelling) St in Boston.

There is now over 2,000 residential units under construction downtown with at least another 3,000 to 4,000 planned over the next 3 to 4 years(Canton Crossing, Port Covington,Locust Point, Harbor East, Westside). I know Paterakis is talking all retail and residential for the remaining parcels up to Caroline St.. I wonder if Harbor Point would be another good spot for a large "upscale"retail shopping center? Anyone have idea's for locations.

The West Side is not safe enough yet to surport "upscale" retail. Crime is still an issue there.

Have any of you guys ever been to San Francisco's Union Square?
To me, when I think of a shopping venue worth imitating, then this is the one! ;) :)
What a great urban setting! If you have not been there, then when you get the chance, you need to go there! :D You'll understand. I think it would work for Baltimore if and when the city gets the 10,000+ people living downtown AND all the other neighborhood's residents AND tourists too! ;)

Baltimoreguy

March 8th, 2005, 05:42 AM

I think the height limit near the hospital is just a bunch of bull. Howard Hall is 290 Feet Tall on Redwood Street 1/2 a block from the heliport. The heliport is completely surrounded by highrises. There is also a 365 feet tall building(250 west Pratt) right across from the convention center hotel. There is also a proposed 19 story Office building planned for Green and Pratt. The Bromoselter is also 319 Feet tall. The helicopters should come in directly from the south anyway where ther are no obstructions.
No rendering yet on that 13 story building. :(
And, the area that the convention hotel is going to be built on has a height restriction so that's why there won't be a tall building there like we all would like. The area there is in the path of the helocopter medivac flight path. :(
Now, if they would have chose the Believe Team's Conway Street Porposal, THEN we would have our taller tower. :) But, ..... no..... :(

BigBalto

March 8th, 2005, 06:20 AM

Did every body miss this article from the Baltimore Sun March 5
“CITY SHIFTS PLANS, WILL SEEK BIDS FOR CONVENTION HOTEL”

Estimates from contractor exceeded projected cost

City development officials plan to seek competitive bids to build the proposed $290 million publicly financed convention headquarters hotel after construction estimates soared beyond projections.
The Baltimore Development Corp. said yesterday it hopes to issue a request for proposals from builders as soon as next week.
The city had been working with Baltimore based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. to build a city owned, 750 million Hilton as part of team led Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television.
But BDC President M.J. Brodie said yesterday that four separate construction estimates
from Whiting-Turner came in over budget. The city is allowing $195 million for construction, including hotel furnishings and fees paid to development team members.
Brodie would not say how much over projections Whiting-Turner’s estimates…..

Well…I guess that’s it for the Hilton

Back to Believe team?

Eerik

March 8th, 2005, 07:50 AM

Not sure if anyone will be in town on Wednesday around Noon, but the downtown Hopkins University center will be hosting a presentation by Matthew Bell and Al Barry where discussion will revolve around the idea of partial demolition of the elevated decking of the Jones Falls Expressway along the southern terminus in downtwon.

While the general idea is an old one, if anyone is able to go, I would highly recommend going. They will be discussing some new ideas and concepts...

micrip

March 8th, 2005, 08:08 AM

Not enough money to support Macy's? Its Macy's....not Saks or Nieman Marcus or even Bloomingdale's. Its Macy's.

People would come and people would buy. Obviously the key is to redevelop the entire super block in order for it to work. The entire westside could easily become a downtown destination.

In my estimation, the city needs to focus on and sell the superblock as the premier entertainment/retail district in Baltimore. When it becomes a destination, it'll thrive with little problems. Its not like we dont have the people to support the stores, we dont have the stores for the people to support. A few years ago, how many people said downtown Baltimore couldnt support all the residential units its getting.

Dont forget, city residents are a large part of the success of Hecht's, Nordstrom and Macy's in White Marsh, Towson and Owings Mills.
I don't see Macy*s, or any other major dept. store, building a city store unless it is in partnership with some larger development. Look at where such stores are located today...in large malls with around 100 "specialty" stores and maybe 2-4 additional large anchors. The object is to draw large numbers of shoppers to the overall center, thus increasing traffic for all. Freestanding, a store such as Macy*s usually can't draw enough traffic to be profitable. You need your Gaps, Banana Republics, Victoria's Secrets, Brookstones, etc. to provide the synergy.

I could see a large retail development happening someday, and the ideal location would be between Inner Harbor East and Canton, not downtown. They would want to be close to the potential customers, and those areas are just booming.

And guess what, there may be an ideal site already there...the Allied Signal property. A mix of shopping and entertainment could bring hoards of people to the site.

Eerik

March 8th, 2005, 08:38 AM

I don't see Macy*s, or any other major dept. store, building a city store unless it is in partnership with some larger development. Look at where such stores are located today...in large malls with around 100 "specialty" stores and maybe 2-4 additional large anchors. The object is to draw large numbers of shoppers to the overall center, thus increasing traffic for all. Freestanding, a store such as Macy*s usually can't draw enough traffic to be profitable. You need your Gaps, Banana Republics, Victoria's Secrets, Brookstones, etc. to provide the synergy.

I could see a large retail development happening someday, and the ideal location would be between Inner Harbor East and Canton, not downtown. They would want to be close to the potential customers, and those areas are just booming.

And guess what, there may be an ideal site already there...the Allied Signal property. A mix of shopping and entertainment could bring hoards of people to the site.

I agree. Any stand alone department store downtown is sketchy at best. Even the Wal Mart at Port Covington is having financial difficulties (and consider all that location offers with parking, easy access ,etc.)

It has been a long time since a major department store has considered moving to downtown Baltimore. Last one was in the early to mid 80s when Bloomingdales was thinking about opening shop at The Gallery at Harborplace.

It is going to take a heck of a lot more office and residential downtown before a major retailer decides to open. While the wig shops, low-end retailing, beeper stores (do they even sell beepers anymore?) etc. aren't what we might consider ideal for downtown, at least they provide a minimal stream of tax dollars to the city.

Also, has anyone here considered what the future of Lexington Market might hold with the additional residential development downtown? What market segment will Lexington Market serve? The high end grocery will certainly go to Whole Foods, the middle market to Charles Plaza...but who will shop at Lexington?

