Baltimore Development 9 [Archive]

StevenW

December 11th, 2005, 03:11 PM

Fells Point pioneers feeling pushed out
Latino merchants worry new zoning may stifle growing businesses on S. Broadway
By Kelly Brewington
Sun reporter
Originally published December 11, 2005
Fourteen years ago, Nicolas Ramos saw raw potential in the abandoned rowhouses and desolate storefronts in Upper Fells Point - and he was right.

Today, South Broadway is a flourishing business corridor, a hodgepodge of Latino-owned groceries, cell phone shops and eclectic restaurants surrounded by high-end residential development. And Ramos, who owns the Mexican restaurant Arcos on Broadway, credits pioneering Latino entrepreneurs for converting the area into a destination.

Yet Ramos and other merchants fear the worst of a community task force's zoning proposal that would alter a three-block area of Broadway full of Latino-owned businesses. They believe the proposal - a complex set of rules that could limit future expansion - appears only to stifle the growth the community worked so hard to foster.

"They need to understand when we came here years ago, everything was boarded up, there were drugs, rats, prostitutes," Ramos said. "We came here to work hard. And we made it better."

A task force began meeting in March to develop the proposal, which will eventually be voted on by the Baltimore City Council. It's part of a citywide endeavor to update zoning, which in some places has not been altered since the 1970s.

Although the Historic Southeastern Zoning Task Force's proposal covers an area from Little Italy to Patterson Park, the source of this dispute is three blocks of South Broadway, between East Pratt and Bank streets.

Community organizations defend the plan, saying it keeps rowdy bars out of their neighborhood and streamlines clunky zoning rules. They say the merchants have misconceptions about the proposal and should not feel threatened.

But merchants, most of them Latino, fear the changes will prevent their businesses from expanding. They worry the proposal targeted them unfairly, since the change would affect just three blocks along a busy stretch of Broadway. And worse, they feel their voices were ignored from the start.

Everyone agrees the zoning rules along the three-block stretch are complex and, at times, conflicting, only adding to the frustration on all sides.

On one hand, zoning rules allow a variety of retail. But simultaneously, an urban renewal ordinance enacted in the 1970s effectively limits many of the uses. Even though the ordinance should exclude such businesses as carryouts, music stores, bars and second-story shops, all of those entities exist. Some were grandfathered in before the ordinance, while others have simply sprouted as officials looked the other way, said members of the task force.

The task force plan defers to the ordinance, preventing new bars and requiring most expansions to go before the city zoning board. In effect, it would draw a line in the concrete at Bank Street, separating the raucous end of Broadway near the waterfront from the area of Upper Fells Point that community groups say is becoming more residential.

"Part of this is a misunderstanding," said Matthew Haag, president of Fells Prospect Inc., a neighborhood group comprising Upper Fells Point and West Canton. "This would simply clarify language and eliminate overlapping zoning. Any business there would be grandfathered in."

Yet Gelmin Portillo, who owns Giant Express, an international shipping business in the 100 block of Broadway, said the plan would prevent him from expanding his shop to the second floor.

"It doesn't make sense to go against the reasonable way that the businesses are growing," he said. "Why aren't they encouraging us instead of trying to limit us?"

Haag said the groups want to keep the area's character more residential.

"We have some bars in the community where there is public drunkenness, rowdy behavior and loud noises," he said. "Those are the things that we are trying to prevent as we build a great, diverse, vibrant community. This is one way that kind of destructive growth can be controlled."

But it wasn't always this way, reminds Portillo. Before homeowners snapped up $350,000 rowhouses, the area was an emerging commercial district.

"The homeowners complain about the truck deliveries, they complain about people riding their bikes in the street, they say everything is so noisy," said Portillo. "But if you buy in Fells Point, you need to expect some noise. This is a city. This is not the suburbs."

Two members of the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce sat on the task force, but few merchants said they knew about the meetings until a couple of months ago.

Latino advocates acknowledge miscommunication among their various groups, but argue that not enough outreach was done. For instance, the Mayor's Office of Hispanic Affairs says it was not notified of the task force meetings until August.

"We were a little concerned, because the meetings had been going on since March," said Rafael Regales, a Hispanic liaison.

The issue seems to have only aggravated underlying tensions between Latino business owners and their Anglo neighbors in a rapidly gentrifying community.

"It feels like a lot of people who don't own businesses here are making decisions for us," said Portillo's brother, Herber Portillo, who owns two Salvadoran restaurants and a grocery store. "You feel like you are not wanted."

Community groups insist they have tried to reach out. Nonetheless, some Latinos harbor hurt feelings and lingering distrust.

"I think the majority of people in Southeast are excited about the diversity of the community, but with every new ethnic group there is a struggle to be accepted," said Councilman James B. Kraft, who represents the area and has presided over the task force meetings.

Regales and Kraft organized a couple of bilingual meetings to catch the community up to speed.

Edward Marcinko Jr., president of the Upper Fells Point Improvement Association, said his group has distributed bilingual bulletins for more than a decade and hopes to generate more interest from the Latino community.

Regales called the experience a wake-up call for Latino merchants to become more involved. Ramos and others say they are starting their own association.

"We need to get the Latino community to understand and attend the community associations," said Regales. "There isn't something corollary to this in Latin countries. And it's especially important in Baltimore where the neighborhood associations have so much say in what happens in the city."

kelly.brewington@baltsun.com

DCKenny

December 11th, 2005, 04:41 PM

Spanish Town is interesting I would like to her more of this area.

StevenW

December 11th, 2005, 07:23 PM

scando

December 11th, 2005, 07:52 PM

Yeah, I think that area will grow. Hopfully the city can market that new neighborhood well enough for some national fame, maybe.
I would L-O-V-E a new Chinatown in Baltimore. One modeled after the one in San Francisco. What a awesome community! :) Problem is that there probably are not a lot of chinese people in Baltimore to do this AND if there was would they want to "get together" to create such a new neighborhood? Ya know?
I mean, Baltimore does have a lot of different ethnic communities and all but I would love to have a chinatown, (that was very successful), or an "Asiantown" of some kind to add that 'flavor' to the city's many different kinds.
Ya just don't "feel" that much asian culture in Baltimore like you do just about every other culture. Am I crazy in saying that? Are there dominant areas of the city that, perhaps, overwhelm you with the asian culture/architecture/feel? :?

I really like Chinatown in SF too, but I kinda doubt that it will happen here. There WAS a Chinatown decades ago, but seemed to have the stink of segregation and old stereotypes surrounding it. There is a quite considerable Asian and specifically Chinese population in the area, but the "problem" (if you want to call it that) is that they have been quite successful as an immigrant group and don't need to be sequestered in little flats in an ethnic enclave.

A few times in the past groups of business people have floated the idea of re-invigorating the old Chinatown as a business venture, but it never seems to get much traction. They still have a Chinese New Year celebration on Park Avenue each year, but the area is largely empty, awaiting the wave from the West Side development to arrive.

Ironically, while the old Chinatown withers away, there is an area in Baltimore County that has recently attracted a sizable population of recent Chinese immigrants. The Rogers Forge Apartments in Towson, has a population of recent arrivals, many of whom have kids that went to school with my daughter. There isn't any ambience, however, and the entire complex is due for a change over to condos soon, so I don't know what will become of that group of people.

StevenW

December 11th, 2005, 08:07 PM

NewBaltimore1980

December 12th, 2005, 03:24 AM

Well see, that's what I'm talking about. :)
All the immigrants could be offered by the city a "business venture" where they would profit by locating to a NEW area, preferably closer to the waterfront, starting new community called: "Little China", to be different, or "Chinatown" made up of enough block to give tourists AND locals a "getaway" of a sort to loose themselves in a neighborhood that would have restaurants, gift shops, open markets and othert services and temples too, etc...
It could have a "touristy" feel to it in certain places and a much more natural feel to it in the other parts. That's kinda how it's done in San Francisco. Everything on Grant street is practically tourist oriented, then go a block or so away and it's geared to an authentic type of "China" feel. All I know is that it's something that's missing in Baltimore. I mean, most people I know, of all ethnic backgrounds and all, love to go to a city's Chinatown, if they have one of course. :)

Correct me if I am wrong, Steven, but if you offer certain types of immigrants money to live in a certain area, isn't that against all the civil rights laws and equality laws where you cannot discriminate on race that we have in America. I mean I think we all would like to see a china town, but areas like Chinatown, little italy, etc all developed in the past when people lived with immigrants like each other. It wasn't a planned community. Planning a racial based neighborhood would really be illegal.

PeterSmith

December 12th, 2005, 04:06 AM

Ethnic enclaves formed out of necessity, but eventually, when the communities improve their standard of living, they no longer need to huddle together in such enclaves. I suppose ethnic enclaves like Chinatown in New York and CHinatown in SF (never been there) still exist because there is a steady wave of immigrants still arriving, and also because they benefit in some ways from marketing their businesses as being from Chinatown. But it seems only natural that these immigrant waves will eventually slow down and more people will wish to move out of Chinatown than will want to move in. In addition, while it's fun to wonder around ethnic enclaves and experience their ambience, there are a lot of issues surrounding hurding people of a single ethnicity to live together for our enjoyment. Perhaps instead of trying to copy what other cities have, Baltimore should develop a unique brand of neighborhoods. Remember your Art House Row district from a few months back, Steven? With the tea kettle-shaped house? Eh? Eh? Maybe there's a market there.....

PeterSmith

December 12th, 2005, 04:12 AM

I also wanted to comment on the article that was posted earlier concerning the zoning issues in Fells Point. This seems like an atrocity to me. These aren't some big name developers looking to increase their million dollar assets. They're hard-working immigrants. How are you going to deny them the right to do business in favor of keeping your streets quiet? Also, they mentioned that the zoning restrictions were not aimed at restricting those business owners, but rather at keeping rowdy bars out of Fells Point? Rowdy bars out of Fells Point? They don't need zoning restrictions, they're gonna need a time machine. Since when has anyone been against rowdy bars in Fells Point? Finally, they mentioned that they wanted to maintain the residential fabric of Fells Point. The zoning restrictions only deal with S Broadway Stret between Pratt and Bank St. Broadway is the commercial artery of Fells Point. It's all businesses. There is very little, if any, residential. What is there to preserve? And as they mention in the article, those properties were boarded up when they arrived anyway.

StevenW

December 12th, 2005, 04:20 AM

The "business venture" was in context to an "insentive" of some sort to locate a high number of these chinese people, immigrant or not, through tax incentives and such. Not giving them land to have. Take these areas of the city that are being put up for development such as the State Center area. Why not develop a portion of the land for a Chinatown? I mean, Disney World/Land and other parks throughout the USA have places where people can immerse themselves in "planned" ethnic communities. This would be the same idea for this Chinatown. Obviously, it would have to be planned. The old Chinatown in Baltimore is all but gone, it and it's "history". But a part of this "planned" community would be as I said earlier, a touristy area constisting of, say, 4 to 5 blocks in a row. Then surrounding the touristy stuff you'd have homes for the people that generally would be working there in that tourist part. Their homes could be designed in a typical fashion that you would see in a typical town in China.
Besides, other Chinese throughout the Baltimore region would come to support the area through commerce and/or moral support. And other ethnic groups could live in the area, just not work in those tourist spots.
I mean, IMO, it's the same thing for restaurants. When I want to go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant, I want the cooks and staff to be Chinese people not another culture. You know? So if you want to be "legal" about this, make it a cultural "park", like a Disney Land, for that area so it would be an "attraction". Then, later on, the area might become more authentic, and then slowly become a "real" Chinatown.
Yeah, it's a long shot. And it probably won't happen, but in my opinion a Chinatown in Baltimore would balance out the city just right for a more rounded cultural experience.
Is this illegal? I don't know exactly. But one thing I know, I bet some politician could pull it off. ;)

StevenW

December 12th, 2005, 04:27 AM

robert parsons

December 12th, 2005, 07:23 AM

FAo Shwartz in new york i heard a rummer that donald trump had bought that store and reopened it and the part of the gm showroom in the other half of the building.

robert parsons

December 12th, 2005, 07:32 AM

http://home.comcast.net/~jonathanpreston/cordish.jpg
at least this tower is moving ahead faster than some others!!!!!!

StevenW

December 12th, 2005, 10:59 AM

Links, links and more links for the latest news:

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/12/12/editorial3.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/acrobat/2005-12/20889024.pdf

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/12/12/focus1.html

:)

wada_guy

December 12th, 2005, 01:44 PM

I wanted to comment on scando's excellent insight from the previous thread on the possibility of the State Center site being the location for a new "tallest." It makes sense that a developer would benefit by consolidating the state offices into a single tower. And hopefully the few years given to plan the project will allow sufficient time for the market to take off, so that the developers will see greater potential in really developing that area into something great. However, do you think they'll be some backlash from the neighboring residents in Bolton Hill and Mt. Vernon who object to owers rising in State Center? :soapbox:
I really do not want to see massive structrues constructed there. Personally, I'd like to see ALL the state offices relocate to the central business district in a nice big tower. Clark's lot on Light Street would be a perfect spot. They would be close to the other state offices in the Schaefer Tower.

From an Urban Design point of view, I think the State Center area should be the site of some mid-density housing. I'd like to see structures along the scale of Sutton Place, or the condo and aprartment towers around Hopkins at Charles and University, built there. I'd also like to see some more townhouses believe it or not.

If we have massive structures constructed all around the city, then we start looking like Houston or Dallas and that, in my opinion, is horrid. I still question the wisdom of Canton Crossing.

I think my proposal makes sense because all the areas around the State Complex are residential. Before the State came in and destroyed the neighborhood that was there in the 50's, it too was resendital.

Residential and retail at that location would connect the Bolton Hill, Seton Hill, and Mt. Vernon neighborhoods. Five thousand new office workers downtown would certainly strenghten the central business district.

I say build them tall, but build them downtown. Height, for the sake of height at the wrong location, is a wrong decision if you ask me. Of course, no one ever asks my opinion and we all know that $$$ will dictate what is constructed there! LOL :blahblah:

Gsol

December 12th, 2005, 04:13 PM

FAo Shwartz in new york i heard a rummer that donald trump had bought that store and reopened it and the part of the gm showroom in the other half of the building.

That is correct. FAO Schwartz is back at its former location in the GM building (on 5th Ave between 58th & 59th). CBS News also occupies that building on the 59th St. side.

PeterSmith

December 12th, 2005, 05:03 PM

waj0527

December 12th, 2005, 06:55 PM

Does anyone know anything about the timetable of the Village West project in Charles Village (pictured below)? This is the project that will replace the old brick building at 3200 St. paul street (across from the building that houses Subway and the Village Lofts project.) Also, does anyone know if SBER has secured any retail for the street level portion if this project?

http://www.charlesvillageprojects.com/camera_1sm.jpg

Just as a heads up. Charles Commons and Village Lofts are coming along quite nicely.

The skin is being applied to Charles Commons (pictured below), which will house new JHU dorms, a "super" Barnes and Noble Bookstore, a M&T Bank branch and a JHFCU branch.

http://www.charlesvillageprojects.com/student_housing.jpg

The foundation is laid and construction is progressing on Village Lofts.

http://www.charlesvillageprojects.com/TITLEELEVATIONSKETCHsm.jpg

StevenW

December 12th, 2005, 11:00 PM

StevenW

December 13th, 2005, 02:52 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-artslife-beautifulpeople1212,1,1116732.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

PeterSmith

December 13th, 2005, 03:29 AM

^^ Interesting article. Not all that surprising though. Baltimore women were once thought of VERY highly. Hell, the King of England left the throne to be with one of them. THAT says more than any dating site ever could ;)

scando

December 13th, 2005, 04:27 AM

:soapbox:
I really do not want to see massive structrues constructed there. Personally, I'd like to see ALL the state offices relocate to the central business district in a nice big tower. Clark's lot on Light Street would be a perfect spot. They would be close to the other state offices in the Schaefer Tower.

From an Urban Design point of view, I think the State Center area should be the site of some mid-density housing. I'd like to see structures along the scale of Sutton Place, or the condo and aprartment towers around Hopkins at Charles and University, built there. I'd also like to see some more townhouses believe it or not.

If we have massive structures constructed all around the city, then we start looking like Houston or Dallas and that, in my opinion, is horrid. I still question the wisdom of Canton Crossing.

I think my proposal makes sense because all the areas around the State Complex are residential. Before the State came in and destroyed the neighborhood that was there in the 50's, it too was resendital.

Residential and retail at that location would connect the Bolton Hill, Seton Hill, and Mt. Vernon neighborhoods. Five thousand new office workers downtown would certainly strenghten the central business district.

I say build them tall, but build them downtown. Height, for the sake of height at the wrong location, is a wrong decision if you ask me. Of course, no one ever asks my opinion and we all know that $$$ will dictate what is constructed there! LOL :blahblah:

I suggested (in a highly speculative moment) that the site might be a candidate for a single large very tall building, but honestly, I doubt that it will; I suspect that it will be a larger footprint building that isn't terribly tall. What's needed is about 1.2 million feet and about 1000 parking spaces. If that were bunched toward the corner of Howard and MLK, on that vast windy plaza the borders the OConnor building, it would relieve the view from Bolton Hill and block the din of Howard St. I doubt that they will tear down the OConnor building since it is not as old as the other buildings there but if they demolished 301, 100, 1100, and stacked up the parking, that would free up a lot of land. The interesting question is what to do with the Armory, which is in active use by the military dept. They have vehicles in the basement and use the auditorium space. How would they replace that?

Howard St isn't exactly scenic or quaintly residential by any measure that I know of so the large building wouldn't do much harm there. The complex is adjecent to Md General Hospital, Symphony Center, the Meyerhoff, the rather ugly Sutton Place and that huge complicated intersection where 6 streets and the light rail collide. I have not gotten the impression that a move to another part of the city is on the table at all since there is a desire to keep the jobs pretty much where they are and close to both rail systems. As for the destruction of the old neighborhood, that water went over the dam a long time ago, fogotten by all but the longest memories.

I think this might work, including buildings like you describe, but with the State building as a buffer from Howard St. Keeping 4000 jobs in that neighborhood is as important as anything else that happens there.

scando

December 13th, 2005, 05:40 AM

http://home.comcast.net/~jonathanpreston/cordish.jpg
at least this tower is moving ahead faster than some others!!!!!!

The more I look, the more I say, do it. Sandwiched between The Block and Power Plant Live, it's the right place for gimmick architecture. More people in the area, and a statement comparable to the Bromo tower, which, after all, was a gimmick itself, with it's steaming bromo bottle.

wada_guy

December 13th, 2005, 03:18 PM

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/2848/stregis9zp.png
This is the new St. Regis hotel just announced for the Buckhead section of Atlanta. It consists of 150 rooms and 50 Condos. I do wonder what ours will look like?

