And away we go....... :D

Didn't even think we were close to 500 posts in #7 yet. Oh well. I'll repost my last comment on 7 to get things going here.

------

I think Canton Crossing will look better once the other structures are built. Think about any other highrise if it were in an area of noother highrises. It'll always stand out like a sore thumb. if Canton Crossing were in downtown, it might not look as bad. It could have been better though. Looks kind of suburban. Hopefully the other towers will vary in design and compliment one another with a lot of diversty.

Also, I noticed today that there are cranes up at the Village Lofts across the street from the new JHU dorms on St. Paul St. I also saw a crane at one of the highrise condos on Charles St. in Guiford (I think that area is Guilford). Anyone know what that is about?

http://image.maps.yahoo.com/mapimage?MAPData=qA9Ajvhyzy2DjspxdyicQsc6KqBIlR18W80jNWo.EltBEMaoZ2Paa0BvDjy8H8hitGaliaW_eQJ6baQMwfXSnMq9IFvCwJGOluuOTnKLrZqGa9J9

The Cordish site.

This is a repost since I was wondering about Albemarble Square and Jonestown development.

http://www.integral-online.com/IP_Properties/photos/albermrle2_lg.jpg
I found this on baltimorehousing.com

Overview: The U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development awarded the first HOPE VI grant to the Housing Authority of Baltimore City in May 1994. $31 million in HOPE VI funds, coupled with Partnership Rental Housing Program dollars provided by the State of Maryland, funded the construction of 201 public housing rental townhomes, a public housing senior mid-rise building with 110 units, and the construction of 27 for-sale fee simple townhomes. A recreation center, day care building, and community building are also located on-site.
Neighborhood: Jonestown

Completion Date: January 1998

Owner: Housing Authority of Baltimore City

Developer: A&R/Harkins Joint Venture

Architect: TortiGallas

Builder: Harkins Builders

Total Project Investment: $72 million
Public: $72 million
$31 million HOPE VI (Federal)
$18.5 million Comprehensive Grant Program (Federal)
$7.2 million Section 108 (Federal)
$15 million Partnership Rental
Housing Program (State)

Site Size: 21.5 acres

Units Demolished: 816

Total New Residential Units: 338
Public Housing: 311 units
(includes 110 units elderly housing)
Market Rate Homeownership: 27 units

Other Uses:
26,100 square foot recreation center
16,471 square foot day care building
16,400 square foot community building


I also found that Beazer Homes is currently selling townhomes in Albemarble Square for over $300,000
http://www.beazer.com/findHome/hous...ommunityid=1788


I dont know when the Flaghouse Courts Highrise public housing was demolished, but is the current project turning a previous public housing project into rentals and market rate housing?
I cant imagine more public housing in an area that is ripe for redevelopment, with rising land values and a close proximity to Little Italy. Is it a plan to reduce the amount of public housing to only 33%, instead of the higher figure in the 1998 construction?

so MANY things going on in Baltimore! :uh:

^Yeah, there is a lot going on. You guys never run out of things to talk about :)

yeah, and this month should be pretty special. the 414 light street proposal should be announced officially. hopefully we'll get a new tallest out of this one. :)

so MANY things going on in Baltimore! :uh:

There's a lot going on for sure, but we're all waiting for that St. Regis announcement. One week left...

There are currently St. Regis Residential projects under development in New York, San Francisco, Aspen, Ft.Lauderdale, Anguilla and Singapore. And a hotel project under development in Mexico City. There might be others as well, but given how most of these look, we should be pretty excited.

Singapore
http://www.hoteldesigns.co.uk/industrynews/images/uploads/ST_REGIS_02_11x11_copy.jpg

San Francisco
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2004_4th/StRegisSanFranciscoRendering.jpeg

Fort Lauderdale
http://fortlauderdale.condocompany.com/Fort-Lauderdale/St.-Regis/images/building.jpg


A few others can be seen here at www.stregisresidences.com

i think that cordish is very excited that he is finnally going to get his tall tower built. for a couple of years he was trying to get a office and hotel built where the bccc old biulding was and lost that battle. i just pray this project goes through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ditto! :D

New sign of end to boom in housing
Homebuilder Toll cuts sales forecast for 2006, but Md. outlook is good
By June Arney and Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporters
Originally published November 9, 2005


Toll Brothers Inc., a national homebuilder with a substantial presence in Maryland, cut its sales estimate yesterday for the coming fiscal year, noting softening of the market, construction backlogs and an expectation of more-moderate home price increases.



It was the latest sign that the housing boom has passed its peak, although experts at two regional forums yesterday said Maryland is better protected from a cooling-off than other areas because of its tight housing supply and the expected arrival of tens of thousands of new defense jobs.

"It's a slowdown, but there's cautious optimism for this market," John Kortecamp, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said in an interview at his group's annual construction forecast conference.

"With wages growing at such a modest but consistent rate and housing prices growing at a record pace for the past four years - over 20 percent a year - that's not sustainable. Something has to give, and it's given. We've hit it."

Toll Brothers, a Fortune 500 company that conducts about one-third of its activity in the Mid-Atlantic region, reported record quarterly revenue yesterday but dropped its expected deliveries of new homes for next year by 400 to 700 homes.

Toll's stock fell $5.50, or nearly 14 percent, to $33.91 yesterday, and an index of 16 builders compiled by Standard & Poor's tumbled 7.5 percent, the steepest decline since September 2001.

Nationally, sales of new and previously owned homes are expected to fall 5 percent to 10 percent next year, said David Berson, chief economist at Fannie Mae, who spoke at the homebuilders event.

Maryland's strong defense and biotechnology industries, coupled with the anticipated job growth from the realignment and closure of military bases elsewhere, are expected to help insulate the state, he said.

Prices of commercial real estate properties are expected to peak next year, and investors are bracing for acceptable but lower returns on their investments, according to a 2006 forecast by the Urban Land Institute and Pricewaterhousecoopers. The report was the subject of a meeting of institute commercial real estate members in Baltimore yesterday.

"We expect to ratchet down on returns," Peter Korpacz, who is in real estate business advisory services for PricewaterhouseCoopers, told the meeting. "There is a bias toward selling."

Investors surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers expressed concern that high energy costs might boost expenses for landlords and cut into consumer spending and travel, hurting the retail and hotel-motel industries.

The good news, Korpacz said, is that investment in commercial properties will remain strong in the coming year.

"There just is a lot of money out there, and it will act as a backstop if some capital pulls away," Korpacz said.

Investors are predicting more revenue growth from upscale hotels than in any other category of property, the forecast said. Real estate investment trusts and private funds are likely to continue to be strong buyers, while pension funds will continue to favor selling.

Economist Anirban Basu, chairman and chief executive officer of Sage Policy Group Inc., also reported good news for Maryland in the residential real estate market, titling his talk: "The Beginning of the End? Not Necessarily in Maryland."

Basu highlighted Hagerstown as one of the hottest housing markets in the country. Hagerstown reported an increase in appreciation approaching 30 percent - double the national average - from the second quarter of 2004 to the corresponding period this year.

Washington reported 26.2 percent appreciation for that time period, and Baltimore reported 17.5 percent.

Basu is more optimistic than some experts about real estate's continuing popularity as an investment.

"Even as interest rates start to rise, real estate might not fall out of favor as much as you might think," he said. "I don't think people will lose interest in real estate that quickly. It's a tangible asset."

Despite the recent increases in inventory, the number of houses on the market in the Baltimore region remains low, Basu said. And, given restrictions on building, the permits that builders do obtain are going to be used for higher-end housing, creating a significant gap in the type of housing available, he said.

"What isn't going to be served is the middle market," he said. Housing costing just under $200,000 to $250,000 "is what isn't served. This has the potential to really limit our economic potential going forward."

Hey everyone,

The weather was so nice this past Satruday, so I spent the entire day walking around and taking photographs. I'm very pleased with the results and I posted 2 pages of photos on my web site. They are from Mt. Vernon (where I started and ended), the old retail district, downtown, IH East, and Fort McHenry. My feet still hurt! Feel free to take a look. :)

The links to the pages are below. Enjoy!


http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%201.htm

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%202.htm

i think that cordish is very excited that he is finnally going to get his tall tower built. for a couple of years he was trying to get a office and hotel built where the bccc old biulding was and lost that battle. i just pray this project goes through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I gotta say, when I selected my unit at 414 Water Street I picked a northern facing unit because I wanted my view preserved! Thanks to this web site, I knew that the lot next to the Gallery on Pratt Street is going to be built on sooner or later. I also knew that there is a 2nd phase of Lockwood Place coming down the road and it will further block the all the southern views.

I figured I was safe looking north because City Hall and the Courthouses would never be torn down and the main police station has a chopper pad on the roof! I guess I was wrong! :cheers:

This Cordish proposal will block about 10% of my view to the East from my unit on the 29th floor. But I'm 100% in favor of it because I believe it will be a quality development and will do much more to help the neighborhood than hurt it. I just wish they would start 414 Water Street. They told me they were to begin construction on 11/1 but as of Saturday 11/5, nothing has happened!

Hey everyone,

The weather was so nice this past Satruday, so I spent the entire day walking around and taking photographs. I'm very pleased with the results and I posted 2 pages of photos on my web site. They are from Mt. Vernon (where I started and ended), the old retail district, downtown, IH East, and Fort McHenry. My feet still hurt! Feel free to take a look. :)

The links to the pages are below. Enjoy!


http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%201.htm

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%202.htm

Nice job, wada_guy! I can easily say that is hands down THE BEST collection of Baltimore photos that I have ever seen. Not only did you get just about every nook and cranny of the waterfront and other neighborhoods, but you did it with such an artistic presentation. Great job. I especially love that view of the downtown from the Marriot. The Roger B. Tawney next to the Power Plant really adds a nice touch from that view. Well done.

Have there are been any plans for the surface parking lot located along Pratt Street east of the Pier 5 Hotel and just north of Inner Harbor East? I believe it might serve as parking for the Columbus Center at the moment.

Im pretty sure its apart of the RFP the City placed for the Columbus Center. IIRC, there were or are two proposals being considered. I cant remember the details though. It was in the Sun a few weeks back.

Nice job, wada_guy! I can easily say that is hands down THE BEST collection of Baltimore photos that I have ever seen. Not only did you get just about every nook and cranny of the waterfront and other neighborhoods, but you did it with such an artistic presentation. Great job. I especially love that view of the downtown from the Marriot. The Roger B. Tawney next to the Power Plant really adds a nice touch from that view. Well done.

Thank you for the kind words and review. I appreciate it! :)

Hey everyone,

The weather was so nice this past Satruday, so I spent the entire day walking around and taking photographs. I'm very pleased with the results and I posted 2 pages of photos on my web site. They are from Mt. Vernon (where I started and ended), the old retail district, downtown, IH East, and Fort McHenry. My feet still hurt! Feel free to take a look. :)

The links to the pages are below. Enjoy!


http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%201.htm

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%202.htm

Wada_guy

Nice work, well worth the effort.

Just curious about a few things. Did the 414 Water St. sales office say anthing about other buildings going up? Specifically as you noted in your web page - an addition to the Lockwood site and/or the something planed for a parking lot nearby.

Some mentioned in a recent posting that heavy equipment was at the site or that the adjacent street was partically blocked. In any event there appeared to be the beginning of construction. Did you get any indication?

Hope you get to enjoy your new digs soon.

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/11/07/daily24.html?jst=b_ln_hl


http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/11/07/daily25.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Awesome pictures, wada guy! :)
Thanks for taking your time and doing that. I know you must have been tired.
As said earlier, you take very good pictures. :)

The latest on the emerging story on the MTA's proposed Red Line for Baltimore -

http://www.gbc.org/news/October%2005/102005-CPHATrip.html

and

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.portland27oct27,1,5267256.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

Wada_guy

Nice work, well worth the effort.

Just curious about a few things. Did the 414 Water St. sales office say anthing about other buildings going up? Specifically as you noted in your web page - an addition to the Lockwood site and/or the something planed for a parking lot nearby.

Some mentioned in a recent posting that heavy equipment was at the site or that the adjacent street was partically blocked. In any event there appeared to be the beginning of construction. Did you get any indication?

Hope you get to enjoy your new digs soon.

In answer to the above, no - the sales people at 414 Water did not tell me about the developments that will block the Southern views. In fact, I told them about all the projects in the pipe line and I gave them tons of pictures that I had taken from the roof of the garage a few weeks earlier. I also brought the building up on Google’s satellite photos and they were amazed at that. (see below on how to do this)

I explained that there was an apartment tower planned for Lombard and Pratt, a condo tower planned for the old News American site, and an office tower planned for above the retail component at Lockwood Place. It they all get built, there won’t be much of a view!

Unfortunately, they are under no legal obligation to tell perspective buyers about any of these developments. The old saying Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) applies here. It's sad because they are getting more money for the southern facing units. They will have a spectacular view - but how long they will last remains to be seen.

I saw no evidence of construction equipment of any kind at the site. They had told me earlier that the entire block of Water Street will be closed once construction commences. It's still wide open with cars parked in front of the building. I’m sure they want to get started because the longer they wait, the more expensive the project will be. There is a shortage of cement and steel prices are going through the roof because of the demand from China and all the natural disasters that have occurred around the world recently.

P.S. For those of you who haven’t seen downtown via Google’s Satellite photos, do the following:
1. Go to Google.com
2. Click “More >>” (above the search area) and wait for the screen to appear.
3. Click on “Maps” (upper right corner)
4. Type “Baltimore” in the search box, then click “Search” – You’ll get a map
5. When the map appears, click on the “Satellite” button (upper right)
6. Zoom in using the scale on the left
7. Put you cursor on the picture and hold down the left mouse button to move the map!

Downtown looks great from this angle.

In answer to the above, no - the sales people at 414 Water did not tell me about the developments that will block the Southern views. In fact, I told them about all the projects in the pipe line and I gave them tons of pictures that I had taken from the roof of the garage a few weeks earlier. I also brought the building up on Google’s satellite photos and they were amazed at that. (see below on how to do this)

I explained that there was an apartment tower planned for Lombard and Pratt, a condo tower planned for the old News American site, and an office tower planned for above the retail component at Lockwood Place. It they all get built, there won’t be much of a view!

Unfortunately, they are under no legal obligation to tell perspective buyers about any of these developments. The old saying Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware) applies here. It's sad because they are getting more money for the southern facing units. They will have a spectacular view - but how long they will last remains to be seen.

I saw no evidence of construction equipment of any kind at the site. They had told me earlier that the entire block of Water Street will be closed once construction commences. It's still wide open with cars parked in front of the building. I’m sure they want to get started because the longer they wait, the more expensive the project will be. There is a shortage of cement and steel prices are going through the roof because of the demand from China and all the natural disasters that have occurred around the world recently.

What are the chances of those buildings going up any time soon? Lockwood's proposal to build on top of the exisiting retail structure was nixed by the city's planning board. As far as other proposals - well you know - always a lot of talk and no action. Look how long the Light Street project has been delayed, scrapped, retooled and scrapped again. Same for 300 Pratt. Hopefully something will happen on these sites soon, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

If history holds up, those views will be protected for quite some time.

New Plaza Offers Downtown Green Space
War Memorial Plaza Renovations Complete

BALTIMORE -- Crews have completed a major renovation project in front of Baltimore's City Hall.

WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Kate Amara reported the construction at War Memorial Plaza is over after one year of work.

In its infancy, the area was just a park. Then, in 1927, the city turned it into War Memorial Plaza to honor Marylanders who died during World War I.

In yet another transformation, the city embarked upon a 10-month $1.5 million renovation project that included raising the plaza to street level.

"It was a miserable space, people didn't like to walk across this space, it was an uninviting space, often a dirty and smelly space," Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said.

Amara reported the changes include a new fountain, new walkways and ornamental light posts.

"I think it's a nice, it's wheelchair accessible. I think it'll be a nice place to enjoy lunch," said Lasandra Jackson.

The city also planted sycamore trees to surround an area of green space.

"It's a nice peaceful place, in the midst of all this chaos, for people to come and collect their thoughts," said Connie Brown, the acting director of the city's Department of Recreation and Parks.

Amara reported the park also includes an automatic irrigation system that includes underground electricity to facilitate events and concerts.

"It's a 1,000 improvement," O'Malley said.

^^ Wow, that was quick. I was just down there and it didn't look even close to being finished. I'll have to check it out. I love small green spaces in dense urban areas. I'm more excited about the park on the western shore of the Inner Harbor. That one looks like it'll be really cool once it gets finished.

Its actually pretty nice. Esp. at nice with the lights and fountains all lit up and stuff. I thought they'd add some benches and garbage cans and stuff, but I guess all that is forthcoming. I doubt we'll have the same problems with the homeless hanging out there. Its not very conducive to that right now.

WBAL.com has some pics of the new plaza, but they're just awful. I'll try to get some pics of it soon.

^^^I drove by there last night after work and I didnt see anything, maybe it was because it was dark. I'll have to drive by there again tonight and take a look :)

Thanks, waj. Can't wait to see some pics of it. Anyone been by the Zenith site recently? Our forum has seemed to have quieted down about that one in the last week or so. Any progress there?

Nothing on the Zenith.

I found this interesting. Oldtown has some redevelopment potential

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-bz.oldtown10nov10,1,6504480.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

Thanks, fluffyhorse. :)

Here is some news to help Baltimore regain some of it's sporting world honor:

With O's, Ravens both coming up dry, Rahman quenches city's thirst for title
David Steele


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




There may have been other champions who entered their kingdoms through the back door, but not lately. Nevertheless, Hasim Rahman is not about to get picky about how he became heavyweight champion of the world for the second time.

His hometown shouldn't be picky, either. Not with a baseball franchise that yesterday, on the same day Rahman inherited his crown from Vitali "Quit-schko," got to revisit the biggest nightmare of its wretched season.

And not with an NFL franchise that's off to its worst start since 1998, the last time it fired its coach.

Baltimore used to have so much to be proud of with its sports heroes - used to. But now the city has something, someone to embrace. Once the WBC goes through the formality of voting in Rahman as its titlist, Baltimore will be the home of the heavyweight champion of the world - still, after all these years and all the frauds and all the nonsense, deserving of its fame as the most coveted individual title in sports.

When Mike Tyson (a previous perpetrator of the nonsense) wore the crown, it meant he was the "baddest man on the planet." The new "baddest man," Rahman, was raised in good ol' Charm City. Then again, are we still going by that slogan? Supposedly, we're in the market for a replacement. "The City That Reads," noble as that is, never caught on, and face it, it doesn't mesh with a sport predicated on rendering an opponent pretty much incapable of communicating.

(Whoever came up with the idea for the twist on that slogan, "The City That Reeds" - inspired by the Ravens' No. 20 - and slapped it on a bunch of T-shirts, deserves some credit. Unfortunately, even that's been tainted: Ed Reed has been injured and will likely miss his third straight game Sunday. It's been a tough year.)

Regardless, the way things are going now, City of Champions was not going to fly, not any time soon. The Orioles just completed Year 22 since their last World Series win, and Year 8 since they last reached the playoffs. The Ravens' January 2001 Super Bowl win is the only NFL championship for Baltimore in the past 34 years, and with all due respect to Brian Billick's faith in Kyle Boller, their 2-6 record pretty much means they're not going back this year.

As bad as the on-field showing by both teams has been, the off-field stories have been worse. Rafael Palmeiro is back in the news, and aren't you glad to have his name attached to your city again, after the sweet respite of the past couple of months?

At least the Ravens have mostly contained their misery to the field, which means that fewer people are thinking and talking about their Pro Bowl running back having spent time in jail within the past year.

Basically, there's nothing else for the locals to puff out their chests about. Or there wasn't, until now.

Rahman is the best Baltimore has to offer its sports fans. Enjoy him and his reign while it lasts. If all goes well, it will last longer than the last one.

It's too bad, of course, that his ascent to the throne wasn't nearly as dramatic this time as it was last time. Last time would have been hard to beat: Clocking Lennox Lewis halfway around the world, having fans here wake up to the unexpected news the next morning. Huh? He won? He's the champ?

Then he goaded Lewis into impromptu fisticuffs during a TV interview during the hype for the rematch, saying in essence, "That's how we roll."

Now, the honor seems sadly diluted. Only three other men have retired as heavyweight champ, but if you think Vitali Klitschko's name deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Lewis, Marciano and Tunney, then you just flat-out hate boxing and need to go read something else. Klitschko is the Gerald Ford of heavyweight champs, never having won the title outright in competition, and even that belittles the ex-president.

But give Rahman his due. Other defeated one-shot champs disappear into the mist, never to be heard from again except for something bad. Buster Douglas, to name one, took his purse, went home and started eating.

Rahman, though, kept fighting, and put himself in position to step into the ring to try to take the title. He can't be blamed for having that chance taken away, or watching it crawl shamefully away from him.

"I took every step I needed to take," Rahman said yesterday.

He's 33 years old, and has had more than enough justification to ease up, even quit, and be content with his brief moment on the big stage. Instead, his perseverance was rewarded, even if the reward came via press release instead of having his arm raised in the ring.

Now that he has it, the odds are good, based on his history, that he'll represent the city and his title honorably, which is more than some of our stars around here can say.

Rahman has much to be proud of. So does the city he calls home. Baltimore was in desperate need of a winner, and now it has one.



david.steele@baltsun.com

I think Rahman actually calls Las Vegas home now, but still, we'll take any win we can get.

We're definitely coming up winners on the development front though. Only a few more days until St. Regis and that Oldtown news is great. It was only a matter of time before the development started heading that way. With all the waterfront property taken up, neighborhoods like Oldtown will be the first to get the spillover. It's so close to everything. And to be honest, I think we might start seeing some tall ones going up if the boom continues long enough. Once development hits places like Oldtown, we're not gonna have to worry about blocking peoples views or disturbing the integrity of the neighborhood. And if developers do build tall they'll be rewarded with nice views that overlook places like Little Italy towards the Harbor. It'll take a visionary though, most likely. Maybe not though. Is there anything in the area that would prevent such development?

For years now i kept on asking to develop along side of 83 and now its starting to take shape!!!!!!!


http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2005-11/20419705.jpg
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2005-11/20419588.jpg Investors picture Oldtown in next wave of renewal: Developers hope proposals will spur further interest in reviving the area east of downtown. (Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
The Day in Pictures

Investors picture Oldtown in next wave of renewal
Plans would reinvent former industrial area in shadow of JFX
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published November 10, 2005
Jerry Schnitzer surveys the block where his family's business, Hillen Tire & Auto, operated for 88 years and sees only a gritty landscape where factories once hummed with life and many of his longtime customers have left.

Sanket Patel, in that same commercial area around Fallsway and Gay Street known as Oldtown, looks past the abandoned or shuttered warehouses and homeless people wandering the streets. He envisions new residents moving into condominiums in an up-and-coming community with restaurants, shops and a hotel.



"The city is expanding beyond this barrier of I-83," said Patel, vice president of Roma Inns Inc., an Odenton-based developer planning a hotel on the former Hillen Tire site, which his company bought from Schnitzer over the summer. "If someone like us takes the initiative to start it off, it will be like a domino effect. There are a lot of properties available, and builders are willing to invest. It's a matter of someone starting it."

Patel is among a wave of investors who see a chance to become development pioneers in the shadow of a Jones Falls Expressway ramp, in a triangle of downtown mostly untouched by the type of industrial-to-mixed-use transformation taking hold in other Baltimore neighborhoods.

For the first time, the area could open up to residential development, as city planners consider a zoning change designed to connect the business corridor between downtown and Oldtown Mall, which is also slated for redevelopment. The hope, city planners say, is that Fallsway will no longer be viewed as a barrier between downtown and East Baltimore.

Plans are in the works for the low-slung Hillen Tire building to become a 120-room hotel, either a Cambria Suites or a Sleep Inn. Next door, on the corner of Fallsway and Gay, another developer plans to transform the once-grand but now-vacant Old Town Bank building into 24 condominiums and a first-floor restaurant. Down the street, a multistory furniture store could become as many as 28 condominiums. And on North Gay Street, another property owner plans to open a food emporium.