NewBaltimore1980

March 8th, 2005, 03:26 PM

I agree. Any stand alone department store downtown is sketchy at best. Even the Wal Mart at Port Covington is having financial difficulties (and consider all that location offers with parking, easy access ,etc.)

It has been a long time since a major department store has considered moving to downtown Baltimore. Last one was in the early to mid 80s when Bloomingdales was thinking about opening shop at The Gallery at Harborplace.

It is going to take a heck of a lot more office and residential downtown before a major retailer decides to open. While the wig shops, low-end retailing, beeper stores (do they even sell beepers anymore?) etc. aren't what we might consider ideal for downtown, at least they provide a minimal stream of tax dollars to the city.

Also, has anyone here considered what the future of Lexington Market might hold with the additional residential development downtown? What market segment will Lexington Market serve? The high end grocery will certainly go to Whole Foods, the middle market to Charles Plaza...but who will shop at Lexington?

I wouldnt consider Lexington a grocery store. Its more of a market for Fresh fish, meats, and vegetables that you go when you want something special. Or its a place that will be a lunch destination for downtown workers. Right now its still too scary to go there by yourself, but I have to admit I risk it once in awhile for one of those crab cakes. I think its going to be a great addition to the west side once we have some other draws over there to bring people that far north into the West Side.

SoBoChris

March 8th, 2005, 07:19 PM

Attention: Breaking News

Guys and Girls I'm almost positive this address is the Zenith. Building permits were issued the end of February for a 21 story apartment tower with 191 dwelling units and 201 parking spaces. See Baltimorehousing.org (Section Building Permits-Inner Harbor). I love this residential development for the city. Can we add the Water Tower and 350 Pratt Street next?

I was checking out the permits on this site for Water Tower. Was I the only one who is out of the loop and didn't know that this is to be 31-stories??

waj0527

March 8th, 2005, 08:03 PM

21 with the existing 10 stories of parking, right?

SoBoChris

March 8th, 2005, 10:32 PM

21 with the existing 10 stories of parking, right?
Yep, that's what it said.

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 12:16 AM

I thought it was actually going to be 22 stories on top of the 10 story garage. Ah well. Hey guys, just imagine if and when CityScape tower, Water Tower and if 300 east pratt street and the residential part of Lockwood Place gets built!! :D :D :yes:
I say in 4 to 5 years from now Baltimore will have a much larger and more dense skyline. :)

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 12:18 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2005-03/16598588.gif

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 12:59 AM

I have been there. I love Union Square and Newberry(spelling) St in Boston.

I think Charles Street could be very similar to Newbury Street up in Boston. The street has a similar feel to it and I think could eventually support the same kind of high end botique retail.

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 01:07 AM

I wouldnt consider Lexington a grocery store. Its more of a market for Fresh fish, meats, and vegetables that you go when you want something special. Or its a place that will be a lunch destination for downtown workers. Right now its still too scary to go there by yourself, but I have to admit I risk it once in awhile for one of those crab cakes. I think its going to be a great addition to the west side once we have some other draws over there to bring people that far north into the West Side.

I would agree that its more of a fresh fish, meats, and vegetables kind of place, but I disagee that its all that sketchy.. I go there all the time for lunch (I'm at the Univ. of MD) and I don't think theres really too much to be scared about. They have plenty of security on site and around the site and theres a good mix of people in the market itself..

I think its not too far from being a very viable area. Its only one block up from the Hippodrome. I think once Centerpointe has been finished and we have retail and restaurant in that area, it won't belong before it heads up one more block to the market.

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 01:21 AM

Heres one that went right under our radar:

School expands at former Goucher site
Alan Zibel
Staff

Baltimore Lab School, an arts-based school for students with learning disabilities, has completed the renovation of its new building on the original site of Goucher College and will hold a grand opening Monday night.

The school, a division of the Lab School of Washington, opened in 2000 with 18 students and has now grown to 101 students in grades one through nine. The school moved from its old location at 4906 Roland Avenue in Roland Park to the new location at 2220 St. Paul St. in Baltimore last September.

The school made the move because of its growing student body and need for more space.

The Lab School of Washington was founded in 1967 by Sally L. Smith, an expert on students with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and language difficulties.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

This is in that "no-mans" area connecting Mount Vernon to Charles Village. I'd love to see more development in this area because I think it has awesome potential.
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=2220+St+Paul+St,+Baltimore,+MD

fanofterps

March 9th, 2005, 02:20 AM

Having grown up in Baltimore, I always hoped we could look more like a small New York or Boston. Adding Cityscape, Water Tower, 1 Light St., 300 East Pratt would get us closer to this. We also need to add a large "upscale" retail area to go with it.

I thought it was actually going to be 22 stories on top of the 10 story garage. Ah well. Hey guys, just imagine if and when CityScape tower, Water Tower and if 300 east pratt street and the residential part of Lockwood Place gets built!! :D :D :yes:
I say in 4 to 5 years from now Baltimore will have a much larger and more dense skyline. :)

NewBaltimore1980

March 9th, 2005, 03:03 AM

I would agree that its more of a fresh fish, meats, and vegetables kind of place, but I disagee that its all that sketchy.. I go there all the time for lunch (I'm at the Univ. of MD) and I don't think theres really too much to be scared about. They have plenty of security on site and around the site and theres a good mix of people in the market itself..

I think its not too far from being a very viable area. Its only one block up from the Hippodrome. I think once Centerpointe has been finished and we have retail and restaurant in that area, it won't belong before it heads up one more block to the market.

Try walking from downtown to Lexington Market by way of Saratoga Street on a Saturday morning. People are all over the streets, street vendors harass you, and people stand there blaring religious slogans over microphones. I deal with it because I live here and I know its safe once I am at the market, but they are trying to make that a tourist attraction. THey need to clean the rest of the west side up first before people are going to tour up that way.

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 03:14 AM

fanofterps

March 9th, 2005, 04:04 AM

I agree with you except for One Light Street and 300 East Pratt. These projects have been talked about for so long that I have bad feelings that neither will happen.