Brian21

December 13th, 2005, 03:48 PM

^Ours will be much taller and more grand then that one. It is a beautiful tower though :)

Man St. Regis is popping up everywhere!

Maudibjr

December 13th, 2005, 04:13 PM

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/2848/stregis9zp.png

That looks like some kind of nouveau Belevedere. I'm not sure if I would want to see that design sitting right on the harbor. I know that that is probably not the design we will get, but maybe they can work that design out of there system.

I still think that the Michael Graves building would look better without the struts. But on the plus side, no matter how it looks, I heartily approve of Cordish moving speedily along with there plans.

Brian21

December 13th, 2005, 04:54 PM

As far as the St. Regis, I'm looking for a steel and glass tower.

wada_guy

December 13th, 2005, 06:12 PM

Perhaps we'll get a yellow brick tower instead of a red brick tower. Wouldn't that would be a change. Oh, it's all ready been done. I forgot about the Sheraton right next door.

:fiddle:
In my opinion, there hasn't been a quality building constructed downtown since the original Aquarium. In terms of high rises, I really think that the World Trade Center was the last one.

SOME OF MY VIEWS:
o I loath the new Cordish tower.
o The Mariott is as ugly as can be and is the ugliest hotel downtown.
o It will soon loose that title to the new City owned Hilton.
o The IBM addition with the exposed skeleton roof trusses was the worst sturcture they could have built at that location on Pratt Street. It acts like a giant wall blocking the rest of the skyline from the harbor.
o The Schaefer Tower is trying to be more grand than it is.
o 414 Water is cookie cutter condo.
o The two buildings on the north side of Baltimore Street over the subway bewteen St. Paul and Calvert (Suntrust & ?) are acceptable but not class A.
o 250 W. Pratt looks all right, but it would look better if it were 20 stories higher.
o Alex Brown (Commerce Place) is the best since the WTC.
o The Zenith will be a good addition! (See, I'm not ALL negative)

Somehow or the other, we still have a relatively decent looking skyline. How can so many bland buildings can make for such a nice view?

We are due for a home run. Hopefuly the St. Regis will deliver.

PeterSmith

December 13th, 2005, 06:46 PM

Not to sound likean echo of the hundreds of other people who have stated this before me, but Baltimore's skyline is quirky. It might not be the most impressive, but it's certainly different than any other skyline out there, and for that reason it's hard not to like it. St. Regis hopefully will be world-clas in every aspect though and nly serve to improve our already very cool skyline. Are there many properties surrounding the St. Regis project on the western shore of the harbor that are open to more highrise construction?

PeterSmith

December 13th, 2005, 06:51 PM

Port moves up in cargo rankings, thanks to location
Stephanie Wentworth
Staff
Positioning importers 180 miles closer to Midwest markets and handling more expensive cargo are reasons the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) gives for moving up in national port rankings from 2003 to 2004.

The Port of Baltimore jumped from 19th to 14th in cargo volumes among U.S. ports, according to updated statistics from the United States Maritime Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The port also improved nationally from eighth to seventh in the value of cargo moved.

Foreign cargo coming through the port increased 28 percent from 2003 totals to 31.8 million tons. It marks the highest total since 1981. Port officials expect cargo tonnage to increase further in 2006 for the fourth consecutive year.

The value of cargo increased to the highest level in the port's history in 2004. Total foreign cargo value was $31.2 billion last year, an increase from $26 billion in 2003. The port is handling more premier products. Volvos, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguars are coming into the country through the Port of Baltimore, while expensive farm equipment is exported.

"Our existing rail services and our immediate access to major interstate highways located just minutes from our terminals gives our port distinct advantages over competing ports," Brooks Royster, executive director of the MPA said in a statement.

Last year imports at the port were up 26 percent and exports were up 39 percent, according to the MPA. The port is a national leader in roll on/roll off cargo, imported paper and automobile imports and exports.

wada_guy

December 13th, 2005, 06:57 PM

Are there many properties surrounding the St. Regis project on the western shore of the harbor that are open to more highrise construction?

The only two that I can think of are the air rights over the Hyatt garage and the lot behind the Sheraton. Anyone else know of others?

I agree. I think we have a primo skyline especially when viewed from the water or Federal Hill.

What I haven't worked out in MY mind is: Do I like it because I was born here and I love Baltimore, OR is my judgement clouded - AGAIN? LOL

MasonsInquiries

December 13th, 2005, 07:57 PM

As far as the St. Regis, I'm looking for a steel and glass tower.
....with a noticeable crown. that would really set it off nicely!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

PeterSmith

December 13th, 2005, 09:19 PM

....with a noticeable crown. that would really set it off nicely!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Agreed. One thing that Baltimore's skyline lacks aside from height, is lights at night. I would love to see a grand ol' crown that lights up beautifully at night.

Gsol

December 13th, 2005, 09:53 PM

Agreed. One thing that Baltimore's skyline lacks aside from height, is lights at night. I would love to see a grand ol' crown that lights up beautifully at night.

Baltimore's skyline is unique and interesting, but does not make a strong, powerful statement. The buildings don't soar like Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Miami or even the late New Orleans (I do hope it comes back). Baltimore does not look like a player when compared with the skylines of other comperable cities. It's just in a different league - actually its own. The overall proportion of buildings are only moderately tall, charateristically comprised of thin towers and relatively boxy buildings.

There are a few good buildings worth noting, the old former MNB, Commerce Plaza the building at the corner of Baltimore St. and St. Paul Pl. - if only these buildings were taller.

I know we are all hoping the St. Regis is very tall, but you don't want it to look out of proportion. So maybe hope it starts a trend toward taller buildings - but does so gradually. An incremental raising of heights.

Brian21

December 13th, 2005, 10:29 PM

^I agree Gsol, I also wish some of the building downtown were taller. Like for instance wada_guy mentioned that 250 West Pratt (also known as the step building) would look twice as better if it were say 20 flrs higher maybe 150ft taller. Imagine if Wachovia tower, Suntrust bank tower, Gallery tower over top of the mall were all 20 flrs taller and a few hundred ft taller, man that would be awesome. As far as the Schaefer Tower I'm not a big fan of it. I think they should have taken the design (brown tinted glass) all the way up to the tip of the spire and then finished it off with a pointy crown. That would have made it our tallest tower at probably over 600 ft!

But don't worry guys Baltimore will step out with something grand. Something we can be identified by. I've always said that all we need is one developer to take a chance and build something at least over 600 ft, then that would set off a trend. So we'll see what the St. Regis does. Arent' we suppose to hear something in the next week or so?

StevenW

December 13th, 2005, 10:32 PM

I holding my breath on the St. Regis...... :D

PeterSmith

December 14th, 2005, 01:05 AM

PeterSmith

December 14th, 2005, 01:06 AM

Also, I called WC Pinkard about 300 East Pratt Street. The woman said she didn't know anything off hand, but took down my name and number and said she'd have someone call me back. Hopefully, I'll hear some news tomorrow.

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 01:22 AM

That's sounds promising. :)

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 01:33 AM

Whle the St. Regis is our best chance for a new tallest, it's not exactly the location I would have chosen for a signature tower. I would prefer a skyline tha resembles LA with the signature tower soaring in the center and then the skyline gradually shrinking as it moves away. Nevertheless, although I don't wish to have our skyline out of proportion, I really hope the St. Regis is as tall as realistically possible. Given Baltimore's history, it seems that a really tall tower has a better chance of causing moderately taller buildings to sprout up, rather than the other way around. And if Baltimore's market shows that it can support say a 700 or 800 footer (if that's even allowed) than developers shouldn't have to think twice about proposing a 600 footer.

Also, given St. Regis's location, even if it really is tall and out of proportion, it's located out of the way, so the original view of the skyline will still be preserved.

Yeah, given the 414 Light Street location, it does have the possibility of recreating the skyline as we know it. If it's between 450 ft. to 550 ft. it will actually serve as another "corner" to the overall skyline. If it's 600 ft. to 700 ft. tall it will give the skyline a respectable new feel. If it's 800 ft. or taller, well, it will be a building that will make it hard for future developers for their developments to make the skyline feel equaled out again.
Or do we care? :?
How would we feel if 414 light street ended up being a 900 footer? 1,000 footer? :?
Would we just except it and play the macho falic card and brag that we had a super tall or would we be against it?

PeterSmith

December 14th, 2005, 02:30 AM

Well, I would be in favor of a supertall being built in Baltimore, but not for the reasons that one might expect. Sure, it would offset the skyline, but I'm sure we'd get used to it after a while. More importantly, however, it would probably be evidence that other large developments would soon be arriving to Baltimore to bring balance back to the skyline. But mostly, I'd be happy to have a 1,000 footer or so because I would be proud of the fact that Baltimore has rebounded to the point where it can sustain such development. Nevertheless, I'll always support good architecture over height, so I don't want a 1,000 footer unless it's a quality one (although being 1,000 feet is a pretty great architectural feat in itself). But yes, in spite of possibly forever changing the Baltimore that we know, I would still be in favor of such tall structures.

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 02:38 AM

yeah, but I'm like you and wada guy. I'd like a super tall in the CBD. I'd like it at One light Street, maybe. :)

MasonsInquiries

December 14th, 2005, 03:18 AM

I would prefer a skyline tha resembles LA with the signature tower soaring in the center and then the skyline gradually shrinking as it moves away.
i couldn't agree with you more, peter. the BIGGEST building being in the middle of a skyline sets the entire skyline off tremendously. it would be nice if baltimore could follow this trend. but if not, i'd still be happy with the st. regis tower. either way, it's gonna' be a great edition.

here's L.A.'s skyline below
http://www.csdm.qc.ca/arc-en-ciel/Bleu/2000/skyline.jpg

another perfect example is the sears tower in chicago below (i've always loved that backdrop of lake michigan)
http://xicano-x.org/skyline2.jpg

wada_guy

December 14th, 2005, 01:11 PM

I think you guys are 100% correct. I vote 1 Light Street, the Clark site, for a 800 footer! That would be about 30 floors higher than Legg Mason and would act as a giant exclamation point!

I gotta say the location of the tallest structure in a city makes a huge difference in the skyline. As unpopular as it may be to say this, I ALWAYS thought the World Trade Center towers absolutely ruined the New York skyline. I think aesthetically they would have worked 10 times better had they been constructed 3 or 4 blocks away from the Empire State Building. Having said that I want to make it perfectly clear that I WAS NOT in favor of them coming down as they did.

I once lived in Sutton Place in Bolton Hill. The view from my 12th floor terrace of the Baltimore Skyline was spectacular. It looked like OZ at night with the highest structures perfectly centered and lower structures stepping down on both sides. I'll dig out a photo and post it in the future. What made it extra special was that Sutton Place was on a NW to SE axis so the skyline looked to be very dense because you couldn't see the street sight lines like you do when you look from North to South!

For the St. Regis site, I would like to see something in the 600 feet range. I'd like to see a shopping mall on the first 3 or 4 levels including a department store. I'd also like so see a slender tower set in the middle of the block or toward the Charles Street side. Since I'm spending someone else's money here, I'd also like to see the Light Street side of the building built up to the level of the Hyatt's roof next door.

Oh, one more thing. I'd like to see the tower orientated so that the sides do not line up with the street grid. In other words, I'd like the sides to face NE, SW, NW and SE. Or better yet, something round or oval.

That's my wish list. Now, let's see what Santa brings!

BELOW IS THE NEW WEB SITE FOR 10 RITTENHOUSE SQUARE - THE ARC WHEELER DEVELOPMENT IN PHILLY!
http://www.10rittenhouse.com/

Maudibjr

December 14th, 2005, 03:48 PM

Yeah, given the 414 Light Street location, it does have the possibility of recreating the skyline as we know it. If it's between 450 ft. to 550 ft. it will actually serve as another "corner" to the overall skyline. If it's 600 ft. to 700 ft. tall it will give the skyline a respectable new feel. If it's 800 ft. or taller, well, it will be a building that will make it hard for future developers for their developments to make the skyline feel equaled out again.
Or do we care? :?
How would we feel if 414 light street ended up being a 900 footer? 1,000 footer? :?
Would we just except it and play the macho falic card and brag that we had a super tall or would we be against it?

I would be very happy with a 500-600 ft building. I think a 800-1000 ft building is just getting our hopes up unrealisticly.

Gsol

December 14th, 2005, 05:25 PM

Wada_Guy no need to apologize for dissing the WTC, many New Yorkers didn't care for its simplistic tall boxy design either. But the circumstance of its demise puts it in a different perspective.

Please no indoor shopping centers downtown, the city should have more retail accessible by sidewalk. That's the difference between the city and the suburbs. The city should be more pedestrian friendly and more inviting. Let people walk and browse maybe decide to drop into a shop or restaurant.

I do agree that a department store should be on the site or, a least, somewhere downtown. Nordstroms would be a nice addition. They do locate in the CBD of many cities, especially in the west. Nordstroms' downtown stores are not that large, usually 3 or 4 levels.

wada_guy

December 14th, 2005, 06:35 PM

My comment about the WTC in the context of tall buildings and where they should be placed in city skylines and that is all it is about. If anyone was offended, I appologize.

DCKenny

December 14th, 2005, 09:35 PM

Hopefully these attractions come to Baltimore real soon!

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 11:20 PM

Working for the United States Customs Service, now the Department of Homeland Security, like I have for 24 years; I am profoundly aware of what happened to the towers. The U.S. Customs House was located 20 feet from the North Tower and it was completely destroyed.

That attack on our country affected many of my close and dear friends who worked there and I myself was at that office a week before it happened. I don't believe I "dissed" anyone or New York City. If, however, you were offended, I do indeed apologize to you.

My comment was in the context of tall buildings and where they should be placed in city skylines and that is all it was about. I tried to make that clear.

That's cool you work for the Homeland Security. :)
I know I'm thankful for what you all do. :)
as for your earlier comments on the twin towers, I understood what you meant and thought it was pretty clear you were just talking about the aesthetics of the skyline. I think Gsol did too. Maybe I'm wrong..... :D

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 11:30 PM

Constellation stock jumps; company in talks to be bought for $11B
Alan Zibel
Staff
A Florida utility firm is negotiating to buy Constellation Energy Group Inc., the largest publicly traded company in Baltimore, for more than $11 billion.

The New York Times first reported the talks in its Wednesday edition, citing people briefed on the deal, and several other financial media outlets reported on the negotiations throughout the day.

The talks between Juno Beach, Florida-based FPL Group Inc. and Baltimore-based Constellation are described as advanced but at a delicate stage, and an announcement of a union could come later this week or early next week.

Reuters reported Wednesday afternoon that the two companies' boards were expected to vote on the deal this weekend, with an announcement possibly coming Monday. Constellation (NYSE: CEG) stock jumped Wednesday on the speculation, topping $61 per share, a 9 percent increase. Earlier in the day it hit $63.50, a 52-week high.

Constellation spokesman Robert L. Gould declined comment Wednesday.

"It's Constellation Energy's long-standing policy not to comment or speculate on market rumors," Gould said.

The deal would create a utility giant with combined revenues of more than $22 billion and operations in more than 25 states. Analysts mostly praised the potential deal, calling it a good strategic move for both companies.

It would also be a significant blow to corporate Baltimore. The base of companies with headquarters in the city has shrunk in recent years.

Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said he hopes the company could remain in Baltimore. "Having Constellation Energy and all of its' subsidiaries as a Baltimore-based company is very significant," Fry said.

Constellation Energy is the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and a large North American energy sales and trading business. Constellation owns 10 power plants around the country.

In an August Baltimore Business Journal story, Constellation CEO Mayo A. Shattuck III said the company, stuck in the doldrums when he took over in a fall 2001 management shakeup, was rejuvenated by its willingness to aggressively move forward, buying power plants and expanding its energy trading operations even after that business fell out of favor in the wake of scandals at Enron Corp.

The federal energy bill, signed by President Bush earlier this year, repeals a 1935 law limiting mergers among electric and gas utilities.

This loosening of regulations is expected to unleash a wave of consolidation among power firms.

"It's been apparent for a long time, the fact that there are just too many electric companies in the country," Paul J. Allen, Constellation's senior vice president for corporate affairs, told the Baltimore Business Journal during the summer. "The imperatives toward consolidation are pretty significant. A lot of companies do not have a path toward growth."

Constellation's executives said then they seemed confident their company would more likely be an acquirer, rather than be acquired -- at least in the short term.

But Shattuck, who has predicted the number of U.S. utilities will shrink from around 100 today to about 50 in the next five to 10 years, was coy about what kind of acquisitions might make sense for the company. And he did not rule out Constellation being bought by another power firm.

"When you're in business, you're very sensitive to your communities and community relations," he said. "But you can't do that at the expense of compromising the future of the company."

When Shattuck, a longtime Constellation board member and a former executive at investment bank Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown, took over in November 2001, the company was in turmoil.

It had scrapped plans to split into two separate firms and brought on Shattuck, who brought on new managers and dumped investments in real estate, senior living centers and an interest in a Panamanian electric company.

At the time, there was intense speculation that Shattuck would put the company up for sale. But, in his interview with the Baltimore Business Journal, Shattuck said he never saw things that way. The goal, he said, was to restore value to shareholders and stabilize the company.

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

Well, looks like Baltimore won't have any fortune 500 companies in the city now...... :(

StevenW

December 14th, 2005, 11:34 PM

BDC seeks developer for Brooklyn site
The Baltimore Development Corp. is soliciting redevelopment proposals for a 17-acre site in the Brooklyn and Curtis Bay neighborhoods of South Baltimore slated for urban renewal.

The properties, three parcels on Potee Street and West Garrett Street, have been vacant for almost 20 years and are owned by the city and state, officials said Wednesday.

The State of Maryland has given the properties redevelopment priority.

BDC officials are seeking redevelopment proposals encompassing most to all of the site. It has visibility on Potee Street and Patapsco Avenue, they note -- two arteries connecting Brooklyn to South Baltimore and Anne Arundel County -- and good highway access.

The properties are 15 minutes from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and 10 minutes from downtown.

The deadline for proposal submissions is Feb. 17 at noon.

Eerik

December 15th, 2005, 02:00 AM

Constellation stock jumps; company in talks to be bought for $11B
Alan Zibel
Staff
A Florida utility firm is negotiating to buy Constellation Energy Group Inc., the largest publicly traded company in Baltimore, for more than $11 billion.
I am not surprised by this; when Shattuck took over BGE/Constellation a few years ago, the "for sale" sign was the first thing to be hung outside his office door.