Such plans could dovetail with a developer's plan to reinvigorate the area around Oldtown Mall, in one of the city's oldest commercial districts. Baltimore Development Corp. has chosen Continental Realty Corp. and Big Mac Properties P-I LP to build a shopping center anchored by a full-service supermarket on five city-owned acres adjacent to the mostly vacant pedestrian mall.

"To me, this seems like the next area as the harbor keeps expanding east to west," said Ben Goldenhersh, vice president of Storch Realty, a Savage-based apartment manager and developer that has a contract on the Furncraft furniture building on Fallsway, which Goldenhersh is considering converting to condos.

"It's literally under a minute walk from City Hall, a five- to 20-minute walk to the harbor. You can walk to the nightclubs [near] Port Discovery. We think the neighborhood is ripe for a change. It's time for it to join the rest of the community downtown."

For decades, the blocks bounded by Hillen, Orleans, Low, Front, Lexington and Fallsway have been home to mostly industrial users, including at one time a bedding factory. Today, homeless men sleep in a nearby park owned by St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, between the main post office and the Jones Falls Expressway.

It was in this area, on North Gay Street, that the state put its new Juvenile Justice Center two years ago, a facility that includes three youth dormitories, the Baltimore juvenile court, the juvenile division of the state's attorney's and public defender's offices, and related offices.

Local investors argue that rather than detracting from the neighborhood, the juvenile center, the first new investment in the area in years, could serve as a catalyst for further investment.

Schnitzer said the area has changed for the worse. Business at Hillen Tire, started in 1917 on Hillen Street by his immigrant father, Joseph Schnitzer, has faltered over the past year, he says.

"Now's the time to go," said Schnitzer, who will keep a Hillen auto shop in Cockeysville. "In the last year, business has really fallen off downtown. We decided to sell the property and move on."

He said he has lost many longtime customers as business people moved out, including some who ran shops at Oldtown Mall. The dozens of turn-of-the-century buildings were turned into a pedestrian mall in the 1970s, when four blocks of North Gay Street were closed to traffic. But it spiraled into decline after nearby high-rise housing projects were demolished in the 1990s and replaced with lower-density housing. A Baltimore institution, the century-old Jeppi Nut Co., moved out of its North High Street building in 2003.

"There's nothing moving in and no vitality," Schnitzer said.

But the area could be on the verge of change.

"This is a prime site for real mixed-use development of the nature at Harbor East," said Gabriel Kroiz, an architect with Kroiz Architecture doing feasibility studies on the Oldtown building and the Furncraft building. "What's amazing about this one block is everyone who comes in and out of the city sees it, and there is space on the first floors that can take decent [commercial] tenants. There's been a whole perceptual shift. People believe they can live downtown."

City planners are recommending a zoning change that would permit apartments or condos and allow a wider range of retail uses. The Planning Commission could consider the change by early next year.

The current zoning "is very inappropriate for uses already there, much less the new uses that we might want to encourage," said Chris Ryer, deputy director in comprehensive planning. "In this area, there was almost no manufacturing left."

Russel Bell, president of Furncraft Manufacturing Co., a furniture store in a building on Fallsway for 50 years, said he plans to keep the store open and welcomes redevelopment.

"We're happy to see it. It certainly helps us," Bell said. "I think it's a good thing for the area to allow for mixed use, other than commercial."



There is a strong market for condos among buyers who can't afford the $1 million-and-up units sprouting at the harbor's edge, said Nicholas Piscatelli, the lead developer in the $3.5 million redevelopment of the former Old Town Bank.

He envisions potential buyers as young professionals who could walk to jobs downtown. The seven-story former bank building, used last for state offices, is distinctive for the bright-red neon Utz potato chip sign perched atop its roof, visible for miles across the city.

Piscatelli would like to find a restaurant for the former bank space, with its large white columns and high ornate blue and gold ceiling. But the developers also would consider office tenants.

"This has a beautiful view of the city, and it's close enough to walk downtown," Piscatelli said. "The market is becoming saturated with high-end condos. But $300,000, that's affordable for people who would otherwise rent."

Piscatelli, who has a contract to buy the building, hopes to close by the end of the year and start construction by the middle of next year. The investor has a long history of acquiring property and developing in the city dating to the mid-1980s, when he bought and renovated houses at tax sales in neighborhoods such as Forest Park, Howard Park, Reservoir Hill and Sandtown.

One of his best-known projects was the $1.5 million conversion in 2001 of the Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Co. building at 202 E. Redwood St., the oldest structure in the central business district to survive the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.

Piscatelli transformed the historic bank into a lavish nightclub but ultimately closed the business and put the building up for sale, saying state liquor laws prohibiting nightclubs from staying open past 2 a.m. made it tough to compete with clubs in Washington, which has more lenient laws.

Piscatelli compares his latest venture in Oldtown to some of his early investing in city neighborhoods, before they were desirable for out-of-town investors.

"This is still pioneering over here," he said. "If you look at the city, there's not much left [to redevelop] between the waterfront and Mount Vernon. You have to go east or west. This is the next growth area."

Insurer Chubb to open center in Baltimore
As many as 200 expected to work at processing office
By Jamie Smith Hopkins
Sun reporter
Originally published November 10, 2005





A large New Jersey insurer will open a policy processing center in Baltimore next fall that will eventually employ as many as 200, a move heralded yesterday by economic development officials as a major win for a city hit by a generation of losses in its financial services base.



Chubb Corp., a property and casualty insurance provider, said yesterday that the office will process commercial insurance policies for East Coast agents and brokers. It isn't closing local branches but wanted to consolidate processing jobs in one place.

"It's a central location, and there's a talented labor pool in the city and surroundings," said Mark Schussel, a company spokesman.

The city lost a string of insurance and bank headquarters in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, but it still has a cluster of financial services operations. State and local leaders are trying to build on that, selling Baltimore as a place for financial companies' high-end back offices.

"This is a way to create ... good jobs that are the sweet spot of our work force," said Aris Melissaratos, the state secretary of business and economic development. "Anything we can do to bring more jobs to the city is, I think, phenomenal."

Baltimore has the state's highest unemployment rate, averaging 7.4 percent this year. Maryland's rate has averaged 4.3 percent.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development arm, said the Chubb location "will be in the city, they've told us that." Chubb has not settled on office space and expects to be looking for the next six months.

Neither the state nor the city development agency offered incentives to seal the deal. Melissaratos said small grants for training and building improvements are possible.

Schussel said he doesn't know the salary ranges for the jobs. They should be solidly middle class, Melissaratos said.

Christian S. Johansson, president and chief executive of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, a public-private partnership that markets the region, said the deal shows the power of a coordinated effort.

The state started trying to land Chubb about two years ago, when Maryland Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr. heard of the processing center opportunity, Melissaratos said.

Last year, state and local leaders - including Redmer - lobbied Chubb on Baltimore's behalf during a trade mission to New York organized by the economic alliance. Atwood "Woody" Collins III, head of M&T Bank Corp.'s Mid-Atlantic division, called the company to add to the chorus, Johansson said.

"That sends a strong message about how wanted that company is in this region," Johansson said.

"Baltimore City has been losing financial services jobs; Baltimore County has been gaining financial services jobs," said Anirban Basu, head of Sage Policy Group, a Baltimore economic consulting firm. "So it's nice that we see some jobs come from outside the region and land in Baltimore City."

Insurer USF&G Corp. had its headquarters in the city before being bought in 1998 by what is now St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc. The parent corporation moved the remaining 700 jobs from the city to the county last year.

Other financial services jobs were cut during the spate of acquisitions of local companies in the 1990s, including the investment house Alex. Brown Inc. and Baltimore Bancorp.

"Today we think of ourselves as sort of a second-tier financial services market, and it's likely that we'll be that way forever," Basu said. "But that said, we have this cluster of money managers in Baltimore, we have banks like Provident, Mercantile, First Mariner Bank, and hopefully what Chubb saw in Baltimore, others will see."

Just a curious question - with all the new housing developments and the population fairly stabilized for the past few years, it seems inevitable that Baltimore's population will increase in the coming years. But by how much? I'm asking cause I have no idea. How many people do you guys think Baltimore will have gained in, say the next three or four years?

^I'm guessing quite a bit, due to the all the residential developments in the city especially downtown. For instance Zenith, Water Tower, Cityscape, Cordish Tower, Four Seasons, The Ritz, Spinaker, The Vue, The Icon Tower plus the other 4 towers that Ed Hale is building and all the other residential development going on around the city. I think in the next 3-4 yrs we may gain at least 20-30,000 people and thats just downtown. To some of you that may seems a little far fetched but thats just my opinion. From what I've read downtown baltimore has already gained over 10,000 people living downtown over the past 2 yrs. :)

20-30K is extremely ambitious. With our current numbers, that would give us a total downtown residential population of at least 30-40K. That puts downtown Baltimore right up there with downtown Philadelphia. Thats a lot of people.

Today there was an article in the Baltimore Sun about how the housing market was cooling off. There final consensus was that the regional market was simply leveling out of out-of-control growth to normal growth, so it's still good for Baltimore. But they mentioned that more houses went on the market than were sold. Does that mean that more people are leaving than are coming in, or that more homes are being built than there are people to live in them?

^I'm guessing quite a bit, due to the all the residential developments in the city especially downtown. For instance Zenith, Water Tower, Cityscape, Cordish Tower, Four Seasons, The Ritz, Spinaker, The Vue, The Icon Tower plus the other 4 towers that Ed Hale is building and all the other residential development going on around the city. I think in the next 3-4 yrs we may gain at least 20-30,000 people and thats just downtown. To some of you that may seems a little far fetched but thats just my opinion. From what I've read downtown baltimore has already gained over 10,000 people living downtown over the past 2 yrs. :)

While the waterfront area is expierencing a large population boom, many other areas of the city are still depopulating or becoming less dense. I would guess at a 2-5k increase.

BUT thats still great! The city has finally stopped the population loss that seemed out of control just 6 years ago. A stable population, a massive increase in prop tax revenue from the waterfront developments are the very building blocks to a reborn Baltimore.

More homes are being built than there are people to live in them, I would think. And are we considering that some of these new homes that are being bought are by Baltimore residents? Moving from one house to another maybe? :?

And for a prediction of new residents in say three to four years from now? I'd say around 10,000 more maybe. :)

^I'm guessing quite a bit, due to the all the residential developments in the city especially downtown. For instance Zenith, Water Tower, Cityscape, Cordish Tower, Four Seasons, The Ritz, Spinaker, The Vue, The Icon Tower plus the other 4 towers that Ed Hale is building and all the other residential development going on around the city. I think in the next 3-4 yrs we may gain at least 20-30,000 people and thats just downtown. To some of you that may seems a little far fetched but thats just my opinion. From what I've read downtown baltimore has already gained over 10,000 people living downtown over the past 2 yrs. :)
i totally agree with u, brian. not to mention that there's alot of people moving here from DC, northern va, and other places around the country. baltimore's future really does look extremely bright. :) :)

don't forget about if 300 east pratt and one light street and st. regis get built. :D
Speaking of st. regis..........

4 DAYS to go! :D

Dave & Buster's coming to Arundel Mills
Julekha Dash
Staff
Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Café will open at Arundel Mills next week, bringing another giant hybrid restaurant and entertainment venue to the Hanover mall.

It will be Maryland's second Dave & Buster's venue and the first one in the Baltimore area. The other one is located in North Bethesda.

Dave & Buster's (NYSE: DAB) opened its first store in Dallas in 1982. Since then the chain, which features video games and a restaurant, has grown to 30 complexes in 18 states and one outlet in Toronto, Canada.

The Arundel Mills location will feature giant plasma screens, bowling and billiards.

The Nov. 16 opening day will feature many sports stars, including Baltimore Raven Ed Reed, Washington Mystics forward Chastity Melvin, NASCAR driver Dion Ciccarelli and members of the Baltimore Blast. Restaurant co-founders Dave Corriveau and Buster Corley will also attend opening day.

Arundel Mills, owned by the Arlington, Va.-based developer The Mills Corp. (NYSE: MLS), is also home to Medieval Times, where patrons get to feast in an 11th-century castle while watching jousting showdowns. Last year Dave & Buster's acquired the Arundel Mills Jillian's, another eating and entertainment megaplex, as well as eight other Jillian's locations, in a $47 million deal.



© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

^^ I always thought there was a Dave and Buster's at Arundel Mills. Or am I thinking of Gillian's?

Concerning the population increase, the article mentioned that Howard County is becoming the latest destination for DC commuters. Looks as though all of DC is becoming too expensive for Washingtonians. While it would be bad if the Baltimore counties became primarily havens for DC commuters, it's more likely that this will benefit Baltimore, I think.

Just a curious question - with all the new housing developments and the population fairly stabilized for the past few years, it seems inevitable that Baltimore's population will increase in the coming years. But by how much? I'm asking cause I have no idea. How many people do you guys think Baltimore will have gained in, say the next three or four years?

I don't expect much of an increase over the next few years. In spite of all of the building going on, there are still neigborhoods that are being boarded up and deserted. The most important thing though is that the balance of the income levels is shifting. For several decades, as the middle class moved to the burbs, the lower income people moved into areas that had been middle class, resulting in spreading blight. In recent years, the wholesale abandonment of large parts of the city by middle class seems to have slowed but there are still poor areas that have become so hopeless that they are becoming more empty.

On the other hand, in the past 5 years or so, there have been several thousand units of affluent housing built, especially in the waterfront areas. This is great but those affluent people who are moving in are mostly either empty-nesters or young childless people. They don't make as large of an impact on population as familes with kids. So, while population won't exactly surge and may not even offset the continuing loss in some areas, there will be an important shift to a population that can provide a better tax base. For decades Baltimore relied on its upper income northern areas for a big part of the tax base, but this will be supplemented by all these yuppies and boomers buying 700K condos. That will help with lots of things in the city, especially education, which continues to be the bleeding sore of city life and the main factor that chases out middle class people with kids. The shift may not change the absolute numbers very much but it will effect the health of the city in lots of ways and could eventually even help us to get back to the population of the early 80's.

^I'm guessing quite a bit, due to the all the residential developments in the city especially downtown. For instance Zenith, Water Tower, Cityscape, Cordish Tower, Four Seasons, The Ritz, Spinaker, The Vue, The Icon Tower plus the other 4 towers that Ed Hale is building and all the other residential development going on around the city. I think in the next 3-4 yrs we may gain at least 20-30,000 people and thats just downtown. To some of you that may seems a little far fetched but thats just my opinion. From what I've read downtown baltimore has already gained over 10,000 people living downtown over the past 2 yrs. :)

This may sound cynical and manipulative but I think we could get to the 30,000 population right away by just deciding that "downtown" is larger than its current definition. For years we were limited by thinking of downtown pretty much exactly as the 1904 fire district and almost nobody lived there. What's so damned important about the 1904 district? In recent years, some adjecent areas have been added. I would suggest that any dense, multi-use residential/commercial/office/retail area with at last a few high rises, adjecent to the hallowed 1904 burnt district be defined as part of downtown. If we did that, we would have the 1904 downtown, Mt Vernon, Westside, Key Highway, University of MD, Federal Hill, and everything east to Canton as downtown. I bet we're already there as having a 30,000 or more population. This redrawing of downtown into a larger area has lots of benefits for promoting downtown as a destination, especially for retailers. I'm continually amazed by this apparent psychological limitation that we impose on ourself.

don't forget about if 300 east pratt and one light street and st. regis get built. :D
Speaking of st. regis..........

4 DAYS to go! :D

also dont forget about the towers going up or planned on key highway!!! plus all the new posible condoos and apts planned for old town district!!!

More homes are being built than there are people to live in them, I would think. And are we considering that some of these new homes that are being bought are by Baltimore residents? Moving from one house to another maybe? :?

And for a prediction of new residents in say three to four years from now? I'd say around 10,000 more maybe. :)

I don't get the impression that we are overbuilding. I get the impression that most residential developers are still conservative and afraid of getting stuck when the party ends and would be building larger if they felt more speculative. Yeah, a lot of people who are buying are locals, but so what? What may be most important is that these are people would be buying in some area that requires bulldozing trees, barns and farmland who have decided instead to live in the city and bring their income. That's a big change and really good.

Four Proposals Submitted for Fairfield Urban Renewal Area



October 31, 2005 Press Release



Baltimore, MD (October 31, 2005) - In response to a recently issued Request for Proposals (RFP) for sites in the Fairfield Urban Renewal Area, the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) today announced it has received four proposals.



The Fairfield Urban Renewal Area is a rounded peninsula located approximately ten minutes south of downtown Baltimore. The entire area is zoned heavy industrial, with transportation, chemical manufacturing, and petroleum-related businesses being the primary activities. This area is linked to all major transportation venues – water, rail and highway. Approximately 1300 acres, the Fairfield Urban Renewal Area was established to encourage productive industrial and business use of the waterfront land compatible to adjacent uses, and facilitate redevelopment of vacant or underutilized land for industrial use.



The sites offered under the RFP consist of the following disposition lots:



Lot 1 – 308,000 square feet, bounded by Carbon Avenue, Fairfield Road, Brady Avenue and Sun Street.



Lot 2 – 72,000 square feet, bordered by Carbon Avenue, Remley Street, Brady Avenue and Fairfield Road.



Lot 3 – 378,000 square feet, surrounded by Brady Avenue, Fairfield Road, Chesapeake Avenue and Sun Street.



Lot 4 – 144,000 square feet, enclosed by Brady Avenue, Remley Street, Chesapeake Avenue and Fairfield Road.



Lot 5 – 121,000 square feet, encircled by Brady Avenue, Weedon Street, Chesapeake Avenue and Remley Street.

- more -


BDC received the following proposals:



Pecora Industrial Park



Developer/Owner: Allied Contractors, Inc. / Caspa, Inc. (J. Jay Pecora)

Architect: Andrew Pecora

Engineer: EBA Engineering, Inc.

General Contractor: Allied Contractors, Inc.



This proposal addresses disposition lots 1 and 3 only. The Pecora Industrial Park will be developed to replace the facility Allied Contractors is presently occupying at 3510 Hawkins Point Road, serving as a contractor’s storage yard and equipment repair facility.



Baltimore Scrap Corp. – Export Division



Developer/Owner: Baltimore Scrap Corp. (David Simon)

Architect: Not Given

Engineer: Gower Thompson Inc.

General Contractor: Baltimore Scrap Corp.



This proposal encompasses all of disposition lot 2. This parcel is adjacent to the company’s present location, of which it has leased a portion of the site for several years from an affiliated company. Baltimore Scrap will expand its business in the export market for ferrous and non-ferrous metal recyclables with an emphasis on containerized shipping.



The Commerical Center at Fairfield



Developer/Owner: Fleet Properties III, LLC / Fleet Transit, Inc. (Kevin McNeil)

Architect: George Gordon Architects

Engineer: Century Engineering, Inc.

General Contractor: Not Given



Utilizing all the sites, Fleet would expand its current operations to include a petroleum distribution entity, enlarge an existing trailer company located on the site, construct a training school for prospective employees of distribution firms, and complete a repair and maintenance facility for vehicle serving petroleum based industries.

- more -


Fairfield Industrial Park



Developer/Owner: Chesapeake Real Estate Group (Douglas Schmidt & James Lighthizer) &

C.C. Graves Associates, LLC (Charles Graves III)

Architect: Stephens Architectural

Engineer: G.W. Stevens

General Contractor: Not Given



This proposal would redevelop the entire site into Class “A” industrial space with three buildings totaling an estimated 350,000 square feet. The project is designed to meet market demand for quality industrial buildings situated in Baltimore City with proximity to the Port of Baltimore,

The four proposals are being reviewed by BDC.


Please contact:
Joann Logan at 410-837-9310 x329


© 2005. Baltimore Development Corporation.

^^ I always thought there was a Dave and Buster's at Arundel Mills. Or am I thinking of Gillian's?

Concerning the population increase, the article mentioned that Howard County is becoming the latest destination for DC commuters. Looks as though all of DC is becoming too expensive for Washingtonians. While it would be bad if the Baltimore counties became primarily havens for DC commuters, it's more likely that this will benefit Baltimore, I think.


Jillians was bought out by Dave and Busters. I think they are just transforming the one into the other

Only in the United States will you find the paradigm where wealth tends to congregate at the outer rim of cities. In Europe, and particularly South America, wealth tends to congregate within the city proper, whereas the “ghetto” of poverty gravitates toward the outer edges of the city.

Downtown Baltimore is roughly defined as the area bounded by Mt. Royal on the north, JFX/President Street on the east, Key Highway on the south and MLK Boulevard on the western periphery.

Today, “downtown” is a much larger area than the 300 acres it was in the immediate postwar-era. Downtown comprises six districts (Mount Royal/Penn Station, Mount Vernon, East Side, Business Center, Inner Harbor, and University Center) that encompass 1200 acres. The original 1904 Burnt District was 140 acres, mostly in the Business District, or today’s Business Center.

My friends, to project an increase of 20-30,000 residents in Downtown by 2010 would require the equivalent construction of 100 new 23-storey Zenith or 414 Water Street towers within the next five years. While Daniel Burnham did say, “make no small plans”…to expect the construction of 20 such residential towers per year in Baltimore is nonsense. Let’s hope the population loss for Baltimore City as a whole stabilizes by 2010 and we realize a net gain of another ca. 2185 residents in Downtown. The increase in mortgage interest rates, and talk of a “cool-down” in home sales is scary enough.

I don't get the impression that we are overbuilding. I get the impression that most residential developers are still conservative and afraid of getting stuck when the party ends and would be building larger if they felt more speculative. Yeah, a lot of people who are buying are locals, but so what? What may be most important is that these are people would be buying in some area that requires bulldozing trees, barns and farmland who have decided instead to live in the city and bring their income. That's a big change and really good.

Maybe I was not concise. I meant that, I personally thought that the residents were coming from other downtown locations and not from the farmlands.

And I disagree with the calculation of building 100 new Zeniths or Water Street Towers in order to reach 20,000 - 30,000 by 2010. If we are to assume that every buyer of an average unit is just one person then it's far fetched to believe of such a grand total. But if some of these units are being sold to small families of 3 to 4 people then we would have to agree that it is possible to reach at least 10,000 to 15,000 people downtown by 2010. My thinking is that these high-rise developments that are being built today are around 250 to 300 units on average. So, if we average 2 people per unit, (conservative estimate), in an average 275 units per building downtown area, then that would be around 687 people per building. So then you would only need 15 high-rise towers downtown to from now, counting the already developments going on we know about, to have 10,305 new residents. Questions are:
1. Will Baltimore have 15 new high-rise or mid-rise residential towers downtown with those current unit averages by 2010?
I say, maybe. It's not far fetched.
2. When including these other converted towers and other buildings downtown into condos and rental apartments, are we counting these new units to our grand total by 2010? Will these converted residential units be that much of a signifigant number to help push for a higher total by 2010?

BTW, to say we would need 100 new "Zeniths" or "Water Street Towers" by 2010 to reach the 20,00 - 30,000 number is way off according to the current unit per building average and persons per unit, (as figured above).
100 new residential towers downtown, which I say is impossible for Baltimore by 2010, would give an increase in over 68,700 new residents! And that's not including the converted building in downtown to condos and rentals.
So, adding those converted developments, that number would be close to 70,000 people all together! :uh:
Not going to happen. That's why I said ealier that I believe that 10,000 new residents by 2010 is absolutely not impossible.

So counting all the residents that are downtown now and that could possibly come, realistically, we could have 20,000 residents by 2010.

:)

Other interesting news:

Project proves hard to unlock
Effort to develop Key Highway takes many routes
By Jill Rosen
Sun Reporter
Originally published November 12, 2005
As they attempt to craft a plan for how the last undeveloped stretch of Key Highway will evolve, city planners will walk a tightrope this month between a community afraid of losing its charm and developers afraid of losing the best deal.

The effort follows months of awkward mediation games and tense meetings. City officials did anything they could think of to get business and community interests to see eye-to-eye since their first try, a proposal that would have traded muddy waterfront lots for high-rise condos, jolting nearly every South Baltimore neighborhood association into near revolt.