The 300 East Pratt site is one of the best locations in the city for a hotel or apartment house . I am not sure why it is taking so long to get started. I hope I am wrong Steve.

The Zenith should go up first, then Water Tower, then CityScape, (btw don't forget I'll be getting some specific info on this project pretty soon ;) can't wait, either!), and then probably one light street then 300 east pratt then Lockwood place tower. :D
That's the order I believe that these projects will go up. :)
Anyone else? :D

Baltimoreguy

March 9th, 2005, 05:11 AM

There are tons of opportuniteis in the West Side for large developments. There is still the air rights above the Lexington Market Garage. There are still some vacant lots from the proposed Murdock Development. What the Westside needs is a bunch of residential towers. A few more thousand apartments in the West side and retail will come back. I would love to see Twin 30 story apartment buildings on top the Lexington Market Garage. I don't see much Office development in the westside, maybe some mixed use developments after more residential units are built and the area is cleaned up a bit more. As to a development store. The westside might be able to suport a department store in 5 years, but not now. I can see downtown Baltimore reaching 18,000 residents by 2010.
Try walking from downtown to Lexington Market by way of Saratoga Street on a Saturday morning. People are all over the streets, street vendors harass you, and people stand there blaring religious slogans over microphones. I deal with it because I live here and I know its safe once I am at the market, but they are trying to make that a tourist attraction. THey need to clean the rest of the west side up first before people are going to tour up that way.

scando

March 9th, 2005, 05:22 AM

Try walking from downtown to Lexington Market by way of Saratoga Street on a Saturday morning. People are all over the streets, street vendors harass you, and people stand there blaring religious slogans over microphones. I deal with it because I live here and I know its safe once I am at the market, but they are trying to make that a tourist attraction. THey need to clean the rest of the west side up first before people are going to tour up that way.

One day, walking out of the Market, I saw one of the strangest sites around. That amphibious duck boat that they haul tourists around in was driving by. They give the passengers little quacking duck bills to wear, so here's a boat full of family tourists driving up the street, past the vendors, junkies, street people and evangelists, with all these people in the boat quacking at the junkies. That seemed like a stop they could have taken off the tour. I am optomistic about the Westside, but it is not ready yet. A large department store would have to really build for the future to locate there. Maybe someday, but for now, dollar stores are the commerce of that area.

Eerik

March 9th, 2005, 06:27 AM

The Zenith should go up first, then Water Tower, then CityScape, (btw don't forget I'll be getting some specific info on this project pretty soon ;) can't wait, either!), and then probably one light street then 300 east pratt then Lockwood place tower. :D
That's the order I believe that these projects will go up. :)
Anyone else? :D

From what I understand, CityScape received approval to begin demolition of the existing structures about ten days ago. The developer expects to demolish/clear the land by late May to begin construction. Now whether or not that's going to happen is another question. Also from what I've heard, the design/proposal as presented to BDC has changed somewhat and will be made public soon.

I haven't had the chance to drive up to Baltimore in the past couple of weeks, but I'd be interested to find out if the existing properties "look" as if they are being vacated, i.e. 117 Water Street. Maybe someone would be willing to do a walk-by and snoop around?

I ask since I have doubts based upon my source...

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 12:00 PM

Thanks, Eerik.

From what I understand the design has changed for the better. :) We'll see. ;)

NewBaltimore1980

March 9th, 2005, 03:04 PM

One day, walking out of the Market, I saw one of the strangest sites around. That amphibious duck boat that they haul tourists around in was driving by. They give the passengers little quacking duck bills to wear, so here's a boat full of family tourists driving up the street, past the vendors, junkies, street people and evangelists, with all these people in the boat quacking at the junkies. That seemed like a stop they could have taken off the tour. I am optomistic about the Westside, but it is not ready yet. A large department store would have to really build for the future to locate there. Maybe someday, but for now, dollar stores are the commerce of that area.

Haha, that is so funny. Those poor tourists thought they were going to see the culture of Baltimore. Oh maybe they got what they paid for.

NewBaltimore1980

March 9th, 2005, 03:05 PM

From what I understand, CityScape received approval to begin demolition of the existing structures about ten days ago. The developer expects to demolish/clear the land by late May to begin construction. Now whether or not that's going to happen is another question. Also from what I've heard, the design/proposal as presented to BDC has changed somewhat and will be made public soon.

I haven't had the chance to drive up to Baltimore in the past couple of weeks, but I'd be interested to find out if the existing properties "look" as if they are being vacated, i.e. 117 Water Street. Maybe someone would be willing to do a walk-by and snoop around?

I ask since I have doubts based upon my source...

I think I have to go downtown this afternoon. I will see what I can see.

SoBoChris

March 9th, 2005, 04:05 PM

Did anyone see this article last week?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.downtown03mar03,1,5330496.story

Nothing of really importance, but it does mention CityScape!

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 07:24 PM

Rethinking life without the JFX
Plan: A developer suggests razing part of the elevated freeway downtown, as other cities have, to foster renewal.
Mar 7, 2005
By Jill Rosen
Sun Staff
Originally published March 9, 2005

San Francisco got rid of the Embarcadero. Milwaukee removed the Park East Freeway. So why shouldn't Baltimore do away with the elevated highway that runs through its downtown?

"If you stand on Guilford Avenue and look back at it," says Walter Sondheim Jr., "just imagine what it would be like if it weren't there."

Sondheim, whose efforts to transform Baltimore's Inner Harbor helped resuscitate the city, has mentally demolished the Jones Falls Expressway many times. Seeing it vanish - for real - is one of his longest-standing wishes.

"Taking it down," he says, "presents an opportunity for all kinds of things."

Opportunity is exactly what a city developer with about 10 acres just east of the expressway sees. Opportunity obstructed by interstate.

Hoping to someday coax a residential development from the parking lots and random warehouses that border the Fallsway, Edison Property Chairman Jerry Gottesman has hired a prominent architect and a former Baltimore planner to investigate the area's potential.

Demolishing the elevated portion of the JFX from the Guilford Avenue exit to its end at Fayette Street is the plan's seemingly outlandish nexus.