Of course Shattuck is the one who helped engineer the sale of Alex. Brown in the 90s. Supposedly longtime CEO Krongard was hesitant to sell the old Baltimore brokerage/investment house (first in the nation) that made companies like Oracle, Microsoft, and Starbucks possible. But Shattuck, a young-pup at the time insisted, as he is with Constellation, that the company sell "for the sake of the investors".

When all is done, it will be interesting to see what his compensation for engineering the sale will be...$75 million? I can't remember what he made with the sale of Alex. Brown, but it wasn't a small wad of cash!

Keep in mind however, that Constellation also came oh-so-ever close to leaving Baltimore in the late 90s. It was all "go" that BGE/Constellation was going to merge with PEPCO, the Washington DC utility. Operations were to be pulled from Baltimore, new office space was selected, and plans drafted for how many employee layoffs were to be laid off...

The deal ended up falling through. Perhaps the same will happen again this time?

StevenW

December 15th, 2005, 03:48 AM

I sure hope so, Eerik. For the sake of "Baltimore".

robert parsons

December 15th, 2005, 06:19 AM

As far as the Schaefer Tower, i remember reading years ago that they were talking of squaring off the top. if st regis is going to be tall i wonder if they will include an antennae on the roof to make it 600 or better!!!!! :)

PeterSmith

December 15th, 2005, 06:23 AM

Constellation Energy would definitely be a huge loss to the city, and I am particularly opposed to it being sold to FPL. Having lived in Florida for the past three years, my experience is that FPL is a poorly-organized, grossly-oversized, sorry excuse for a energy company. Although, I hear they did handle this year's hurricanes quite well, they have in the past been vastly inept and incompitent in dealing with even the smallest energy concerns. Let's hope Constellation doesn't get dragged into that mess.

It would also be a shame for Baltimore to lose it's only Fortune 500. I'm sure that would hurt Baltimore in many reports that attempt to rank "vibrant downtown economies" or "top places to do business." Things like that that some companies might look at when relocating. It would be nice if Constellation could remain in Baltimore, at least for a little while longer until Legg Mason and others mature. But hopefully, they'll stay around forever. It's a real shame that Baltimore, in spite of recent growth, has been unable to keep companies here. Hopefully things like the new Microsoft office and the biotech parks, especially, will be a big boost for corporate Baltimore.

wada_guy

December 15th, 2005, 12:54 PM

Castle redeveloped
Brexton renovation draws nearer

By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer
A group of Washington developers received design approval from the Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation this week to convert the Brexton, above, into condominiums. Mount Vernon’s historic Brexton apartment building, a majestic 19th century structure flanked by two turrets, is moving closer to salvation after standing vacant for nearly 20 years.

A group of Washington developers plans to transform the castle-like building on Park Avenue into 13 luxury condominiums, a project that could begin as soon as next year. That would be no small feat considering the long history of failed attempts to revitalize the building. Since its last use in 1987 as apartments, Brexton has changed hands a number of times with plans ranging from a bed-and-breakfast to a dance club.

“The building is uninhabitable, with only one functional staircase,” said John Simpson, project manager for Park Avenue LLC, the company proposing to redevelop Brexton. “The building is highly inefficient, extremely expensive to renovate,” Simpson said. It would cost $2.5 million in direct construction costs alone, he said.

While the seven-story building appears larger than life, its strange triangular shape fools the eye, comprising only 12,100 square feet of space, according to data from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. A lack of on-site parking is also problematic, Simpson said.

Those issues — combined with Baltimore’s historically poor real estate market — made the economics simply unfeasible for previous investors.

But Baltimore has changed a lot since 1987: Home prices have nearly doubled in the last five years to an average of $156,000, according to statistics from Live Baltimore, a nonprofit that promotes city living.

Not only that, but the city has seen a wave of development, including upscale projects such as the Ritz-Carlton condominiums under construction along the Inner Harbor in South Baltimore. Units there are selling for more than $5 million each. “I think eventually the market will rise to a level that will sustain the development and that we will profit from the risk,” Simpson said of Brexton.

“It will be a boutique building, and I think we will attract that buyer who will see the uniqueness and character of the building,” he said. Simpson said it is too early to put price tags on the six two-bedroom and seven one-bedroom condominium units. But he hopes they will appeal to young professionals and empty nesters with plenty of expendable income.

Brexton’s midtown location is also likely to be a huge attraction, with its proximity to transportation hubs, museums, bars and shopping opportunities.
“It’s the cultural district,” said Stephen Mowbray, a managing member of Park Avenue LLC. “The Inner Harbor has fabulous views and more amenities for the younger set, but Mount Vernon has all of the cultural attractions.”

Neighbors say they have long awaited the building’s revival. “The community universally loves that building,” said R. Paul Warren, vice president of the Mount Vernon Belvedere Association. “So anything they do to move it ahead to restore it is great.” On Tuesday night, Park Avenue received the much-coveted design approval from the Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation.

The company needs only to secure a few other city permits and finalize design plans before it can move forward with construction, which will likely begin in 12 to 18 months, Simpson said.

NOTE: Wallace Warfield Simpson lived here for a while before she married the King of England. :cheer:

Gsol

December 15th, 2005, 04:56 PM

That's cool you work for the Homeland Security. :)
I know I'm thankful for what you all do. :)
as for your earlier comments on the twin towers, I understood what you meant and thought it was pretty clear you were just talking about the aesthetics of the skyline. I think Gsol did too. Maybe I'm wrong..... :D

For the record I did understand. I thought I made that clear.

Clarkycat

December 15th, 2005, 05:22 PM

I'm a bit late coming into this, having not checked the thread for a while, but I just wanted to weigh in on the skyline/tall buildings issue.

As someone who is not from Baltimore, or from the US (I'm from England) I love the Baltimore skyline - at night at least - esp. when compared with DC, which because of the planning restrictions, can't really have one.

But I'm not so keen on the idea of lots of new tall buildings coming in. I think one or two downtown would be great, but elsewhere it would be a big mistake because it would disrupt the balance of the city. Harbor East is already starting to feel like Bethesda.

But perhaps most importantly, in a city that has 15,000 vacant properties and plenty of empty lots, why build up? I'd rather see neighborhoods around downtown revitalized.

For me, the biggest issue for downtown is to get some decent retail away from the harbor. Hopefully, this might happen in the Westside. And I'm not talking high end - I think another problem with Baltimore is that people want to run before they can walk (see for example the various "dog bakeries" in neighborhoods that don't even have convenience stores) Before we have Bloomingdales, how about Old Navy, Radioshack, Target et al? In other words, the places that everyone takes from granted in the suburbs. I'm sick of having to drive 30 minutes just to buy basic stuff that I can't get in the city.

pepperjack

December 15th, 2005, 06:11 PM

also late to the party on the centered tallest, but I have to disagree. I think it was the Empire state Building that made NY uneven. And the picture someone put of Chicago, wasn't even the Sears' Tower, it was from the Sears Tower. Chicago is very lopsided, with the Sears Tower almost at the extreme south end of downtown, and the Hancock and BP/Amoco Building at the north ends. Most of the Chicago skyline pictures that come up on google don't even include those buildings--which are still in the top 20 in the world.

PeterSmith

December 15th, 2005, 08:36 PM

While I do like the effect that having the tallest in the center brings to a skyline, it's not the only way to make a fantastic skyline. I'm not so much afraid of the new tallest not being in the center as I am of it not being near anything at all. The St. Regis site, although only a few blocks from downtown, seems to be separated from the rest of teh tall buildings, except for the Harbor Court Hotel. I wouldn't mind having a Chicago-like skyline where, although the Sears Tower is at one extreme of the skyline, it's still surrounded by other highrises. But I would like to avoid a skyline like Miami's of a few year ago, where the Four Season Tower was all alone on Brickell Ave. There has recently been a boom on Brickell Ave., however, and Miami's Tallest is no longer lonely. Hopefully the same can happen along Light Street. J.J. Clarke, after all, did call Light St. Baltimore's new premier destination. Hopefully, we can begin to see a number of new development along Light St. that will criss-cross with our current skyline.

waj0527

December 15th, 2005, 08:48 PM

Im pretty sure this is the link to the Aegon condos on Charles Street. Theres not any info, but theres a priority list. Maybe someone can find out some info.

http://www.twelve09living.com/

scando

December 16th, 2005, 04:11 AM

Im pretty sure this is the link to the Aegon condos on Charles Street. Theres not any info, but theres a priority list. Maybe someone can find out some info.

http://www.twelve09living.com/

There's a little more information on the Streuver web site at http://www.sber.com/project_detail.asp?ProjectID=258&Contact=3

scando

December 16th, 2005, 04:20 AM

....But I'm not so keen on the idea of lots of new tall buildings coming in. I think one or two downtown would be great, but elsewhere it would be a big mistake because it would disrupt the balance of the city. Harbor East is already starting to feel like Bethesda.

But perhaps most importantly, in a city that has 15,000 vacant properties and plenty of empty lots, why build up? I'd rather see neighborhoods around downtown revitalized.

For me, the biggest issue for downtown is to get some decent retail away from the harbor. Hopefully, this might happen in the Westside. And I'm not talking high end - I think another problem with Baltimore is that people want to run before they can walk (see for example the various "dog bakeries" in neighborhoods that don't even have convenience stores) Before we have Bloomingdales, how about Old Navy, Radioshack, Target et al? In other words, the places that everyone takes from granted in the suburbs. I'm sick of having to drive 30 minutes just to buy basic stuff that I can't get in the city.

I like tall buildings but I agree that they are not the only thing that is important. I agree stongly that getting the functional retail into the city is really more important. I have also had the experience of living in the city in a place where I could buy a $3000 clock but not a shower curtain. A place becomes a lot more livable when you don't have to drive out to the burbs in order to do daily tasks. Radio Shack, Target, and places that can fix your car may not be as sexy as the dog bakeries, but they are the businesses that keep people in the area. There was a time when what is now the "Westside" was the place where you could buy pretty much anything, from high end to the cheap shower curtain. Somewhere, the city needs to get back to that.

Furiine

December 16th, 2005, 04:21 AM

^I completely agree. Do what's functional to the residents first, then worry about touristy additions.

PeterSmith

December 16th, 2005, 05:40 AM

^^ I agree completely, and I think Baltimore is on the right track towards meeting these needs. There was an article by columnist Dan Rodricks in the Sun today that mentioned just this transformation in the city. But I would suggest that tall buildings are more than just touristy additions and eye candy. Let's not forget that they're also an extremely efficient mode of urban planning on so many levels. There's no reason why we can't and shouldn't have both. Perhaps if Baltimore's, and other cities', infrastructure was built better the first time around, there wouldn't have been so much decay over the years.

Furiine

December 16th, 2005, 08:01 AM

No, you're right. I'm just saying when we break down how the retail sector should look, it should first focus on the needs of the people then visitors. You can have the best of both worlds whether or not the building's tall or not. It's really nice to see Baltimore getting treated better with local groceries and other shops that have what they need. Or if every neighborhood started having more well-kept shops opening up, it would surely boost the confident of many more residents. Any methods used to get people to use the city's resources can do many more wonders, I believe. It would discourage crime to have people moving about the city and feeling confident in their neighborhood.

DCKenny

December 16th, 2005, 08:24 AM

Are there any movie theaters in Baltimore? The last time I went to Baltimore in late May I had to go to Ann Arunnel Mills cool place though!

waj0527

December 16th, 2005, 09:58 AM

^Yes, but not nearly enough and none currently in City Center. There is a movie theater being built at Harbor East as we speak. There's also talk* of turning the Mechanic Theater into a first-run, multi screen cineplex.

*Talk=more than just internet rumor. The new owners of the property completed a feasibilty study recently.

StevenW

December 16th, 2005, 10:45 AM

Station North development attracts bigger bucks than expected

When artists Brett and Nicole Naylor bought a posh townhouse that’s under construction on North Calvert Street — in a Baltimore City development surrounded by burned out and boarded up row houses — the couple placed a silent bet on the neighborhood’s future.

-JEN DeGREGORIO

Baltimoreguy

December 16th, 2005, 10:55 AM

I can't belive that the news media is keeping hush hush about this proposed merger of BG&E and FLP. The Sunpapers and the only one reporting anything.
BGE is 127 on the Fortune 500. It just openned a new Headquarters at 750 West Pratt. It seems like to mean that the CEO is selling us out to make a profit for himself just like Alex Brown. It should be BGE buying out FLP. BGE is much more porfitable and and substanially larger than FLP. This whole deal stinks.
This means to be hyped. It could mean Job losses and the Loss of a Major Corporation Headquarters in Downtown, Baltimore. If it is merger and the headquarters is in Baltimore I am all for it, but it doesn;t look that way. It looks like BGE will be a subsidary of FLP. :skull:

StevenW

December 16th, 2005, 08:48 PM

yeah, Baltimore's luck.... :(

Furiine

December 16th, 2005, 09:19 PM

fanofterps

December 17th, 2005, 12:33 AM

In the Baltimore Business journal that came out today, it said the planning commission will hear the presentation Feb 2nd. It has been changed from December. St Regis is no longer involved. Said building will include condo's, boutique hotel and retail.

PeterSmith

December 17th, 2005, 12:39 AM

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 12:43 AM

Brian21

December 17th, 2005, 12:43 AM

^Thats dissapointing, I would definitely like to hear more on why St. Regis isn't involved in this anymore. Is Arc Wheeler still in charge of the project? :bash:

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 12:52 AM

Interesting news. I'm disappointed to hear that we have to wait so long for more information, but I'm pretty intrigued about this boutique hotel idea. I just hope the fact that a major hotelier isn't involved won't decrease the size and prestige of the development.

I believe one of our forumers predicted that the St. Regis would be dropped after it was bought out. Nevertheless, let's hope for the best. How does everyone else think this will affect the project?

Peter, I do think, IMO, that the size and prestige will definately be affected.
Also, IMO, I think that we won't be seeing a really tall building now. Definately no new tallest. To me, the St. Regis brand ALONG with the condos, retail and garage gave Arcwheeler the reason for putting alot of $$$$$$$ into the project.
I wonder what gave the St. Regis people the scare? Or was it Arcwheeler that pulled the plug on St. Regis? :?
I'm like you, I hate we have to wait until February now. More waiting..... :bash:

Expect to see a 25 to 30 story tower somewhere around 300 ft. tall. MAYBE 350 ft. tall at best.

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 01:00 AM

Hey! Maybe they got wind of this BG&E merger and said, "Well, no St. Regis now, better go with the cute little boutique hotel." :D ;)

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 01:16 AM

Check out this site guys: http://local.live.com/
when you get there type "Baltimore" in the box and then select the "Birds Eye view" option. It's great!

PeterSmith

December 17th, 2005, 01:30 AM

I'd have to disagree. Firstly, I think we can be almost certain that the cancelled affiliation with St. Regis stems from their being sold to another company following the announcement that this project would include a St. Regis. It's understandable that rather than switch over and deal with a new owner, that one would just drop the St. Regis name altogether. Afterall, the future of St. Regis would then be uncertain. It is questionable, however, as to why ARCWheeler didn't search out another big name hotelier.

Nevertheless, ARCWheeler stated that they were looking to develop their "10 Brand" along Baltimore's waterfront. Their "10 Brand" is nothing close to shabby. Look at 10 Rittenhouse Square in Philly - it's 33 stories of just condos, no hotel or retail. While the project might be smaller than it would have been, boutique hotels are not necessarily all that small, and I think we still might see a new tallest in Baltimore.

Perhaps, I'm too much of an optimist, but I would bet that these changes took place long ago, and all the tidbits we have heard about this project being a "Big One" for Baltimore were made post to the St. Regis drop out. Afterall, we've received word from ARCWheeler concerning the grandness of this project as recently as a few weeks ago. Does it really seem logical to think that ARCWheeler lost the St. Regis detail and decided on a boutique hotel in just a few short weeks? I would assume that they would at least shop around for other hoteliers for a few weeks first. It's also possible that they decided that the market was ripe to increase the condo portion and drop part of the hotel portion. Anyhow, I think I've spread enough optimism for one posting. But all I'm saying is, there's not enough information to really support the argument that we're getting something less than what we've been expecting. I still think ARCWheeler has BIG plans for that site.

PeterSmith

December 17th, 2005, 01:31 AM

Check out this site guys: http://local.live.com/
when you get there type "Baltimore" in the box and then select the "Birds Eye view" option. It's great!

Steven, I was just looking at that. Baltimore really has some nice nooks and crannies that you can't see from the ground. I also noticed that there are a lot of surface lots in downtown that need to be built on. Also, a few parking garages that need some scrapers on top of them....

fanofterps

December 17th, 2005, 01:36 AM

Article said they considered 600 condo's but that would be likely scaled back some. I'm hoping for 400 to 500 condo's. I agree that this will likely be a 25 to 30 story buiding.

Peter, I do think, IMO, that the size and prestige will definately be affected.
Also, IMO, I think that we won't be seeing a really tall building now. Definately no new tallest. To me, the St. Regis brand ALONG with the condos, retail and garage gave Arcwheeler the reason for putting alot of $$$$$$$ into the project.
I wonder what gave the St. Regis people the scare? Or was it Arcwheeler that pulled the plug on St. Regis? :?
I'm like you, I hate we have to wait until February now. More waiting..... :bash:

Expect to see a 25 to 30 story tower somewhere around 300 ft. tall. MAYBE 350 ft. tall at best.

scando

December 17th, 2005, 06:19 AM

well, uh, I don't know what to think about this.....
uh, this changes a lot of our expectations for a new tallest probably. Boutique hotel? that can't mean too many rooms, can it? I mean, when I think "boutique hotel" I think small. Am I wrong? :?
Condos= GOOD
Retail= GOOD
NO St. Regis= :(
Boutique hotel= :?
suddenly, I feel cold.... and used..... and sad....

I don't mean to sound like the grizzled veteran, but we' been here before... too many times to count. Some lots just seem to have a curse on them and take several tries before they get built on. Cold fact is that at least 50% of large building projects never happen (not just in Baltimore either) and another percentage of what's left get delayed or changed before they happen. As a gambling proposition, you'd be better off betting against developments than for them but if you want to see the buildings happen you need to be a relentless optomist. I can't say that I'm entirely surprised but looking at the birds in the hand rather than those in the bush, I think that the horizon crane count tells me that things are still going real well around here. Don't give up on it yet but don't be real attached to it happening.

Way back long time ago there used to be a block of row houses called Waterloo Row, next to Center Stage that were torn down for a highrise. I think about 5 developers had ideas that aborted, until someone came up with the idea of calling the new building Waterloo something. That one took...the curse was lifted. Maybe the Light St developer needs to call it McCormick Plaza to honor the demolished McCormick building.

scando

December 17th, 2005, 06:26 AM

Steven, I was just looking at that. Baltimore really has some nice nooks and crannies that you can't see from the ground. I also noticed that there are a lot of surface lots in downtown that need to be built on. Also, a few parking garages that need some scrapers on top of them....