But diplomacy has played hard to get. A city-convened task force this fall yielded as much sarcasm and suspicion as ideas. And the Planning Department's call this summer for residents and developers to sit down together and mold visions for the area in clay? As one developer's putty work inched increasingly skyward, an appalled resident reached over and smashed it.

With interests so at odds, when the Planning Department releases a Key Highway urban renewal draft plan later this month, with consideration by the City Council coming early next year, it's hard to imagine a please-all scenario. Inevitably, someone's going home disappointed.

"Sometimes," says Andy Frank, vice president of the city's development arm, the Baltimore Development Corp, "you know you're doing a good job because no one is happy."

At stake is a swath of real estate running along the Inner Harbor roughly from the Little Havana restaurant to just past the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Smack in the middle of one of the city's priciest residential markets, it's a forlorn jumble of empty lots and repair shops, property with profit potential that can't be maximized unless it's rezoned to allow for homes and retail.

No one disputes the value in that. It's the fine print that has people nervous: How much development can fit? How high can it rise? Will there be public access to the water and enough parking to go around?

Those on both sides of the issue who spent the better part of the year brainstorming, drafting guidelines and molding clay hope the city proposal showcases their views - as officials promise it will.

"I hope to God they use what we spent so much time on," says Little Havana owner Tim Whisted. "Hopefully they'll listen. If they don't, they're going to have every aspect of this community mad at them."

Spurring their push for change, planners say, is that despite proximity to the Inner Harbor, Key Highway is underachieving and uninviting. Their basic urban renewal strategy is to boost population with big residential buildings, introduce retail to give others a reason to go there and soften the highway's harsh lines into a greener, more walkable boulevard.

They also want top dollar for the former Fire Department repair shop, which at 1407 Key Highway, sits squarely in the rezoning area. Investors are already salivating over the property.

Generally, residents are hoping for the best but bracing for a letdown. "Every time I convince myself we're OK," says Paul Robinson, founder of Friends of Federal Hill Park, "I get slapped upside the head with reality: It's about greed, ambition and politics."

Despite all the developer/community confabs, the task force assigned to draft guidelines for the city couldn't agree on volatile topics like parking and density. And the group's draft appears remarkably similar to the one residents flipped over last April.

Yet the task force did devise a rough "trade" formula that would force developers to provide certain amenities in exchange for extra height - a concept planners say has the potential to create the harbor's most vibrant residential nook.

As a base, all projects, on both sides of the street, would start at six to seven stories, or between 65 to 80 feet. Each would also be required to have commercial space on the ground floor.

Then, if that commercial space is retail - a store or a restaurant - the developer could get 20 or 30 extra feet.

On the harbor side, developers would also have to allow a 30-foot easement for the waterfront promenade. If they provide additional open space, they'd be eligible for much more height - all the way to 290 feet.

"The crux of the agreement," says D. Christopher Ryer, Baltimore's deputy planning director, "is open space is something people are willing to give something for."

As many as five 290-foot towers are possible in the renewal area using the task force's recommendations, Ryer says.

There would also be room for a few mini parks and "access corridors" - public walkways leading to the water from Key Highway.

Though Key Highway could end up boasting more condo towers than anywhere else on the waterfront, Ryer says the area might also enjoy better public access to the harbor.

The intent of the trade-off, he adds, is avoiding another Canton or Harborview, where there's little at the water aside from private homes.



"It behooves us to learn from our mistakes in the past and make smart planning decisions," Ryer says. "This could be an extremely special spot."

But some developers aren't so smitten with the idea. After planner Thor Nelson, who led the task force, presented it at a recent Key Highway Community Association meeting, Harborview developer Richard Swirnow voiced strident objections.

"We would have to resist that," he said. "A trade is if you give us something. ... I don't think it's a trade if you start with an elevation of 290 and drop it to 60."

Swirnow built his Harboview condo tower higher than 290 feet more than a decade ago.

"We didn't say you have to provide anything - we're saying we're going to incentivize it," Nelson told him.

"I think it's fundamentally wrong," Swirnow said.

"Well," Nelson answered, "you usually don't get free money without strings attached. The strings are for the public good."

Though some developers balk at trading for height, some residents think they're crying crocodile tears and the community should have demanded even more.

Task force member Jim Keat, a 21-year Federal Hill resident, resigned from the task force in protest, saying, "The deck has been stacked in favor of the developers."

Robinson thinks the city set up the task force and the clay session to "lull us into submission." "Sooner or later," he says, "sheer fatigue wears people down, and they cut deals."

Federal Hill resident Douglas Nelson, director of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, says some of the task force's bargaining positions are so weak - like two extra floors for retail - that they're practically "begging."

A recent study found huge retail potential for the waterfront, Geoffrey Washington, a South Baltimore lawyer who served on the task force, points out. "So they'll get bonuses for what they already planned to do," he says. "It seems a little bit skewed."

Once you alter the lines of sight, you're never going to get that back," Douglas Nelson adds. "Somebody is going to be able to sell very little space for a great deal of money someday. We shouldn't make that risk-free."

Mark Shapiro, who owns the Main Steel site in the renewal area, said the task force's proposal wouldn't prevent his plans to develop a mid-rise condo building on his property. But while serving on the task force, he says he heard "naive" ideas on density from the community.

"They weren't as knowledgeable about the economics," Shapiro says, adding that with land values on the water the way they are today, "you're not going to build a doghouse."

"They don't really truly understand the cost of building."

Heather Moore, a Federal Hill South community leader, felt that exasperation when she suggested, on behalf of her parking-strapped neighborhood, that the developers be required to provide four spots per unit, the same amount the under-construction Federal Place Townhouse project is providing up the street.

"They were like, 'You silly person; you don't know how this works.' I think I completely understand how it works," Moore says. "They just don't want to hear four spots."

Frank acknowledges that plenty of developers cry poverty when it comes to building a promenade or providing open space and extra parking. But the trade-off plan, he thinks, is a way to help everyone get what they want.

"It's not popular to say but important to remember that property owners on the water are property owners, too. They have rights. ... They want to be able to develop big buildings."

To Douglas Nelson, Baltimore, in its struggle to reverse population decline, hasn't fully realized that perhaps it doesn't have to grovel for investment anymore - certainly not near the water.

"We are not being as rigorous as a city or as a neighborhood in our vision for what development should be," he says. "When it's built, it's done. This period is crucial."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com

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and...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2005-11/20456660.jpg

I want to toss in another catalyst for the city's population growth: the two biotech science reasarch centers at Johns Hopkins and U of M. The Hopkins project is supposed to bring ~8,000 jobs, not sure of the estimates at U of M. Some of these jobs will be taken by highly paid researchers and administrators. Many will be recruited from out-of-town. A portion of these workers will want to live around both centers.

In 2010 I believe the city's population will remain nearly the same as 2000 (~650k). From what I've been reading and observing, the mass exodus from the city is slowing, and new residents are coming in. But the losses are, as pointed out in an earlier post, families, while the newer residents are the emplty nesters, childless couples and sinlgles.

I took some pictures from Jonestown, Charles Center, and Hopkins Hospital Observatory

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=280930

I took some pictures from Jonestown, Charles Center, and Hopkins Hospital Observatory

http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=280930

And they are good. Everyone should see them. :)

Maybe I was not concise. I meant that, I personally thought that the residents were coming from other downtown locations and not from the farmlands.

Perhaps not the farmlands, but they are coming from the 'burbs and definitely NOT the city. The boomers that are buying in the city are selling big single houses with lawns in order to park their capital without capital gains taxes and not mow lawns. It is that sort of suburban development that consumes otherwise beautiful land and for every one of those people who moves downtown and sells his house to a family in search of 'burban real estate, there is one less house that needs to be built, especially in an environment where the counties are under a lot of citizen pressure to restrict growth. This works for both parties, the city promoters and the no-growth suburban NIMBYs. That's why I like this. As a lover of cities and rural landscapes, the less suburbs the better in my view.

And I disagree with the calculation of building 100 new Zeniths or Water Street Towers in order to reach 20,000 - 30,000 by 2010. If we are to assume that every buyer of an average unit is just one person then it's far fetched to believe of such a grand total. But if some of these units are being sold to small families of 3 to 4 people then we would have to agree that it is possible to reach at least 10,000 to 15,000 people downtown by 2010.

The reason that these units are NOT being sold to small families is the dismal state of the city schools. Aside from a couple of significant but small exceptions, the city schools continue to be a non option for middle and upper income people. Generally downtownn condo and townhouse dwellers who have kids last a couple years and then when the kids approach school age, they move. The North Baltimore neigbhorhoods monopolize the private school positions and dropping off the kids at Boys Latin or RPCS is pretty time consuming for a busy professional living in Canton so when kids approach school, it's moving time. None of this formula is going to change until the quality, behavior and income level of kids in city public schools change.

That's why the schools remain the biggest stumbling block for the city. I live near the corridor where most private schools in the city reside, see that parade of drop-off and pick-up Volvos every day and know from neighbors that getting in there is extremely competitive (e.g., Gilman accepts 1 out of 5 applicants, and in addition to $15k tuition contributions are expected so this squeezes out a lot of middle income folks). No new private schools are being built and while city schools have improved, it is mostly from dismal to almost dismal. No matter how I look at this thing, the squeeze point for the city always is education and not the number of high rises that can be built. This hits every aspect of the population including the prospects for the poor people, the number of middle class people who can afford to live in the city and pay for school and the number of affluent people who can find slots for their kids, engineer their tranportation or be forced to move. The perception of the city's educational systen will continue to trump any calculations about how many buildings can be built.

And that problem is everywhere. Here in South Carolina it is terrible! This state is near the bottom in the entire USA. :(
Education is key to inner city growth, I agree. But it's key everywhere. Poor education plus inner city public housing equals overall negative population growth. In other words, future larger drops in city population. This I know.
I guess I should start making myself more understood when I type.
I was assuming that the education system would start making strides to better it'self in the city as the demand for downtown or overall city housing increases. I mean, there are a lot of factors I'm assuming that will improve as well, such as; transportation, eco, crime/drugs as well as education. All are key to not only ATTRACT future residents, but to KEEP them, especially when they have kids and they get ready for school.
So, IF the schools DON'T improve by 2010, then perhaps all those number increases will start slowly decreasing in a matter of years as well. Because even though singles or couples move into these condos/apartments they tend to have children sometime.
I, too, like smart growth and urban living. I hate to see suburban sprawl increasing everywhere. :( There should be boundries set where there is a limit to how far people can go "outward" from the city.

And that problem is everywhere. Here in South Carolina it is terrible! This state is near the bottom in the entire USA. :(
Education is key to inner city growth, I agree. But it's key everywhere. Poor education plus inner city public housing equals overall negative population growth. In other words, future larger drops in city population. This I know.
I guess I should start making myself more understood when I type.
I was assuming that the education system would start making strides to better it'self in the city as the demand for downtown or overall city housing increases. I mean, there are a lot of factors I'm assuming that will improve as well, such as; transportation, eco, crime/drugs as well as education. All are key to not only ATTRACT future residents, but to KEEP them, especially when they have kids and they get ready for school.
So, IF the schools DON'T improve by 2010, then perhaps all those number increases will start slowly decreasing in a matter of years as well. Because even though singles or couples move into these condos/apartments they tend to have children sometime.
I, too, like smart growth and urban living. I hate to see suburban sprawl increasing everywhere. :( There should be boundries set where there is a limit to how far people can go "outward" from the city.

DON'T BLAME THE SCHOOLS!! BLAME THE PARENTS!! You don't have to be rich, to read with your child and practice practical math concepts. It is free to teach your child discipline and manners. It is also free to not let your child on the streets at night and to watch who they hang out with. Hey, its almost free to take your children to school and call the teacher once a month to find out how to improve the students' academics and behavior. Poor people always want to blame the schools, but perhaps they should look in the mirror. Even if you are not educated, it doesn't take a lot education to go volunteer at your children's school and to try and actually be a parent.

So since they don't want to actually be parents, then the only way to clean up the school system is to get students in there who have parents who actually care. Its called gentrification and I love the concept.

Poor people always want to blame the schools, but perhaps they should look in the mirror. Even if you are not educated, it doesn't take a lot education to go volunteer at your children's school and to try and actually be a parent.

So since they don't want to actually be parents, then the only way to clean up the school system is to get students in there who have parents who actually care. Its called gentrification and I love the concept.
i wouldn't even so much as go to the extent of calling it a "poor people" issue. i know some RICH people as well that are just as boneheaded with their children. but i do agree with you when u said "don't blame the schools, blame the parents."

And that problem is everywhere. Here in South Carolina it is terrible! This state is near the bottom in the entire USA. .....

In Baltimore we have the problem of polarization. Baltimore city schools mostly stink but in Baltimore country, they run from fair to excellent but in all cases better funded and more successful than in the city. For a parent with kids, it makes the case pretty clear...county or private schools. A third option is the parochial school system in the city. There are lots of big Catholic schools that are not as expensive as privates but still pretty pricey and they are somewhat of a relief valve for people less than rich who want to live in the city, but they have to be at least friendly to Catholicism.

I was assuming that the education system would start making strides to better it'self in the city as the demand for downtown or overall city housing increases.

There have been some city schools that have improved (Mt Washington and Roland Park Elementary have been able to attract neighborhood kids for at least k - 5) but on the whole, most affluent people have rejected the public schools in the city. This is in direct contrast to the county (my daughter goes to Towson High School with kids who live in mansions in Ruxton as well as "regular folks" from other neigborhoods; you don't see that in the city). So far the bootstrap approach has not worked.

There should be boundries set where there is a limit to how far people can go "outward" from the city.

Not a bad idea but I'm not sure how to get that one squared with the constitution. Curisously though, Baltimore county has a stated goal of maintaining 90% of its population within 30% of its land area (not exactly a boundary but at least a guideline) and they have been pretty successful so far. In fact Balt Co seems to be on a path of being a little less spawly than its more distant neigboring counties. They have put lots of land in trust, other land in agriculture preservation zones and have lots of other land that is within watershed boundaries and state and county parks, so a little of your idea is sorta happening.

i wouldn't even so much as go to the extent of calling it a "poor people" issue. i know some RICH people as well that are just as boneheaded with their children. but i do agree with you when u said "don't blame the schools, blame the parents."

I blame the parents for much of the problem but not all of it. It's hard to get kids up for learning when there are so many dysfunctional kids and meager facilities. This creates an environment where the minute a teacher gets some experience and a little success, the teacher starts looking for a job in a county, using their city "combat experience" as an item on their resume. It's made worse by the federal interference which locks good teachers into bad assignments if they get good ratings ("good" teachers can't move to easier schools within the system). It's almost like being a indentured servant. The only way out for those teachers is to move to another county....And there you go.

Parenting is very important, yes. But, these students' parents probably had a hard time with education themselves when they were growing up. And they probably passed on their "ethics", (or lack there of), to their children when concerning discipline and manners and values.
Question is this, concerning education:
"Why are some schools succeeding and others not?" And, "why not just copy those schools?"
Another question:
"What is, (if any), the correlation between the school's education system and the parenting practices that have contributed to the higher grading and overall succesful curriculum?"

Another point to make, as well, is that schools are not allowed to discipline kids like they were use to doing. And parents don't discipline kids at home much any more other than saying, "You won't get to play your playstation unless you do your homework!"
Parenting is VERY important. I think it's a mixture of both parenting and schools caring for the students future welfare that is the perfect balance for the best results. An example would be if a student was trying hard to do his/her class work and was very mannerly and taught well, (discipline, values, goals, etc.,), by his/her parents and really wanted to excel, but the other students in the class did not have the same up-bringing and did not care for school work or school in general, so they made noises and always disrupted the classes. The teachers keep trying to get through to the disruptive students to make them stop being loud and disrespectful to everyone. They don't get anywhere because the students don't really care to change, their parents don't really care and their hopes or asperations for a better future are almost nil. So the teachers become callous over time and just "go through the motions". I've seen this and heard of this way too often. The teachers used to try to make things better but there is only so much a teacher can do and be "politically correct". They would be told by principals and board staff to just "do what they can".

In the end, kids as well as others learn from what parents do more so than what they say. Practice what you preach, as the old saying goes. The student has their own individual responsibility and the parents have their responsibility and so does the educational system. Any time when, at least, one of those parts are not there, then there will be much difficulty.

There have been some city schools that have improved (Mt Washington and Roland Park Elementary have been able to attract neighborhood kids for at least k - 5) but on the whole, most affluent people have rejected the public schools in the city. This is in direct contrast to the county (my daughter goes to Towson High School with kids who live in mansions in Ruxton as well as "regular folks" from other neigborhoods; you don't see that in the city). So far the bootstrap approach has not worked.



Not a bad idea but I'm not sure how to get that one squared with the constitution. Curisously though, Baltimore county has a stated goal of maintaining 90% of its population within 30% of its land area (not exactly a boundary but at least a guideline) and they have been pretty successful so far. In fact Balt Co seems to be on a path of being a little less spawly than its more distant neigboring counties. They have put lots of land in trust, other land in agriculture preservation zones and have lots of other land that is within watershed boundaries and state and county parks, so a little of your idea is sorta happening.

That's good to hear about the improvements. From some of the Mayor's speeches it sounded as if good strides were being made in the city schools.

As for the "set boundaries", it would not be that hard. The government is already using eminent domain to take over properties for the "overall better good of the community". Besides, if it IS in the public's best interest to "curb" or set boundaries that "stop" suburban sprawl, why not do it? The constitution is for the better good of all of us. Things have to change from time to time to ensure better, i.e.; safer, cleaner/healthier communities. Responsibility for our future means sometimes we all have to sacrifice some of our freedoms, especially if some of these freedoms are major contributors to a deterioration to our society.

Like just about everything else, it's a combination a factors. And also like everything else, each factor serves to mostly deteriorate the other factors further. Poor parenting leads to a poor school environment. Poor environment leads to stretched resources. Stretched resources leads to underfunded schools, etc., etc. The only solution is to slowly chip away at each piece and make a gradual change. And in order to do that people need to start being willing to accept at least a portion of the responsibility. A perfect example is sexual education in the public school system. Public schools offer sexual education because parents might feel uncomfortable or might not know how to talk to their kids about sex. In other words, public schools offer sex-ed because parents don't feel comfortable with being parents, or don't know how to be parents. But again, it's easy enough to simplify the problem as such, but that doesn't make it correct. Every person and every institution in society has a stake in how our children grow up. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every person and every institution to make a change when it's needed.

Concerning the problem with political correctness though, is the "No Child Left Behind" rule. I was lucky enough to attend Calvert Hall, where everyone is more or less fit to learn. But when you stick a very smart kid in a class with a very stupid kid, it's the smart kid who suffers. He or she is not allowed to go ahead because the stupid kid is either unable or unwilling to grasp the concepts. And whether it's the kid's fault or not, you still have strained resources. It's a mess. Just a plain mess.

But nevertheless, parents are the primary and principle socializing agents in a child's life. I generally feel that strong parenting should be able to overcome poor schools.

That's absolutely correct. So what can be done to get all parents to do a better job at home with their kids? :? Is not the incentive of your kid having a better future through a good education not good enough? :? LOL, maybe we should start rewarding kids and parents monetarily when the kids get very good grades. That way parents and kids would work together so they could "get" something in their hands every report card. Here mom, here dad, here's a Ben Franklin for each one of you and for your kid too. :hilarious:

Sad to say, that probably wouldn't even be enough money incentive either. They would probably want a $1,000 for each good report card.

Example:

Straight A's = $1,000 for each parent and their kid.
Straight B's = $500 for each parent and kid.
Half A's and Half B's = $750 for each parent and the kid.
Anything less = NO $$$$

LOL :D ;)

Well, although many would probably disagree and say that the American dream is dead, I think that hardwork can still get you far in today's society. It may not make you a CEO, but it'll definitely keep you out of the gutter. There are enough screwups in this world that honest work will keep your head above them.

The problem is that many of society's poor and downtrodden don't know that a world exists beyond their own. And those who do often are so filled with hatred for it that they want nothing to do with it, or that they feel it is inaccessible to them. One key to helping out Baltimore's youth might be exposing them early to the life that exists beyond their block.

My girlfriend's father works for a non-profit in South Florida with just that goal - granting children the exposure to opprtunities they might otherwise have not known existed. The problem is often that children either don't have any passions in life or that the passions they do have are misdirected (i.e. to be like their drug dealing big brother or something). Once you light a fire in a child, or any person for that matter, the hardwork and dedication will follow. Unforunately, today's youth often doesn't even know what passion is, much less how to find it.

sad, but true.....

Schools are responsible for teaching reading, writing, and other academic skills. They also provide athletics and after school activities to promote social skills.

Parents are responsible for teaching morals, religion, culture, ethics, and the basic skills required to live a successful life. Unfortuantely too many parents forget they have a responsibility to their kids or dont care.

Teachers in Baltimore City and other bad schools go through a lot dealing with these parents who blame them for everything instead of looking in the mirror. If I was a teacher I would do the exact same thing, get experience in the city and get out to where you have parents who care. Teachers should not take their lives into their own hands when they go to work.

What I would do is have different levels of schools. All students are brought in thinking that their parents are actually human and care about their kids and are given the chance to succeed. If they are not able to handle being around other students they should go to the next level of school. This school would be more strict, would require students to take classes on social behavior and the things their parents forgot to teach them. If they are not able to handle that then they head to the lowest level of school which is very strict (almost military style) where the students are forced to learn ethics, discipline, and social skills. If they succeed in that then they can start learning academic skills.

There is no need to hurt the good kids because some parent is so worthless and cannot teach their kids to behave.

Well, 1 more day left until we MAY hear some news on the St. Regis project.
We'll see. I won't hold my breath, though.........

Well construction is now scheduled to start in January. I've been assured that all is on track and there were more folks in the Sales Center on Saturday.

That's the month they originally told me it would begin. Then they changed it to November. Now it's back to January.

They are probably getting sick of seeing me by now, so they may move it up!

We shall see! :cheers:

That's absolutely correct. So what can be done to get all parents to do a better job at home with their kids? :? Is not the incentive of your kid having a better future through a good education not good enough? :? LOL, maybe we should start rewarding kids and parents monetarily when the kids get very good grades. That way parents and kids would work together so they could "get" something in their hands every report card. Here mom, here dad, here's a Ben Franklin for each one of you and for your kid too. :hilarious:

Sad to say, that probably wouldn't even be enough money incentive either. They would probably want a $1,000 for each good report card.

Example:

Straight A's = $1,000 for each parent and their kid.
Straight B's = $500 for each parent and kid.
Half A's and Half B's = $750 for each parent and the kid.
Anything less = NO $$$$

LOL :D ;)

This may not be a bad idea at all! Though I must say, in some neighborhoods, you would see better results with a reward system based on cigarettes, booze, or drugs! :nono: :angel:

Just Kidding

It mentionsin this article that they are moving from a renovated carriage house in Midtown. Is that one of the ones recently discussed in the controversial Mt. Vernon condos? If so, that's one more vacant Mt. Vernon carriage house. Perhaps we haven't heard the last of this site.


SMG will move into the Brink's building
Architecture: Edward Gunts
Originally published Nov 14, 2005

When people talk about "green architecture," they're usually referring to buildings that are designed to be environmentally sensitive and energy efficient.

But when architect Walter Schamu talks about his latest "green" project, he can't avoid the references to dollar bills as well as energy savings.

Schamu and his partners at Schamu Machowski Greco, Tony Machowski and Victor Greco, recently acquired the old Brink's Inc. armored car company terminal in downtown Baltimore for $700,000 and plan to convert it by spring to headquarters for their 24-year-old design firm.

Try as he might, Schamu can't entirely sidestep questions about why an architecture firm would need such a well-fortified building. Is it because they have such wealthy clients? That they charge such high fees they need armored vehicles to transport their loot?

"We've heard it all," he says. "We hope people don't think Brink's is still here, once we move in."

Actually, the architects at SMG have many reasons for wanting to move from a renovated carriage house in midtown to the old Brink's building at 231 Holliday St. - last used by the security company more than a decade ago.