The planners will present the proposal today at the Baltimore Architecture Foundation's spring forum. The public is invited to the presentation, which begins at noon at the Johns Hopkins University's Downtown Center, at Charles and Fayette streets.

Across the country, cities are regretting and reconsidering their downtown highways. There's San Francisco, which chose not to rebuild the Embarcadero after a major earthquake damaged it in 1989. And Milwaukee recently demolished the elevated Park East Freeway that ran through its city center and is replacing it with a boulevard.

And now ... Baltimore?

Sondheim, longtime president of the lonely demolish-the-JFX fan club, is thrilled that at least a few people are - finally - seeing it his way. "I never felt an earthswell of support for it myself," he says, laughing.

Detours in the plan

For nearly 40 years, the JFX, otherwise known as Interstate 83, has been a hulking, concrete Baltimore fact.

With great fanfare, city officials broke ground on it in 1958. A bargain in retrospect at $70 million, the six-lane road was designed to speed motorists on a seven-mile stretch through town and then onto Interstate 95 south of the city. The I-95 connector scheme crashed and burned in the 1980s, however, when preservationists argued that extending the highway would destroy Fells Point.

"It's a fragment, it's an anachronism, a dinosaur," Matt Bell, one of the planners Edison commissioned, says of the expressway. "It's something that never should have been built."

So Bell and former city planner Alfred W. Barry III say: Get rid of it. Take down the highway on stilts that Sondheim calls an "unnecessary wall in the city" and see whether - in its absence - Mount Vernon and Midtown can't blend with Johns Hopkins' burgeoning medical campus and the city's east side.

With Edison's 10 acres added to property mainly owned by the city and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., Baltimore could have about 60 acres to work with, Bell figures. That's more land than either Harbor East or Harbor Point, two waterfront projects in progress that are often promoted as Baltimore's last chances for new grand-scale development.

Other city priorities

Mayor Martin O'Malley said he hadn't heard about the plan and therefore couldn't comment. But city Planning Director Otis Rolley III calls the proposal fabulous, right up until the part where the city would pay for it.

"I think it could help. ... I just think that logistically and financially, we have other priorities that make more sense for the city," Rolley says. "I couldn't in good conscience recommend it."

Furthermore, Rolley says, it's the prison, not the JFX, that's holding back that area. Rather than condemn the highway, Rolley proposes the city embrace it and use it creatively. Try more activities like the downtown farmers' market, which turns the expressway's underbelly into an attraction drawing hundreds of people.

"We've been treating it more like a closet than a living room," Rolley says. "We need to create a there there under the JFX instead of it just being a dark parking area. Light it up, make it attractive."

Kelly Clifton, an assistant professor of urban design and planning at the University of Maryland, also believes in that area's potential, with momentum from the Inner Harbor creeping north. Yet she's unsure that bringing the JFX's traffic down to street-level would result in a pedestrian-friendly area where people would feel safe living.

Even President Street, with its multiple lanes and its rush-hour backups, is still "sort of a barrier," she says.

John Norquist, Milwaukee's former mayor, heard plenty of naysaying when he suggested tearing down his city's elevated freeway. But Norquist, who's now president of the Congress for the New Urbanism, an organization that advocates creative metropolitan planning and alternatives to sprawl, says such obtrusive roadways have no business in urban areas.

"It ruins property values, it destroys the aesthetics of a neighborhood - it sort of creates a dead zone," he says. "Building a freeway in the city is like loosening your belt to solve obesity."

Despite the challenges, Norquist sold Milwaukee his plan with two promises. First, property values would rise if the highway fell. Second, that while demolition would be expensive, it would cost even more to maintain the highway.

Over the last 3 1/2 years, Baltimore spent $20 million to repair the JFX from Kelly Avenue in Mount Washington to Eager Street, according to David Brown, the city's transportation department spokesman. Despite the expense, Brown says the JFX is vital, with its ability to speed people directly into downtown without the grief of miles of traffic lights.

"The JFX is relevant and will always be relevant," Brown says, "because it's the fastest way to get to our most-sought-after attractions at the Inner Harbor."

The plan that will be unveiled today isn't the first to recommend tearing down the JFX.

In 1991, a mayoral commission, led by Sondheim and involving more than 300 people, recommended razing the JFX to open up East Baltimore. That plan was just one facet of a long-term development strategy for downtown, meant to guide the city over 20 years.

Fourteen years later, the city apparently hasn't gotten to that part in the guide.

Yet Edison is prepared to join Sondheim and wait.

"You can't just say no because you think it would be hard to do," Bell says. "They may not have money now, but in the future, who knows?"

Sun staff writer Eric Siegel contributed to this article.

Hood

March 9th, 2005, 08:20 PM

This would be a City resident's dream, but a commuter's nightmare. Depends on how the firms downtown feel about its effect on their workers.

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 09:03 PM

This would be a City resident's dream, but a commuter's nightmare. Depends on how the firms downtown feel about its effect on their workers.

Agreed.. I think they need to have some sort of transportation plan in effect before we get rid of one of the major routes downtown..

I do like the concept of what they're doing here though

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 09:08 PM

Neighborhoods: Last Waterfront
Urbanite Magazine
By Joan Jacobson

The Patapsco River has been good to Baltimore’s renaissance. It gave the city a reason to rebuild the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Canton, Locust Point and Inner Harbor East.

Now, the river that natives call the “Pat-aps-i-co” has one last frontier to offer the Baltimore revival. It is the most convenient of places for commuters and downtown workers to live—but the least likely place to imagine new development.

You can find it driving south on Hanover Street over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. Look off to the right. There it is—the river’s Middle Branch, a near-rectangular body of water, scarred by a stunning array of abandoned industrial buildings bordering some of the city’s poorest communities.
Cherry Hill. Westport. Mount Winans. Lakeland. Names associated for decades with poverty and decay.

Not names mentioned in the same breath with words like “upscale,” or “luxury.” Or with a price tag of $400,000 for a townhouse.

Until now.

Developers, lured by a blank slate (after the old industrial buildings and a hillside of trees are removed), see potential for residential and commercial development just blocks from the I-95 and 295 ramps, walking distance to the light rail, and a few-minutes drive to downtown.