Download a copy of Google Earth and you can fly all around Baltimore (as well as anywhere else) and zoom in on what you want to see with the scrolling wheel on your mouse. I saw the chairs on my back porch. The images are about the same as MS's version but the interface is way cooler.

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 04:32 PM

"Ed Hale to head tourism bureau"
-------------------------------
Banker, Blast owner will succeed Bishop as chairman in Jan.
By June Arney
Sun reporter
Originally published December 17, 2005
Edwin F. Hale Sr., chairman and chief executive of First Mariner Bancorp and owner of the Baltimore Blast soccer team, will become chairman of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association next month.

Hale, whose appointment by Mayor Martin O'Malley was announced yesterday at BACVA's annual meeting, comes as the city moves forward with a $305 million project to build a publicly financed convention headquarters hotel. City officials have argued that the 752-room Hilton, to open in 2008, is needed to boost the city's faltering convention center.

Hale will succeed Clarence T. Bishop, O'Malley's chief of staff. Bishop was named BACVA chairman in March 2002 and presided over the convention bureau during a period when its operations came under scrutiny and its chief executive forced out.

Hale, unlike his low-profile predecessor, plans to take a more visible role in selling the city as a convention site and tourist destination. "I'd like to promote Baltimore, tourism and to get better utilization of the convention center," Hale said in an interview yesterday. "I'd like to have an activist board that's really going to get out and promote Baltimore. What I will bring is marketing. I think I'm going to be able to articulate what a great place this is."

Hale said O'Malley and Bishop approached him a couple of months ago about the position. After taking some time to consider the request, Hale said he agreed to take the post for a year, with the understanding that the term could be extended. His pending appointment was kept secret until yesterday's meeting, attended by about 300 area tourism officials and business leaders, at the convention center.

"I've been around the world promoting Baltimore," he said. "For me to pick up tomorrow and take a trip to London is nothing. It's the same as going to Cleveland."

Hale said he expects to be briefed in detail by BACVA staff after the first of the year. At this point, Hale said, he does not fully understand the situation at the Baltimore Convention Center, which has never met projections for attendance after a 1997 expansion.

"I want to come in as a blank slate and draw my own conclusions," he said. "I look at it, as a businessman, as an underutilized asset."

Miss USA Pageant
Leslie R. Doggett, BACVA president and chief executive, said she first worked with Hale when he was co-chair of the Miss USA Pageant, held in Baltimore for the first time last year. The event is scheduled to be held here again in April. Hale helped make that project happen and was one of its enthusiastic champions, Doggett said.
"He is very enthusiastic about the concept of the city," Doggett said. "He's a great ambassador. Clarence was a transition person. He righted the listing ship. It was a tough job. Now it's time to take it to the next level."

Doggett said she's excited to have Hale's enthusiasm and sales ability working to bring tourism and conventions here.

"I think he sees himself as a salesperson for the city," she said. "The more people we can have out there selling and pitching the city with one voice, the more successful we'll be."

Donald F. Norris, professor of public policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said he is not convinced that having a chairman who occasionally travels will have much impact on overall sales numbers, but said Hale's business skills could be very useful in other ways.

Run effectively
"I think what a businessman can do in that role is to make sure that organization runs effectively, so that the problems that beset that organization won't happen again and that the organization is efficient and effective in doing what it ought to be doing," Norris said.
Also at the board meeting, BACVA officials reported that 387,000 people passed through the new Visitor Center in its first year.

Future hotel room bookings are up by 90,000 from the 2005 fiscal year, BACVA officials said.

There were 200,924 rooms booked between July 1 through yesterday for the 2006 fiscal year, compared with 110,435 nights booked during the corresponding period the previous fiscal year, according to Ronnie Burt, vice president of convention sales and services.

In addition to the announcement of Hale's new post, about half the board is being replaced as part of a regular rotation.

12 join board
O'Malley appointed 12 new members to the BACVA board, including: Sandy Bellamy, executive director, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture; Drew Berry, vice president and general manager, WMAR TV; Michelle Butt, news director, WBAL TV; Lawrence Cager, a community representative; Connie Caplan, director, mayor's cultural tourism committee; Kent Digby, senior general manager, Harborplace & The Gallery; and Marcia Harris, president and CEO, Restaurant Association of Maryland.
Also, Gail Smith-Howard, general manager, Hyatt Regency Baltimore; Gary Jordan, president, CEO of Azzam Jordan Inc.; Sam Lloyd, director, mayor's office of minority business development; Richard Morse, area general manager, Baltimore Marriott Waterfront; and Richard Staub, managing director, Tremont Suite Hotels.

june.arney@baltsun.com

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 04:34 PM

Download a copy of Google Earth and you can fly all around Baltimore (as well as anywhere else) and zoom in on what you want to see with the scrolling wheel on your mouse. I saw the chairs on my back porch. The images are about the same as MS's version but the interface is way cooler.

The "Google Earth". Are the views in real time or are they older views?
Plus, is it a free download? It sounds interesting. :) Thanks.

StevenW

December 17th, 2005, 04:43 PM

scando

December 17th, 2005, 08:56 PM

The "Google Earth". Are the views in real time or are they older views? Plus, is it a free download? It sounds interesting. :) Thanks.

It's a free download and free service as long as you have a fairly recent PC and good video system; just google for google earth. It's truly amazing. The views are not real time (wouldn't see much at night) but they are real recent. It was only a day or so after Katrina when you could see the devastation in New Orleans. You can rotate the earth to any part and then zoom in. The most detailed images appear like you were about 250 feet above the ground. Not all images are in close up detail but major cities are usually quite clear and in many cases you can see enough detail to make out types of cars and gender of people on the sidewalk. It's great if you're looking at planning and development since you can see exactly what's built and where.

waj0527

December 17th, 2005, 09:28 PM

FYI the crane is going up at the Zenith.

Brian21

December 17th, 2005, 10:51 PM

^that makes me feel a little better :) .

StevenW

December 18th, 2005, 01:48 AM

It's a free download and free service as long as you have a fairly recent PC and good video system; just google for google earth. It's truly amazing. The views are not real time (wouldn't see much at night) but they are real recent. It was only a day or so after Katrina when you could see the devastation in New Orleans. You can rotate the earth to any part and then zoom in. The most detailed images appear like you were about 250 feet above the ground. Not all images are in close up detail but major cities are usually quite clear and in many cases you can see enough detail to make out types of cars and gender of people on the sidewalk. It's great if you're looking at planning and development since you can see exactly what's built and where.
that's great, thanks. :)

PeterSmith

December 18th, 2005, 04:51 PM

CU_rak

December 18th, 2005, 07:17 PM

I hate to beat a dead horse, but I saw this in the San Diego forum and started wondering if RLJ is getting some "kickbacks" in developing the baltimore convention headquarters hotel for $300+ million.

Still to come is the long-anticipated Hilton Convention Center Hotel, a $200-million project so vast in scope that it's referred to as "the big monster on the waterfront" by competitors and is viewed by city officials as the lynchpin in their plans to cement San Diego's reputation as a tourist mecca.

Targeted for the former Campbell Shipyard site in downtown San Diego's East Village, the 1,200-room, 1.65-million-sq.-ft. Hilton will feature a 32-story, 385-ft.-high hotel tower; 14,000-sq.-ft. restaurant; 5,360 sq. ft. of retail space; 106,000 sq. ft. of meeting space; 23,082-sq.-ft. health club; water taxi dock for hotel guests; 2,000-space parking lot; and 4.3-acre public park and plaza along the water.
Please, somebody on this forum tell me that they are in the process of redesigning Baltimore's hotel... maybe adding some height?? For $300-million, we shouldn't just be willing to accept whatever that shady developer throws our way. What are they using all that public money for, anyway?

StevenW

December 18th, 2005, 07:51 PM

pocket lining? ;)

scando

December 18th, 2005, 09:42 PM

Thought I'd post this. It appeared in the Baltimore Sun today and certainly concerns a topic we're all familiar with:

City should control area public transit
Jacques Kelly was right on the money in his column bemoaning the lack of true rapid public transit here in Baltimore ("City transit system needs to go beyond patchwork," Dec. 10). Buses, limited light rail, commuter rail to Washington and a single Metro subway route just does not cut it for a city and metropolitan area with the size and potential vitality of the Baltimore area.

The recently announced proposed speedup of street traffic around the city is beside the point ("Drivers may get green lights," Dec. 6). As Mr. Kelly remarks, Baltimore will not "really make it as a city" until we have a rapid mass transit system comparable to the systems in the two closest major cities -the Metro in Washington and SEPTA in Philadelphia.

One major obstacle: The fate of city mass transportation is in the hands of a state agency - the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). This is a harmful and unusual state of affairs - and a situation that is almost unique among large U.S. cities. With other priorities and orientations, what does a state agency like the MTA care about Baltimore? So, a good first step toward restoring the "more" in Baltimore would be to put the control of city and metropolitan area transit system back into the hands of our city's local government.

Arthur Cohen
Baltimore

I've been on a rather repetitive rant on this same topic for quite some time. Having the Baltimore transit "system" in the hands of a State agency insures that it will remain a "system" rather than a system. I don't even really fault the MDOT on this. They are a statewide agency that is charged with the transportation needs of the entire state, including state roads, interstate highways, bridges, port facilities, airports and some aspects of railroads. In terms of the Baltimore transit part of the MDOT, it's only a very small piece of that pie. I hesitate to whisper that if funding were doled out purely proportional to the importance of this part of the system relative to the needs of the entire State, Baltimore transit may even be overfunded.

My civic Christmas wish is that some bunch of high-hooties could get together and figure out how to create a regional authority for Baltimore area transit and a funding stream and charge them with expediting transit in Baltimore city, county and AA county. They need to think creatively since funding isn't there for multi-billion dollar subways. They also need to think about connecting outer areas in addition to the usual suburb to downtown radial arteries. They need to look at other cities that are trying cheaper systems.

Honestly I'm not real optomistic about things the way they are. We may piss-and-moan about Baltimore transit here, but where the rubber or steel meets the road, we can't make that good of a case for huge investments right now. Even with the current system, traffic in Baltimore isn't any where nearly as bad as DC and many of the buses and trains run well below capacity. I'm somewhat dismayed to see that since the light rail reopened out to Timonium 2 weeks ago, I am riding very empty trains, in spite of the fact that trains are MORE frequent and run faster. The parking lots near my house (Falls Road and Mt Washington) only fill up half way (they used to max out by 8 AM).

We not only need a better way of funding transit, but we need customers who want to use it.

PeterSmith

December 18th, 2005, 10:38 PM

Honestly I'm not real optomistic about things the way they are. We may piss-and-moan about Baltimore transit here, but where the rubber or steel meets the road, we can't make that good of a case for huge investments right now. Even with the current system, traffic in Baltimore isn't any where nearly as bad as DC and many of the buses and trains run well below capacity. I'm somewhat dismayed to see that since the light rail reopened out to Timonium 2 weeks ago, I am riding very empty trains, in spite of the fact that trains are MORE frequent and run faster. The parking lots near my house (Falls Road and Mt Washington) only fill up half way (they used to max out by 8 AM).

We not only need a better way of funding transit, but we need customers who want to use it.

This is definitely a catch-22 of mass transit. If no one is using the system, then it doesn't support the argument that you need to build more, but at the same time, without a complete system can you really expect anyone to use the bits and pieces that are already in place? If you can ride the light rail to work everyday, but need a car to do all your other necessities in the city, can you really expect many people to choose the light rail when they're so used to using the car already?

While it seems likely that if you build a complete mass transit system, people will use it; in the realm of funding, that's not a very solid argument.

Hopefully what will happen in Baltimore is that with more people moving downtown and into dense areas near existing mass transit, a population will emerge that relies almost solely on light rail and subway. As this population outgrows the city center and expands outward, hopefully mass transit will follow it. But we're gonna need denser developments to make it happen. Places like Timonium and probably even Mt. Washington aren't dense enough to fully support a line of casual users. If a person has to drive to the light rail station, why not just drive all the way to work?

StevenW

December 19th, 2005, 10:42 AM

Not good news, like always:http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/12/19/story1.html

StevenW

December 19th, 2005, 10:52 AM

St. Regis Hotel off the table; Philly firm eyes condo tower
Heather Harlan
Staff
The new (owner) of the prime downtown Baltimore parcel at the corner of Light and Conway streets has scrapped plans for a St. Regis Hotel.

Instead, ARC Wheeler LLC of Philadelphia is planning condominiums, (some) retail space and (possibly) a (smaller), boutique hotel, said John Voneiff, director of southeast operations for the Pennsylvania development firm.

("It's not a matter of condos or not; it's a matter of how many and what size,") Voneiff said.

ARC Wheeler becomes the latest developer to try to capitalize on what seems to be the continued appetite for condominiums in Baltimore. Around the Inner Harbor, in particular, Midtown Baltimore LLC and Ritz-Carlton, Henrietta Development and H&S Properties Development Corp. have plans for condominiums in the works.

Voneiff said he and his partners (could) put as many as 600 condo units in the downtown project, (but that number is unlikely). All of the company's plans are subject to approval by the Baltimore City Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel.

Bob Quilter, an architect with the Department of Planning, said ARC Wheeler was expected to appear before the review panel next week, but has postponed its presentation until Feb. 2.

Voneiff said the change gives the company extra time to solidify its blueprints for the site that was once home to a McCormick & Co. spice factory.

ARC Wheeler is no longer talking with St. Regis, but the company is negotiating with a potential operator of a small, boutique hotel, Voneiff said. He declined to give the name of that hotel operator.

(Even if that early deal crumbles), ARC Wheeler (will not) include offices as part of the project, Voneiff said. The company is focused on residential development, he said.

(Voneiff said the company envisions an "iconic" design for the corner of Light and Conway streets.) A high-profile site, it sits across from the Inner Harbor. The property is a city gateway of sorts, near Interstate 95.

Allright Corp. of Nashville, Tenn., put the site on the market in July 2003, shortly after buying the undeveloped parcel from the Rouse Co. for $16 million.

Earlier this year, ARC Wheeler took control of the land, now used as a surface parking lot. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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

Yeah, check out the words I noticed that I thought were, "key" words.

StevenW

December 19th, 2005, 10:58 AM

What does everybody think about that article? :?

StevenW

December 19th, 2005, 11:03 AM

MAybe we should e-mail Arc Wheeler again, this time saying that we would love to see them build all 600 condos and therefore maxing out the sites potential. Maybe, just maybe that might give us a better chance for a taller, more slender tower. :D

wada_guy

December 19th, 2005, 12:56 PM

I heard that Harbor Court, next door to McCormick, is in the process of being sold to Holiday Inn. Look for it to be rebranded as an Intercontential or Crown Plaza in the near future.

PeterSmith

December 19th, 2005, 04:25 PM

I don't know what to make of that article. The article seems to be written with an air of pessimism, as if to say ARCWheeler is probably not gonna see enough potential in the site to put everything they had hoped to. But some of the ARCWheeler quotes make it seem that they would love to max out the sites potential, but it's a matter of whether the City Council allows 600 condos and a matter of whether the boutique hotel deal goes through. I do like the label of an "iconic" design, but with developers they tend to call their towers iconic no matter what. That isn't very telling.

Can you imagine what 600 condos would do for that area? That would be easily over 1,000 new residents alone. Also the article doesn't mention anything about parking for the condos or the hotel. The city probably requires them to build parking though, right?

PeterSmith

December 19th, 2005, 04:41 PM

Well, here is some good news, I guess. We thought we were losing our only Fortune 500, and instead we gain a Fortune 100.

Energy firms finalize merger
Company, to be called Constellation, to have Baltimore, Fla. bases
By Tricia Bishop and Paul Adams
Sun reporters
Originally published December 19, 2005, 8:06 AM EST
Florida-based FPL Group Inc. announced plans this morning to buy Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group for about $11 billion, creating the nation's third largest energy company.

The deal, if approved by state and federal regulators, will give the combined business a market capitalization of $28 billion, combined annual revenue of $27 billion and total assets worth $57 billion. The merged Fortune 100 company will be known as Constellation Energy and maintain dual headquarters in Baltimore and Juno Beach, Fla.

The agreement, which was unanimously approved by both companies' boards of directors, calls for a stock-for-stock trade. Current Constellation shareholders will get 1.444 shares of the new company, while FPL holders will trade each share for a single share in the combined business.

"The strategic combination of these two great companies will bring out the best in each, in ways that will drive major gains in growth, productivity and efficiency and build upon both companies' proven track record of creating shareholder value," Mayo A Shattuck III, Constellation's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

After the merger, Shattuck will become chairman of the board of the new company, while Lewis Hay III, FPL's chairman, president and chief executive, will become the chief executive of the newly formed business, which will have about 21,750 employees and serve more than 5.5 million electric customers in Florida and about 625,000 gas customers in Maryland.

"This historic transaction will create growth potential for the combined enterprise that exceeds what our two companies could have achieved separately," Hay said in a statement. "It brings together two strong, successful industry leaders."

The new business will operate seven nuclear power stations.

Constellation, the parent company of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., is the city's only Fortune 500 company and is a major contributor to civic and philanthropic causes throughout the region. The company employs about 9,700 people, with 2,589 of them in Baltimore City and 6,461 in Maryland as a whole. FPL employs about 10,000 company-wide.

Upon completion of the merger, original FPL shareholders will own about 60 percent of the new company, while Constellation holders will own about 40 percent. The deal must be approved by shareholders of both companies, along with the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The companies are hoping to complete the transaction within nine to 12 months and plan to seek shareholder approval in the second quarter of 2006.

Industry analysts have praised the prospect of a merger between the two companies, saying it would give Constellation the market power it needs to be a contender in an industry that has seen more than $430 billion worth of consolidation deals announced worldwide during the past year.

As the deal is structured, analysts and energy industry experts predict that Baltimore would emerge as the hub for an even bigger energy-producing and trading powerhouse. The company that traces its roots to the early 1800s as a small Baltimore gas company now receives less than a quarter of its revenue from BGE.

Despite Shattuck's lesser title, industry experts don't envision the Baltimore operations suffering - at least in the short term. There might be some job losses in back-office operations, experts said, but little is expected beyond that.

"I don't see [Hay] having the kind of personality of saying, 'I have to come in and take over everything, be a dictator,'" said Christian H. Poindexter, who was chairman and CEO of Constellation until turning the company over to Shattuck in 2001.