First of all, they like the building, which is one block north of City Hall and on the same block as the historic Peale Museum. Built in the 1920s, it has a limestone and granite facade and a bulletproof, second-level bay window from which armed guards used to watch Brink's trucks drive in and out.

On the lower level, trucks were stored and repaired. The upper level, with vaults that were taken out by a previous owner, was used for counting money and storing valuables. After World War I, most large cities in America gained buildings such as this, usually near downtown banks and offices.

Schamu, a Federal Hill resident, said he saw a "For Sale" sign on the building one weekend when he and his wife Nancy went to the nearby farmer's market under the Jones Falls Expressway. His firm's lease was getting close to expiring, so he decided to investigate.

Inside, the building has the 5,000 square feet of space needed by SMG. The architects figured the lower level could be used to create a new entranceway and on-site parking for 20 cars - a rare commodity for any downtown staff. They liked the security features, from the gun turret on the front to the solid bars and reinforced concrete construction.

The second level has brick walls, steel columns and a high ceiling with deep exposed trusses - perfect for a design studio. That level was "an epiphany for an architect to come to," Schamu said. "Wide open spaces. Great light. We'll all be on one floor, which will be great for us. And my office will have a view of City Hall."

The location works well for an architect's office, too. The surrounding area is on the upswing, with the recent facelift of War Memorial Plaza and luxury condominiums nearing completion across the street. There's easy access to the Jones Falls Expressway. Plus, the Brink's building is close to municipal offices where architects and contractors must go to obtain city building permits and present their plans for review.

One of SMG's projects is the conversion of the nearby Peale Museum to a "history center" housing preservation- and history-related organizations such as Baltimore Heritage and the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, which Schamu helped establish in 1987.

The new owners intend to restore the facade with its Brink's lettering, while adding a banner to indicate the new use. Inside, they want to add a clerestory "light monitor" in the roof to let in more natural light. They plan to treat the conversion as an environmentally "green" project, with a partially planted roof to cut down on rainwater runoff, operable windows, "rapidly renewable" materials, energy efficient mechanical systems and other eco-friendly features.

"It's a good chance to us to experiment," Schamu said. "It's going to be very cutting-edge - not old fuddy-duddy Baltimore."

Charles Patterson is serving as SMG's lead architect for this project, which is expected to cost $200,000. Construction will start next month. In the meantime, Schamu wants to obtain more information about the building, including the name of the architect and the original plans, and he'd like to talk to Brink's employees who worked there. He'd also like to find a Brink's truck to put by the entrance, and he talks of throwing a pre-construction party in the space with a 1920s, flappers-era theme.

SMG has worked on some of the most prestigious restoration projects in Baltimore, from the Alex. Brown & Sons banking room that survived the 1904 fire to the Maryland Club to the Bromo Seltzer Tower. The Brink's building doesn't fall within a historic district and has not been accorded any sort of landmark status.

Schamu admits that it's ironic his firm would be moving to a building with no landmark designation. But he's convinced it's worth the investment, with its "stoic facade," on-site parking and short distance to city offices, including the finance department.

"This will be a great move," he said. "A lot is happening here. And think how easy it will be to pay the water bill."

Well construction is now scheduled to start in January. I've been assured that all is on track and there were more folks in the Sales Center on Saturday.

That's the month they originally told me it would begin. Then they changed it to November. Now it's back to January.

They are probably getting sick of seeing me by now, so they may move it up!

We shall see! :cheers:

Thanks for the Update on 414

Reading some of the posts on this forum regarding 414 Water Street, I was beginning to wonder what was really happening with that project. During the last couple of weeks I also noticed that their adds that used to appear without fail in the Saturday and Sunday real estate sections of the Sun, where no longer there. So I am glad to hear that everything is on track for them to begin building in January. That's something to look forward to especially since it will be Baltimore's tallest residential tower when it is finished.

Also wanted to tell you, Wada Guy, how much I enjoyed your pics of downtown Baltimore, your web site and your sense of humour!

I was looking at the Baltimore Business Journal on line. There is a phto of the light rail train on the cover, but no story on their website. Does anyone know what the story is about?

Sure don't, but I'd like to. :D

I was looking at the Baltimore Business Journal on line. There is a phto of the light rail train on the cover, but no story on their website. Does anyone know what the story is about?

Please tell me that the article said that they are going to finally finish that project. When they started working back in January, the said it would re-open from Mt Royal to Lutherville on July 28. Then they said that it would be October 28 after they found that a dirt hillside they needed to excavate was actually granite. Then they came back again and said the there was a shortage of electricians due to hurricanes. So when will it really open?

Since recent coverage on these pages has addressed hope for new housing in the city, I’d like to capture your attention for a moment and direct it to an article (not sure if it was already posted here or not) by Rachel Sams: “Banking in Baltimore: How invested is the city? (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2005/10/31/focus4.html)”

Rachel begins her coverage by stating “Baltimore was never the center of the investment banking universe, or even close to it. But it sure felt like that in March 1986…”

She provides a snapshot of the excitement in Baltimore, and particularly Alex. Brown & Sons back in 1986 with the IPOs of Sun Microsystems, Oracle and Microsoft. It reminds us of the many companies, large and small, which Baltimore as “Wall Street of the South” has helped bring to the forefront of not only national, but also international stature through its financial heft.

While her coverage falls into the well known gloom and doom years in Baltimore of the late 80s and early 90s, she leaves the reader clinging onto a morsel or two, a few grains…of hope and optimism that at least some of the regional talent in the financial services industry might still exist and one day regain a fragment of its lost luster.

While I am an optimist at heart, I can’t place too much hope in her assessment. However her article is worth the five minutes of read-time…

Downtown is on the upswing, study says
'Emerging' status puts it ahead of D.C.
By Jill Rosen
Sun reporter
Originally published November 15, 2005

Baltimore is not a Chicago, a Philadelphia or a Boston -- certainly not a New York. But a study has found that the city built on Formstone and nurtured on Natty Boh might just be closing in on those great metropolises.

In the latest affirmation for Baltimore's urban resurgence, a report by the Washington-based Brookings Institution declares Charm City's downtown "emerging," or teeter-tottering on the brink of becoming a full-fledged urban powerhouse. The report, "Who Lives Downtown," which is being released today, analyzes downtowns in 45 U.S. cities, marking population growth and household ownership trends from 1970 to 2000.

It finds that center-city living is catching on from coast to coast -- and in Baltimore more so than in many other cities, its monument-heavy neighbor to the southwest included. "Basically it's going in the right direction," the study's author, Eugenie L. Birch, chairman of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of City and Regional Planning, said of Baltimore's downtown. "It's on the way."

Baltimore shares its "emerging downtown" status -- one notch below the top ranking of "fully developed" city -- with 13 other urban areas, including Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Norfolk, Va. Washington is one step further down, sharing its "downtown on the edge of takeoff" designation with such cities as Milwaukee and Dallas. In the 30 years the report examined, the targeted downtowns gained about 35,000 housing units in total. But during the same time, their outlying suburbs gained 13 million. "Still," the report states, "however small its relative growth, downtown housing provides visible and tangible evidence of urban vitality that has important psychological and economic impacts."

Baltimore is quite familiar with the injection of pride that comes with turning around once-empty downtown streets and forlorn waterfront land. Though the city still wrestles with a daunting reputation for violent crime, what with the nice words from Brookings, a recent study uncovering the city's ripeness for retail and being called a top world destination by Frommer's, it might all start going to Baltimore's head.

"It's what we kind of already knew," said Mayor Martin O'Malley's spokesman Rick Abbruzzese. "The rest of the country is starting to catch on." Abbruzzese and Downtown Partnership President Kirby Fowler say that if Baltimore fared well with the statistics Brookings had to work with, it's nothing compared to the growth the city's seen in the past five years.

"Since 2000 our numbers have been even more impressive," Fowler said, adding that in the last four years, nearly 40 percent of all new housing in the city has been downtown. The urban allure, Birch said, is tied to fascinating architecture, waterfront property, cultural heritage and the idea of entertainment at your doorstep.

Yet without density -- more and more people sharing urban ZIP codes -- it's unlikely a city like Baltimore will make it into the leagues of a Boston or a Philadelphia, she warned.

Though some in Baltimore cringe at the idea of residential high-rises, with open space and view corridors, they work, she says, adding that low-density, single-family dwellings in the center city are nothing short of "silly." "Downtown land is a scarce commodity," she says. "We can't afford to squander it on low-density settlements."

The study also found:
During the 1990s, downtown population in the studied cities grew by 10 percent, a marked resurgence after 20 years of overall decline.

From 1970 to 2000, the number of downtown households increased 8 percent, 13 percent in the 1990s alone.

Downtown homeownership rates more than doubled during the 30-year period.
For Tracy Gossen, executive director of Live Baltimore, proselytizing about urban living is her stock and trade. In the nearly 10 years she's run the organization, which strives to persuade people to move to the city, her job has gotten easier and easier.

She says the only people who would be shocked to hear of Baltimore's comeback are people who wouldn't know Harborplace from Home Depot.

"It is a shock to those Baltimoreans -- and there are many -- who say, 'Oh, God, I haven't been back in the city in 10 years,'" she said. "And we're like, 'Are you crazy?' "In 1997, when we started, we'd stand at Artscape for 20 minutes, just trying to convince someone that Baltimore wasn't completely falling apart.

"It's a totally different ballgame now."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com

Please tell me that the article said that they are going to finally finish that project. When they started working back in January, the said it would re-open from Mt Royal to Lutherville on July 28. Then they said that it would be October 28 after they found that a dirt hillside they needed to excavate was actually granite. Then they came back again and said the there was a shortage of electricians due to hurricanes. So when will it really open?

I was listening to the radio the other day and they were talking about reopening the light rail all the way up to the Hunt Valley mall. The controversy that they were discussing was that shoplifting dropped something like 60% when they closed the station, so they had concern that it might bump back up again.

Downtown is on the upswing, study says
'Emerging' status puts it ahead of D.C.
By Jill Rosen
Sun reporter
Originally published November 15, 2005

Baltimore is not a Chicago, a Philadelphia or a Boston -- certainly not a New York. But a study has found that the city built on Formstone and nurtured on Natty Boh might just be closing in on those great metropolises.

In the latest affirmation for Baltimore's urban resurgence, a report by the Washington-based Brookings Institution declares Charm City's downtown "emerging," or teeter-tottering on the brink of becoming a full-fledged urban powerhouse. The report, "Who Lives Downtown," which is being released today, analyzes downtowns in 45 U.S. cities, marking population growth and household ownership trends from 1970 to 2000.

It finds that center-city living is catching on from coast to coast -- and in Baltimore more so than in many other cities, its monument-heavy neighbor to the southwest included. "Basically it's going in the right direction," the study's author, Eugenie L. Birch, chairman of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of City and Regional Planning, said of Baltimore's downtown. "It's on the way."

Baltimore shares its "emerging downtown" status -- one notch below the top ranking of "fully developed" city -- with 13 other urban areas, including Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco and Norfolk, Va. Washington is one step further down, sharing its "downtown on the edge of takeoff" designation with such cities as Milwaukee and Dallas. In the 30 years the report examined, the targeted downtowns gained about 35,000 housing units in total. But during the same time, their outlying suburbs gained 13 million. "Still," the report states, "however small its relative growth, downtown housing provides visible and tangible evidence of urban vitality that has important psychological and economic impacts."

Baltimore is quite familiar with the injection of pride that comes with turning around once-empty downtown streets and forlorn waterfront land. Though the city still wrestles with a daunting reputation for violent crime, what with the nice words from Brookings, a recent study uncovering the city's ripeness for retail and being called a top world destination by Frommer's, it might all start going to Baltimore's head.

"It's what we kind of already knew," said Mayor Martin O'Malley's spokesman Rick Abbruzzese. "The rest of the country is starting to catch on." Abbruzzese and Downtown Partnership President Kirby Fowler say that if Baltimore fared well with the statistics Brookings had to work with, it's nothing compared to the growth the city's seen in the past five years.

"Since 2000 our numbers have been even more impressive," Fowler said, adding that in the last four years, nearly 40 percent of all new housing in the city has been downtown. The urban allure, Birch said, is tied to fascinating architecture, waterfront property, cultural heritage and the idea of entertainment at your doorstep.

Yet without density -- more and more people sharing urban ZIP codes -- it's unlikely a city like Baltimore will make it into the leagues of a Boston or a Philadelphia, she warned.

Though some in Baltimore cringe at the idea of residential high-rises, with open space and view corridors, they work, she says, adding that low-density, single-family dwellings in the center city are nothing short of "silly." "Downtown land is a scarce commodity," she says. "We can't afford to squander it on low-density settlements."

The study also found:
During the 1990s, downtown population in the studied cities grew by 10 percent, a marked resurgence after 20 years of overall decline.

From 1970 to 2000, the number of downtown households increased 8 percent, 13 percent in the 1990s alone.

Downtown homeownership rates more than doubled during the 30-year period.
For Tracy Gossen, executive director of Live Baltimore, proselytizing about urban living is her stock and trade. In the nearly 10 years she's run the organization, which strives to persuade people to move to the city, her job has gotten easier and easier.

She says the only people who would be shocked to hear of Baltimore's comeback are people who wouldn't know Harborplace from Home Depot.

"It is a shock to those Baltimoreans -- and there are many -- who say, 'Oh, God, I haven't been back in the city in 10 years,'" she said. "And we're like, 'Are you crazy?' "In 1997, when we started, we'd stand at Artscape for 20 minutes, just trying to convince someone that Baltimore wasn't completely falling apart.

"It's a totally different ballgame now."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com


Thanks for sharing that article Wada Guy :) This is really good news for Baltimore.

Deals near for two key city towers
Pending Alex. Brown, Wachovia sales show interest in local market
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published November 15, 2005

Two of downtown Baltimore's signature office towers - the Alex. Brown Building at 1 South St. and the Wachovia Tower at 7 St. Paul Street - are close to being sold, signaling growing interest from investors in Baltimore's commercial market.

Miami-based America's Capital Partners, one of the biggest owners of office buildings in South Florida, is expected to purchase the 30-story Alex. Brown Building, considered one of the most recognizable on the downtown skyline, from Resource America Inc. of Philadelphia.

Kevin Wille of CB Richard Ellis, the broker handling leasing for the Alex. Brown Building, confirmed that America's Capital has the property under contract but said he could not address what will be a "unique ownership structure." Other brokers described the pending sale as a purchase of a partnership interest.

Brian L. Katz, president of America's Capital Partners Mid-Atlantic, did not return calls yesterday.

The tower had an assessed value of $69 million as of January 2004, according to the state Department of Assessments and Taxation.

The nearly 476,000- square-foot building is almost 85 percent leased, mostly to Deutsche Bank AG, the German banking giant that purchased the investment banking firm Alex. Brown Inc. in 1999. Deutsche Bank has 280,000 square feet under lease but, because of consolidation, has put 150,000 square feet on the market to sublease, said Tim Jackson, a senior vice president of Trammel Crow Co. in Baltimore.

Recently, he said, interest in that space has picked up, with about a half dozen strong prospects.

"There's a lot of interest," Jackson said. "The key for us is it is one of the few big large blocks of space in the city, particularly for large office space. The market is tightening considerably, and the opportunity for tenants seeking 20,000 feet and up is limited."

The skyscraper, designed by Baltimore-based architecture and design firm RTKL Associates Inc., opened in 1992 as Commerce Place. In 1995, Alex. Brown signed a lease for 240,000 square feet, or 12 floors, ending a lengthy search for a headquarters location that some had feared would take the company and more than 900 professional jobs from its home city of 192 years.

The building was renamed for Alex. Brown in 1997, when the company moved in, relocating from a number of downtown locations.

Interest is also said to be strong in the Wachovia Tower, a 20-year-old tower at 7 St. Paul St. The 373,000-square-foot building, owned by Harbor Group International of Norfolk, Va., is 93.2 percent leased, with the bulk of the space occupied by Wachovia and law firm Whiteford, Taylor and Preston, according to CoStar Group Inc.

The building was sold to Harbor Group for $50.2 million - or $134 per square foot - in January 2003, CoStar said. Some brokers believe the tower now could sell for closer to $190 per square foot, a little more than $70 million.

A deadline for investors to submit final offers passed recently, and the field has been narrowed to about four buyers, local brokers said .

That kind of attention is not surprising at a time when Baltimore office properties are drawing strong interest from out-of-state and international investors, said Bo Cashman, a senior vice president of investment properties for CB Richard Ellis.

"Investors have gotten priced out of markets in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston and New York, where you see office buildings selling for $600 and $700 per square foot, and properties in Baltimore area trading at $200 a square foot."

The record for a downtown Baltimore office building was set this year when 100 E. Pratt St., the headquarters of T. Rowe Price Associates, sold for $312 per square foot.

"That, I think, was the best building in town, and you won't see other properties trading at that level, but it made other owners aware of investors' appetites," Cashman said.

Thanks for sharing that article Wada Guy :) This is really good news for Baltimore.


MTA Budget Cuts Article

Directly below that article was another one that sort of cancelled out my uphoria regarding the boom in downtown Baltimore housing article. Basically it says that the boys down in Annaplois are slashing the funding for the Baltimore area MTA buses and rail by as much at 22%. That would be a disaster for the already pitiful service that MTA provides to commuters in Baltimore. It almost seems as though they try and make the MTA as bad as they can without actually not having a service at all and then they say that budget cuts are needed because not enough people take it or ridership is down. The article goes on to say that the budget for the DC area is going to be increased. Why don't more people complain. Good transportation is a must have for any economic development to occur.

As for the Light Rail to Hunt Valley, the merchants in that area refer to it as the Loot Rail, with all of the inner city people that take it out for some 5 finger discounts! But I had no idea that the drop in shoplifting was that high! What really gets me is why these same people don't have any work ethic. I am sure that they are the same ones that demand section 8 housing and all of the other welfare goodies that come from taxes paid by people who work for a living. What a drag on the rest of society these people are and will continue to be!

Nov. 15th is here and almost gone. Today was the day for arcwheeler to determine feasibility for the St. Regis 414 Light Street site. Now, WHEN will we, the public, get to know what they decided? :?

I'm on pins and needles. :uh:

Nov. 15th is here and almost gone. Today was the day for arcwheeler to determine feasibility for the St. Regis 414 Light Street site. Now, WHEN will we, the public, get to know what they decided? :?

I'm on pins and needles. :uh:
we just have to be patient. something great will come along. i'm sure arc wheeler realizes how important this project is to baltimore.

has anyone heard anything about ed hale's greektown project? i'm starting to have a really bad feeling about this development. i don't think it's gonna' happen at all. it would've atleast looked nice though

I LOVE this statement above, from the article "upswing":

"Downtown land is a scarce commodity," she says. "We can't afford to squander it on low-density settlements."

-------------
:eek2: THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL THE TIME!" :eek2:

I LOVE this statement above, from the article "upswing":

"Downtown land is a scarce commodity," she says. "We can't afford to squander it on low-density settlements."

-------------
:eek2: THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING ALL THE TIME!" :eek2:
hmmmmm, well-said.

Nov. 15th is here and almost gone. Today was the day for arcwheeler to determine feasibility for the St. Regis 414 Light Street site. Now, WHEN will we, the public, get to know what they decided? :?

I'm on pins and needles. :uh:

Apparently today, Marriott announced that it was buying, among a bunch of other smaller hotel chains, St Regis. I wonder if this will effect their plans?

MTA Budget Cuts Article

Directly below that article was another one that sort of cancelled out my uphoria regarding the boom in downtown Baltimore housing article. Basically it says that the boys down in Annaplois are slashing the funding for the Baltimore area MTA buses and rail by as much at 22%. That would be a disaster for the already pitiful service that MTA provides to commuters in Baltimore. It almost seems as though they try and make the MTA as bad as they can without actually not having a service at all and then they say that budget cuts are needed because not enough people take it or ridership is down. The article goes on to say that the budget for the DC area is going to be increased. Why don't more people complain. Good transportation is a must have for any economic development to occur.

Sometimes I hate being right. When people have been talking about "when construction on the rail plan will start" and getting an expensive alternative like rail for the Red line, I rained on parades, saying that the State's committment to transit in Baltimore may be a mile wide but it's also an inch deep. Throw out a few bones and hope the locals don't realize that it ain't gonna happen any time soon. Well here you go. The real committment is to roads in the suburbs and if transit gets built, it will be in DC. If we want any of this to happen, all of the advocacy groups are going to have to get real annoying and the citizens are going to have to consider this when the election comes up. Think it will happen?

Sometimes I hate being right. When people have been talking about "when construction on the rail plan will start" and getting an expensive alternative like rail for the Red line, I rained on parades, saying that the State's committment to transit in Baltimore may be a mile wide but it's also an inch deep. Throw out a few bones and hope the locals don't realize that it ain't gonna happen any time soon. Well here you go. The real committment is to roads in the suburbs and if transit gets built, it will be in DC. If we want any of this to happen, all of the advocacy groups are going to have to get real annoying and the citizens are going to have to consider this when the election comes up. Think it will happen?

I recall a few years ago when federal funding for rail planning came up Flanagan wanted to leave Balt out, saying it was too expensive. Not wanting to leave money on the table for Balt, the mayor, Sabanes and Cardin (maybe others) rasied a stink in Annapolis. The funds were supposedly appropriated.

These voices and others need to be heard again. What is O'Malley's position on this? I really don't think it's a major issue for local politicos. They are more concerned with the voting rich DC suburbs. Baltimore is more concerned with highways, cars and parking lots. It's too bad that they don't look at the future of the city they are trying to develop. If they want to create more density in the city and attract more residents, they must provide a convenient means to get around. The car won't do it, nor can buses alone.

Don't these small minded people look at Washington just 40 miles south? That has become a transit dependent city. Transit is what is attracting investment and population growth. Designations are by subway station and line color.

baltimore will get its long overdue transit. if you guys remember a couple of yerars ago when jack kent cook was still alive he didnt want balt to get a football team, and fought us every step of the way. then he died and baltimore finnally got the team. maybe some smuck in annap. has to keel over for balt to get a transit system. :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:

baltimore will get its long overdue transit. if you guys remember a couple of yerars ago when jack kent cook was still alive he didnt want balt to get a football team, and fought us every step of the way. then he died and baltimore finnally got the team. maybe some smuck in annap. has to keel over for balt to get a transit system.

That was personal, transit is money. The cold fact is that Baltimore, with 10+% of the state population gets something like 34% of the transit now and the burbs and other cities and counties want more of a share. As I have mantra-ed before, with no regional authority for transit that is dedicated to Baltimore, relying on the state has always been a bad idea. DC has suceeded becuase of that, they have a regional authority and look what they got. If a politician wants to cut Baltimore transit, all he has to say is that he is trying to bring equity to other parts of the State.

It's a shame that it will be a long time before Baltimore gets another much needed line. :(

I don't think anything will be reported about the St. Regis until the company has all their plans firmed up. I'm thinking that will be sometime next year in the spring. I’d love to be wrong and have it happen sooner though!

If you go to their web site at www.arcwheeler.com the Baltimore project is prominently featured on the home page and under the "Projects" link, so I believe they will be doing something with the site in the next year or so.

I look for this project to hit the news when they have to make a presentation to one of the city agencies for design approval, zoning, or something along those lines. Developers are usually very closed mouthed about what they are planning because they don’t want the competition to steal their ideas and tenants.

Remember, while this is a prime Inner Harbor building site, the News American site is equally as good if not better. So they do have competition.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the way, I went to the Brookings Institution site and they have tons of reports concerning cities. I went to www.brookings.edu, clicked on “Programs” (on the left), then on “Metropolitan Policy”.

The report below was done for Fannie Mae in 2001 and has some great statistics on the downtowns of all the major US cities in chart form. It’s really interesting. You may be surprised to know that the “most dense populated downtowns are Baltimore and Philadelphia”.

It’s in PDF form, so I can’t copy and post it. Now, we know where we stand, or should I say stood because all the data is from the years 1990 through 2000.

www.brookings.edu/es/urban/census/downtownrebound.pdf

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the way, I went to the Brookings Institution site and they have tons of reports concerning cities. I went to www.brookings.edu, clicked on “Programs” (on the left), then on “Metropolitan Policy”.