Above a hillside overlooking Middle Branch Park and the Baltimore Rowing Club, developer A. Rod Womack is planning a $35 million project called Waterview Overlook with 40 luxury townhouses and 65 condominiums. Womack’s Consolidated Investment & Management Group hopes to complete the project by 2006. It will include a tennis court, pool, fitness center and a clubhouse, he says.

On eighteen acres along the river’s western shore, the former factory of the Carr-Lowrey Glass Company will be torn down and replaced with a residential and commercial development, says developer Patrick Turner of Henrietta Development Corporation. Details of the project, located steps way from the Westport light rail stop, have yet to be finalized, he says.

Just north of the 115-year-old glass factory, two enormous abandoned Baltimore Gas and Electric Buildings are up for sale, says Keith Cunningham, spokesman for Constellation Energy, which oversees the properties.

And at the north side of the bridge, the National Aquarium is planning a Center for Aquatic Life and Conservation on nineteen acres that will include a garage renovated into an environmentally “green” building where sick animals will receive care, an education center, plus restored wetlands and a park. The project will begin in 2006.

“We love the idea of being part of another waterfront renovation in the city,” says Molly Foyle, the Aquarium’s director of media relations.

Unlike investors of Fells Point or Federal Hill, who three decades ago used the famous historic names to lure high prices for homes and businesses (and unofficially expanded their boundaries to increase real estate prices), developers of the Middle Branch want to exploit the waterfront convenience, but not the community names that carry the negative connotations of an impoverished city.

So they have come up with a new, unofficial (and somewhat controversial) name—Inner Harbor West.

The name has already been purchased as an Internet domain name (innerharborwest.com), though a website has yet to be built.

Womack admits he was wary of building in Cherry Hill at first. But that was before he saw the land he would eventually purchase—and before he met Cherry Hill leaders who are working to turn the neighborhood around.

He said he told a friend, “I don’t know if Cherry Hill has come far enough to do this deal. Then I walked up on one of those hills.” Once he saw the view of the water and downtown, “It hit me. I saw the potential.”

He’s been working closely with the Cherry Hill community and doesn’t want any negative neighborhood image to reflect on his project.

“I don’t even want to attach the notion of a stigma. They have done a tremendous job to turn the neighborhood around.”

Cathy McClain, executive director of Cherry Hill 2000, an umbrella group of community groups, institutions and businesses, says her group supports Womack’s development.

“Rod was very good in coming to us to tell us what he was planning. We’re pleased he’s bringing an expensive product to Cherry Hill to improve the economic picture for the whole neighborhood,” she says, yet adding that she is concerned with protecting older homeowners from being forced out by rising property taxes.

The residents of Cherry Hill, she says, have worked hard to reduce crime and build affordable housing in a neighborhood that was burdened with an absurdly high concentration of public housing—1,500 units at one time.

Nevertheless, she said she understands Womack’s reluctance to market the homes with the neighborhood’s name.

“If you call it Cherry Hill people would not come. I understand that,” she says.
Less than a mile away, on the Western bank of the river, three other communities—Mount Winans, Westport and Lakeland—work to reduce crime, help residents pay utility bills and promote homeownership. Their community umbrella group is located two blocks from the waterfront, on a shabby, gap-toothed stretch of Annapolis Road. The group, Project TOOUR (Teaching Our Own Understanding and Responsibility), has its office in a boarded storefront protected by a rusty security gate, with the entrance on the side.

TOOUR’s executive director, Linda Towe, hopes the new development will help revive her neighborhood.

“Once that waterfront is developed, it’s going to have a ripple effect,” Towe says, though she too is concerned about rising property taxes for older homeowners.

But she doesn’t like the idea of renaming the community “Inner Harbor West.”

“They didn’t change Canton’s name. They didn’t change Federal Hill’s name. Westport and Cherry Hill should be able to keep their names. If people knew it as Westport for worse, they should know it as Westport for the better,” she says.

Long-time Westport resident and activist Elizabeth Arnold also supports the development, but is wary.

“You want to see improvement in the city, but you don’t want to be run out,” she says.

The city’s planning department is taking steps to protect the old neighborhoods, making sure a master plan preserves public views of the water and keeps tall buildings away from nearby rowhouses.

The city also hopes to make the waterfront more accessible to people in Westport, who have been cut off from the shoreline by industrial property.

“We’re using the powers we have to protect the community and make sure there is affordable housing and economic diversity,” says City Planning Director Otis Rolley.

With all the talk about redeveloping the Middle Branch, the waterfront neighborhood—whatever you call it—is still pretty quiet these days.

Along Middle Branch Park, the city’s Baltimore Rowing Club and Water Resource Center sits alone on the bank, looking just as out of place as it did when it was built in 1986—a monument to one of the most peculiar brainchilds of the mayoral administration of William Donald Schaefer.

Sculling, after all, was never the pastime of neighbors struggling to find work and decent housing.

But soon, the boathouse could finally have compatible neighbors.

“At long last,” says Cherry Hill’s Cathy McClain with a smile, “It was a project before its time.”

jaysonjaz

March 9th, 2005, 09:20 PM

Highlandtown In The Market For Changes
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
WBAL Radio as Reported by Angela Jackson

Hoping to bring new energy to a suppressed part of one of Baltimore City's neighborhoods, developers are making plans to build an $8 million shopping center in Highlandtown.

The 77,000 square feet Eastern Plaza will be at I-95 and Eastern Avenue, the site of the former Anchor Fence headquarters.

The shopping center will be anchored by a 57,000 square feet Shoppers Food Warehouse, the first new Shoppers supermarket in the city.

Shoppers has signed a 20 year lease. Other retailers have not formally committed to the project.

"They were a big part of the community, built somewhere around the 20's and it's been sitting vacant for four years and tough to keep clean," said David Meiners with Manekin, the company developing the shopping center. "I think the neighborhood is really excited to have this come right next door."

Meiners is hopeful that nearby hot spots like Canton, Patterson Park, and the Johns Hopkins medical community will help to reel shoppers in.