In an interview Friday, Poindexter -- who said he had no advance knowledge of his successor's plans to sell the company to FPL -- said he knows both executives from his days in the industry and from their golf outings in recent years. He said that, given the personalities of both men, he discounts concerns that the proposed management structure will lead to a power struggle between Shattuck and Hay.

For Wall Street, the biggest concerns will be over price and the potential for the combined companies to increase revenue faster than they could as stand-alone companies.

"At this point, I think it's going to be a great merger if it goes forward," said Michael Worms, an analyst with Harris Nesbitt in New York.

He noted that the combined company will have double the nuclear generating assets, which have become more profitable as the cost of natural gas has soared. The price utilities charge for electricity tends to track the price of natural gas, which reached an all-time high last week and is more than double last year's average. Utilities that produce electricity with coal or nuclear energy have an advantage over those that produce with natural gas.

Fremont, the Jeffries & Co. analyst, said Constellation's stock would likely fall on news of a deal at $11 billion. Investors typically discount utility mergers by about 4 percent. Structuring the deal as a "merger of equals" may also affect the outcome for investors.

"Technically, the term 'merger of equals' just means two companies coming together ... either without a premium or without a significant premium being paid in the acquisition," he said.

The only thing that has worried analysts about Constellation's outlook is that its fast-moving, nonregulated power trading and marketing units are difficult to value because of their complexity.

"Constellation is one of our riskiest buys," Tucker said in his note. "Their retail, trading and marketing units are somewhat of a black box, requiring faith in management. "But for FPL, that 'black box' is what is driving its merger hopes. The company has been buying nuclear power plants and other generating assets in hopes of building a merchant energy business similar to the one Shattuck built into the national leader.

PeterSmith

December 19th, 2005, 09:23 PM

Constellation: Merger a 'real home run' for region
Alan Zibel
Staff
Executives at Constellation Energy Group Inc. sought Monday to diminish fears that Baltimore would be hurt by the company's just-announced merger with FPL Group Inc.

"We think it's very favorable from the standpoint of both Maryland and Baltimore," Mayo A. Shattuck III, Constellation's chief executive, said in a conference call with reporters Monday. Both Maryland and Florida, he said, "should look at this as a real home run."

As part of the merger agreement, Baltimore-based Constellation and Florida-based FPL have agreed to maintain a joint headquarters in Baltimore and Florida for five years.

They also have agreed to maintain corporate philanthropy at current levels or greater for 10 years, said David Nevins, Constellation's chief marketing officer. He said the company donates about $10 million a year, mostly to local charities.

After years of losing corporate giants to other cities, many in Baltimore's business community have been nervous since news broke of the potential deal between the two companies on Dec. 13.

But Nevins said the deal will not represent a loss of jobs or prestige for Maryland.

"Maryland isn't losing a Fortune 200 company, it is retaining a Fortune 100 company for a minimum of the next five years and hopefully long beyond that" he said. "This announcement this morning, is not -- I emphasize is not -- more of the same."

Local business leaders largely shared that view, breathing a sigh of relief that plans call for Baltimore to play an important role in the merged company's strategic future. Constellation figures prominently in the way the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore markets the region to financial services firms considering setting up operations, here said Christian S. Johansson, CEO of the economic development group. He expects that to continue after the union becomes official.

"We're happy they will continue to be local, strong, and we can leverage them in our marketing efforts," Johansson added.

Readers responding to an online Baltimore Business Journal poll about the impact a Constellation acquisition would have on Baltimore overwhelmingly shared the opposite view, however, with 95 percent saying the deal would have a negative impact. That could change, though, with today's announcement detailing the deal's structure.

The two companies, which announced Monday their agreement to merge, expect to save $200 million to $250 million a year by the third year of their merger.

The companies expect to save money by streamlining operational systems and procurement, as well as realigning jobs.

However, company officials said they did not expect large-scale layoffs.

"There may be some redundancies and some people's jobs could change as a result," said Lewis Hay III, CEO of Florida-based FPL, who will lead the new company. Hay said he expects to see job growth in both Florida and Baltimore.

For FPL, the fastest-growing part of the business is a regulated utility, Florida Power & Light Co. For Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, unregulated businesses including competitive power sales and energy trading are the fastest growing businesses. They will remain in Baltimore.

"We area fully expecting that as the years go by, Baltimore will not be hurt in any way shape or form, in terms of jobs," Nevins said. "We are quite hopeful that the divisions of the company that are based in Baltimore, which have added quite literally hundreds of jobs in the last three or four years, will continue to grow at a similar pace."

In total, Constellation has more than 6,400 Maryland employees, including nearly 2,600 in Baltimore City and more than 1,400 in Baltimore County.

It is the parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., which has 1.2 million electric customers and 600,000 natural gas customers in Central Maryland.

DCKenny

December 19th, 2005, 10:11 PM

So The St. Regis Hotel in Baltimore is gone?

Ron C

December 19th, 2005, 10:36 PM

Constellation: Merger a 'real home run' for region
Alan Zibel
Staff
Executives at Constellation Energy Group Inc. sought Monday to diminish fears that Baltimore would be hurt by the company's just-announced merger with FPL Group Inc.

"Maryland isn't losing a Fortune 200 company, it is retaining a Fortune 100 company for a minimum of the next five years and hopefully long beyond that" he said. "This announcement this morning, is not -- I emphasize is not -- more of the same."

Glad to hear this, and I'm hopeful it really is not "more or the same"...

But I'm still nervous.

Brian21

December 19th, 2005, 10:36 PM

^DC Kenny it sounds that way, but there's still a tower going there just not a St Regis hotel tower. It will be a residential tower with ground retail, and maybe a smaller boutique hotel. I'm trusting that it will be "Iconic" as they say.

StevenW

December 19th, 2005, 10:40 PM

I just hope the design is truly "World-Class". Oh, and very tall and slender. :D ;)
I'd be VERY happy if it just reached 600 ft. ! :)

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 12:21 AM

What does this building remind you of?
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/922/ghj5sk.jpg

Club Renaissance 214.9m 60 floors residential/parking/retail 2005-2007 Las Vegas

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 12:28 AM

How can this be? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?
200 Million? for a 900 ft. tower? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?
Read and see:

Developers plan 60-story tower in downtown Fort Worth
By SANDRA BAKER STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

Fort Worth -- Area developers are considering a spiraling 60-story, $200 million office and condo tower on the east side of downtown that, if built, would become the city's tallest building -- and the first skyscraper built here in more than 20 years.
Fort Worth architect Ken Schaumburg and Dallas developer William "Bill" Cawley, chairman and chief executive of Cawley Wilcox Cos., have teamed for the ambitious project, one that could spur redevelopment in an area of downtown that has been bypassed by most recent redevelopment efforts.
The project, planned for the southeast corner of Calhoun and Sixth streets, would likely offer some of the highest-priced condominiums in the downtown residential market and create a residential center near the city's public-transportation hub.

Cawley said the project would include 200,000 square feet of office space, 300 condos and 10 floors of parking. It is in early design and budgeting stages, and not all of the financing has been obtained, he said. He said his company and other investors will back the project financially.
"I don't expect that to be a problem," Cawley said. "Fort Worth is a great office market, and it's a great city. It's one of the most stable markets in the U.S."

Schaumburg and representatives with Wilcox Development Services, the development arm of the Cawley Wilcox Cos., met with city officials Monday in a pre-development planning session for the 900-foot-tall building, planned for the city block bounded by Seventh, Eighth, Calhoun and Jones streets.
There is no name yet for the project, but it is being referred to as the Block TU project in city filings.
"It looks like everything is good to go," Schaumburg said.
The condos are expected to sell for at least $350 a square foot, meaning the largest condos, at 5,000 square feet, would go for $1.75 million, Schaumburg said.
As it's now planned, the building's floors each would be 20,000 square feet. The street level would have retail space, followed by 10 floors for parking for 1,100 cars. There would be separate parking entrances for office tenants and residents.
Above the parking floors would be a transitional floor of open space, followed by 10 floors of offices, according to the preliminary plans. Above the office floors would be a floor for the building's mechanical equipment and then a sky lobby, which would house recreational space for the condos, including a swimming pool. Above that would be 37 floors of condos.
Schaumburg said he would like to see a public restaurant on the top floor.
The condos will range from about 800 square feet to 5,000 square feet, with most 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, Schaumburg said. Costs will begin at $350 a square foot, which will set the top end of the market downtown. Marketing efforts for pre-sales will likely begin in late February, he said.

If completed, the building will surpass the city's tallest building, Burnett Plaza, 801 Cherry St., which is 40 stories and 567 feet high. The second-tallest building is D.R. Horton Tower, 301 Commerce St., at 547 feet high and 38 stories. Carter+Burgess Plaza, at Seventh and Main streets, is also 40 stories, but 525 feet.
The east end of downtown is home to a few warehouses and several empty lots that are used for parking. It is also home to the Intermodal Transportation Center, the city's bus and train terminal, opened at Ninth and Jones streets in 2002.
City leaders say the project would be a huge boost to downtown because most of the recent development has been focused on the northern, southern and western edges of the central business district.
"We've long seen the potential of that area to benefit from the growth of downtown," said Fernando Costa, the city's economic-development director.
The site is just a few blocks from Bass Performance Hall and within a few of blocks of the heart of the city's office and commercial district, the workplace for about 40,000 people.
Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., a nonprofit booster group, said the project will tap into two markets in great demand -- office and residential. He's hoping that the development could spur similar projects.
"The office space is very tight in downtown, and the combination of office and residential in that location is an intriguing idea," Taft said. "There is a lot of land in that corridor for redevelopment opportunities."
Mayor Mike Moncrief said the proposed building would certainly change the city's skyline.
"I know there's demand for square footage downtown, offices large and small alike," Moncrief said.
The vacancy rate for Class A office space in downtown Fort Worth has remained at historic lows for the past couple of years, and if forecasts are correct, it's going to keep getting tighter.
Grubb & Ellis says that the largest tenant demands will occur in the Class A office market, the most modern buildings with the latest amenities. Corporate relocations and consolidations are creating the greatest demand for space, Grubb & Ellis says in its market assessment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727 sabaker@star-telegram.com

MasonsInquiries

December 20th, 2005, 12:34 AM

What does this building remind you of?
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/922/ghj5sk.jpg

Club Renaissance 214.9m 60 floors residential/parking/retail 2005-2007 Las Vegas
if harborview was this tall, that would truly be something. that's a nice-lookin' tower, though.

MasonsInquiries

December 20th, 2005, 12:35 AM

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 12:54 AM

See what I mean? :(
We get a developer: Arcwheeler, who want to spend upwards of 400 million or more on the 414 Light street site. How does $200 million in Ft. Worth get you a 60 story 900 ft. tall tower and $400 million on 414 Light street can't give us a calm assurance that we will definately get a new tallest??? :? :? :?
I mean, we'll probably get 350 ft. at best on the 414 site, knowing Baltimore's history with tall buildings. :(
Why can't we have just (one) tower that is 600 ft. tall? Baltimore has been stuck in the 500 ft. range since the early 30's. :( That's very sad. IMO

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 12:57 AM

BTW, anyone going to watch the Raven's game tonight? It's on Monday Night Footbal ABC. :) Some good tv exposure. :)

MasonsInquiries

December 20th, 2005, 01:07 AM

BTW, anyone going to watch the Raven's game tonight? It's on Monday Night Footbal ABC. :) Some good tv exposure. :)
i'm not going to the game, but here's a reasonable prediction:

Baltimore-24
Green Bay-13

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 01:37 AM

that sounds about right to me. :)

PeterSmith

December 20th, 2005, 03:07 AM

As I've stated before, price tags don't mean very much. Just look at the Convention Center Hotel - $305 million and all you can get is a 24 story building. That same price tag would have gotten us a 40 Westin also, remember? I really can't believe that Fort Worth has so many tall buildings. My sister just moved there a few weeks ago, I'll tell her to send some of their height this way.

Anyway, MNF is starting, so I'm gonna go get drunk. Go Ravens!

Gsol

December 20th, 2005, 05:03 AM

BTW, anyone going to watch the Raven's game tonight? It's on Monday Night Footbal ABC. :) Some good tv exposure. :)

Great shots of downtown on national TV. The best shot was an aerial at the beginning. The Ravens look great tonight. Hope people around the country are watching.

Furiine

December 20th, 2005, 08:34 AM

Yeah, the Ravens slammed the Packers 48-3. :D The shots of BoA were nice. It's definitely the one building that helps define Baltimore's night skyline, when it glows all over and stands out like a gem. :)

pepperjack

December 20th, 2005, 05:09 PM

Ft. Worth is a very cool place. I enjoyed myself when I visted a few years back. It had character and it has to be growing like crazy. Plus everything is bigger in Texas. And probably quite a bit cheaper.

Brian21

December 20th, 2005, 05:18 PM

Fort Worth's tallest tower is 567 ft, and they have a 900 ft tall tower proposed?! Our tallest is 538 ft, and we have a hard time breaking the 550-600ft mark. There's something wrong with that. :baaa:

PeterSmith

December 20th, 2005, 05:34 PM

Yeah, my guess is that Ft. Worth has cheaper building costs, but also the perspective of the population is probably different. Developers would probably propose much taller buildings for Baltimore if they didn't already know they would get shot down.

wada_guy

December 20th, 2005, 07:44 PM

Developers would probably propose much taller buildings for Baltimore if they didn't already know they would get shot down.
I usually agree with your statements Peter, but this one I take issue with. I suspect it is most likely written out of frustration.

I'm not aware of any building proposed in the downtown Central Business District where height has been a major issue. In Mt. Vernon and South Baltimore it has been, but in the Central Business District I think the developers can pretty much build as tall as they want.

Remember the 60 some story building that was proposed on the block between Calvert, St. Paul and Lexington behind Provident's HQ? I believe it was a Seattle developer who was going to build that structure and everyone was all in favor of it. Also, the Clark lot across from Bank of America was originally targeted to be quite tall. Economic factors seemed to have killed those projects not NIMBY's.

I have to say, if I lived in South Baltimore or in Mt. Vernon in a 2 or 3 story house, I wouldn't necessarily want a 60 story, or even a 30 story structure as my neighbor either. But I think most people are in agreement that in the CBD, anything goes and the developers have Carte Blanche!

I'm all for height but it should be in the correct place! I think the CBD is the correct place not our residential neighborhoods and not directly on the shoreline in places like Fells Point or South Baltimore.
:okay:

PeterSmith

December 20th, 2005, 10:16 PM

^^That's true. I see your point and agree. Although, I do recall height being an issue in the CBD of Baltimore because of the helicopter paths for the nearby trauma center.

Brian21

December 20th, 2005, 10:26 PM

^Yeah thats more to the west, like toward where Centerpoint is, but anything east of that can be as tall as possible.

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 10:44 PM

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/12/19/daily12.html
interesting......

StevenW

December 20th, 2005, 10:57 PM

However it's spun, Baltimore is losing a headquarters
Jay Hancock

Originally published Dec 20, 2005

Jay Hancock

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

As sales of key corporate citizens to out-of-town landlords go, the merger of Constellation Energy with FPL Group isn't that bad. So why are they trying to spin us like a dynamo in a heat wave?

"The combined company will maintain a dual headquarters in Juno Beach, Fla., and Baltimore," says the propaganda.

Sorry. Calling the merged power company "Constellation" and having Florida bigwigs sometimes visit Baltimore does not make Baltimore half a headquarters. Or even a fifth.

Like pregnancy and the Heisman Trophy, corporate headquarters are all-or-nothing deals. The headquarters of the new Constellation Energy, parent of Baltimore Gas and Electric, will be Juno Beach, Fla.

Nine of the new company's 15 directors will be from FPL, parent of Florida Power & Light. FPL shareholders will own 60 percent of the concern. The dateline on the merger news release was "Juno Beach, Fla., and Baltimore, Md.," giving Juno Beach primacy despite Baltimore's alphabetical precedence.

The new company's chief executive is Lew Hay, FPL's boss. Headquarters are almost always where the CEO lives. While Hay supposedly will buy a home in Maryland, where he lived while working for Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice in the 1990s, I wouldn't bet that he gets his mail here.

And Mayo Shattuck, Constellation's present CEO and chairman, holds a subordinate position in the new outfit (despite munificent compensation) and can be expected to surrender executive responsibilities there long before Hay does.

Yes, Shattuck is chairman of the board of the new concern. But chairmen usually wield less power than CEOs, and anyway a chairman doesn't make a headquarters. Chairman is a non-operating job whose incumbent frequently lives far from the company.

Jerry Karabelas, chairman of Rockville's Human Genome Sciences, lives in New Jersey. But I haven't heard HGS claiming to be based in Princeton lately.

Yes, Shattuck holds a senior executive position with the new outfit, running deregulated energy markets. But he's not in charge, and the stars say he won't be there long as an employee. His operating job at the new company shares the second tier of the organization chart with three other people, and they all report to Hay.

But don't take my word for it. Here's Shattuck.

"Lew is the CEO, and that's clear and should be clear," he told analysts in New York yesterday. "We talked right from the start about our belief that one guy ought to be in charge, and we've seen others [mergers] where that hasn't been particularly clear."

Shattuck spoke of having stepped in as Constellation CEO "to help out in the last four years" after being an outside board member. That doesn't suggest he sees the company as a long-term employer. Hay said that, "in addition to his role as chairman of the board, Mayo has agreed to initially lead the new competitive energy business."

Note that word: initially.

Shattuck's new employment contract, signed Sunday, requires him to run the deregulated energy segment for no more than a year. After a year he can leave with essentially the same lucrative golden parachute deal he would have had without being employed by the new company.

Influence shifting to Florida aside, however, the buyout contains no obvious darts for Baltimore or the present incarnation of Constellation.

It's a stock-for-stock deal, meaning nobody is piling on debt requiring huge downsizing. Constellation's stock fell $2.52 after the deal was announced. There were some very ticked-off arbitrageurs, who take positions in merger targets hoping the price gets bid up. But the fact that FPL didn't overpay for Constellation means it might not be taking it out of its hide later.

Because each Constellation share will be worth 1.444 shares in the combined company, the effective dividend payout for Constellation shareholders should go up substantially.

BGE's distance from Florida Power & Light's territory limits the money the company can save by combining and shrinking its regulated utility staffs. Constellation's trading operation, a key nexus of financial expertise and leverage, apparently will stay in Baltimore.

And executive assertions that profit growth can come largely through revenue increases and non-employment cost-cutting ring true. As do contentions that power companies must consolidate anyway and that this lets Constellation and FPL build an "endgame" player, as Shattuck describes it, on their terms and schedule.

It's just that the player won't be based in Baltimore. In the Baltimore Business Journal's new "Book of Lists," just hitting the streets, there is a prominent Constellation ad touting the company's contribution to Charm City. The headline reads: "Who says Baltimore isn't a headquarters town?"