The report below was done for Fannie Mae in 2001 and has some great statistics on the downtowns of all the major US cities in chart form. It’s really interesting. You may be surprised to know that the “most dense populated downtowns are Baltimore and Philadelphia”.

It’s in PDF form, so I can’t copy and post it. Now, we know where we stand, or should I say stood because all the data is from the years 1990 through 2000.

www.brookings.edu/es/urban/census/downtownrebound.pdf

Baltimore's downtown residency has shown considerable growth since this report cam out in 2001. Does anyone know the boundaries of downtown now that it has expanded eastward and, to some degree, westward?

I recall an estimated 30k people to be living downtown by the end of the year. With more buildings (The Vue, Ritz, condo at the Four Seasons, to mention a few) coming on line within the next two years should add even more. Looking at the stats, Baltimore should surpass Phila.

Ritz-Carlton developer to break ground on $155M project
Heather Harlan
Staff
Baltimore businesspeople have long used the Ritz-Carlton condominium project as an unscientific barometer for the city's future economic health and viability.

Once the 180 condos sprout from the waterfront site off Key Highway, Baltimore will be well on its way, they have said.

Businesspeople will find out if their thinking turns out to be accurate as early as tomorrow when the developer, Midtown Baltimore LLC, officially breaks ground on the 180 condos.

While site work has been taking place during the past several months, construction on the $155 million development has not yet begun.

The groundbreaking comes as Midtown Baltimore and former project developer Edward V. Giannasca II duke it out in court. Midtown Baltimore initially sued Giannasca in July for fraud and breach of contract. Giannasca fought back with a countersuit in August, claiming Jack Cayre, senior vice president of Midtown Baltimore, tried to cheat him out of ownership in the Ritz Baltimore project.

Cayre has repeatedly said the legal action will not prevent the project from proceeding.

The condominium development will also include a marina, spa and restaurant. Asking condo prices range from $1 million to $5 million. It was unclear exactly how many units have been sold to date. Cayre has declined to release sales figures.



© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

Baltimore's downtown residency has shown considerable growth since this report cam out in 2001. Does anyone know the boundaries of downtown now that it has expanded eastward and, to some degree, westward?

I recall an estimated 30k people to be living downtown by the end of the year. With more buildings (The Vue, Ritz, condo at the Four Seasons, to mention a few) coming on line within the next two years should add even more. Looking at the stats, Baltimore should surpass Phila.

Well, that sounds nice, but I don't really think Baltimore will be surpassing Philly any time soon. Isn't Philly's downtown population growing, too? ;) :)

baltimore will get its long overdue transit. if you guys remember a couple of yerars ago when jack kent cook was still alive he didnt want balt to get a football team, and fought us every step of the way. then he died and baltimore finnally got the team. maybe some smuck in annap. has to keel over for balt to get a transit system. :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:


I Hope That Schmuck will be Robert Flanagan

He looks a bit like Ibrahim Al-Douri, except that he had red hair and Flanagan has almost no hair! Flanagan is completly cluless about the importance of mass transit in general and particuraly as it affects Baltimore. I am almost positive that he has never ridden on an MTA bus in his entire life. It would be sooooo nice if he where out of the picture and I am sure the only reason that he is in there is because he is a crony of Bob Ehrlich.

I Hope That Schmuck will be Robert Flanagan

He looks a bit like Ibrahim Al-Douri, except that he had red hair and Flanagan has almost no hair! Flanagan is completly cluless about the importance of mass transit in general and particuraly as it affects Baltimore. I am almost positive that he has never ridden on an MTA bus in his entire life. It would be sooooo nice if he where out of the picture and I am sure the only reason that he is in there is because he is a crony of Bob Ehrlich.

Now, now. Calm down Hugh. Change is in the wind. What's the old saying? "Cut the head off of a snake and the rest of it dies." Well there is an election coming and if we get a new governor, the idiots this one appointed, including Flanagan, will be gone. Is that a breeze I feel?

By the way, Flanagan won't get near a bus. He's scared he might get hit by one of the wheels that keep falling off of them.

Oh, thanks for the kind words the other day about my web site. I very much appreciate it. I posted another page of pictures yesterday that were taken this past Saturday. Here's the link. Take care.

www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%203.htm

I wrote to ARCWheeler again yesterday asking about the feasibility study. They responded in less than 24 hours. Here is what I wrote followed by their response. Nothing new though, just thought I'd share it.


Message: Hi,

I noted on the website that November 15th is the day that ARCWheeler had
expected to determine feasibility for the 414 Light St. project. I was
wondering if any details had been released yet. I am very curious about
this project, as I\'m sure many others are as well. Any and all
information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so
much.
-Peter

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

Dear Peter,
Thank you so much for your interest in this project. We are still in
the preliminary development stages of the building on the Inner Harbor
but will post information on the website as it becomes available.
Please check the website periodically for updates.
Warmest regards,
Jill

Jill Johnson
Director of Operations
ARCWheeler
30 S. 17th Street, Suite 1620
Philadelphia, PA 19103
P(215) 825-7718

Dear Peter,
Thank you so much for your interest in this project. We are still in
the preliminary development stages of the building on the Inner Harbor
but will post information on the website as it becomes available.
Please check the website periodically for updates.
Warmest regards,
Jill

Jill Johnson
Director of Operations
ARCWheeler
30 S. 17th Street, Suite 1620
Philadelphia, PA 19103
P(215) 825-7718

well, atleast we're not left in the dark completely about the project. i love arc's promptness in getting back to someone.

yeah, that's the basic message i got the last time i wrote them.
2 months ago....
let's hope that updates/new info will arrive soon. i'm tired of be teased...... :(

seems like i'm always teased, never pleased.... ;) :runaway:

I was in Baltimore this past summer what are they going to do with the Domino Sugar Building? I hear there's alot development in Baltimore. I wonder are there going to be any major buildings taller than 500 ft?

SEE - THERE IS A GOD!
(The teasing has stopped StevenW - Let the construction begin!)

By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published November 17, 2005
Two of the largest condominium projects planned for downtown Baltimore are moving ahead after lengthy delays and challenges, and will be closely watched as possible harbingers of an unprecedented wave of city condo development, city officials and housing experts say.

Construction of the $225 million Ritz-Carlton Residences has just begun on the waterfront at the foot of Federal Hill, marking the first time Ritz-Carlton will offer its hotel amenities in a condo-only project. The developer has scheduled a ceremonial groundbreaking for today and says the project is on pace to sell out before the first unit is completed in early 2007.

Yesterday, the city's Board of Estimates approved a $5.25 million purchase of land beneath a city-owned parking garage at Water and Gay streets in the central business district, clearing the way for the developer to start construction next month on a 22-story, $62 million condo tower atop the garage. The developer, a joint venture of Legacy Harrison Development of Baltimore and the Bush Cos. of Virginia, says buyers have reserved 170 of the proposed 312 apartments, which sell for $200,000 to $600,000.

Both projects have been dogged by delays, changes in ownership, legal disputes and market uncertainties. But even though mortgage rates have begun to rise, both projects are selling well as demand for downtown condos reaches an all-time high in a city that hasn't always embraced the condo lifestyle.

"The condo market has shown this is something that people are willing to buy," said Bob Aydukovic, a vice president of economic development for the Downtown Partnership. "With 414 [Water Street] and the Ritz-Carlton coming out of the ground, those two are going to set the next stage. If they do well, then you start the mad scramble. If it follows the same pattern as the [downtown] apartment market, this time next year you will see a lot more projects."

Much of the recent condo development has been selling well, Aydukovic said, noting the nearly completed 30-unit Brecco on Saratoga Street, the 17-unit Rombro Lofts on the west side and the Revels In Mount Vernon, with 13 units. The Ritz and Water Street projects could add an estimated 900 residents downtown and, if successful, could spur additional large projects, including some conversions of older downtown office buildings.

The Ritz has shown "there's enough of a demand for high-end condos on the water to support the cost to construct, and it's also confirmation that privately financed condo projects can be built without public assistance," said Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of Baltimore Development Corp., the city's development arm. Units will be priced from $1 million to $5 million.

The more moderately priced Water Street project "speaks to the depth of the market," he said. Tracy Gossen, executive director of Live Baltimore, a group that promotes city living, said more-affordable projects such as 414 Water Street should sell quickly. She expects strong demand for new condos with amenities in the livelier parts of downtown, much of it from empty-nesters.

"There's no stairs, no maintenance, and they can pay for those amenities and they want to be where the action is," Gossen said. Until recently, few new condos have been offered and resales aren't readily available, she said. The Ritz and Water Street condo projects have long, tangled histories involving changes in ownership and uses other than condos.

The current developer of Water Street, Legacy Harrison, led by local developers Brian D. Morris and Dean Harrison, acquired the air rights above the city's Custom House Parking Garage in January 2002 for $1.7 million and initially planned to build a 351-unit apartment building. They shifted to condos to take advantage of strong demand for downtown residences at a time when local real estate prices have been rising sharply.

After they joined with the Bush Cos., plans to start construction last November were delayed after a company that owns the land beneath the garage sued in Baltimore Circuit Court in September 2004. The landowner, 414 Land LLC, objected to a condo development instead of an office building, which it said was planned as early as 1984 by the project's original developer.

The Board of Estimates, the city's spending panel, approved yesterday a deal to purchase the land from 414 Land for $5.25 million and retain ownership of the garage, enabling the condo association to lease parking for residents. As part of the agreement, 414 Land LLC has agreed to drop its lawsuit, clearing the way for the tower's construction.

"We've seen a really strong demand, and we're delighted with it," said Andrew A. Viola, vice president of Bush Construction Corp. He said about 65 percent of the buyers are moving up from their current homes and are primarily in their late 20s and early 30s. Some commute to Washington. "We have a good handle on costs and can make a reasonable profit," Viola said. "If the market were to contract, we would still be OK."

The Ritz project is going up after many years of financial and legal disputes. In July, the Ritz developer, Midtown Baltimore LLC, sued Edward V. Giannasca II, its Baltimore partner who shepherded the Inner Harbor project for the past five years, accusing him of fraud and breach of contract. Giannasca countersued in August, saying his former partners cheated him out of his ownership interest. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Yesterday, Jack Cayre, senior vice president of Midtown Baltimore, said the lawsuit will have no effect on the project's development. Cayre said the project is one month ahead of schedule, with the first of the 180 condo units to be completed by the first quarter of 2007.

He said buyers have been attracted to the idea of living in a waterfront building with valet, concierge and housekeeping services, a spa and fitness center and a private movie theater. "All the people that we are selling to have one common thread," Cayre said. "They want to be catered to."

I was in Baltimore this past summer what are they going to do with the Domino Sugar Building? I hear there's alot development in Baltimore. I wonder are there going to be any major buildings taller than 500 ft?

Domino Sugar, Baltimore landmark and working sugar factory, is staying right where it is for the near future. The parent company is committed to Baltimore, along with other port cities, since their recent closing of a Brooklyn, NY factory a few years ago. They even did several million dollars worth of renovation/addition in order to solidify the Baltimore plant.

However, since pure cane sugar is more expensive to process, and the sugar industry has had profitability problems in the past, there is the potential for closure in the very long term. Beet sugar, which is processed directly where it's harvested, is overtaking pure cane sugar as the more common form sugar.

So that of course begs the question, in 10 or 15 years, given all the waterfront development, will it still be here? The property is located within the MIZOD (Maritime Industrial Overlay) so it can't be rezoned for 10 years. There are 500 jobs in that factory, so right now, it's an integral part of the port, and an integral part of Baltimore. If in 10 years the plant closes, it will be a sad day for Baltimore, but that also might mean that our city has grown even more than we can imagine right now.

I just hope they leave the lights on. :)

P.S. As for 500' buildings, there are three sites I know of that could support that height. 414 Light (the old McCormick site), 300 East Pratt, and 1 Light Street. Each site has long been vacant or underdeveloped. When something that tall will get built is anybody's guess. Lately the 414 Light location has been the most promising.

I Hope That Schmuck will be Robert Flanagan

He looks a bit like Ibrahim Al-Douri, except that he had red hair and Flanagan has almost no hair! Flanagan is completly cluless about the importance of mass transit in general and particuraly as it affects Baltimore. I am almost positive that he has never ridden on an MTA bus in his entire life. It would be sooooo nice if he where out of the picture and I am sure the only reason that he is in there is because he is a crony of Bob Ehrlich.

Vote Ehrlich out of office next November and then you won't have to deal with clueless Flanagan as transportation secretary anymore.

SEE - THERE IS A GOD!
(The teasing has stopped StevenW - Let the construction begin!)

By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published November 17, 2005
Two of the largest condominium projects planned for downtown Baltimore are moving ahead after lengthy delays and challenges, and will be closely watched as possible harbingers of an unprecedented wave of city condo development, city officials and housing experts say.

Construction of the $225 million Ritz-Carlton Residences has just begun on the waterfront at the foot of Federal Hill, marking the first time Ritz-Carlton will offer its hotel amenities in a condo-only project. The developer has scheduled a ceremonial groundbreaking for today and says the project is on pace to sell out before the first unit is completed in early 2007.

Yesterday, the city's Board of Estimates approved a $5.25 million purchase of land beneath a city-owned parking garage at Water and Gay streets in the central business district, clearing the way for the developer to start construction next month on a 22-story, $62 million condo tower atop the garage. The developer, a joint venture of Legacy Harrison Development of Baltimore and the Bush Cos. of Virginia, says buyers have reserved 170 of the proposed 312 apartments, which sell for $200,000 to $600,000.

Both projects have been dogged by delays, changes in ownership, legal disputes and market uncertainties. But even though mortgage rates have begun to rise, both projects are selling well as demand for downtown condos reaches an all-time high in a city that hasn't always embraced the condo lifestyle.

"The condo market has shown this is something that people are willing to buy," said Bob Aydukovic, a vice president of economic development for the Downtown Partnership. "With 414 [Water Street] and the Ritz-Carlton coming out of the ground, those two are going to set the next stage. If they do well, then you start the mad scramble. If it follows the same pattern as the [downtown] apartment market, this time next year you will see a lot more projects."

Much of the recent condo development has been selling well, Aydukovic said, noting the nearly completed 30-unit Brecco on Saratoga Street, the 17-unit Rombro Lofts on the west side and the Revels In Mount Vernon, with 13 units. The Ritz and Water Street projects could add an estimated 900 residents downtown and, if successful, could spur additional large projects, including some conversions of older downtown office buildings.

The Ritz has shown "there's enough of a demand for high-end condos on the water to support the cost to construct, and it's also confirmation that privately financed condo projects can be built without public assistance," said Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of Baltimore Development Corp., the city's development arm. Units will be priced from $1 million to $5 million.

The more moderately priced Water Street project "speaks to the depth of the market," he said. Tracy Gossen, executive director of Live Baltimore, a group that promotes city living, said more-affordable projects such as 414 Water Street should sell quickly. She expects strong demand for new condos with amenities in the livelier parts of downtown, much of it from empty-nesters.

"There's no stairs, no maintenance, and they can pay for those amenities and they want to be where the action is," Gossen said. Until recently, few new condos have been offered and resales aren't readily available, she said. The Ritz and Water Street condo projects have long, tangled histories involving changes in ownership and uses other than condos.

The current developer of Water Street, Legacy Harrison, led by local developers Brian D. Morris and Dean Harrison, acquired the air rights above the city's Custom House Parking Garage in January 2002 for $1.7 million and initially planned to build a 351-unit apartment building. They shifted to condos to take advantage of strong demand for downtown residences at a time when local real estate prices have been rising sharply.

After they joined with the Bush Cos., plans to start construction last November were delayed after a company that owns the land beneath the garage sued in Baltimore Circuit Court in September 2004. The landowner, 414 Land LLC, objected to a condo development instead of an office building, which it said was planned as early as 1984 by the project's original developer.

The Board of Estimates, the city's spending panel, approved yesterday a deal to purchase the land from 414 Land for $5.25 million and retain ownership of the garage, enabling the condo association to lease parking for residents. As part of the agreement, 414 Land LLC has agreed to drop its lawsuit, clearing the way for the tower's construction.

"We've seen a really strong demand, and we're delighted with it," said Andrew A. Viola, vice president of Bush Construction Corp. He said about 65 percent of the buyers are moving up from their current homes and are primarily in their late 20s and early 30s. Some commute to Washington. "We have a good handle on costs and can make a reasonable profit," Viola said. "If the market were to contract, we would still be OK."

The Ritz project is going up after many years of financial and legal disputes. In July, the Ritz developer, Midtown Baltimore LLC, sued Edward V. Giannasca II, its Baltimore partner who shepherded the Inner Harbor project for the past five years, accusing him of fraud and breach of contract. Giannasca countersued in August, saying his former partners cheated him out of his ownership interest. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Yesterday, Jack Cayre, senior vice president of Midtown Baltimore, said the lawsuit will have no effect on the project's development. Cayre said the project is one month ahead of schedule, with the first of the 180 condo units to be completed by the first quarter of 2007.

He said buyers have been attracted to the idea of living in a waterfront building with valet, concierge and housekeeping services, a spa and fitness center and a private movie theater. "All the people that we are selling to have one common thread," Cayre said. "They want to be catered to."

Good news indeed. Glad to hear that the Ritz and Water Street condo projects are finally getting under way.

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

Deal allows tower to rise tower
Underperforming garage will support condo


Long-held plans to build a condominium tower in downtown Baltimore cleared a major hurdle yesterday when the city reached an agreement to buy land that has been at the center of a legal battle and stalled the project.

-JEN DeGREGORIO

http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_top.jpg
http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_mid.jpg
http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_bot.jpg

http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/main/main_top_02.gif

wada guy, yeah it'll do for now. But i'm looking forward to a possible new tallest like what the 414 Light street project might be. :)

Now, now. Calm down Hugh. Change is in the wind. What's the old saying? "Cut the head off of a snake and the rest of it dies." Well there is an election coming and if we get a new governor, the idiots this one appointed, including Flanagan, will be gone. Is that a breeze I feel?

By the way, Flanagan won't get near a bus. He's scared he might get hit by one of the wheels that keep falling off of them.

Oh, thanks for the kind words the other day about my web site. I very much appreciate it. I posted another page of pictures yesterday that were taken this past Saturday. Here's the link. Take care.

www.baltimoreguy.com/5%20Photographs%20Baltimore%202005%
203.htm



Wada Guy Loved the New Set of Photos of Downtown

Looking at them, I thought maybe that you took them on Sunday when there are less people around but then I read that you did that deliberately because you only wanted shots of the buildings.

I guess that the people with whom you spoke to about the start of the construction of 414 Water St. where right when they told you that it was due to begin in January of '06. That would be about right if all of the legal issues that where holding the project up have just now been resolved.

I guess I am getting a little ahead of myself, but I can't wait until you post the pictures from your new condo in the 414 building on the 29th floor!

wada guy, did you get the "Camden" floor plan? :)

I've been reading these threads about Baltimore for a while before I joined this forum. I'm hearing about major retail stores coming to Baltimore and I was what stores are coming to Baltimore since I'm not too familiar with Baltimore are they going to match up with GeorgeTown in DC that will be great!

wada guy, did you get the "Camden" floor plan? :)
Very perceptive! I did indeed because the units that face west, south, and east on the 29th, 30th, and 31st floors have no balconies. I got the east Camden unit which faces due north. I should have a great view of City Hall, the Washington Monument, and all the highrises on Charles and St. Paul Streets.

At one time I lived in Sutton Place in Bolton Hill. I had a 30 foot balcony and I found that I spent a great deal of time out there. So I really wanted a balcony and I wanted to be as high up as possible. This was about the best I could do to meet those requirements. I must admit, I'd rather be on the 30th floor but that floor is not yet being sold. On the 31st floor, the balcony will not be covered.

I'm going from a 3,000 square foot house to a 1,000 square foot condo. That should be interesting. I'm not into owning lots of stuff anymore (just more to clean) so I think I'll do fine.

P.S. When I was walking by Commerce Place Saturday night going to my condo in Mt. Vernon, stupid me picked up an abandonded young cat that was camped out on a steam grate. I've named her Blaze after the old stripper on the block. No doubt she will run me several hundred dollars by the time I get her spayed and fixed up. I don't know how a cat can live there and not get run over. The area is nothing by concrete and traffic. She's skinner than hell! Oh well, she'll be moving back to her childhood neighborhood in 2 years. :soon:

Vote Ehrlich out of office next November and then you won't have to deal with clueless Flanagan as transportation secretary anymore.

Hey, Flanagan is a Dumb @!#%, but Ehrlich still has my vote

I've been reading these threads about Baltimore for a while before I joined this forum. I'm hearing about major retail stores coming to Baltimore and I was what stores are coming to Baltimore since I'm not too familiar with Baltimore are they going to match up with GeorgeTown in DC that will be great!
Yeah i was wondering if the retail planned for Baltimore will be as upscale as that in Georgetown and Chevy Chase. Will Baltimore be seeing Lacoste, BCBG, FCUK, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, and Versace type upscale or Abercrombie & Fitch, Armani Exchange, Diesel, and Guess type upscale?

I've been reading these threads about Baltimore for a while before I joined this forum. I'm hearing about major retail stores coming to Baltimore and I was what stores are coming to Baltimore since I'm not too familiar with Baltimore are they going to match up with GeorgeTown in DC that will be great!

We're not quite at the Georgetown level yet. Maybe in 20 years or so. Retail here is making a long awaited comeback. From the long gone days of the Howard Street palaces to the pits of the 80's, the climb back up is slow and overdue but finally seems to be happening.

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

Deal allows tower to rise tower
Underperforming garage will support condo


Long-held plans to build a condominium tower in downtown Baltimore cleared a major hurdle yesterday when the city reached an agreement to buy land that has been at the center of a legal battle and stalled the project.

-JEN DeGREGORIO

http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_top.jpg
http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_mid.jpg
http://www.414waterstreet.com/images/lg_rend/ren_bot.jpg

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I can't wait to see 414 Water Street in the flesh when it's finished. That is one great-looking building. And is that a pool that I see in the middle of the building?

I hope in the next 5 years Baltimore retail will blow up instead of 20 years or so I'll be really a old man that time!

I can't wait to see 414 Water Street in the flesh when it's finished. That is one great-looking building. And is that a pool that I see in the middle of the building?

That's not one pool you see but two of them. There is an upper one that cascades down into a lower one. Next time you are downtown, stop by the sales center. They have constructed a complete unit in the sales center and they have a nice display and photographs.

According to the ad I saw in the Sun yesterday, the new downtown Best Buy at Lockwood Place (right down the street from the sales center) opens for business today!

DCKenny: There is plenty of upscale retain in the Metro area. Towson and Columbia are loaded with top of the line stores and they are close to downtown. Also, downtown is not a total retail wasteland. Brook's Brothers, Joseph Banks, J.Crew, Border's, Godiva, Banana Republic - just to name a few - and others are there now. Office Depot and Best Buy just opened new stores.

I have no doubt that within 5 years there will be a lot more stores. What I'd like to see is a big new department store and a Pottery Barn type store. While I'm at it, why not shoot for a big mall as part of a mixed use project (St. Regis?). :)

I'd love to see a big retail mixed use project go at 414 Light street. Something like what is at 200 east pratt street. And in those stores make sure there is a Bloomingdales and a Neiman Marcus. ;) And on the underground level make a huge food court with some well known eateries such as, "Wolfgangs". :D I love that place!
Good food, good prices. :)

I'd love to see a big retail mixed use project go at 414 Light street. Something like what is at 200 east pratt street. And in those stores make sure there is a Bloomingdales and a Neiman Marcus. ;) And on the underground level make a huge food court with some well known eateries such as, "Wolfgangs". :D I love that place!
Good food, good prices. :)

I doubt there will be any high-end Department stores, they are not doing well. Aren't they all becoming Macys anyway?

But my suggestion for a good mens store is Barneys (they also sell womens clothing). They are in most top tier cities, even Cleveland. Also Tiffanys would be neat.
Why is there no Tower Records in Baltimore? Don't those living and visiting downtown buy CDs, DVDs or want rentals? I don't think there is any music store down there.