"We think this is in an area that's under served by a grocery store," said Meiners. "Shoppers wanted to do something in this neighborhood, they were excited about coming to this location and we feel like it was right for redevelopment and it fits in with what the community wanted."

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer with a completion date of next year.

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 11:26 PM

Way to go, Jayson! Great postings!! :)
Here's that JFX:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2005-03/16613862.jpg

As for the Inner Harbor West, I'm not sure they shouldn't just say Harbor West, instead. ;) LOL

StevenW

March 9th, 2005, 11:29 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2005-03/16614543.gif

NewBaltimore1980

March 10th, 2005, 12:36 AM

scando

March 10th, 2005, 05:34 AM

I can't believe that anybody would actually consider removing any part of the JFX. After nearly 50 years, it finally works fairly well connects from the north right down to the waterfront and with the recent curve moderating work it's actually a pretty good drive now. I just hope somebody shakes the cobwebs from the brain and realizes how important this route is into the city.

This reminds me of the other initiative that is being pushed, for reducing Charles St into a 2 lane, 2 way street in Charles Village. The reality lesson here for proponents of these ideas - One of the primary reasons that downtown suffers when people think about where to locate businesses is transportation. If you can't move autos in and out, nobody will want to be there; the streets will be quieter all right, but because nobody will come...The other thing, one of the assumptions about this is that by choking the street system one can force people into using mass transit, but What mass transit? At best we will all be old and gray before Baltimore has a great transit system. That is just another reason why people won't come. Even if we had what DC has, in their case still most people don't have origins and destinations that allow them to use the subway. Like it or not, we are stuck with cars for the next few decades.

For the worst case scenario, look at the Boston experience, where they have spent close to $15B for the big dig with marginal results. It may be an odd stroke of good fortune that nobody seems inclined so spend that much money on Baltimore traffic. One of the things that we need to learn to live with is that life in the city will not be quiet. Like it or not, the hum of traffic means life and activity and that's what keeps the place alive.

Markitect

March 10th, 2005, 07:48 AM

You guys ought to not be so quick to dismiss this freeway removal idea. Something similar was just done in Milwaukee and will radically improve the city with several blocks worth of urban infill development (26 or so blocks, about 64 acres). This plan sounds very similar, even down to the mile or so segment that would be knocked down.

They key is that acess to downtown is not cut actually cut off, but rather connected via a nicely developed, high capacity, surface level, arterial boulevard (in Milwaukee, a 6-lane boulevard replaced the 6 lane freeway). Yes, it does add a couple minutes of travel time, but it also creates lots of land that can be turned into tax generating development, as opposed to several acres worth of land that generates $0 as a freeway. Now that the freeway is gone, and some of the land has been put up for sale (just a few weeks ago, actually), the City is receiving lots of development proposals for the area.

As for transit, I don't quite know what the situation is in Baltimore, but demolishing the freeway would be a good opportunity to simultaneouslt plan some sort of transit line in that corridor (run a light rail line down the middle of the new boulevard, for example), so it would be coordinated into any redevelopment plans from the get go. That is one thing on which Milwaukee did not capitalize.

Also, do not compare this proposal to Boston's "Big Dig," as they are entirely different. The Boston project took a segemtn of elevated freeway and put it in a tunnel below ground to open up land for development, which is why it cost so much. In the case of San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway and Milwaukee's Park East Freeway, they were elevated freeway stubs that were simply demolished and replaced with surfface boulevards--much like what your proposal is all about. It would certainly cost much much much less than the "Big Dig."

The idea is definitely worth investigating more before dismissing it all together.

micrip

March 10th, 2005, 09:14 AM

jaysonjaz

March 10th, 2005, 05:04 PM

Deal approved to finance Key Highway extension
Road would end in Locust Point, handle traffic from office complex
Mar 7, 2005

By Jill Rosen
Sun Staff
Originally published March 10, 2005
The Board of Estimates approved a complicated financial deal yesterday to extend Key Highway deeper into Locust Point.

The board unanimously approved the purchase of 2 acres for $1.4 million from Tidewater Yacht Service Center so that Domino Sugar would have a staging place for its trucks when the new road is constructed.

The board also approved a $140,000 loan to Tidewater for moving expenses because the company will be displaced.

The idea of extending Key Highway from where it ends near the Domino Sugar plant, through a rail yard and into the heart of Locust Point has circulated since the 1970s. However, in 1999, with the Tide Point office complex about to take over the old Procter & Gamble Co. soap factory, it took on new urgency.

The extension would bring the two-lane highway to Tide Point, at Nicholson and Hull streets, ideally relieving Locust Point's crowded neighborhood streets from the office complex's hundreds of commuters.

Part of the delay in getting the road approved has been the intricate deal-making necessary to placate businesses in the way of the bulldozer - primarily Domino. The city's development arm, the Baltimore Development Corp., handled the negotiations.

For years, Domino had used the splintered end of Key Highway as a staging area for its trucks. Because the plant would not be able to do that if the road was active, the BDC helped Domino find a new spot - 2 acres next door belonging to Tidewater.

That meant Tidewater needed a new home. So BDC helped arrange a deal for the company to move to the nearby Port Covington shopping center.

The city paid Tidewater $1.4 million for its land. Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, the owner and developer of Tide Point, is helping Tidewater finance its Port Covington property. The city is also lending Tidewater $140,000 for moving costs.

Domino, with 500 employees and a recent $7 million expansion of its facilities, is important to the city and it was imperative that the road extension not harm its business, said M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the BDC.

"Domino gets to be more efficient and hopefully we retain them for as long as anyone can see," Brodie said of the deal.

Locust Point Civic Association President Joyce Bauerle said the road is sorely needed and highly anticipated.

"At every meeting, people are asking, 'Hear anything on the road? Hear anything on the road?'" Bauerle said. "It's been a long time coming."

Since Tide Point's arrival, Bauerle said, Fort Avenue, Hull Street and even smaller side streets are increasingly congested with workers commuting to and from the office complex. "We really need that road," she said.

Construction on the $13.8 million, quarter-mile stretch of highway is slated to begin this summer, after construction bids go out in June.