Well, yesterday's deal announcement says so. You just have to read between the lines.

Copyright © 2005, The Baltimore Sun | Get

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

I tend to agree with this. :(

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:52 AM

Baltimore gets another tower:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.mercy21dec21,1,4171298.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

:)

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:57 AM

jaysonjaz

December 21st, 2005, 01:17 PM

Baltimore gets another tower:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.mercy21dec21,1,4171298.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

:)

I think this one might be a push since the current tower at Mercy is about 18 stories, but this is a good thing. I've worked at Mercy for the past 3 years and I love it there. Its a great hospital.

PeterSmith

December 21st, 2005, 04:42 PM

A few months ago, the news of an 18-story tower would have made us ecstatic. I guess now it's just another piece of good news in the midst of more great news. But I am excited to see more about this. I always like to see more development on the north side of downtown.

PeterSmith

December 21st, 2005, 04:45 PM

Real estate firm sold for $1.3B
Fate of Town and Country’s 400 employees unknown

Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Onex Real Estate have agreed to buy Baltimore-based Town and Country Trust for $1.3 billion in a deal that would take the public real estate trust private and possibly open it to new growth.
-KATHLEEN JOHNSTON JARBOE

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

well, well, well. Another sell out.........

I don't know about Onex, but I know Morgan Stanley already has a heavy presence in the city. My guess is that they would keep most of jobs, if they're looking to expand their own operations, that is.

wada_guy

December 21st, 2005, 04:54 PM

wada_guy

December 21st, 2005, 05:03 PM

Real estate firm sold for $1.3B
Fate of Town and Country’s 400 employees unknown

By KATHLEEN JOHNSTON JARBOE
Daily Record Business Writer

Town and Country Trust owns 13,645 apartments. Under new ownership, the firm might redouble its expansion efforts, one analyst speculated yesterday.

Morgan Stanley Real Estate and Onex Real Estate have agreed to buy Baltimore-based Town and Country Trust for $1.3 billion in a deal that would take the public real estate trust private and possibly open it to new growth. Town and Country’s business has grown slowly since it took its portfolio of apartment complexes public in 1993. The company now owns 13,645 apartments, just 24 percent more than it did a dozen years ago.

The ownership change marks the end to the local holding of the collection of properties. The portfolio first began as an investment by the Meyerhoff family. Later it was sold to an insurance company before Town and Country purchased it in 1979. After going public, the firm once considered a broad growth plan to spread its brand throughout the East Coast, according to a New York analyst. But concerned with the debt loads, the management team backed away from the idea.

Under the deal, Harvey Schulweis, Town and Country’s chief executive, will step down. A New York analyst said management under the new owners might take a more aggressive approach to growth. “I always saw them as an obvious takeover target,” said Richard Anderson, an analyst with Harris Nesbitt in New York.

Many analysts consider multifamily complexes like those owned by Town and Country throughout the mid-Atlantic and Florida a low-risk investment. “There is an attraction to any sort of residential real estate. There is a stability to it. People have to live somewhere,” Anderson said. Although apartment investments suffered from the low interest rates that drove many families to home ownership, some market watchers expect a return in growth as interest rates go up and the children of baby boomers enter the rental market.

Just two months ago, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $2.1 billion for AMLI Residential Properties Trust, which owns more than 28,000 apartments throughout the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest and Mountain regions. The deal is the first real estate investment for Onex since its parent company, Toronto-based Onex Corp., decided to open a real estate division earlier this year. Anderson didn’t expect the deal to turn into a play to turn apartments into condos. “It’s a good business platform and worthy of being an ongoing concern whether public or private,” he said.

Industry watchers have long considered the Baltimore-Washington region, where Town and Country owns many of its properties, an attractive residential rental market due to its stable job base. Town and Country’s stock has been a steady grower since 1995. Share prices grew by about 32 percent between 2002 and Monday. Yesterday the stock surged 13.3 percent to close at $33.75 on news of the deal. “For our particular markets, I think the rental market has been pretty good,” Schulweis said.

Schulweis called the deal a great move for shareholders. Under the agreement, holders will receive $33.90 per share — a 16.5 percent premium over the 60-day average closing price. The deal must still be approved by two-thirds of Town and Country shareholders. But the agreement is expected to close during the first quarter of 2006. Schulweis declined to comment about when he began discussing the deal. In January, the company’s board updated severance agreements for the firm’s top management.

Also uncertain is what will happen to the approximately 400 workers Town and Country employs, according to December 2004 figures. Representatives from Morgan Stanley and Onex declined to discuss specifics about the deal. Schulweis said it was possible employees would stay where they are, especially since Morgan Stanley’s real estate arm is more of a real estate investment firm than a management company. “I would expect that the company would continue to operate with the people that are running it,” Schulweis said.
___________________

Perhaps this will now free up the old News American site on Pratt Street for development. Hopefully that lot is part of the deal and Schulweis will be out of the picture. You could have built Rome from scratch in the time he has dicked around with that site.

wada_guy

December 21st, 2005, 06:28 PM

Developer wants to renovate Medical Arts Building
If purchase goes through early next month, it could be converted into 90 apartments
By Jill Rosen
Sun reporter
Originally published December 21, 2005

The building that generations of Baltimoreans know as the place for checkups and teeth cleanings could soon become apartments. A Washington-based development company is finalizing a deal to buy Mount Vernon's Medical Arts Building at Read and Cathedral streets. Somerset Development principal Nancy Hooff said she expects to do a complete renovation of the building's network of office space to convert it into about 90 apartments.

If the purchase goes through as expected early next month, she said, construction could begin as soon as next fall. "It's a beautiful building and right in the heart of historic Mount Vernon," Hooff said. "I think it's a great opportunity." The tan brick structure was built in 1927. An array of doctors and dentists set up shop in there, and some offices are still active.

In 1998, a Sun columnist called the building's formality "a metaphor for the way we lived in 1950s Baltimore." "There was a doorman who wore a braided coat and plenty of porters scurrying about the first floor's Vermont marble corridors," the column read. "Someone always seemed to be polishing the brass railings. Today we'd consider it curious, but you had to go up a few steps to enter the lobby."

Hooff said the company plans to apply to the state for historic tax credits, a program that rebates a portion of the renovation costs to encourage preservation and attention to historic detail. Hooff declined to give the purchase price. According to state tax records, 101 Read LLC bought the property in April 2004 for $2.2 million.

Somerset has not finalized details of the project, including whether the units will be for sale or rentals. The building's lack of parking, Hooff said, probably makes it impractical for condominiums. However, she added, owners of nearby lots have pledged spaces so that future tenants would have somewhere to park.

The Medical Arts Building would be the second Baltimore project for Somerset. The company also is building the Station North Townhomes in the 1700 block of N. Calvert St.

wada_guy

December 21st, 2005, 06:57 PM

Passenger Ferries to Sail From Baltimore to Eastern Shore Again
Wednesday December 21, 8:00 am ET
New, Futuristic Vessels Will Fly Above Water at High Speeds

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Maryland's far Eastern Shore may soon be a quick trip from Baltimore, thanks to a speedy, futuristic ferry being developed by Maritime Applied Physics Corporation and A. James Clark School of Engineering researchers through the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program.

The plane-like boat, which could be in service year-round as early as summer 2007, will fly passengers 18 miles over the water from Rock Hall to Baltimore or back for potential shopping trips, coastal touring, evening dinners, Orioles games, cultural events, and commuting to work.

"Since the steamship days the Eastern Shore has held a certain allure for Baltimoreans," said P.A.M. Schaller, Director of Economic Development for Kent County. "Rock Hall has the flavor of a waterman's town. Nearby Chestertown has loads of 18th century architecture. Both have fabulous restaurants. It's like stepping back in time."

The trip by car is 80 miles, requiring a drive either north into Delaware, or south to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Passenger ships ran the same route as recently as the 1960s, according to Schaller. A 155-acre amusement park called Tolchester Beach north of Chestertown serviced a ferry and as many as six steamers, attracting 22,000 visitors a weekend. The 85-year-old park closed in 1962. Rock Hall and its neighboring areas are getaway havens, with booming summer communities of vacationing boaters from Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.

The new, 80-passenger ferry will be part plane-flying close to the water, lifted into the air by its aerodynamic hull; it will be part hydrofoil, a type of boat with wing-shaped blades attached to struts under the hull that lift the boat out of the water as speed increases; it will also be part luxury vessel, with leather aircraft seating, a coffee bar, and outlets for laptops.

The ride will be smooth. Hydrofoils are used by militaries worldwide to effortlessly glide over high waves.

The boat's hull design, unlike any other vessel, will make it perform like an aircraft. That's where Jewel Barlow, director of the University's Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel, comes in. "The hull we're creating is shaped like a wing to create lift, much like a plane, at low clearances above the water," Barlow explained. "This lift, occurring as the boat reaches high speeds, will support the weight of the ship and reduce drag while avoiding reverse lift, which would push the boat back down into the water."

No other commercial hydrofoil-based ferry on the market produces this kind of lift, according to Mark Rice, president of MAPC. Less drag, he explained, means less fuel consumption, which means lower trip costs, and possible speed boosts. The ferry could go as fast as 68 miles-per-hour. "We're trying to get the fuel-used-per-passenger-mile ratio down," Rice explained. "We'd like the ferry to perform at least 25 percent better than the Boeing JETFOIL, the most technically advanced passenger hydrofoil ever built."

That efficiency would make MAPC a world-leading innovator in hydrofoil ferries. "The intent is to find products made in the U.S. with a performance advantage that allow you to sell overseas," said Rice. "You can't go head-to- head with Asian builders on a product that can be built there for less. You have to add enough technical value to make up for the difference in purchase cost."

MAPC plans to build the first ten ferries, selling each for approximately $2 million.

Future high-speed ferry routes could include trips from Baltimore to Annapolis, St. Michaels to both Baltimore and Annapolis, and Cambridge to Annapolis. Similar routes in the U.S. are in Boston (to Martha's Vineyard), Seattle's Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, Long Island Sound, and Scotia. Many European and Asian ports also feature passenger ferry services.

About MIPS (http://www.mips.umd.edu )

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program, an initiative of the A. James Clark School of Engineering's Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, supports faculty-led research projects to help Maryland companies develop technology-based products-through funding matched by participating companies.

About Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (http://www.mapcorp.com )

Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) is an engineering firm that designs and prototypes complex mechanical, electrical, thermal and electronic systems.

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:20 PM

Real estate firm sold for $1.3B
Fate of Town and Country’s 400 employees unknown

___________________

Perhaps this will now free up the old News American site on Pratt Street for development. Hopefully that lot is part of the deal and Schulweis will be out of the picture. You could have built Rome from scratch in the time he has dicked around with that site.

You know, I was thinking about that too. I wish someone would come along a do something great there. :) I can envision a 55 story tower reaching 700 ft. tall at that 300 east pratt address. :D

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:21 PM

I think this one might be a push since the current tower at Mercy is about 18 stories, but this is a good thing. I've worked at Mercy for the past 3 years and I love it there. Its a great hospital.

You work at Mercy? That's cool. :)

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:22 PM

Mercy plans $297M expansion
Daily Record

Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore City is planning an 18-floor, $297 million patient tower just north of its main building, which opened more than 40 years ago. The new 729,000 square foot tower is to be built on a 1.13 acre site across Pleasant Street from the hospital's current main building.

The tower would have dual entrances on St. Paul Place and Calvert Street and would replace a Mercy parking garage, a city parking lot and parts of two alleys.

The plan would not add to the hospital's 228-bed capacity, but would allow Mercy to convert to all-private rooms and free up additional room for advanced medical technologies. Mercy filed an application Dec. 16 for the project with the Maryland Health Care Commission, which must approve large hospital expansion projects.

Its plans come as many local hospitals including St. Agnes Hospital, Franklin Square Hospital Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center are launching major expansions.

The hospital in 2003 opened a new $47 million women's health wing named for philanthropists Harry and Jeanette Weinberg.

Mercy over the past 10 years has been able to carve out its own niche in providing services to women. The hospital has been successful in developing specialties in such areas as breast cancer, gynecology and surgeries involving arteries, veins, feet and ankles.

Peg Benzinger, the hospital's vice president for business development, said the project is demonstrative of the hospital's financial strength. "It's great news for Mercy," Benzinger said. "It's great news for the people of Baltimore." Mercy is planning a 10-year, $30 million fundraising campaign to pay for the project.

The addition will include a 300-space parking garage, replace all the hospital's operating rooms and include six vacant floors that could be gradually filled as the hospital grows.

In a Dec. 12 letter to the heath care commission, M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corporation, said the city strongly supports Mercy's plans, calling the hospital "a major economic generator" for the city.
______________

At 729,000 square feet, it should be one very large building. I think it will be good for the city although there is a lovely row of cira. 1820 homes on St. Paul street that will become rubble because of this project.

I'd love to see a rendering of the new tower and how it will blend in that area. :)

StevenW

December 21st, 2005, 10:23 PM

PeterSmith

December 21st, 2005, 10:35 PM

I'd love to see a rendering of the new tower and how it will blend in that area. :)

That area of downtown is very interesting. Around that area St. Paul Street splits at Centre St. and again Franklin, I believe, into Light St. and St. Paul Place. I'm not even sure about the names, all I know is that it seems to serve as kind of a barrier for development where some areas are heavily developed with huge buildings and other areas aren't so. It's kind of where the CBD starts when coming from the north. Perhaps it's proximity to Mt. Vernon has caused some of this erratic development, but I think once the CBD is able to entirely engulf this confusing area we may see more activity here. Perhaps this will help alter this situation.

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 03:14 AM

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 03:21 AM

That area of downtown is very interesting. Around that area St. Paul Street splits at Centre St. and again Franklin, I believe, into Light St. and St. Paul Place. I'm not even sure about the names, all I know is that it seems to serve as kind of a barrier for development where some areas are heavily developed with huge buildings and other areas aren't so. It's kind of where the CBD starts when coming from the north. Perhaps it's proximity to Mt. Vernon has caused some of this erratic development, but I think once the CBD is able to entirely engulf this confusing area we may see more activity here. Perhaps this will help alter this situation.

Mercy Hospital has been a steadfast pillar in this area. I believe that before they built their current 20 storey tower (Emporis has it as the 35th tallest hospital in the world, for the statistically inclined), they considered a move to the suburbs, but decided against in a time where everybody else was getting out of town. After a couple expansions, they are ready to build again. Good for them, good for us and good for the neighborhood.

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 03:31 AM

More on current press about Bmore. For a hoot, look at the current issue of Southern Living, which leads you on a picturesque tour of some of the Baltimore highlights, including the waterfront, Federal Hill and Hampden. I'm always amazed at how they do features in us. The last big one I saw was all on Fells Point, which, in the article and its photos, looked cleaner than downtown Annapolis. I love Fells Point, but squeaky clean isn't one of the things that come to mind there. They seem to be trying the same thing for Hampden, which also has plenty scruffy corners left. They recommend leaving your car taking a cab to these locations. I guess the intricacies of the MTA are beyond description to southern tourists.

StevenW

December 22nd, 2005, 04:03 AM

One more interesting note for today's news; apparently the idea of a streetcar line from downtown to University Parkway is still alive. See - http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=574&NewsID=683013&CategoryID=8012&on=1

Sometimes there are interesting articles in these neighborhood papers that don't appear in the larger press.

This is a great and encouraging article:

Trolley idea said to still be on track

12/19/05
By Brandon Dudley

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The idea of a trolley system between the Inner Harbor and University Parkway seemed to gain support after community groups from up and down the Charles Street corridor met with the firm hired by a business group to design the system.

Kittelson & Associates Inc. presented initial plans this week to representatives of the North Charles Civic Association, Friends of Wyman Park Dell, the North Charles Village PUD (Planned Unit Development) Committee, the Greenway Community Association, Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Kittleson & Associates was hired by the Charles Street Development Corp., a nonprofit group formed in 2000 to encourage more retail and housing along the corridor.

Kittleson made its presentation Monday afternoon after a meeting to update community groups on separate plans for another major project, the reconstruction of North Charles Street between University Parkway and 25th Street.

The Charles Street meeting and trolley presentation both were held in a board room at the museum.

Building a fixed-rail trolley line on a looped route from the harbor north to University Parkway would cost $100 million to $150 million, according to Kittelson Senior Principal Ed Meyers, who heads the Baltimore offices of the Portland, Ore.-based firm.

The majority of the 7.5-mile route north would be on Charles Street, while most of the route south would be on St. Paul Street, Meyers said.

Southbound, the trolley, also referred to as a streetcar, would turn on Mt. Royal Avenue and continue south on Maryland Avenue, Cathedral Street and Hopkins Place before reconnecting with Charles Street at Conway Street.

The trolley would run on a fixed track and be powered by electric lines strung above it, much like the light-rail line. Trains would run every 10 minutes in lanes for both cars and the trolley.

For other vehicles, the trolley would add about a three-second average to the signal delay for northbound traffic during peak morning hours. Cars would run on average about a half-mile per hour slower.

During peak evening hours, the trolley would add an average of about eight seconds at traffic signals and the overall speed would be reduced 1.2 mph, Meyers said.

The main benefits of the trolley would be "attracting development and connecting the attractions that we have already," he said.

Kittleson chose Charles Street for its historic nature and development potential along the corridor, Meyers said.

Designers also looked into less expensive, rubber-wheel trolleys, which are glorified buses, instead of those running on a fixed track. But the impermanence of a rubber-wheel trolley system would not show the long-term commitment and investment that would draw new development, said Klaus Philipsen, of ArchPlan Inc., an architectural and urban design firm also working on the project.

He said a fixed-track trolley would have a certain cachet among riders who don't normally use public transportation.

"It's not entirely rational," he said. "You have to offer them something that has an amount of sex appeal."

The trolley could help draw tourists - and their money - to northern attractions in the city, such as the BMA, the Lyric Opera House and the Walters Art Gallery, as well as to shops and restaurants in the area.

Each year, "17 million people are visiting the Inner Harbor and they're clinging to the shoreline," Philipsen said.

"It would also be great for the Hopkins students," Meyers said. "It would improve their quality of life."

Because it would serve both tourists and residents, "it's going to be win-win," Philipsen said.

Community group members seemed mostly positive about the project, though some were concerned about potential conflicts with the Charles Street reconstruction project and the overhead wires.

"I'm a huge fan," said Sandy Sparks, chairwoman of the North Charles Village PUD Committee.

Sparks said she went to Portland in 2002 to see its trolley system, which was also built by Kittelson, and loved it.

"It was a very pleasant experience to ride," she said. "It was appealing to everyone who possibly could have driven their car but opted for the streetcar. It brought development; it brought business; it paid off."