Please, please no on a Tower Records. Baltimore had THE BEST independent record shops that I know. If you can't get it at The Sound Garden, you can get it at Reptillian. If you can't get it at Reptillain, head to Record and Tape Traders in the burbs.

Bloomingdale's - 36
L.S. Ayres - 12
Famous-Barr - 23
Marshall Field's - 60
Filene's - 46
Foley's - 70
Hecht's - 62
The Jones Store - 7
Kaufmann's - 55
Lord & Taylor - 57
Meier & Frank - 17
Robinsons-May - 58
Strawbridge's - 20
Bridal Group:
After Hours - 459
David's Bridal – 232
Priscilla of Boston - 10

On February 28, 2005, Federated Department Stores announced that they would acquire May Department Stores company for $11 billion in cash and stock. Federated would also assume $6 billion of May's debt, bringing total consdideration to $17 billion. The deal would create the nation's largest department store chain with over 1,000 stores and $30 billion in annual sales. To help finance the deal, Federated agreed to sell its combined proprietary credit card business to Citigroup. By Fall 2006, the Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, The Jones Store, Kaufmann's, L.S. Ayres, Marshall Field's, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, and Stawbridges's brands will cease to exist as Federated will replace them with the Macy's masthead. The company has announced that it will make a decision about the Lord & Taylor brand by the end of fiscal year 2005, i.e. the end of January, 2006. The merger was completed on August 30, 2005 after an assurance agreement was reached with the State Attorneys General of New York, California, Massachusetts, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Federated has announced plans to sell 76 store locations in 2006, having pledged in its settlement to sell most of them as viable business', with preference being given to a group of thirteen competitors. This number could fluctuate pursuant to Federated's negotiations with various mall landlords and its final decision regarding using former May locations for its luxury Bloomingdale's operation.

Baltimore does have some good independent record stores. Another good one is An Die Music in Mt. Vernon. I used to frequent the Towson location a lot, but it moved or went out of business. There's still one in Mt. Vernon. It specializes more in world music though.

Right now a major record store would probably put some strain on the independent ones, but with downtowns population growing it could probably support all of them in a few years. It's only a matter of time before A Virgin Megastore pops up.

As for department stores, I've always viewed H&M as a good indicator of a city's retail. Except in the biggest cities, there is usually only one H&M and it's always located in the biggest shopping area. I'm talking about free-standing ones, not the kind in Mondawmin and Arundel Mills or wherever they are. Most US cities don't have them, so it would be very elitist of Baltimore if they got one.

Came across this study about Baltimore transit in 1895. Thought I'd post it so you all could see how far we've digressed.


1895 Baltimore Track Map

Prepare yourself for a fascinating journey into the days when there were SEVERAL transit companies competing for the fares of Baltimore riders...
The map represented by the thumbnail below represents a 2 month long project resulting from the research of an 1897 published Baltimore City Survey Map, and shows the trackage arrangements of the various companies' overhead trolley, cable, and horsecar lines at the time the survey was being made in 1895.

This map shows the arrangements within the city of Baltimore proper, in regards to the established boundaries of 1888, before the present day expansion of 1918. As a result, the trackage through what was then Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties is not shown.

The map offers an excellent companion to the published works Baltimore's Streetcars (Who Made All Our Streetcars Go?) and Baltimore Streetcar Routes, in offering visual aid to the texts provided therein. Though explained by the key, it may help to mention that this map is color coded by operating company, and line types are coded by operating mode (horse, cable, trolley). One might note some date discrepancies regarding the existence of some smaller companies, such as the Halls Springs Railway and the Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott Mills Railway, but these are taken as they are listed on the maps themselves, so any fault lay with the publisher of the survey itself.

A few other potential discrepancies appear to exist regarding car houses, and the track arrangements to access them. Two carhouses belived to be in existence at the time, at North and Gay (the original - not the "new" one), and at Edmondson and Fulton, were not shown on the map, and thus, cannot be shown here. In addition, there are some stretches in which 2 companies operated, while the map fails to designate either as the owner of the track. I simply decided to choose the color of such track randomly, and as such, ownership of these stretches is not definitive.

Of particular interest is to compare this map to the 1945 map, and see just where tracks once existed, and as well as where they hadn't been yet. Neat places where tracks were in 1895 include the Orleans Street line looping at Northeast Market, the Claremont Stock Yards, and along the Port Covington Ferry Bar (with 4 tracks!) peninsula. Meanwhile, outer Edmondson Avenue, Belair Road, and inner Liberty Heights had yet to see street railway tracks constructed along their stretches.

One note concerning the cable car operation concerns the Gilmor Street line. One should note that the Gilmor Street line had by this time been converted to electricity, but that the cable apparatus remained in place, and is shown on the original map as a combination of power supplies.

A couple of other tidbits to note on the map are the existence of disconnected horse car tracks along Retreat Street and Cloverdale Road near Druid Hill Park, a partially removed turnabout for the Central Railway at Pennsylvania and Fulton, remnants of the Dummy Line in Druid Hill, and the Baltimore & Hampden's pioneering electric line on what is now 33rd Street. Be sure to look at the 4 SETS OF TRACKS ALONG WEST NORTH AVENUE! And finally note the odd little Ann Street Horse car line in Fells Point, the last to serve the then-built area of the city.

One final mystery regards Pratt Street. Though shown under City and Suburban Control, a vintage photo on page 95 of Baltimore's Streetcars clearly shows a cable car slot on both of Pratt Street's rails, though City and Suburban NEVER operated Cable cars. Perhaps someone out there can offer some insight into this mystery...

http://www.btco.net/Maps/1895MAP.GIF

Cool stuff! :)

Good publicity for Baltimore. I had no idea it was in Bmore last year.

Sources: Miss USA pageant returning to Charm City
Julekha Dash
Staff
The Miss USA pageant will return to Baltimore for a second consecutive year in April 2006, sources familiar with the deal said.

This time, the 51 contestants will parade through First Mariner Arena, a 13,000-seat arena that will afford more room for the viewing audience.

The 2005 Miss USA pageant was held in May at the Hippodrome Theatre, which has a 2,200 seating capacity. In an interview with the Baltimore Business Journal in August, pageant executives said they had maxed out the Hippodrome's seating capacity and were eyeing other venues, including First Mariner Arena, for 2006.

City officials who have been working with Miss USA organizers to bring the pageant back to Baltimore could not be reached for comment. State tourism executives declined comment.

Maryland and Baltimore officials are scheduled to hold a press event Nov. 22 to "announce details of a major television entertainment event returning to Maryland in 2006," a release from the state said. Miss USA spokeswoman Erin Cooney deferred comment to Baltimore officials and said nothing will be announced until Tuesday.

The event will be a big boon to tourism. State officials credit the 2005 pageant for generating $1 million in spending on everything from hotel rooms, food, attractions and car rentals during the contestants' three-week stay.

With 13 million viewers in 100 countries, the pageant also aired nine minutes of footage with Maryland sites as the backdrop. That airtime on network television is valued at $4 million, state and pageant officials estimate.

The Miss Universe Organization produces Miss USA through a partnership between real estate mogul Donald J. Trump and NBC.

Also, you can view updated construction pics of the Ritz development in Federal Hill. Here is the latest pic:

http://www.harborluxury.com/files/update.jpg

@ PeterSmith, keep in mind there were no cars in 1895. Those lines were basically the only forms of transportation. However, that is a pretty cool map.

Also, you can view updated construction pics of the Ritz development in Federal Hill. Here is the latest pic:

http://www.harborluxury.com/files/update.jpg


^Cool Shot! I'm assuming thats from the Marriot Waterfront :)

I had a chance to drive past the war memorial plaza last night, and I must say that I'm impressed. It looks alot more inviting. We need more public squares like that in the city, espcecially in and around downtown. I can't wait until the park on the east side of the inner harbor is complete. :)

@ PeterSmith, keep in mind there were no cars in 1895. Those lines were basically the only forms of transportation. However, that is a pretty cool map.

Perhaps digress was a bit of a misguided statement on my part, but nevertheless removing street car lines in favor of cars was a terrible mistake. One day in any European city will teach you how unnecessary and dangerous the American highway system is.

Perhaps digress was a bit of a misguided statement on my part, but nevertheless removing street car lines in favor of cars was a terrible mistake. One day in any European city will teach you how unnecessary and dangerous the American highway system is.

The map makes it seem like the rail lines were all owned by private companies. I almost wonder if private ownership would make rail lines more viable and better managed.

The article that precedes the map tells that there were four competing rail companies running rail lines in Baltimore at the time.

Perhaps digress was a bit of a misguided statement on my part, but nevertheless removing street car lines in favor of cars was a terrible mistake. One day in any European city will teach you how unnecessary and dangerous the American highway system is.

Nostalgia aside, those street car lines pretty much stunk, at least by today's expectations. They ran at speeds that made today's buses look fast, the tracks were in the middle of the street and required passengers to get on and off through traffic (imagine doing THAT on Pratt St today). The cars were small, tracks were schreachy and the thing that picked up electricity from the overhead line came off of the wire now and again, requiring passengers to wait while the driver re-engaged the power line. They were not all that comparable to today's light rail, which is smooth, quick and comfortable. If we still had them, aside from tourists, we'd still need to be thinking about building a real transt system. You can tour and ride them at the Streetcar Museum if you're so inclined, lurching along at 10 MPH.

There's no question that becoming highway dependent was a big mistake that will take 50 years to correct, but the old Street car service was what made people think highways and cars were a good idea.

Baltimore does have some good independent record stores. Another good one is An Die Music in Mt. Vernon. I used to frequent the Towson location a lot, but it moved or went out of business. There's still one in Mt. Vernon. It specializes more in world music though.

Right now a major record store would probably put some strain on the independent ones, but with downtowns population growing it could probably support all of them in a few years. It's only a matter of time before A Virgin Megastore pops up.

As for department stores, I've always viewed H&M as a good indicator of a city's retail. Except in the biggest cities, there is usually only one H&M and it's always located in the biggest shopping area. I'm talking about free-standing ones, not the kind in Mondawmin and Arundel Mills or wherever they are. Most US cities don't have them, so it would be very elitist of Baltimore if they got one.

At the time, the owner of An Die Musik in Towson told me that he wasn't really going out of business, but he preferred to be near Mt Vernon because of his musical tastes and the proximity of Peabody. Other music outlets in the area are Record and Tape Trader on Charles St near Hopkins, Barnes and Noble in the Power Plant and several smaller used-oriented stores in Hampden, Hamilton and Fells Point (aside from Soundgarden which is by far the biggest). Some time soon too, Daedalus Books and Music will be opening in Belvedere Square and the supposedly "super" Barnes and Noble will open in Charles Village (Collegetown development). Daedalus will sell cheap close outs but put them in a pleasant environment with a cafe.

Nostalgia aside, those street car lines pretty much stunk, at least by today's expectations. They ran at speeds that made today's buses look fast, the tracks were in the middle of the street and required passengers to get on and off through traffic (imagine doing THAT on Pratt St today). The cars were small, tracks were schreachy and the thing that picked up electricity from the overhead line came off of the wire now and again, requiring passengers to wait while the driver re-engaged the power line. They were not all that comparable to today's light rail, which is smooth, quick and comfortable. If we still had them, aside from tourists, we'd still need to be thinking about building a real transt system. You can tour and ride them at the Streetcar Museum if you're so inclined, lurching along at 10 MPH.

There's no question that becoming highway dependent was a big mistake that will take 50 years to correct, but the old Street car service was what made people think highways and cars were a good idea.

I wasn't suggesting that the sam street car system used in 1895 would be sufficient 110 years later. I was suggesting that had we not given up on the idea of mass transit, we would be in much better chape. I don't think that anyone would advocate using a system that is 110 years old, but given the progress and improvements that could have been made gradually over those 110 years, we'd be a lot closer to our goals than our single red line which may or may not get done anytime soon.

At the time, the owner of An Die Musik in Towson told me that he wasn't really going out of business, but he preferred to be near Mt Vernon because of his musical tastes and the proximity of Peabody. Other music outlets in the area are Record and Tape Trader on Charles St near Hopkins, Barnes and Noble in the Power Plant and several smaller used-oriented stores in Hampden, Hamilton and Fells Point (aside from Soundgarden which is by far the biggest). Some time soon too, Daedalus Books and Music will be opening in Belvedere Square and the supposedly "super" Barnes and Noble will open in Charles Village (Collegetown development). Daedalus will sell cheap close outs but put them in a pleasant environment with a cafe.


I'm excited for that 'super' Barnes and Noble you mentioned. That building is really starting to look nice. They haven't started with the facade yet but the structre is completed. It is almost identical in size and shape to the building next door which is much older. It will probably fit in very nicely. They should probably be erecting the tower cranes for the Village Lofts pretty soon too. You can see the cranes on the student housing project all the way from midtown.

I'm excited for that 'super' Barnes and Noble you mentioned. That building is really starting to look nice. They haven't started with the facade yet but the structre is completed. It is almost identical in size and shape to the building next door which is much older. It will probably fit in very nicely. They should probably be erecting the tower cranes for the Village Lofts pretty soon too. You can see the cranes on the student housing project all the way from midtown.

I have been riding past the building daily and while it is very large with an imposing wall on 33 st, it seems to have been carefully scaled to fit in with the neigboring apartment buildings on Charles St. Looking down 33th street, the row of buildings continues in scale with the old Union Memorial Hospital building too. They put in the first facade panels today. These buildings are really going to be an asset to that area and are large without being overwhealming.

(Things I've been thinking about today)
-------------------------------------- :D

I'd love a photo tour of that area when all the construction is done.

btw, anyone heard anything new on the "super block"?
BTW, another good idea for a photo tour would be to shoot all the public squares and parks throughout the city's core.
While I'm at it, I've often wondered why the west part of the downtown JFX has not been redeveloped. Just imagine some new high-rises/mid-rises along that corridor of JFX expressway. Condo, hotel, office, etc., would be great for the city and add much needed density to the overall skyline. :)
As for the redline, when was the last time that someone gave an official date as to "when" this line would/might start? :? :?

http://www.harborluxury.com/files/update.jpg
Nice picture. :)
That part of the harbor is going to look a whole lot different when that Ritz is finished. :D

(Things I've been thinking about today)
-------------------------------------- :D

I'd love a photo tour of that area when all the construction is done.

btw, anyone heard anything new on the "super block"?

I havn't heard anything new on the super block.. however.. there has been some sort of street activity on Fayette in front of the old Greyhound Station and also the Shoe Fair two doors down has a big sign saying they are going out of business and everything is being cleared out. Both of these properties are on the south end of superblock, so this could be a sign that some thing is moving forward.......... or not.. :-P

Steven, I haven't heard anything in a while on the Red Line, but I did e-mail Shiela Dixon about it and several other things a few days ago. I have been in touch with her for a quite a while about several issues and she is very good at getting back to me. So when/if she does, hopefully we'll have a better idea of what's going on with that and I'll post it for everyone to see.

thanks, guys. :)

Is this Super Block going to have a lot of retail?

I think it is suppose to, yes.
Perhaps this is where the "Big Name" retailers may end up for Baltimore.

On a side note, is there still a sharper Image at the Harbor location? :?
Also, does anyone know if there is a Thomas Kinkade art gallery anywhere in Baltimore? :)

The Super Block will certainly have a lot of retail, but I don't know what to expect from it really. It'll be interesting to see. I just can't picture Baltimoreans going to Howard Street for their main shopping, but I kind of hope it happens. Might increase LRT ridership as well.

Also, Steven, there is no Sharper Image at the Harbor now. As for Thomas Kinkade, I looked it up, there is one location at Arundel Mills and another in Glen Burnie, but none actually in the city.

(Things I've been thinking about today)
-------------------------------------- :D

I'd love a photo tour of that area when all the construction is done.

btw, anyone heard anything new on the "super block"?
BTW, another good idea for a photo tour would be to shoot all the public squares and parks throughout the city's core.
While I'm at it, I've often wondered why the west part of the downtown JFX has not been redeveloped. Just imagine some new high-rises/mid-rises along that corridor of JFX expressway. Condo, hotel, office, etc., would be great for the city and add much needed density to the overall skyline. :)
As for the redline, when was the last time that someone gave an official date as to "when" this line would/might start? :? :?

The super block has been quiet lately. The only thing I have heard is that the Weinburg foundation seems to want more of a role in the west side. In regard to the area west of the JFX, that seems to be an area that is waiting for the wave to arrive. North of the police station there isn't much but given the number of places in the area that ARE waiting, that isn't surprising or especially distressing. It mainly has some old warehouse buildings that are somewhat still in use, none of which are very appealing and with all of the other things going on, it isn't in the way of progress yet.

Don't get your hopes up to high for the Red Line to happen very fast. There's lots of study and decision making to happen before anything happens on the ground. Federal money won't kick in for a few years yet (assuming it doesn't get cut so the rich guys can have another tax cut) and the current administration in Annapolis is lukewarm to transit at best. My bet is that no dirt gets turned before 2009. The city has no role in what happens to the Red Line since it is entirely in the hands of the State (rant rant rant).

The Super Block will certainly have a lot of retail, but I don't know what to expect from it really. It'll be interesting to see. I just can't picture Baltimoreans going to Howard Street for their main shopping, but I kind of hope it happens. Might increase LRT ridership as well.

Also, Steven, there is no Sharper Image at the Harbor now. As for Thomas Kinkade, I looked it up, there is one location at Arundel Mills and another in Glen Burnie, but none actually in the city.

I would bet that the super block will have more residential than retail. It would be a good location for that. You're right, I don't think Howard St will ever be a place for destination-type retail, but if lots of people live there, it can have more utilitarian retail in support of the community. My bet is that whatever big retail comes, will continue to cluster around the water, which will have not only residents but tourists and business people around. Notice how Best Buys did NOT locate on Howard St, nor did Office Depot or Barnes and Noble. BTW, for what it's worth, there is a Sharper Image in Towson in the mall.

well, now that i'm depressed, i guess i'll just continue my hopes on the St. Regis project instead. :(
i really wanted that land, west of JFX, developed into high-rises.

im hoping that once the new condos get started east of jfx that the shift of construction will finnally head towards hopkins and create one nice addition to the density of the skyline. maybe some of those developers who want to build 200' and 250' ft towers can go taller and shut up those nimbys that live around the washington monument. :) think about how interesting the skyline will be with clusters of buildings in the middle and megga hospitals on the edges!

i had a thought. what if they were to extend 395 under mlk blvd and to connect with 83 and divert some traffic around downtown????

i had a thought. what if they were to extend 395 under mlk blvd and to connect with 83 and divert some traffic around downtown????

Interesting idea...would that be our equivalent of the Big Dig?

well, now that i'm depressed, i guess i'll just continue my hopes on the St. Regis project instead. :(
i really wanted that land, west of JFX, developed into high-rises.

No reason to be depressed. There's so much going on that the periphery of the JFX just hasn't gotten on the radar. It's not very visually appealing compared to other areas, not very close to retail or restaurants and might get interesting to build on since the Jones Falls runs under there somewhere in a tunnel and the whole area is a potential flood plain. In a heavy rain event that overwhealmed the Jones Falls tunnel or the dam in Robert E Lee park, Fallsway would become the flood area. This has almost happened a couple times. Every now and again, somebody proposes opening up the Jones Falls to create something like Riverwalk, but considering how volatile the JF is, they'd have to build a big levee system to protect the restaurants from the muddy torrent that the JF becomes every other year or so when it rains hard. Just this past September we had one of those episodes as the remains of Rita brought 10 inches of rain to some areas near the JF. I live a couple blocks from the falls and walked down to see big trees washing down the stream. All that stuff would end up washing into that area under the JFX. As a development area it seems pretty low on the list.

So there is nothing that can be done to devert this overflow to prevent the flooding? :?

^^^ I remember hearing during when Katrina was ravaging New Orleans that a while back when Hurricane Agnus (I think it was that one) hit up somewhere it Pennsylvania it threatened to overflow the Jones Falls down in Baltimore and destroy the city. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to start thinking about creating some sort of prevention in case somethine similar were to happen.

In the Baltimore Sun this morning: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-id.vision20nov20,1,4039455.story?coll=bal-realestate-headlines-1

A 300-acre park to be built near downtown Columbia.

With the upscale Vine Restaurant opening in Towson Circle and now this development, it seems as though Towson is becoming more than just a place for college kids to get drunk.

Towson mall expansion is proposed
Bigger housewares store, up to 3 new restaurants are in plans submitted to county officials
By Laura Barnhardt
Sun reporter
Originally published November 20, 2005



Towson Town Center would be expanded to include a large housewares store and up to three new restaurants, all with a "Main Street"-style facade, under a proposal submitted to Baltimore County officials and presented last week to community leaders.

The mall would have a new "atrium-style" glass entrance on the west side, facing Dulaney Valley Road, and new shops and eating establishments with their own entrances would be built on what is now a parking lot and the site of a gas station.

A county government panel is to decide tomorrow whether the expansion and renovation should be considered a "refinement" to the already-approved development plan at the mall or whether the plan will have to go through a separate review process.

Plans call for adding 113,500 square feet to the 1.2 million-square-foot enclosed mall to make room for an expanded Crate and Barrel store, with its own entrance facing Dulaney Valley Road. The mall, which has about 4,000 parking spaces, would add about 330 parking spaces as part of the renovation and expansion, according to its plan.

The gas station on the mall property would be torn down, and the existing street-level parking in the lot at the edge of Fairmount Avenue and Dulaney Valley Road would be removed, under the preliminary plan.

Charles Crerand, the general manager of Towson Town Center, said it was "too early" to discuss the plans further. "It's all very conceptual right now," he said.

Community leaders got their first peek at the mall's proposal during the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations meeting.

Dick Parsons, a West Towson community activist, said members of the umbrella organization would likely be watching the project closely as more details are unveiled, because traffic and parking are important issues in the area.

The drawings presented at the community meeting showed an exterior design that has become popular at outdoor shopping centers built to resemble old-fashioned Main Streets, such as The Avenue at White Marsh. Hunt Valley Towne Centre opened this year as a outdoor center after tearing down the enclosed mall.

I just got my hands on a copy of Adobe Photoshop, so in teaching myself how to use it, I figured I'd see if I could recreate what Charm City's skyline might look like in a few years. It's not complete, but I put in a few buildings. It' a quite a bit sloppy, bt I couldn't seem to draw a straight line. Oh well. Also, I hope you don't mind, wada guy, but I used my favorite picture of your collection as my template. It worked quite well.

In the picture you'll find Water Tower all the way on the right. Densely packed into the center of downtown are 30 East Pratt (in the foreground), One Light Street, and right behind th Gallery at Harbor Place is Cityscape poking it's head out. I didn't have a rendering of Cityscape so I used the top of the Bank of America building in Seattle since they are both tall, dark and handsome. All the way on the left of the photo is the St. Regis (using the San Francisco version since ours doesn't have a rendering yet). It might be a little too far north, but I wanted to stick it in there just because. Right behind the St. Regis is the Zenith. The photo is missing all the Harbor East developments, the Convention Center Hotel, and any work that might be done at Lockwood place...and probably quite a bit more. I was gonna put in the Cordish Tower too, but it was a bit off the photo and we have no idea how it will look. But it should rise about as high as the Water Tower at the far right of the photo.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/ab90195d53.jpg

So there is nothing that can be done to devert this overflow to prevent the flooding? :?

Good news - bad news. On the one hand, the dam at Robet E Lee park was rebuilt a couple years ago and is now unlikely to fail. Since the lake (an obsolete water supply reservoir) has partially silted in, there isn't as much water backed up in Lake Roland and the 6-foot tsunami-like flood is unlikely. The bad news - every time a house, building or parking lot is built in the Jones Falls watershed, which is about 1/3 of the city plus about 1/10 of Baltimore county, the water load increases. The stream itself is pretty unimpressive 99.9% of the time but when it rains hard, it has nowhere to go except outside down the JF valley and downhill into the city. There's about a 400 foot elevation difference between Green Spring Valley and the Inner Harbor so that water isn't about to be stopped. The storm water runoff volume of the JF will only increase with development and has to go somewhere. The Jones Falls valley is the most conspicuous topographical feature in the city but as you get downtown and approach tidewater, it flattens out into the area around the current JFX and Fallsway, which used to be marshes.