Meanwhile, as Locust Point continues to expand, it's not only Tide Point clogging its streets. New apartments and homes are slated for the former industrial community-turned-hot spot, including Silo Point, a grain elevator being turned into luxury condominiums, offices and stores.

Larisa A. Salamacha, BDC's director of economic development-industrial, said the area needs the highway extension more than ever.

"With all the new residential, it's become very clear that there had to be another access road into the community," she said. "It became even more important."

Eerik

March 11th, 2005, 12:15 AM

This might make some sense but only from Centre Street on south. The jail complex would deter any development north of there.

I doubt this would ever get done until the bridges themselves need major work. Then it might make sense to tear them down rather than spend the money to fix them up. Because they are of very modern design, I'd bet that would be 20-30 years from now. Underneath, they look almost new, even tho they are about 20 years old now.

...the jail isn't the only deterrent; its also geography. It is at this point (when heading northbound) the expressway drops back to grade (at or about the 90 degree curve) and runs through the deep chasm near Penn Station.

I still like the idea since it would provide potential for a natural melding of downtown with the rest of East Baltimore. The main spine of development should definitely be along Gay Street, tying in new Old Town Mall development.

Then of course there is the Viaduct, which creates an interesting urban design challenge at Gay, Orleans, and Ensor Streets...

Eerik

March 11th, 2005, 12:21 AM

StevenW

March 11th, 2005, 12:42 AM

Excelent conversations going on here! :D ;)

StevenW

March 11th, 2005, 12:55 AM

Razing JFX downtown would end an obscurity
Dan Rodricks
Originally published Mar 10, 2005

Dan Rodricks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THEY WANT TO demolish a big stretch of the Jones Falls Expressway? Good. Can I push the plunger? Tell you how we finance this thing: Have a raffle -- $5 a chance. The person with the winning ticket gets to push the plunger that causes a series of implosions in the big, stupid concrete supports of this big, stupid overhead highway, turning the last dreadful mile into a long heaping pile of dust and twisted reinforcing rods. Cheers and screams, I tell you. This city will have a party.
I'm with the visionaries on this: Snap off the JFX where it makes engineering and architectural sense -- somewhere around Penn Station -- and turn it into a tree-lined boulevard all the way to the harbor. And I'll go one better: Add a little bit of Venice at its terminus.

I am already looking forward to a Baltimore without that ugly elevated highway.

I know such a thing is hard to imagine. I once stood in a Baltimore house, where a contractor named Skeeter was preparing to knock out a wall and add a family room. "Danny," Skeeter said in a Bawlamer accent as thick as King Syrup, "I know it's hard to see right now, but when we're done, you're gonna be able to look 40 feet across this room with no obscurities in your way."

Right. The fewer obscurities the better.

I fully support obscurity reduction -- that is, the removal of something abstruse or hard to understand.

And that's why I'd be happy to buy a raffle ticket to the Lower Jones Falls Expressway Implosion Party. This overhead highway -- at least the final stretch that creates a dead zone through the immediate east side of Baltimore, cutting it off from the city's core -- needs to go.

The point was made yesterday in the Johns Hopkins Downtown Center, during a forum sponsored by the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, that Baltimore is happening again. All sorts of revival projects are under way, and the city has huge potential for population growth over the next decade. If you drive around, you'll see it. The old housing projects have been replaced with new communities. The Johns Hopkins institutions continue to grow at a robust pace. Some long stretches of the east side are still overwhelmed with problems, but in the wide urban valley along the JFX, the visionaries see opportunity to create a boulevard that serves commuters while creating a friendlier environment for city life.

"Commonwealth Avenue [in Boston] might be the paradigm for how we might think of the Jones Falls Expressway," Matt Bell, an urban planner, said with a straight face. He asked his audience to imagine a wide space, completely transformed, connecting the Fallsway to President Street, all of it redeveloped to create un grand boulevard, with plenty of trees and park space, maybe a light rail line. People would actually live in houses that fronted long stretches of this boulevard, and he mentioned the Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon, also with a straight face.

Baltimore needs straight-faced visionaries.

This summer marks 25 years since Harborplace opened the door to a whole new way of thinking about downtown Baltimore. All other efforts -- Harbor East, the west-side redevelopment, the removal of the housing projects, the rediscovery of Canton, Patterson Park, Ashburton and other neighborhoods -- have taken more time to happen, but they all indicate a trend back to urban living for the children and grandchildren of the two or three generations that mostly fled this city and others.

The Jones Falls Expressway is an icon of that era, an elevated expressway that delivered commuters to and from the city with as little contact as possible with the city. The visionaries think a boulevard could both move traffic and inspire a whole new stretch of residential and retail development.

I know it's hard to imagine all of this, and some of those in the audience yesterday mentioned the area's proximity to correctional facilities, which appear huge, ominous and permanent. But Bell's company, commissioned by a major property owner along the Fallsway, studied the area south of Monument Street and the city's Central Booking and Intake Center. There is a large swath of land there. Take down the JFX, and it could all become connected again to the grid of streets in thriving sections of Baltimore -- to the west and Mount Vernon, to the east and Johns Hopkins and to the south, Pleasant View, Harbor Point, Little Italy and the harbor.

An astute person seated in the third row of the audience mentioned the possibility of "opening up the Jones Falls," -- and by that he meant the stream that flows underground through the city, covered by concrete -- to the Inner Harbor. Today, the stream disappears from sight just a block or two from the waterfront. Why not crack open the concrete and create a long canal up through the city, past Market Place and Power Plant Live? That opens up all kinds of possibilities, even gondolas and singing gondoliers, a dash of Venezia.

And I offer that with a straight face.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun

jaysonjaz

March 11th, 2005, 01:51 AM

...the jail isn't the only deterrent; its also geography. It is at this point (when heading northbound) the expressway drops back to grade (at or about the 90 degree curve) and runs through the deep chasm near Penn Station.

I still like the idea since it would provide potential for a natural melding of downtown with the rest of East Baltimore. The main spine of development should definitely be along Gay Street, tying in new Old Town Mall development.

Then of course there is the Viaduct, which creates an interesting urban design challenge at Gay, Orleans, and Ensor Streets...