Beth Bullamore, president of the Charles Village Civic Association, liked the idea, too, but had concerns about the overhead wiring.

"I like the basic idea," she said. "Our community is really in favor of workable mass transit ... Baltimore does not have a functional mass transit system right now."

E-mail Brandon Dudley at Brandon Dudley@patuxent.com

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 04:18 AM

Another tidbit from the Messenger about a proposal for streetscaping along Charles St at JHU -

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=574&NewsID=682997&CategoryID=8012&show=localnews&om=1

This, along with the Collegetown devopment, can really upgrade this area.

seanlax5

December 22nd, 2005, 04:26 AM

That would be cool.
I'd use it.

Check this website I found while searching for info on Fairfield-

Baltimore development (http://www.baltimoredevelopment.com/index.asp)

CU_rak

December 22nd, 2005, 04:35 AM

There is an article in today's Wall Street Journal in the Property Report section that describes the Hopkins biotech park and also has some stats about the real estate market in the city. I don't have a subscription, so I can't post it, but here's some info:

*Median home prices in the metro area have risen from $154,800 in 2002 (below national) to $282,100 in the 3rd quarter 2005 (31% above national)

*In-city home values have nearly doubled to $131,000 last month since 2002

*Volume of office property sales is up sharply since 2002 and prices are rising

*Avg. price per sqare foot for office is still below national average at $147 per sq ft

*Overall vacancies are below the national average and fell again in the third quarter, while rents (still below average) rose in the same period

Also, there's some additional info on their website: http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/livingthere/20051221-livingthere.html
This kind of exposure is excellent for the city!!

DCKenny

December 22nd, 2005, 04:41 AM

So what going to be the tallest building in Baltimore since The Regis Hotel is gone?

robert parsons

December 22nd, 2005, 06:57 AM

well if st regis is out why doesnt ritz carlton step up to the plate with hotel plans????

wada_guy

December 22nd, 2005, 12:47 PM

Also, there's some additional info on their website: http://www.realestatejournal.com/columnists/livingthere/20051221-livingthere.html
This kind of exposure is excellent for the city!!

Thanks CU-rak!

By Maura Webber Sadovi
Special to The Wall Street Journal Online

Baltimore has fought an uphill battle against urban decay to realize the promise of its "Charm City" nickname, and has garnered praise in recent decades for the transformation of its industrial waterfront into today's vibrant Inner Harbor with shopping pavilions and the retro-style Camden Yards baseball stadium.

Now, row houses far from the splashy tourist attractions -- as well as suburban homes throughout the region on the Chesapeake Bay -- are getting a lift from the nationwide housing boom. Strengthening office-property values are following the residential market's lead. "Baltimore's reputation as a distressed city is changing," said Anirban Basu, chief executive of Sage Policy Group Inc., an economic consultancy group in Baltimore.

Median home prices in the Baltimore metro area have jumped from $154,800 in 2002, slightly below the national level, to $282,100 in the third quarter, or 31% above the U.S. median, according to the National Association of Realtors. City home values have also nearly doubled to a median of $131,000 last month since 2002, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. The boom is putting the brakes on the city's population decline, which is slowing after falling by 84,860 people from 1990 through 2000 -- the biggest numerical drop of any major city in the U.S. -- even as the region overall grew, according to the U.S. census.

Developers are betting that the trend back to the city will continue. According to TWR/Dodge Pipeline, 828 new condominiums are expected to be completed in Baltimore next year, up from 386 this year. City condo sales nearly doubled in the third quarter from the year earlier, though Katie Grove, president of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, expects the rate of price appreciation to slow next year in the region's housing market.

Some of the residential housing is in mixed-use projects that are pushing beyond the central business district into newly revitalized neighborhoods. Forest City Enterprises plans to begin construction next year on a 276,000-square-foot biotech building, which will be part of a larger project in East Baltimore. That complex is just north of the Johns Hopkins medical complex, which is to contain 1.1 million square feet of research and office space, as well as retail and residential; construction is planned to start next year.

The area's improving economy and spillover demand from the booming Washington real-estate market less than 40 miles away is also driving demand for the Baltimore region's apartment, office and retail sectors. Vacancies, already below the national average, fell in the third quarter from the year-earlier period while rents, though also below average, rose, according to Property & Portfolio Research Inc., a Boston-based real-estate research firm.

The volume of office property sales is up sharply since 2002 -- in terms of dollar volume and square footage -- and prices are rising, though the average price per square foot paid of $147 for the year through October was still well below prices in the $400 range fetched in Washington, according to Real Capital Analytics in New York.

Some investors are paying more. Wells Real Estate Funds, on behalf of its Wells REIT II, purchased the trophy office building known as 100 East Pratt in Baltimore's Inner Harbor for $316 per square foot this year. Don Miller, Wells's chief real-estate officer, said the city's proximity to Washington helped make the acquisition attractive.

Hugh Jaramillo

December 22nd, 2005, 05:01 PM

BDC Web Site

Does anybody have any idea why when you go onto the the Baltimore Development Corps web site and you click on the activities (or any of the tabs for that matter) and then you chose say office, it always says 'coming soon' and nothing else is shown? I thought awhile back that maybe they where revamping their site which I think they did but they never put back the picutres and descriptions of the projects that you used to see when you clicked on those links before they revamped it!

Wada guy, thanks for posting all of your informative posts. I always look forward to reading them when I see you signature picture of the Washington Monument!

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 08:54 PM

well if st regis is out why doesnt ritz carlton step up to the plate with hotel plans????

Does it really matter that much? Sure it would look nice on the postcards, but most of us would never enter the building and it would not have much impact on our lives. We might just go another 20 years before getting another "tallest" but if street life continues to improve, if retail continues to grow, if people who have options in their lives continue to buy homes in the city, then so what if our tallest building is a comparative weenie?

If you look at figures on Emporis, discounting disputes about the precise accuracy, you can probably accept that their catalog of buildings is at least somewhat correct. By their count NYC has almost 6000 tall buildings and Paris only a paltry 250 (not MUCH more than Baltimore) and Rome, only 9 (less than Towson). I don't think that any Parisian would accept that idea that Paris is a lesser city because of that, much less that NYC is 24 times the city that Paris is. Personally, I would rather see 3 20 storey buildings than 1 60 because it would fill in more land with new development and increase the probability that land in that area would become more valuable and perhaps spawn the next layer of building. That would be preferable to one giant building that takes years to rent and depresses the market for years.

scando

December 22nd, 2005, 08:57 PM

jaysonjaz

December 22nd, 2005, 09:58 PM

Looks like their web crew is waiting around for stuff to post. Being in that line of work myself, I sympathize with web guys waiting for non-tech-savy wheeler-dealer prima donnas who think that content just materializes on there.

Its been that way for the past 6-12 months. Someone over there should really get their act together and fix those links. Their site used to be a really good source of info, but now its rarely updated.

vivo

December 22nd, 2005, 10:27 PM

Canton vs federal hill

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.rivals22dec22,1,5798248.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Clarkycat

December 22nd, 2005, 10:33 PM

1, As someone who has spent a lot of time at Mercy recently with my pregnant wife and also worked nearby for almost three years, my big beef with that area is the retarded design of the park at St. Paul's Place - a badly defined little strip of land that mainly serves as a hang-out for the homeless (like most public spaces in Baltimore, it must be said) with its fancy, ornate steps that lead promenading couples up to ...the access alley to the Verizon building? Rome's Spanish Steps it is not.

It almost rivals the mess where MLK meets Howard St. at the gigantic Rite Aid traffic island.

2, A few posts ago, some people were complaining about the cost of construction in Baltimore. I had heard that one of the reasons for this is the proximity to the harbor, plus brownfield clean up costs. With the proposed new convention center, for example, they are going to have to spend millions doing remedial work. Don't think it would go down to well if the 300 million hotel flooded, would it? But that's the price to pay for living in a post-industrial city...

StevenW

December 22nd, 2005, 10:57 PM

News concerning the old GM site: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/12/19/story4.html

scottbbfm

December 22nd, 2005, 11:25 PM

Mercy plans $297M expansion
Daily Record

Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore City is planning an 18-floor, $297 million patient tower just north of its main building, which opened more than 40 years ago. The new 729,000 square foot tower is to be built on a 1.13 acre site across Pleasant Street from the hospital's current main building.

The tower would have dual entrances on St. Paul Place and Calvert Street and would replace a Mercy parking garage, a city parking lot and parts of two alleys.

The plan would not add to the hospital's 228-bed capacity, but would allow Mercy to convert to all-private rooms and free up additional room for advanced medical technologies. Mercy filed an application Dec. 16 for the project with the Maryland Health Care Commission, which must approve large hospital expansion projects.

Its plans come as many local hospitals including St. Agnes Hospital, Franklin Square Hospital Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center are launching major expansions.

The hospital in 2003 opened a new $47 million women's health wing named for philanthropists Harry and Jeanette Weinberg.

Mercy over the past 10 years has been able to carve out its own niche in providing services to women. The hospital has been successful in developing specialties in such areas as breast cancer, gynecology and surgeries involving arteries, veins, feet and ankles.

Peg Benzinger, the hospital's vice president for business development, said the project is demonstrative of the hospital's financial strength. "It's great news for Mercy," Benzinger said. "It's great news for the people of Baltimore." Mercy is planning a 10-year, $30 million fundraising campaign to pay for the project.

The addition will include a 300-space parking garage, replace all the hospital's operating rooms and include six vacant floors that could be gradually filled as the hospital grows.

In a Dec. 12 letter to the heath care commission, M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corporation, said the city strongly supports Mercy's plans, calling the hospital "a major economic generator" for the city.
______________

At 729,000 square feet, it should be one very large building. I think it will be good for the city although there is a lovely row of cira. 1820 homes on St. Paul street that will become rubble because of this project.

Coincidentally I was looking at that site just a couple days ago as I have a nice view of the location from my office. Those little row houses, although I'm just guessing, are probably some of the last remaining in the CBD. I thought it would be a good location to put a building, yet incorporate those row houses, just like what is planned for 400 E Baltimore street or DC style (ie the mexican embassy). However with 18 stories planned, it would probably look out of proportion, and not to mention tough to incoporate as a hospital.

Hospitals are nice because they typically build some big buildings and make an addition to the skyline, but the main problem with them is that they make the area less desirable at night. They are loud and can end up creating a barrier between sections of the city because they require lots of 'back end space" ER entrances, ally's, dumpsters, etc. but its definitely better than a grimy area.

Clearly I'm not anti hospital or this undertaking by mercy, but hospitals need to make sure they take steps to fit into the fabric of a city to the best of their abilities.

jaysonjaz

December 23rd, 2005, 12:57 AM

1, As someone who has spent a lot of time at Mercy recently with my pregnant wife and also worked nearby for almost three years, my big beef with that area is the retarded design of the park at St. Paul's Place - a badly defined little strip of land that mainly serves as a hang-out for the homeless (like most public spaces in Baltimore, it must be said) with its fancy, ornate steps that lead promenading couples up to ...the access alley to the Verizon building? Rome's Spanish Steps it is not.

You can't blame Mercy for that park. Its very old. I tried to find information on it but couldnt find too much. It was named for James H. Preston Mayor of Baltimore from 1911 to 1919. It was formerly the site of Baltimore City College.

Mercy has launched an effort over the past few years to really make the park nice. My understanding was that it wasn't too friendly looking of a place several years ago.

http://img465.imageshack.us/img465/8977/card00661fr2rn.jpg

PeterSmith

December 23rd, 2005, 01:43 AM

PeterSmith

December 23rd, 2005, 01:45 AM

StevenW

December 23rd, 2005, 02:14 AM

Also, I wanted to comment about how happy I am to hear that the Charles Street Strretcar is still on track. I've loved this idea from the start, and I'm especially happy that they share my view that a steel track streetcar will be much more effective than a rubber-tire streetcar. The price on this project isn't all that high either, and I'm glad to hear that it can be easily integrated into traffic. I really think the sky is the limit in regards to this project.

I too am excited about this. I am equally if not even more excited about this news than that of 414 Light street, 300 east pratt or one light street. :)
I sure hope Baltimore gets this new streetcar system. It will be a really great thing for the city, tourists and residents and workers and shoppers alike! :)

PeterSmith

December 23rd, 2005, 02:26 AM

I too am excited about this. I am equally if not even more excited about this news than that of 414 Light street, 300 east pratt or one light street. :)
I sure hope Baltimore gets this new streetcar system. It will be a really great thing for the city, tourists and residents and workers and shoppers alike! :)

I agree. While not as practical as mass transit, streetcars will definitely improve street life and get Baltimoreans out and enjoying their city again. What better accent to Charm City than the charm of street cars?

StevenW

December 23rd, 2005, 03:36 AM

agreed. :)

scando

December 23rd, 2005, 04:25 AM

Also, I wanted to comment about how happy I am to hear that the Charles Street Strretcar is still on track. I've loved this idea from the start, and I'm especially happy that they share my view that a steel track streetcar will be much more effective than a rubber-tire streetcar. The price on this project isn't all that high either, and I'm glad to hear that it can be easily integrated into traffic. I really think the sky is the limit in regards to this project.

I wish they would start digging tomorrow and take it further than University Parkway but I hope this happens and is a success. I do wonder where the money will be coming from. It's not a huge cost but 100 million isn't pocket change in the city budget.

scando

December 23rd, 2005, 04:38 AM

^^ As I mentioned in an earlier post, that park area is very confusing. I personally think the quite beautiful, but the fact that there are so many roads intersecting around it cause just a little too much traffic, making the park very pedestrian unfriendly. Trying to think of some ways to remedy this, I can't come up with much. As long as that area acts as a main artery heading south, not many people are going to want to spend time there except the homeless.

I think it's there because, when it was built, the park and Mt Vernon were the only plots of open space in downtown and it seemed like a good use for the land. The land sits on a very steep slope between Charles and Calvert Sts and doesn't look like it would have been a very good building site. The park doesn't seem like it ever found its purpose in life. The recent improvements have made it more attractive but still it's just part of the long climb to Charles St. It might find some use if there were some residential property adjecent to it but the Standard seems like the only sizable residence that is likely to be there for now.

Gsol

December 23rd, 2005, 04:34 PM

I think it's there because, when it was built, the park and Mt Vernon were the only plots of open space in downtown and it seemed like a good use for the land. The land sits on a very steep slope between Charles and Calvert Sts and doesn't look like it would have been a very good building site. The park doesn't seem like it ever found its purpose in life. The recent improvements have made it more attractive but still it's just part of the long climb to Charles St. It might find some use if there were some residential property adjecent to it but the Standard seems like the only sizable residence that is likely to be there for now.

Perhaps the park can revivied somewhat by doing what was done at Bryant Park in NYC, the park adjacent to the NY Public library at 42nd between 5th and 6th. It used be mostly inhabited by the homeless. Now there is a flea market, bar-restaurant and more benches.

I don't know if this would work for Preston Gardens, since Bryant Park is in a heavily pedestrian traveled location. But more emphasis could be placed on public amenities, perhaps an outdoor eatery in the summer. Somehow it needs to be reconfigured to attract more people into that space.

StevenW

December 23rd, 2005, 08:26 PM

"City's design panel approves plan for convention headquarters hotel"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published December 23, 2005
Baltimore's proposed $305 million convention headquarters hotel won a key approval yesterday from a city design panel.

After more than a year of scrutiny, the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel gave final approval to the design by RTKL Associates for a 19-story, L-shaped tower that is to have 756 rooms, 62,000 square feet of meeting space and 550 parking spaces and alter the city skyline near Camden Yards and the Baltimore Convention Center.

The city must still arrange bond financing before it can start building the publicly owned Hilton downtown, but officials said yesterday that the hotel remained on track to open in 2008.

"My ambition was to have a hotel that would be a good neighbor to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and to Camden Station, which are two great landmarks, but to also have its own identity and to have a memorable image for folks who are going to come to town for the first time," said M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development arm that is overseeing the project.

The City Council approved plans for the hotel, the city's costliest public project ever, in August after months of intense debate over financing. The city will build and own the hotel, paying for it by issuing up to $305 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds.

The Hilton hotel chain will operate the hotel, to be called Hilton Baltimore.

Brodie said yesterday that the city is still in talks with bond-rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's and hopes to get a favorable investment-grade rating. The city hopes to proceed with selling the bonds next month.

Yesterday's approval means the architects can now work on construction documents that can be used to build the hotel on two parcels bounded by Howard, Camden, Paca and Pratt streets.

Brodie described the lengthy design process as an evolution. Design panel members approved a preliminary design, signing off on the tower's location, height and layout of rooms, ballrooms and meeting rooms nearly a year ago.

The final version, approved yesterday, calls for a three-story brick-and-glass base, or podium, for the tower, of the same type of brick used for the ballpark.

"The first three levels are what people walking on the street will see, and we wanted to relate those very closely to Oriole Park at Camden Yards," Brodie said. "We wanted it to be very transparent, for people to look in and see inside."

The guest rooms, with an exterior of off-white and silver metal panels and glass, will appear to float above the podium, Brodie said. The hotel will include a public open space, with trees and benches outside the shops and restaurants expected to be part of the hotel.

Several panel members complimented the architects on making strides in improving the building's design from earlier concepts.

"We're very pleased with where you are and the effort you have made," Mario Schack, design panel member, said in granting the approval.

Other panel members, however, asked the architects to consider alternatives to a white metal panel system proposed for certain exterior walls. "I just feel this is a little drab," panel member Deborah Dietsch said about one wall that would be visible from the seats at Oriole Park.

Thom McKay, a vice president of RTKL, referred questions about the design to BDC officials. But he said, "We look forward to the hotel becoming a reality."

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Ed Gunts contributed to this article.

Ron C

December 23rd, 2005, 10:07 PM

I think it's there because, when it was built, the park and Mt Vernon were the only plots of open space in downtown and it seemed like a good use for the land. The land sits on a very steep slope between Charles and Calvert Sts and doesn't look like it would have been a very good building site. The park doesn't seem like it ever found its purpose in life. The recent improvements have made it more attractive but still it's just part of the long climb to Charles St. It might find some use if there were some residential property adjecent to it but the Standard seems like the only sizable residence that is likely to be there for now.

St. Paul Place was part of a program of "slum" clearance in the early 20th century. At the time, slums were associated with crowded black neighborhoods. The city wanted to remove them from the center of town, and B&O expansion at Camden Station and St Paul Place both resulted in significant displacements of black residents. According to writer Sherry Olson: "The number [of houses] demolished from the St. Paul St. squares was never reported, but removal of Negro dwellings was an objective of the project. Such property was always regarded as a public nuisance." (Baltimore, The Building of an American City, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980.)

waj0527

December 23rd, 2005, 11:34 PM

I'd really like to see these changes. Im sure its just minor details, but I'd still like to see the final rendering.