A century ago, it seemed like a good idea the bury the stream in a big tunnel because the water was so horrifying (pollution, industrial and agricultural runoff, dead horses and cows, etc) so the marshes that function to give a volatile stream somewhere to spread out were built over. This is where you pay back your debt to mother nature. Any plan that would involve opening up that old tunnel would also need to account for the fact that the stream flow could suddenly increase by a factor of a hundred virtually while people are eating their dinners if there is a sudden thunder storm in Green Spring Valley and Towson. The radical course of action would be to restore the area to a marshy state and bill that as an attraction, like the lakes in Minneapolis. On the other hand, if the stream course were to be developed, you'd really need to take into account the volume of muddy water that can come past there very suddenly. In September, the voume was enough to turn the entire inner harbor brown for a couple days. In addition, urban storm drains empty into the JF so when it rains, all the soda bottles and litter that people put in storm drains comes downstream too and that is quite unsightly.

With the upscale Vine Restaurant opening in Towson Circle and now this development, it seems as though Towson is becoming more than just a place for college kids to get drunk.

Towson mall expansion is proposed
Bigger housewares store, up to 3 new restaurants are in plans submitted to county officials
By Laura Barnhardt
Sun reporter
Originally published November 20, 2005



Towson always has been much more than a drinking destination. 3 major hospitals, county government and Black and Decker make it much more than just a campus town. This plan really sounds interesting. The worst shortcoming of that mall is pedestrian access and the lack of any inviting entrance. Add the opcoming redeveloped Dulaney Valley apartment area to the newly built residential buildings in that area and this will make downtown Towson much more inviting.

yeah, quick fixes tend to a have a way to come back and make you pay later on.

Towson always has been much more than a drinking destination. 3 major hospitals, county government and Black and Decker make it much more than just a campus town. This plan really sounds interesting. The worst shortcoming of that mall is pedestrian access and the lack of any inviting entrance. Add the opcoming redeveloped Dulaney Valley apartment area to the newly built residential buildings in that area and this will make downtown Towson much more inviting.

You're right. I was referring to Towson's entertainment scene primarily. There are quite a few nice dining destinations in Towson, but I get a feeling that the new restaurants will provide a different experience than what Towson is used to, especially the Vine, which converts to a late night lounge, I believe. The new Towson developments might offer something more for the yuppie crowd than the traditional drinking crowd.

Also, isn't Cover Girl another big company located in Towson, or is that in Hunt Valley?

I just got my hands on a copy of Adobe Photoshop, so in teaching myself how to use it, I figured I'd see if I could recreate what Charm City's skyline might look like in a few years. It's not complete, but I put in a few buildings. It' a quite a bit sloppy, bt I couldn't seem to draw a straight line. Oh well. Also, I hope you don't mind, wada guy, but I used my favorite picture of your collection as my template. It worked quite well.

In the picture you'll find Water Tower all the way on the right. Densely packed into the center of downtown are 30 East Pratt (in the foreground), One Light Street, and right behind th Gallery at Harbor Place is Cityscape poking it's head out. I didn't have a rendering of Cityscape so I used the top of the Bank of America building in Seattle since they are both tall, dark and handsome. All the way on the left of the photo is the St. Regis (using the San Francisco version since ours doesn't have a rendering yet). It might be a little too far north, but I wanted to stick it in there just because. Right behind the St. Regis is the Zenith. The photo is missing all the Harbor East developments, the Convention Center Hotel, and any work that might be done at Lockwood place...and probably quite a bit more. I was gonna put in the Cordish Tower too, but it was a bit off the photo and we have no idea how it will look. But it should rise about as high as the Water Tower at the far right of the photo.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/ab90195d53.jpg

all i can say is "WOW"!!!!!!!! baltimore's going to really have an exciting skyline in the next 5-8 years to come.

Good picture, although Water Street Tower would be to the bottom right of the Alex Brown tower, not behind it. :)

Just came back from DC today. Love to see Baltimore add another 10 to 15 Water Tower/300 East Pratt/St Regis luxury condo's /apartment houses with a good subway system.

Good picture, although Water Street Tower would be to the bottom right of the Alex Brown tower, not behind it. :)

Good picture, although Water Street Tower would be to the bottom right of the Alex Brown tower, not behind it. :)

You're absolutely right. I don't know why I thought it was the other way around. Oh well, you guys get the picture. I wanted to add some of the other buildings, but the development is so widespread at this point, it's hard to fit it all into one picture. It's amazing that as dense as downtown Baltimore is, there's still room for 300 E Pratt, Cityscape and One Light Street. A few more really tall towers would make that skyline nearly perfect.

I really do appreciate your time and effort with that rendering/picture, Peter. I hope I wasn't being too picky. :D

Great work Peter. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Just imagine the buildings that are not in the renerding, but still contiguous with the CBD.

To the east: The Four Seasons and the Vue. Then there will some more, hopefully, along Key Highway.

Thanks again Peter.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1815/downtownpopulation0hw.jpgenjoy!!

The fact that Baltimore's City Center district is among the most populated in the country is great and all, but Baltimore lost more residents overall than any other city listed.

Let's see where Baltimore's population is in 2010 after (God-willing) some of these projects are built.

Good news, I guess: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/11/21/story1.html
Another Hale tower at Canton.....

and,

Brown, A&R hope to spark delayed west side office tower
Heather Harlan
Staff
Two Baltimore-area developers are trying to jump-start a controversial redevelopment project that has languished on the city's west side.

A&R Development Corp. and David S. Brown Enterprises recently sent out requests for architectural proposals for the team's stalled project along the 400 block of West Baltimore Street, according to documents obtained by the Baltimore Business Journal.

"The proposed development includes razing the existing structures and constructing a commercial office building with ground-floor retail," according to the two-page request for proposals.

The development groups envision a 150,000-square-foot office tower for the site, bounded by Eutaw, Baltimore, Paca and Napolean streets. The ideal complex would be 10 to 13 stories high, according to the request, and would be under way in fall 2006.

While the tower would further revitalize the burgeoning west side of Baltimore at a time when some leaders assert the area is stagnant, even one of the project developers says the plan has a long way to go.

"We're trying to get moving," said Arthur Adler, vice president of David S. Brown Enterprises, based in Owings Mills. "It's a complicated project."

Adler said the developers have not yet secured all of the properties needed to complete the redevelopment. "We own a substantial part of it," he said, referring to the 400 block of West Baltimore Street. "We're working on acquiring some others."

Adler declined to get more specific, other than to say that the developers are trying to complete the project privately -- without city assistance. Jeffrey P. Pillas, chief financial officer for the Baltimore Development Corp., said the city economic development agency has not given any financial assistance for the potential development.

Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation records show that the properties outlined in the developers' request -- 407, 409, 411, 413, 415, 417, 421, 423 and 425 W. Baltimore St. -- are mostly controlled by outside entities, including the University of Maryland Medical System Corp. and McDonald's.

Often, though, a several-month lag exists between the sale of a property and the record of the deal.

Somewhat dismissing a portion of the requests for proposals, Adler further said the timing for the project is undefined. "This project has gone on for years," he said. "We have no set timelines."

Adler also explained that any dates hinge on the city approval process, especially the Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel.

Proposed new buildings on signature sites or ones requiring zoning changes must be approved by the city panel before construction can begin.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said he has not seen a new design for the project.

Previous plans for the block were rejected by the city panel and the Maryland Historical Trust, Brodie said.

Setting the designs aside, Brodie wrote in an e-mail, "This is an important block -- both sides -- linking the University of Maryland to the east."

With an architect still unselected and the approval phase ahead, Adler said it remains too early to know who would be interested in the potential office space.

"Honestly, we still haven't started marketing it yet," Adler said.

Theo Rogers, principal of A&R Development in Baltimore could not be reached for comment.

Good signs popping up in downtown retail
Along Pratt Street this week, construction workers bolted to one of downtown's newest buildings a couple of huge, bright yellow signs made to resemble price tags.

The Best Buy signs at 501 E. Pratt are, perhaps, a perfect symbol of a new era in downtown Baltimore.

For years, city advocates -- including the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore -- preached a consistent sermon: Retailers would not be attracted back to Baltimore until the area became a viable residential neighborhood.

About 10 years ago, a number of initiatives were started to encourage residential development in the urban core. The initiatives, combined with a rapidly growing economy, resulted in a new community.

Since 1999, downtown has gained about 2,500 new residents. According to the Downtown Partnership, about 1,350 apartments and condos are now under construction. About 10,000 people will call downtown home by the end of this year -- and that's a magic number for retailers.

We have often said that a vital urban core, with real shopping and amenities, is crucial to the Baltimore region's health. Now, we're seeing some positive signs. They're bright yellow.

Here we go again......

City Council to weigh 'People's Counsel' bill
Heather Harlan
Staff
Baltimore City Councilman Jim Kraft plans to introduce a bill aimed at helping average citizens wade through the sometimes murky municipal system of approving development projects and rezoning land.

If passed, the measure would establish an "Office of People's Counsel'' that would work to promote the voices of city neighbors -- often caught off guard by large residential and commercial developments practically in their own backyards.

"The land-use decision-making process is, in many cases, lopsided," Kraft, a Democrat, said in a prepared statement. "Developers, their attorneys and city officials know how to navigate it, but concerned citizens and community organizations most often don't.''

The bill comes at a time when real estate development in Baltimore is booming, and another wave of projects could further change the face and character of the city.

Kraft expects to introduce the legislation on Nov. 21.



© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc

There was an article in the MD Daily Record about counties looking to modify laws on city annexation issues. I couldn't read the article, but if anybody could get their hands on it, it might be interesting. Are any MD cities (Baltimore?) currently looking to annex land?

I'm not sure if it happened but wasn't Hyattsville going to annex the University Hills neighborhood?

I dont think it happened. I remember hearing about this once I think. If I lived in University Hills, I'd like to stay as disconnected as I possibly could from Hyattsville. lol.

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1815/downtownpopulation0hw.jpgenjoy!!

Before we get too happy here, the chart above came from one of the Brookings Institution reports that I made reference earlier to in this forum. Obviously it reflects downtown population trends from 1990 to 2000.

Another of their reports shows downtown population trends from 1970 to 2000. Here is the link to it.

http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20051115_Birch.pdf

The chart for the 1970 to 2000 period is on page 5 of the report. For Baltimore, It shows the following:

Census----1970----1980----1990----2000---% Change 1970-2000
Population.34,667..29.831..28.597..30,076...-13.3

So while our downtown population looks to have bottomed out in 1990, we still have a way to go before we even get back to 1970 population levels. At least we seem have turned the corner!

Baltimore city is barred by Maryland law from anexing any additional land. This was a result of the last major anexation which moved the city limits from North Avenue, hence the name, to the current limits. I believe this occurred in 1918. Before 1918, North Avenue was the northern city limit!

Baltimore city is barred by Maryland law from anexing any additional land. This was a result of the last major anexation which occured when the city limits were extended from North Avenue (hence the name) to the current limits. I believe this occurred in 1918.

Interesting. I did not know this. I'm not all that for Baltimore annexing any more land anyway. There is plenty to do within the limits that are already in existence.

What is annexing mean? Does it mean expanding in size? Also what is this VUE project is it dealing with the West Side project?

Annexing is adding more land, yes. City likes it for a bigger taxbase, but the annexees, (is that really a word?), end up paying more than before generally.
The "Vue" is a tower going up at Harbor East. It will be well over 300 ft. tall and over 30 stories. Should be the 2nd tallest building there, next to the Marriott Tower.

If they are annexing more land for Baltimore City, how much land will they take to make Baltimore more larger than what is now? I know Baltimore is larger than DC in population and size.

From my understanding, DCKenny, it can't happen anymore due to a law.

Is there a rendering of the Vue. I can't make out which building it is in Harbor East renderring

Brown, A&R hope to spark delayed west side office tower

A&R Development Corp. and David S. Brown Enterprises recently sent out requests for architectural proposals for the team's stalled project along the 400 block of West Baltimore Street, according to documents obtained by the Baltimore Business Journal.

"The proposed development includes razing the existing structures and constructing a commercial office building with ground-floor retail," according to the two-page request for proposals.

The development groups envision a 150,000-square-foot office tower for the site, bounded by Eutaw, Baltimore, Paca and Napolean streets. The ideal complex would be 10 to 13 stories high, according to the request, and would be under way in fall 2006.
http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-baltimore.jpg i've never been one to think totally negative about something, but i have an extremely bad feeling about this project. the funny part is i don't even know why....lol. just a gut feeling i guess.

Interesting. I did not know this. I'm not all that for Baltimore annexing any more land anyway. There is plenty to do within the limits that are already in existence.

In 1948 or thereabouts, the State legislature enacted a law that says that Baltimore can't expand without the permission of all of the other counties. That pretty much was that. The inability to expand, however, meant that as the years passed, the city was left with such a disproportionate share of the poor that the decline started to set in. We all would be better off had some arrangement been found to combine Baltimore city and county in some way that wouldn't have left the city to be the home of 3/4 of the poor people in the state.

http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-baltimore.jpg i've never been one to think totally negative about something, but i have an extremely bad feeling about this project. the funny part is i don't even know why....lol. just a gut feeling i guess.

I am very glad that it appears as though the developers are saving the facades of the existing buildings. I believe that what will be the saving grace of the West Side is its architecture. Most West Side buildings relate well to each other and have a very human scale at the street level. That's because as commercial structures, the purpose is to entice people to enter as opposed to office buildings where you don't want people to enter unless they have business.

When the layers of modifications that have been done to these structures over a century are stripped away, what is left is a collection of beautiful buildings unique to downtown that can not be duplicated. I really don't want the West Side to look like the Financial District, Government Center, or the Inner Harbor. So I'm really happy that they didn't propose to demolish the whole block which would be the easier and cheaper thing to do! :nono:


http://www.baltimoreguy.com/images/Photography%20Balto%203%2025.jpg

Awesome picture.

I am very glad that it appears as though the developers are saving the facades of the existing buildings. I believe that what will be the saving grace of the West Side is its architecture. Most West Side buildings relate well to each other and have a very human scale at the street level. That's because as commercial structures, the purpose is to entice people to enter as opposed to office buildings where you don't want people to enter unless they have business.

When the layers of modifications that have been done to these structures over a century are stripped away, what is left is a collection of beautiful buildings unique to downtown that can not be duplicated. I really don't want the West Side to look like the Financial District, Government Center, or the Inner Harbor. So I'm really happy that they didn't propose to demolish the whole block which would be the easier and cheaper thing to do! :nono:

i think my fear is that now, they're saying this project is more than likely going to be 10-13 stories high. looking at THIS rendering, i only counted six floors. it just doesn't sound like a safe idea to build that many stories on really old structures that's been around for i would say seemingly forever. http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-baltimore.jpg

I am very glad that it appears as though the developers are saving the facades of the existing buildings. I believe that what will be the saving grace of the West Side is its architecture. Most West Side buildings relate well to each other and have a very human scale at the street level. That's because as commercial structures, the purpose is to entice people to enter as opposed to office buildings where you don't want people to enter unless they have business.

When the layers of modifications that have been done to these structures over a century are stripped away, what is left is a collection of beautiful buildings unique to downtown that can not be duplicated. I really don't want the West Side to look like the Financial District, Government Center, or the Inner Harbor. So I'm really happy that they didn't propose to demolish the whole block which would be the easier and cheaper thing to do! :nono:

i think my fear is that now, they're saying this project is more than likely going to be 10-13 stories high. looking at THIS rendering, i only counted eight floors at the most. it just doesn't sound like a safe idea to build that many stories on really old structures that's been around for i would say seemingly forever. http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-baltimore.jpg

This looks like the kind of project that would look a lot better in real life than in a rendering. The renderig makes it look to brand new. My intuition makes me think that this might not be so bad if you were on the street looking up at it. It would probably be similar to a lot of buildings found in Germany where half the building is an old bombed out portion from WWII and the other half is brand new. But I guess we'll have to see. What is this project called again and where is it located?

I wasn't even aware of this project but it is right next to the Hippodrome and a block away from Centerpoint. Besides the largest projects, the westside development is moving along very slowly. I would like to see some sort of the redevelopment at the "superblock", since it really looks terrible and covers a large area.

You might have already seen this, but i found this progress map form downtownwestside.com. It shows all entire the westside development projects.
http://www.downtownwestside.com/downloads/2sep04_progressmap.pdf


400 West Baltimore Street
http://davidsbrown.com/commercial/commercial-upcoming/400-west-baltimore.html

http://davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-balt-exist.jpg

Thanks for the link, fluffyhorse. That map lists a project called West Lexington Market. Anyone know what this is? It sounds interesing.

http://cantoncrossing.com/ (http://) go to the view slideshow of office tower . its pretty cool to see the progression of the tower.
:)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/cfxj530/lexingtonmarketwest.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/cfxj530/lexingtonmarketwest2.jpg

Are there still going to be a NBA team in Baltimore some day? So in 06 this Canton Crossing project should be done? Probably between the middle of winter or beginning of spring I'll make a trip to Baltimore!

That first question is way out there. :D
I don't think there will be an NBA Team in Baltimore any time soon. The arena in Baltimore is way out-dated. Too small.
Probably late 2006 the office tower should be ready at Canton's Crossing.

http://cantoncrossing.com/ (http://) go to the view slideshow of office tower . its pretty cool to see the progression of the tower.
:)

Boy! That tower is W_I_D_E!
Too bad that Ed Hale didn't add the 8 stories to this tower. There was an article that said he was thinking about adding another office "tower" ;) to Canton's Crossing. An 8 stories tower? :uh: Uh, no. Why not add the extra floors to the taller tower? If he would have done that, that tower would have definately been well over 450 to 470 ft. tall!!! :eek2:

i think my fear is that now, they're saying this project is more than likely going to be 10-13 stories high. looking at THIS rendering, i only counted six floors. it just doesn't sound like a safe idea to build that many stories on really old structures that's been around for i would say seemingly forever.

When developers do a project that saves the facades of old structures, they demolish almost all of the old structures and only save the front walls. That's because in 99.99% of the time, the levels of the floors of the old buildings do not line up, so it is a nightmare installing elevators and providing handicapped access. Also, tennants do not want floor plans with different levels.

When they save the facades, what they do is brace them with steel beams so that wind does not knock them down. This is usually done from the street side and you will see a steel space frame extend from the wall out to the parking lane of the street. This is temporary lasting only during construction. They then totally demolish the rest of the structure, dig the basement for the new building which usually comes out to the front wall that is being saved, and install a new foundation for the old fronts. All of this makes a project much more expensive to do.

There are several huge developments in Washington where this has been done. Several are along F Street between the MCI area and 13th Street. In those projects, the new buildings are clad in several types of brick and they almost blend seemlessly with the fronts that were saved. Also, the new buildings are not monolithic blocks. Different areas vary in height.

In Baltimore, this was done with the red brick building that faces onto Lombard Street at South Street (it has a Town And Country sign on top of it). If you go to the rear of that structure, you will see the front and two side walls of a great old stone building that survived the Baltimore fire. Also, Commerce Place (Alex Brown) on South Street saved 1 wall of a beautiful structure although in this case, they dismantaled the wall and rebuilt it. It faces the little court yard.

I'm all for this being done on the West Side. With this specific project though, I think they could handle the new building better. I don't like what it is clad in and I don't like the ledges that go around it every 3 floors or so. I'd perfer to see it clad in something that mimics the cast iron fronts of what they are saving! I suppose what I am saying is that there seems to be too much of a contrast between old and new. I believe the project would look better if the new building looked a little older :weird:

Its about time this project got underway......it seems like this parcel has been sitting there vacant forever
--------------------------------------------------------

Baltimore Business Journal - 12:06 PM EST Wednesday

Fells Point inn project gets another city nod
Heather Harlan
Staff

The Baltimore City Board of Estimates gave another round of approval Wednesday for an anticipated inn and cafe in Fells Point.

The vote was seen as a technicality, following a new private loan agreement for the development project.

Black Olive Development Co. LLC, controlled by Spiliadis family members who own the Black Olive Restaurant in Fells Point, is planning a 15-room inn and market/cafe off Caroline Street.

The board initially approved a land agreement for a 5,000-square-foot parcel off Caroline Street for the project. Wednesday's decision did not require the city to dole out any public funding.

Tower on board for Canton site
Hale complex to get new eight-story office building
By Heather Harlan
Baltimore Business Journal
Updated: 7:00 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2005

Deep demand for an office tower at Canton Crossing has convinced banker-turned-developer Edwin F. Hale Sr. to build a second corporate center on the East Baltimore site.

Hale Properties is planning an eight-story, waterfront office building at 3301 Boston St., according to a Trammell Crow Co. e-mail sent to commercial real estate brokers this week and obtained by the Baltimore Business Journal.

The new complex, designed by Arium of Columbia, will include 320,000 square feet of office space -- slightly larger than downtown's newest office tower at 500 E. Pratt St. Called the Powerhouse Building, the latest development at Canton Crossing is expected to be completed in mid-2007.

Both T. Courtenay Jenkins III and Karen Marchetti, Trammell Crow Co. brokers representing Hale Properties, declined comment.

Hale, CEO of First Mariner Bancorp and principal of Hale Properties, could not be reached for comment.

The project comes as Hale's Tower at Canton Crossing is more than 75 percent leased and shows that the East Baltimore office market is more than a passing phase.

Both the tower and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc.'s nearby Brewers Hill project are drawing large corporate tenants, including some public companies.

The Business Journal first reported on Nov. 4 that Thomson Prometric, a city-based computer testing business, planned to relocate its headquarters and 400 employees from Harbor East to the Tower at Canton Crossing.

The leasing deal for almost 90,000 square feet of office space brought the 17-story tower to more than 75 percent leased, according to the e-mail from Hale Properties and Trammell Crow Co.

About four floors -- 120,000 square feet of office space -- remain available, less than seven months before the tower is expected to officially open.

All told, the $100 million Canton Crossing development will encompass 1.5 million square feet of office, hotel, retail and residential space along the Canton waterfront when completed.

Meanwhile, Brewers Hill has attracted a number of large corporate names -- many of which have typically preferred traditional offices in downtown's center or suburban locations such as Baltimore County.

During the past two years, MetLife Inc., an insurance and financial services giant, and Elder Health Inc., a Baltimore health care provider catering to Medicare beneficiaries, have moved to Brewers Hill.

A $120 million redevelopment of the former National Brewery complex, Brewers Hill sits on 27 acres in Canton. The project includes about 500,000 square feet of office space and close to 240,000 square feet of retail space.

M.J. "Jay'' Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said he is not surprised companies want to be in East Baltimore.

"The location is a city alternative to the suburbs,'' he said.

In other words, rents are generally cheaper, parking is often free and there is great access to Interstate 95 -- characteristics that some tenants have previously coveted and found only in the suburbs.

Asking rents for prime East Baltimore offices generally range from $19 to $25 a square foot, down from a high of $30 a foot in Baltimore's central business district.

The marketing materials for the upcoming Powerhouse Building at Canton Crossing do not include an asking rent.

But it's not just the prices that lure companies to the east side.

"East Baltimore is a great location because it epitomizes what makes the urban environment so great,'' said Josh Neiman, senior development director for Struever Bros. and the company's point person for Brewers Hill. "It combines great places to live with wonderful eclectic shops, restaurants and solid businesses. Employers can, as a result, recruit and retain a higher caliber of employee.''

Yeah, I posted it two days ago. I guess nobody saw it. :(
Ah well, I am glad you reposted it.
I was commenting on it yesterday. I thought, why didn't Ed Hale just add the 8 stories to his 17 story tower? :?
Ah well.

Fells Point Inn: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/11/21/daily24.html?jst=b_ln_hl

LOL! You posted that Fells Point story on the previous page! :D :hilarious:

Will these projects be out in 06 or maybe 07,08?

Which ones? :?

I guess the Canton project or Water Tower?