Maybe just to brainstorm (like I have any real say here)

What about ending the elevated JFX around Orleans Street (Route 40) and then from there we should make two major routes.

Here is a map for reference
Downtown Google Map (http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=Lexington+And+South+Street,+Baltimore,+MD)

Route A would go direclty south down Guilford/South Street. I would make this a four lane/major expressway right downtown. This would service the inner harbor as well as daily commuters who work downtown.

Route B would follow the current Route of the JFX and President St. This would service Harbor East, Fells Point, and Canton.

This would take some major reworking of some downtown streets, but then again, so would taking down the elevated JFX.

StevenW

March 11th, 2005, 02:47 AM

Very interesting idea. :)

scando

March 11th, 2005, 05:43 AM

I've seen lots of brainstorming on the JFX thing here. I already made my opinion on this known but a few more observations on the "big drop" plan....

Whatever solution is proposed should take into account the severe impact on downtown's traffic situation if anything impeded flow from the jfx as it is now. Coming into the area from the north, the choices basically are St Paul St, Maryland Ave/Cathedral St, Howard St/MLK and the JFX. The highway probabaly carries as much as the others togther, blends into Pratt, Lombard, Fayette and Aliceanna to go east and west. Do anything to remove capacity and those other 3 streets would get very critical. Howard/MLK is already a parking lot during drive time.

Going north, the same could happen to Charles, Calvert and Howard St. Compounding that some in Charles Village want to choke Charles between 25th and University Pkwy. Any change to JFX must factor in improved traffic flow.

As for liberating the Jones Falls, that could be interesting too. When it was covered it was because of the horrifying things that floated downstream (like bloated dead cows) and the smell of the pre-sanitary sewer era. Now, the stream is in pretty good shape until it gets to Northern Parkway then starts to fill up with soda bottles and car residue. It's pretty weird by the time you get downtown. The lower end of the Jones Falls has oxygenators installed to help clean the water before it gets to the harbor (!). Open it at your own risk. Furthermore, floods are common and to be expected on the Jones Falls. With a big thunderstorm, your casual dining experience could end up being a swimming exercise. I live astride the falls and can testify that you expect 2 minor floods per year and one major one every 2 or 3 years. Last summer there was a major one after a huge storm. It happened within 1 hour. This was why the JFX was elevated in the first place. It had to run down the Jones Falls Valley and the floor was too much at risk.

While there is some aesthetic appeal to this change, there is a real reason why this was done in the first place.

Hood

March 11th, 2005, 01:58 PM

Awesome news about key highway!

jaysonjaz

March 11th, 2005, 02:20 PM

Downtown supermarket could come by November
Originally published March 11, 2005
Downtown Baltimore could see its first supermarket as soon as Thanksgiving.

Developer David Hillman said yesterday that Super Fresh will open in his Charles Plaza, at Charles and Saratoga streets.

Although the lease hasn't been signed, Hillman said, "there are no remaining issues to resolve."

The 12,000-square-foot Super Fresh will be modeled after the supermarket's New York City stores, Hillman said, a cross between Whole Foods and Balducci's.

"Upscale and a lot of prepared foods, but also staples," Hillman said.

The store also will sell liquor.

Hillman, who owns Charles Plaza and 1,800 apartments in seven downtown properties, said he expects the store to open in time for the holiday season.

As the downtown, once solely a business district, turns increasingly residential, the need for a nearby supermarket has become more acute.

The store will be within walking distance for several new apartment buildings with hundreds of residents.

"For years it's been sort of a Catch-22 for downtown," said Mike Evitts, a spokesman for Downtown Partnership. "Residential will come when there are more amenities. Retail will come when there's more residential. This is an indication that retailers are noticing" that the downtown is desirable.

- Jill Rosen

StevenW

March 11th, 2005, 10:56 PM

State revives proposal to sell harbor's World Trade Center
Officials say that running site distracts from aims

By Ivan Penn and Michael Dresser
Sun Staff
Originally published March 11, 2005
State officials are reviving a proposal first floated two years ago to sell the World Trade Center in Baltimore's Inner Harbor - a decision that has drawn criticism from some lawmakers in Annapolis.

The state Department of Legislative Services told lawmakers this week of the schedule planned for sale of the 30-story office building, which officials believe will generate as much as $45 million for the port and the state. The state would put the building on the market this fall with an aim of settlement by spring 2006.

Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan, whose agency is responsible for the building, said the state purchased the World Trade Center as an anchor for Inner Harbor development but said "that function is no longer needed."

He said the port administration's job is development of international trade, not building management.

"Being the manager of the World Trade Center distracts their time and attention from that mission," he said. "It's also a chance to use the proceeds from the sale of that asset to make additional investments in the port."

But Del. Peter Franchot, who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the transportation budget, criticized the plan and said lawmakers may block it.

"They want to sell the World Trade Center come hell or high water," the Montgomery County Democrat said. "It's not market-driven. It's not merit-driven. It is driven by ideology."

State Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr., chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the transportation budget, said the Senate does not necessarily object to a sale but wants details of how a transaction would occur.

"We've just asked before they do it to come up with a plan," said DeGrange, an Anne Arundel County Democrat.

Franchot has opposed selling the World Trade Center since Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s administration proposed the idea two years ago.

The proposal was delayed by Tropical Storm Isabel, which destroyed most of the electrical, mechanical and telecommunications systems in the basement of the tower. The building is occupied but has some vacancies.

On Feb. 10, the state transportation department formally notified the legislature of its intention to sell the building, though the department does not need lawmakers' approval to do so.

The Board of Public Works would have to give the budget committees a description of property appraised over $100,000 being considered for sale so the panels can review and comment on a proposal.

Flanagan said his department would keep the Assembly leadership informed of its plans. The transportation chief said the department would hire a real estate consultant.

"We need to have a sophisticated approach to selling this building, and we need professional advice," he said.

James White, recently departed executive director of the port, said the decision to put the building up for sale was not a factor in his decision to leave.

"I agree with Bob Flanagan that it's not part of our core business," said White, who resigned after clashing with the transportation secretary on other issues. "It does make sense to bring more of the MPA people under one roof."