^Canton Tower is currently under construction, they are more than halfway finished with the exterior of the tower. Water Tower is slated to begin contruction in January hopefully. :)

Four Seasons, Water Tower and Canton Crossing Condo's should all start Jan 05 to May 05 range.



^Canton Tower is currently under construction, they are more than halfway finished with the exterior of the tower. Water Tower is slated to begin contruction in January hopefully. :)

Hope no one ate too much turkey! ;) :D

I ate good but I try not to eat like a glutton!

^I had a great Thanksgiving, and like DCKENNY I ate well but didn't over do it...lol :)

good to hear, guys. :)

I slipped into town for the day to have dinner with my family. I traveled by Amtrak. As any of you who ride Amtrak know, the view from the train gives a bad impression of Baltimore, especially the eastside (come to think of it, the westside isn't to pretty either). As the train glides into town all the houses that face the right-of-way are boarded up, shabby and unkempt. The streets are desolate. Although if you look beyond the Johns Hopkins Complex and the skyline are more impressive.

As the Hopkins Reaseacrh center is demolishing homes and relocating people, why not fix up some of the more salvagable houses and allow those displaced to occupy them? This scene is disgraceful, imagine what Amtrak riders think of Baltimore as they stare out those huge windows. I've heard some of the comments - they're not flattering.

BTW There is a huge building near the right-of-way under construction. Not the Canton Crossing, but a steel skeleton appears to be growing onto or next an exisiting older building. Is it Bayview?

Good for you guys, I woke up feeling like the Amtrak ran me over. TOO MUCH TURKEY!!

I found some neat albums full of random pictures of Baltimore in addition to other cities in the northeast. :) They certainly show some sides of the city not too commonly seen. Most of them show the city in an artistic form, as opposed to sheer development.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/green_tea/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/velvetfriction/

Here are some pictures. Some have captions. For example, this picture notes that there is apparently a "huge Korean population" in Baltimore. Very interesting.. :)
http://static.flickr.com/32/51676988_8502ee82ed_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/24/65541806_9b688c809f.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/29/53547807_fd082b31ce_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/16/22262132_9b0d554dcc.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/33/60150929_9ee285d194.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/30/51676298_d04e4a1a37.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/24/47281558_a63408c027_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/22/33961879_d17098e9b6.jpg

Here are some pictures. Some have captions. For example, this picture notes that there is apparently a "huge Korean population" in Baltimore. Very interesting.. :)


Interesting that you just commented on Baltimore's Korean population because I just came on the forum to talk about it myself. While visiting my parents' house in Rodgers Forge (just north of the Baltimore City line), they commented on the fact that the Rodgers Forge apartment complexes are being converted into condos. These apartments are home to several thousands Korean immigrants - certainly one of the densest populations in the region. I am wondering what will happen to these people, who will most assuredly not be able to afford their homes once they are converted to condos. I wonder if they will flee further into the county or if they will find new homes in the city. Will they be split up or will they stick together? It could be the beginning of a new ethnic enclave in the city if all the right pieces fall into place, and could possibly revitalize a city neighborhood. Obviously this is all speculation, but it'll be interesting to see what happens as their presence in Rodgers Forge certainly changed te dynamics of that area, and it could very easily do the same in a new location, should they decide to stick together, as immigrants tend to do.

Great pix! :)

I found this photoblog with a Baltimore section

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/shadows/archives/cat_baltimore.html

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/whitelight/archives/cat_baltimore.html

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/shadows/images/2005-05-07.jpg

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/shadows/images/2004-12-06.jpg

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/whitelight/images/2005-10-04.jpg

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/whitelight/images/2005-06-29.jpg

http://luminouslens.baltiblogs.com/whitelight/images/2005-01-07.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/archives.html


http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/071305a.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/062005b.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/070405h.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/072105b.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/july1lefta.jpg

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/072405c.jpg

What's the name of that bridge again?

http://eeshots.baltiblogs.com/img/071305a.jpg

It is the Howard street Bridge. I think they paint that briidge every two years.

It is the Howard street Bridge. I think they paint that briidge every two years.

This time it took about 2 years to paint it. They took it down to bare metal and painted at the rate of about 2 inches per day. I like the colors. That stretch of Howard St is pretty gray and the bridge really livens it up.

I slipped into town for the day to have dinner with my family. I traveled by Amtrak. As any of you who ride Amtrak know, the view from the train gives a bad impression of Baltimore, especially the eastside (come to think of it, the westside isn't to pretty either). As the train glides into town all the houses that face the right-of-way are boarded up, shabby and unkempt. The streets are desolate. Although if you look beyond the Johns Hopkins Complex and the skyline are more impressive.

As the Hopkins Reaseacrh center is demolishing homes and relocating people, why not fix up some of the more salvagable houses and allow those displaced to occupy them? This scene is disgraceful, imagine what Amtrak riders think of Baltimore as they stare out those huge windows. I've heard some of the comments - they're not flattering.

BTW There is a huge building near the right-of-way under construction. Not the Canton Crossing, but a steel skeleton appears to be growing onto or next an exisiting older building. Is it Bayview?

Coming into the city on the train from either direction makes you think that the people who laid those rails deliberately chose the grimmest way of getting into the city. Every time I go to DC on the train, I find myself looking out the windows thinking, my God, is this the same city I live in?

At the Hopkins site, I think they intend to carry off a scorched earth redevelopment strategy, not rehab neigborhoods. For years, the Hopkins medical campus was a fortified island in a sea of poverty. Now with their bio-tech campus is giving them the opportunity to create a wide buffer zone around them. If that buffer gets wide enough, it will connect to Fells Point. I'm not sure what you're seeing, since Hopkins is building about 2.3 million square feet on their east Baltimore campus and also NIH is building a big building at Bayview.

Interesting that you just commented on Baltimore's Korean population because I just came on the forum to talk about it myself. While visiting my parents' house in Rodgers Forge (just north of the Baltimore City line), they commented on the fact that the Rodgers Forge apartment complexes are being converted into condos. These apartments are home to several thousands Korean immigrants - certainly one of the densest populations in the region. I am wondering what will happen to these people, who will most assuredly not be able to afford their homes once they are converted to condos. I wonder if they will flee further into the county or if they will find new homes in the city. Will they be split up or will they stick together? It could be the beginning of a new ethnic enclave in the city if all the right pieces fall into place, and could possibly revitalize a city neighborhood. Obviously this is all speculation, but it'll be interesting to see what happens as their presence in Rodgers Forge certainly changed te dynamics of that area, and it could very easily do the same in a new location, should they decide to stick together, as immigrants tend to do.

I don't think there are that many Koreans in the Rogers Forge apartments. Many of the people there are actually Chinese (my daughter has several friends from there who went to RF Elem with her). It's not that big of a complex to house thousands of anybody. I'm curious to see how this turns out since many of those people live pretty close to the bone, send money to family and spend a lot of money investing in their kids' future too. I expect that those small, pretty bland apartments will probably go for at about 200K, just based on being in Rogers Forge, which is one of the most consistantly desirable rowhouse neighborhoods around. It's hard to find anything cheaper in Baltimore County, but it's also still a lot of change to pay for a small 1 or 2 BR apartment with no balcony and only drywall between units.

Thanks, baltimoreguy. :)

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


Let's hope city's upswing doesn't have a downside
Jacques Kelly

Jacques Kelly

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

Iwas polishing off an amazing dinner the other night at a restaurant alongside Meyerhoff Symphony Hall when I started reviewing all the different configurations at this address. Let's see, it's been a Society Hill, Grill 58 and something called La Tesso Tana. It's now Abacrombie Fine Food.
That night, as I dissolved into a food reverie, I got to thinking that Baltimore of late 2005 is indeed in a very good place. The harbor neighborhoods are on a furious roll, but not at the expense of other spots. I'm much impressed by the not-as-glamorous addresses, such as Northeast's Belair-Edison, where I observe the pride in homeownership that tells me that Baltimore is not exclusively about expensive water-view apartments.

But we've been fooled before. Great restaurants in promising locations have folded. I got to worrying: Will this round of urban prosperity endure? Baltimore has been on the rise before, but then somebody's pushed the down button.

How soon we forget. Nowadays, home owners get letters from tax assessors who have hiked assessment based on rising property values. Not so many years ago, in the 1990s, I can well recall hearing my neighbors discuss the opposite -- the sobering experience of an involuntary, unsought assessment slash because there was so little financial confidence in Baltimore's real estate.

Come to think about it, that very piece of city real estate where I had such an enjoyable dinner, an old house at Biddle and Cathedral streets, was once in deep trouble. Maybe 30 years ago, city neighborhoods booster Hope Quackenbush summoned me to this very corner rowhouse to discuss its plight.

Back then a couple was trying to purchase what was then a sorry-looking corner rowhouse. The neighborhood looked like something out of film noir. Certainly, in its day, this would have been a swell address, but in 1975, banks thought otherwise. Sketchy West Biddle Street rowhouses were not generating much excitement.

If my memory is correct, it took a lot of deliberation on the part of bankers who were friendly to downtown Baltimore before the couple got their mortgage. Soon the big old house became a bed-and-breakfast. And then a restaurant opened on the ground floor. And the openings -- and closings -- of that restaurant seemed to me to be something of a barometer of Baltimore's health.

Often, the places I enjoy most here are not the ones that get good buzz. I always say that in Baltimore, you must do your own detective work and make your own critical judgments.

Novelist Laura Lippman has referenced Baltimore's cycle of peaks and lows in her books. She is correct. Over the past 35 years, Baltimore has gone forward, backward and sideways. I've been watching the thing happen for so long that I tend to be accustomed to all its curiously unpredictable movements.

If you live in Baltimore, you'll be used to change. It's like the fortunes of the Orioles: They have good years, and, well ...

When looking at Baltimore, it's best to consider the big picture.

I know some people have mixed views about Martin but remember we were at rock bottom in terms of new construction before Martin. At least now, there is a ton of development within 2 miles of the Harbor. We will likely have 8 new hotels under construction and about 4,000 to 5,000 new residential units
in 2006/2007.

Prior to Martin, we had no development anywhere.


Thanks, baltimoreguy. :)

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


Let's hope city's upswing doesn't have a downside
Jacques Kelly

Jacques Kelly

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

Iwas polishing off an amazing dinner the other night at a restaurant alongside Meyerhoff Symphony Hall when I started reviewing all the different configurations at this address. Let's see, it's been a Society Hill, Grill 58 and something called La Tesso Tana. It's now Abacrombie Fine Food.
That night, as I dissolved into a food reverie, I got to thinking that Baltimore of late 2005 is indeed in a very good place. The harbor neighborhoods are on a furious roll, but not at the expense of other spots. I'm much impressed by the not-as-glamorous addresses, such as Northeast's Belair-Edison, where I observe the pride in homeownership that tells me that Baltimore is not exclusively about expensive water-view apartments.

But we've been fooled before. Great restaurants in promising locations have folded. I got to worrying: Will this round of urban prosperity endure? Baltimore has been on the rise before, but then somebody's pushed the down button.

How soon we forget. Nowadays, home owners get letters from tax assessors who have hiked assessment based on rising property values. Not so many years ago, in the 1990s, I can well recall hearing my neighbors discuss the opposite -- the sobering experience of an involuntary, unsought assessment slash because there was so little financial confidence in Baltimore's real estate.

Come to think about it, that very piece of city real estate where I had such an enjoyable dinner, an old house at Biddle and Cathedral streets, was once in deep trouble. Maybe 30 years ago, city neighborhoods booster Hope Quackenbush summoned me to this very corner rowhouse to discuss its plight.

Back then a couple was trying to purchase what was then a sorry-looking corner rowhouse. The neighborhood looked like something out of film noir. Certainly, in its day, this would have been a swell address, but in 1975, banks thought otherwise. Sketchy West Biddle Street rowhouses were not generating much excitement.

If my memory is correct, it took a lot of deliberation on the part of bankers who were friendly to downtown Baltimore before the couple got their mortgage. Soon the big old house became a bed-and-breakfast. And then a restaurant opened on the ground floor. And the openings -- and closings -- of that restaurant seemed to me to be something of a barometer of Baltimore's health.

Often, the places I enjoy most here are not the ones that get good buzz. I always say that in Baltimore, you must do your own detective work and make your own critical judgments.

Novelist Laura Lippman has referenced Baltimore's cycle of peaks and lows in her books. She is correct. Over the past 35 years, Baltimore has gone forward, backward and sideways. I've been watching the thing happen for so long that I tend to be accustomed to all its curiously unpredictable movements.

If you live in Baltimore, you'll be used to change. It's like the fortunes of the Orioles: They have good years, and, well ...

When looking at Baltimore, it's best to consider the big picture.

Coming into the city on the train from either direction makes you think that the people who laid those rails deliberately chose the grimmest way of getting into the city. Every time I go to DC on the train, I find myself looking out the windows thinking, my God, is this the same city I live in?

At the Hopkins site, I think they intend to carry off a scorched earth redevelopment strategy, not rehab neigborhoods. For years, the Hopkins medical campus was a fortified island in a sea of poverty. Now with their bio-tech campus is giving them the opportunity to create a wide buffer zone around them. If that buffer gets wide enough, it will connect to Fells Point. I'm not sure what you're seeing, since Hopkins is building about 2.3 million square feet on their east Baltimore campus and also NIH is building a big building at Bayview.

I think the simple problem is that no one wants to live next to a major rail line. I have friends who live three blocks down from the amtrak line in Newark DE and their house shakes every time a train rolls by. I know its a bad look for the city, but you're never going to get any positive developement in any city directly next to a rail line. Its too hard a sell.

I think the simple problem is that no one wants to live next to a major rail line. I have friends who live three blocks down from the amtrak line in Newark DE and their house shakes every time a train rolls by. I know its a bad look for the city, but you're never going to get any positive developement in any city directly next to a rail line. Its too hard a sell.

Living next to a rail line used to mean clinkers and soot and noise. Now it just means noise, vibration and fumes as the 200 car freights roll by at 20 MPH. 100 years ago it was about as appealing as it is now to buy right next to an interstate. You're right; I can't imaging too much happening to any of those blighted areas next to the tracks. In my ideal planned world, we would create green belts adjecent to the rails to buffer areas a little farther away. I would even help a little if the owners could just haul away the junk, rotten ties, rusty rail sections, etc.

I know some people have mixed views about Martin but remember we were at rock bottom in terms of new construction before Martin. At least now, there is a ton of development within 2 miles of the Harbor. We will likely have 8 new hotels under construction and about 4,000 to 5,000 new residential units in 2006/2007. Prior to Martin, we had no development anywhere.

I remember the bad old 90's as a time when the administration seemd to be almost chasing away development unless it was a big bucks government funded gift like the stadiums and the convention center. I still have to shake my head to be sure that I'm awake when I hear about developers actually being interested in Baltimore. It's just a world of difference between now and as recent as 1998.

It would be neat to see a picture tour of a "Train Ride Through Baltimore". perspective. :D
To see the "ugly" side of Baltimore.

Well, you wouldn't see much, Steven. When traveling from Penn Station through West Baltimore towards DC you're mostly below the surface, only popping above here and there with enough time to take in the blight.

There are many portions of the line that are dug into the ground, but not covered over. Would it be possible and viable to cover over these areas and develop on top of them so that you would only have to deal with the rumbling and not the sight or sound of the trains? Or are the not deep enough to support a structure on top?

good questions. they need investigation..... :)

I took the Amtrak last March from BWI up to New York. It was bitter cold and grey that day and it snowed some the night before. All the more depreessing. There are some interesting sights before you hit Penn Station going north. Southwest Baltimore was aggressively worse than the eastern parts from the train. Honestly, east Baltimore looks as clean cut as prime roast compared to the parts of SW you ride through. You'll basically have overgrown foliage rooted in graffiti torn factories and rowhomes in dire need of repair. I know I try to steer from cynicism, but I thought I lost my mind comprehending how much blight there was... in Baltimore, in the northeast. It was hard to picture both a recovering city and one that has miles of blight. Of course, I NEVER doubted the city needs more years before things really turn around for the long-term, but it's nonetheless overwhelming when you see it. It's a reminder that more needs to be done. It's fascinating stuff. I tried to snap a couple pictures, actually, just because the experience is ingrained in your mind like that, but the camera was being goofy. Though I did manage to get a couple of the Cira Center in Phila. :sleepy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/negative352/neg-ny02.jpg

If you really want a thrill without the presence of scare tactics the media often shows you, just take an Amtrak ride up the "northeast corridor." See it as it is... I promise you it's a $300 ride you won't forget.

amtrak has spent 1000's of dollars on trying to keep the track area clean and decent looking, but some of these ignorant people just keep on throwing there trash where ever they feel like. its bad enough that bush cut the money for amtrak spending and they cant keep up with the mess. :bash: . i was driving through downtown tonight and saw the new best buy, but does anybody know how many floors it is supposed to have. the blue entrance way is 3 floors tall with the sign on top of it!?

Robert, I think the Best Buy operates on the top two floors, if I'm not mistaken.

:)

I took the Amtrak last March from BWI up to New York. It was bitter cold and grey that day and it snowed some the night before. All the more depreessing. There are some interesting sights before you hit Penn Station going north. Southwest Baltimore was aggressively worse than the eastern parts from the train. Honestly, east Baltimore looks as clean cut as prime roast compared to the parts of SW you ride through. You'll basically have overgrown foliage rooted in graffiti torn factories and rowhomes in dire need of repair. I know I try to steer from cynicism, but I thought I lost my mind comprehending how much blight there was... in Baltimore, in the northeast. It was hard to picture both a recovering city and one that has miles of blight. Of course, I NEVER doubted the city needs more years before things really turn around for the long-term, but it's nonetheless overwhelming when you see it. It's a reminder that more needs to be done. It's fascinating stuff. I tried to snap a couple pictures, actually, just because the experience is ingrained in your mind like that, but the camera was being goofy. Though I did manage to get a couple of the Cira Center in Phila. :sleepy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/negative352/neg-ny02.jpg

If you really want a thrill without the presence of scare tactics the media often shows you, just take an Amtrak ride up the "northeast corridor." See it as it is... I promise you it's a $300 ride you won't forget.


Is that, "Northeast Corridor" trip for $300 a round trip ticket, I hope? :D

Robert, I think the Best Buy operates on the top two floors, if I'm not mistaken.

:)

I'm pretty sure, though I haven't been in it yet, that the downtown Best Buy is located on the third floor. The first and second floors have yet to be leased. Some rumors circulating about from Best Buy employees (who talked to a friend of mine) are a Jillians, aka Dave & Buster's.

The Amtrak fare between New York and Baltimore is $93.00 each way on the regular train. The Acela cost about $150.00 each way. The fare is the same whether you board at BWI or downtown. The ride is varies from 2 hours 20 minutes on the Acela and 2-45 on the regular train. Most regular trains make the trip in under two hours and forthy minutes. The fares can vary depending on when you travel, those fares I quoted were on Thanksgiving Day. Fares are usually higher on Friday and Sunday.

Of all the northeast corridor cities the trains goes through, Baltimore looks the most depressed - by far. As the train goes through Wilmington and Philadelphia you can observe new construction and urban renovation along the right-of-way. They are quite impressive. Even Newark has improved.

The problem with Amtrak's route structure is that it goes throught the CBDs of most cities, while in Baltimore the alignment is further north of the downtown. Unfortunately, the riders are not treated to the progress made in the Inner Harbor area. If you pass to the north of Phila you would see the same level of blight, just look at the old north Philly station area. But I think riders mostly pay attention as the train pulls into a station, where it idles for a while.

I'm pretty sure, though I haven't been in it yet, that the downtown Best Buy is located on the third floor. The first and second floors have yet to be leased. Some rumors circulating about from Best Buy employees (who talked to a friend of mine) are a Jillians, aka Dave & Buster's.

In my opinion, I could not think of a better place to lease that space than a Dave & Buster's. It would blend in nicely with the Power Plant and Power Plant Live and fill in the gap separating the East and West/Central areas of the Harbor which can still be quite vacant at night except for vagrants. Also having big names like Dave & Buster's and Best Buy at the retail level might prompt a developer to resurrect the hotel idea. Definitely seems like it would be a viable place for a hotel.

Robert, I think the Best Buy operates on the top two floors, if I'm not mistaken.

:)

I just bought a new cell phone at that Best Buy. It only occupies the top floor. Its really nice and has a great view of the inner harbor

thanks, jayson. :)

In my opinion, I could not think of a better place to lease that space than a Dave & Buster's. It would blend in nicely with the Power Plant and Power Plant Live and fill in the gap separating the East and West/Central areas of the Harbor which can still be quite vacant at night except for vagrants. Also having big names like Dave & Buster's and Best Buy at the retail level might prompt a developer to resurrect the hotel idea. Definitely seems like it would be a viable place for a hotel.

Are you refering to the 300 East Pratt address, Peter? Or are you talking about the "above" portion of the retail/garage area of the Lockwood site? :?

Maybe a combination of hotel/condo might just work. Say, 300 room hotel units and 200 condo units? :D ;)

I just bought a new cell phone at that Best Buy. It only occupies the top floor. Its really nice and has a great view of the inner harbor

I went in on Wednesday and would add an important item. This is the first time since about 1980 that you can buy a refrigerator or kitchen range in downtown Baltimore (hurrah!!!). The store is somewhat more compact than it's suburban versions, has less in the way of large appliances (but it DOES have them) and doesn't have the cushy rooms for home theater installations. For PCs, cell phones, music, dvds, small electronics etc, it's pretty much the same as the bigger stores.

AWESOME NEWS JUST IN:


A thousand new homes for Southwest Baltimore
Visions
Originally published November 27, 2005


When people talk about Baltimore's economic renaissance, the focus is most frequently on a handful of neighborhoods on or near the Inner Harbor. But city planners know that if Baltimore is to thrive, expansive new developments are needed across the city.



A model for that vision - an ambitious 100-acre development in Southwest Baltimore called Uplands - appears poised to move forward within a few months, with expected settlement of a legal dispute over availability of housing for former lower-income residents of the site. City planners expect that as many as 1,100 new housing units, including apartments, rowhouses and detached homes, are expected to be built on the site, with prices as high as $400,000.

The city began putting together pieces of the property when the owner of the sprawling Uplands apartment complex off Edmondson Avenue, near the Baltimore County line, defaulted on a federally backed mortgage. Officials of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development complained that the complex had fallen into "deplorable condition."

The city bought the property for $40 in 2003 and, last year, added to it when the New Psalmist Baptist Church struck a deal to swap its adjacent home for a new location in a Northwest Baltimore business park.

City planners are excited about the site because it is next to stable middle- and upper-middle-income neighborhoods. David Dixon, a principal in Boston-based Goody Clancy, has prepared a development plan with input from local community leaders that features a revitalization of Uplands Park and development of a number of smaller, internal parks within a one- or two-block walk of any residence of the neighborhood.

Larger-proportioned apartment and condominium buildings are planned near Edmondson Avenue and North Athol Avenue; less heavily traveled streets lined with single-family and duplex homes would loop through the site.

As the planning has gone forward, so has a legal challenge of the Uplands redevelopment, filed in federal court in 2003 by former tenants of the abandoned low-income Uplands apartments who contended that the housing proposed for the site is too expensive to allow them to return.

Last year, a federal judge asked HUD officials to reconsider the fair-housing implications of its deal to sell the property to the city. Since then, lawyers for HUD, the city and former Uplands tenants have been in extended talks on that issue. Last week, there were reports that a settlement including provisions for moderate-income housing was near.

When a deal is formally agreed, the City Council is expected to act quickly to move the development forward.

An interesting article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-ho.columbia27nov27,1,7172488.story

:)

Are you refering to the 300 East Pratt address, Peter? Or are you talking about the "above" portion of the retail/garage area of the Lockwood site? :?

I was referring to the above portion of the Lockwood site. That was originally scheduled to be a 29 story hotel but was scrapped, right?

I was referring to the above portion of the Lockwood site. That was originally scheduled to be a 29 story hotel but was scrapped, right?

Im not sure, but Emporis says that it was supposed to be an apartment tower.

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=211666

An apartment tower, yes. :)