I didnt know this was supposed to have street level retail. That could help. I wonder if its gonna be touristy stuff or more geared to shops and restuarants that can also cater to residents of Greenhouse and Zenith Apts.

Is ground level retail slated to be included at the Zenith too?

PeterSmith

December 24th, 2005, 12:37 AM

Yeah, I'd like to know some more information on this project too. Was it always slated for 19 stories though? I thought it was supposed to be 24.

PeterSmith

December 24th, 2005, 03:26 AM

Interesting article. Not sure how I feel about it. Losing either the Everyman or the condo development would be a loss for the area. Hopefully something can be worked out.

The Block
Real-Estate Boom and Ambitious Development Plans May Chase Everyman Theatre out of Station North Arts District

Jefferson Jackson Steele
LIFE OFF THE STREET: The Everyman Theatre (first door from left) will have to leave its home on the 1700 block of North Charles Street. By John Barry

On a snowy Saturday night, the 1700 block of North Charles Street is jammed with theatergoers, barflies, crêpe aficionados, and film buffs. Lines of ticket buyers snake along the sidewalk, and calamari eaters peer out the glass windows of Tapas Teatro. The Everyman Theatre, situated at the corner of Charles and Lafayette streets, is filling up—at the end of a six-week run, its latest production, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, is still sold out on weekends.

Inside, though, space is tight. The theater itself is lined with chairs you might find at an academic seminar, and the patrons are busy stepping over one another to reach their unreserved seats. The stage is well suited to this production, in which three men are chained together in a cell, but with eight or nine characters things get tight.

The 170-seat Everyman may be a victim of its own success. Presently, its sold-out production runs leave no room for rehearsals in the performance space—actors rehearse off-site. Over the last two years, the alternatives have become increasingly clear: Either the Everyman finds a way to expand in its current location or it leaves the neighborhood, its only home since 1994.

For years, the Everyman has eyed the long-closed Chesapeake Restaurant at the south end of the block, 1701 N. Charles St., as the answer to its travails. The aging Baltimore landmark has been mostly empty for 20 years. It is large enough to accommodate a theater the size Everyman desires, and it could give the company a permanent place in the center of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, the area of the North Charles corridor bound roughly by Pennsylvania Station on the south and 20th Street on the north that the city and state have targeted for tax incentives and promotion for arts-related uses.

Now, though, the Chesapeake Restaurant lots may become occupied by a 13-story condominium. In a Sept. 12 press release, the Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC)—a quasi-governmental organization that facilitates development in the city—announced that Baltimore had accepted a $47.5 million proposal for a massive renovation and reconstruction of the lots, a plan that leaves the Everyman out in the cold.

Inside the theater, it doesn’t take much to get people started on the subject of big development and the city. “It’s all about taxes,” says Mel Greenberg, a subscriber to the Everyman for four years. “Since Everyman is a nonprofit, and the place is popular, the city wants someone who brings money in.”

“You talking about the Everyman?” asks another woman farther down the aisle. “I’ll tell you why they’re doing it.” She holds up an imaginary dollar bill. “That’s why.”

In the front lobby between acts, state Sen. Paula Hollinger (D-Baltimore County), who is running for U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin’s 3rd District seat, is more reticent. While she is a longtime theater patron, and eats frequently across the street at Zodiac, she says she isn’t really prepared to comment on the development itself.

She may have a point. The development of lots No. 8 and No. 9—where the Chesapeake’s shell now stands—is a legally and financially complex deal. The three major real-estate owners on the block have a long and contentious history stretching back decades. For the theatergoers and local artists, however, the ultimate irony is that while the city and state trumpet North Charles’ 1700 block as the center of a cultural renaissance, they have lost the chance to keep one of the city’s few professional live theaters, a touchstone player in the block’s resurgence, in the neighborhood.

Behind the Club Charles’ bar is a sign with plastic lettering: save the everyman. call the mayor’s office! 410-396-3100.

Expletives pepper Club Charles and Zodiac Restaurant owner Joy Martin’s thoughts about why the city hasn’t made a serious effort to find the Everyman a home in the arts district. “They used to call this place the hole in the doughnut,” she says, sitting at the bar on a recent snowy Saturday afternoon. “It was the shithole in the doughnut before the Everyman came. And now there’s going to be a 13-story glass condominium?”

The Chesapeake renovation plans begin with the BDC, one of the city’s most powerful if most inscrutable agencies. It facilitates development in the city by streamlining the bureaucratic process, recommending city loans, and using the city’s right of eminent domain to gain possessions of lots for development.

For more than a decade, the BDC and the city have had their eye on lots No. 8 and No. 9 at the corner of Charles and East Lanvale streets, which includes the Chesapeake and a parking lot, as prime candidates for development. For 18 years, it had been owned by attorney Robert Sapero, who managed to outmaneuver the 1700 block’s major landowner, Alan Shecter, by purchasing the property in 1986. The building has remained mostly dark since; finally, in April 2004, the city slated the Chesapeake for seizure by eminent domain.

Early this year, the BDC sent out requests for development proposals. The Feb. 8, 2005, press release clearly outlines the city’s intent: to encourage development in an area north of Penn Station and south of 20th Street—the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. It calls for proposals that would maintain the character of the area as a “vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with particular emphasis on arts and entertainment,” and specifies “uses which include or are supportive of arts and entertainment venues” as a goal.

It was the moment for which Everyman artistic director Vincent Lancisi and the theater had been waiting. The theater had just completed a 2004-’05 season in which the hit play Proof had sold out for seven weeks, demonstrating it had outgrown its tiny home. Using its limited resources and working with a local architect, the Everyman submitted a $7.5 million proposal to the BDC to transform the Chesapeake and surrounding lots to accommodate a 250-seat theater. The proposal included plans to redo the upper floor to provide classroom space and to renovate two East Lanvale Street rowhouses. With support from the city, the Everyman could find a permanent home. Without it, Lancisi says, it would have no choice but to leave. “If it doesn’t work out,” he said in a Feb. 10 Baltimore Business Journal article, “Everyman has to move somewhere else.”

Unfortunately, the Everyman was competing against some major local developers—particularly those who teamed up to form the Station North Development Partners, which includes Tower Hill Development and Consulting, the Miller Group, and real-estate developer Alan Shecter. Since Shecter already owns much of the real estate on the 1700 block of North Charles, the Station North Development proposal is ambitious: the $47.5 million Chesapeake Square, a mixed-use area to include construction of a 13-story condominium, 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, 15,000 square feet of office space, 11 townhouses, and a 190-space parking garage. As a concession to the arts community, the project includes five “artist’s lofts”, as well as office space for the Schuler School of Fine Arts in a building to be constructed at Charles and Lafayette streets.

Paired off against Station North Development and one other proposal, the Everyman couldn’t match the architect wattage or financing of the competing proposals. The Everyman’s hope was that, in the fledgling arts district, the city would use its influence to give the only live theater in Station North a permanent home at 1701 N. Charles St.

It didn’t happen. On Sept. 12, the BDC announced its acceptance of the $47.5 million Chesapeake Square proposal. “We considered the alternatives and, basically, [Station North Development] seemed to be the ones who had the big picture,” BDC President M.J. “Jay” Brodie says. “They had financing ability as well.” He notes that, though BDC rejected the Everyman’s proposal, it will help the theater find a new home. Meanwhile, the BDC entered into a 180-day exclusive negotiating privilege with Station North Development.

The proposal’s legal difficulties, meanwhile, had just begun. To pave way for the development, BDC announced that the Chesapeake was slated for condemnation—meaning that the city would seize the property, permitted under the state’s eminent-domain laws. In the process, the city would compensate owner Robert Sapero $770,000, the building’s market value declared by the Baltimore City Board of Estimates Oct. 27.

Sapero strongly disputed the estimate, and then said that 30 days prior to the Board of Estimates meeting he had sold the lot for $2 million to an anonymous buyer. In a recent call, Tim Sutton, Sapero’s spokesman, identifies the purchaser as Vic Cheswick, but says Cheswick’s plans for the building are uncertain. The city, meanwhile, refused to recognize the sale—if $2 million is accepted as the property’s value, the cost of seizing the lots would more than triple—and is taking the dispute to court.

Sutton says he wonders why the city is willing to shell out so much in potential legal fees to pursue the property when the block itself is relatively healthy. “It’s a waste of the city’s economic resources,” he says. “They could be using that money to develop North Avenue.”

The exclusive relationship between the BDC and Station North Development leaves many business owners in the arts district feeling left out of a decision-making process that will change their lives dramatically. These grumblings are in part fueled by the BDC’s identity as a nonprofit organization independent of the city that conducts most of its dealings behind closed doors. The BDC makes its press releases public via its web site, but its lack of community involvement in its decision-making leaves some local businesspeople feeling left out of the process.

Attorney John Murphy has represented small businesses in the struggle to make BDC negotiations public. Murphy is currently awaiting a verdict in an appeal of a 2004 lawsuit on behalf of nine downtown west-side business owners who claim that their interests were not taken into account in the BDC’s “superblock” redevelopment plan in the area bounded by Howard, Fayette, Clay, Park, and Liberty streets. Much of Murphy’s argument rests on the operations of BDC itself: While BDC claims to be a nonprofit not required to make its negotiations public, Murphy says that since BDC performs a public function the public should be allowed to participate in the process.

“Open-meetings laws were enacted in Baltimore 30 years ago, but the BDC hasn’t complied,” Murphy says. “It’s a public entity. The mayor has total control over the BDC, and all the directors serve at his pleasure. Just look at a list of the board members.” He notes that three of BDC’s 14 board members come from city offices: Edward Gallagher, the city’s director of finance; Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano; and Clarence Bishop, the mayor’s chief of staff.

Murphy also notes that, while defending itself against his lawsuit, the BDC has used a lawyer provided by the city. “I know my clients would love to have a city lawyer defending them,” he laughs.

He says the influence wielded by board members such as Graziano is particularly intimidating for small businesses in their dealings with the BDC. As executive director of the Baltimore City Housing Authority, Graziano oversees the municipal agency charged with housing and building code enforcement, which plays an essential role in determining condemnations. While not accusing the BDC or Graziano of any improprieties, Murphy says that since the boundaries between city government and the BDC are blurred the economic development agency needs to conduct its business in the public eye.

“They’re using public authority, state money, and eminent domain to facilitate this sort of large-scale redevelopment,” Murphy says. “Often the government puts their spin on it in the press release. But what are the real commitments being made to the community?”

Few on the 1700 block of North Charles are ready to accuse the BDC of impropriety, but many wonder if, after declaring the area an Arts and Entertainment zone, the state and city have effectively dropped the ball by allowing the BDC and big developers a long leash.

Martin, whose Club Charles and Zodiac Restaurant have both profited significantly from the overflow of the Everyman, doesn’t mince her words. “We’re being screwed,” she says. “Before Everyman came here there was a paraphernalia shop, a crack house, [and] a porno bookstore on that side of the street. Now they bring in big developers, they let them put up this giant building. There’s a ton of resentment. We can’t lose the Everyman. Why can’t the city spend money on streetlights? People can’t walk up past North Avenue because they’re afraid of getting mugged.”

Lancisi tries to remain above the fray of the development storm. Sitting in his office next to a board scribbled with proposals for next season’s productions, he foresees the Everyman’s imminent departure—perhaps in three years—with genuine regret. This is a neighborhood he helped revive, and he doesn’t want to leave.

The early days at Station North, he recalls, were a trial by fire. Lancisi arrived in Baltimore in 1990 with a mission to create affordable, accessible professional theater, and the nascent Everyman company teetered on bankruptcy as it migrated from one venue to the next. Four years after its debut production in 1990, the Everyman finally found a home at the corner of Charles and Lafayette in an old two-story bowling alley.

“You can find the lanes right under here,” Lancisi laughs, tapping the boards underneath his desk. “There were lanes upstairs as well. I always wondered what it sounded like.”

The building’s owner, Alan Shecter, charged Everyman almost nothing. “I think it was $2,000 for the whole first year,” Lancisi says. The rent was cheap for a reason. “The street was dark, it was 80 percent vacant. The Charles [Theatre] was dark that year—people don’t remember that. There was a liquor store on the other side, and a diner, and Club Charles, and that was it. This was going out on a limb. We had nothing to lose. I remember running to the back of the theater when the BGE people were coming to turn us off. There were rough, rough times.”

The Everyman barely made it through its first few Charles Street years. With an $18,000 debt, the theater would have closed down permanently if it had not been for an anonymous cash donation and a determined board of directors. Now, Lancisi can rest easy about the electric bill. While the Everyman isn’t making money, it is financially solvent with a large body of supporters and a string of successful productions. The theater remains a nonprofit organization, with almost half of its annual revenue coming from contributions. In 2004, $474,526 of its $1 million total revenue came from contributions, with the rest coming from government grants ($70,735), program services ($458,040), and special events ($17,488).

Choosing his words carefully, Lancisi prefers to speak about the Everyman’s predicament in terms of the bigger picture. On the cusp of a real-estate revival, he says, the city may have lost control over its own real estate. Tax breaks and partial funding that the city gives artists in the area is not enough to keep them there. Given the current boom, the city needs to take more active measures to find permanent bases for theaters and other arts.

“I know the city is trying to do things to attract artists,” Lancisi says. “One thing that’s going to be crucial—if you want artists to come to an arts district, you have to give them a reason. One thing that would make a difference is ownership. When they don’t have ownership, the artists who attracted people to the community get forced out. Rents go up, they go out the door. They don’t need tax breaks. They need to be able to own their space at a low cost. I don’t know if Baltimore is ready to do that.”

Despite its much higher real-estate values, Lancisi points to Washington—where he received his theater degree—as an example of a city that managed to become one of the country’s major theater centers. He says D.C. achieved this by requiring large developers to provide permanent space to nonprofit theaters and artists.

“That’s what happened to Woolly Mammoth Theatre,” Lancisi says, referring to a popular Washington company that moved into a new building on D Street last year. “It’s a beautiful new space. But in exchange for the right to develop, the building’s developers included space for a new theater.”

It’s that sort of developmental attitude that, Lancisi says, helped Washington nurture the growth of its now 72 professional theaters—in a city that only had 15 when he graduated from Catholic University in 1988. When he came here in 1990, Lancisi hoped Baltimore would follow suit. If anything, the number of theaters has declined.

“Even five or six years ago, there were six or seven small professional theaters besides us,” he says. “Then they just disappeared, one by one.”

Now, Baltimore City is home to only three professional theater companies: the Everyman, Center Stage, and the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival. And that’s not nearly enough, Lancisi says. “I was hoping there’d be a renaissance,” he says. “All the ingredients seem to be here. All these empty buildings. When I arrived, it seemed that Baltimore was on the cusp of something, and we still keep hearing, ‘It’s on the rise! It’s on the rise!’ But it never quite happened.”

StevenW

December 24th, 2005, 04:00 AM

Have we seen a rendering of this 13 story building, yet?

PeterSmith

December 24th, 2005, 04:16 AM

Steven, yeah, this building is the one that resembles the Gallery. Here is the rendering:

http://www.pfarc.com/images/05010/04.gif

http://www.pfarc.com/images/05010/03.gif

http://www.pfarc.com/images/05010/02.gif

http://www.pfarc.com/images/05010/01.gif

StevenW

December 24th, 2005, 05:49 AM

Whoa! That's different.

StevenW

December 24th, 2005, 05:50 AM

btw, is it LAW in Baltimore that every building to be built in the city must at least have a brick base? :? :D

scando

December 24th, 2005, 05:57 AM

A brick base with a Bauhaus-y top. I like the design, but then I like lots of weird buildings, including the proposed condo next to Port Discovery and the big man-woman scupture at Penn station. I'd like to see something innovative occupy the parking lot immediately south of the Chesapeake building.

StevenW

December 24th, 2005, 03:21 PM

I mean, I like the over-all look. I guess it sort of has that, "Baltimore", look to it. ;)
Are there other cities around the USA or world that have a similiar theme? :? :)

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 06:39 AM

P.F. Chang's searching for downtown site
Julekha Dash
Staff
Baltimore may soon get its first Asian restaurant chain.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. is "looking actively" for a site in downtown Baltimore for a 7,000-square-foot restaurant, said Laura Cherry, a spokeswoman for the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm.

Cherry said the company would not be able to divulge further information, including where the restaurant would be located, until the end of January. P.F. Chang's currently has two other Maryland restaurants, in Columbia and North Bethesda.

Speculation on potential locations include Harborplace and the new Lockwood Place.

This summer, P.F. Chang's opened its fast casual concept Pei Wei Asian Diner on the Baltimore-Towson border, Pei Wei's first mid-Atlantic location. Next year, P.F. Chang's will open a 3,000-square-foot Pei Wei store on Dobbin Center Way in Columbia.

If it opens in Baltimore, P.F. Chang's would join several other national restaurant chains which have bitten into the downtown market. Two steak restaurant chains, the Capital Grille, a division of Atlanta-based RARE Hospitality International Inc., and Louisiana's Ruth's Chris Steak House, both opened downtown locations this year.

Downtown Baltimore has gained a national profile among restaurant firms as more residents move to the city, said Licia Spinelli, director of marketing for the Columbia-based Restaurant Association of Maryland. The number of downtown residents doubled to 10,000 between 1999 and 2005, according to Downtown Partnership.

Downtown's demographics have also prompted regional restaurant owners to set their sights on Baltimore for expansion, Spinelli said. Spanish tapas restaurant La Tasca, which has outlets in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va., will open at downtown shopping mall Harborplace in the spring.

Harborplace is one of a handful of downtown sites that could accommodate P.F. Chang's. The Dec. 31 closing of Harborplace eatery City Lights Seafood leaves the mall with a 5,200-square-foot opening for a new restaurant or retailer. Kent Digby, general manager of Harborplace & the Gallery, could not be reached for comment.

Another possibility is Lockwood Place, a downtown retail site at the corner of Pratt and Market Place, which recently attracted electronics chain Best Buy Co. Inc. Arthur Adler, a partner at David S. Brown Enterprises, said the developer is talking to prospective tenants but could not provide further comment.

BigBalto1

December 26th, 2005, 04:48 PM

Anybody heard anything on the Super block

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 04:59 PM

Block plans under debate
Developers seek OK to demolish iron buildings
By Jill Rosen
Sun reporter
Originally published December 26, 2005

A year after officials refused to allow a "facade-ectomy" on a protected west-side block, deeming the buildings there too historic for that kind of procedure, the same developers now want permission to demolish the structures altogether.

The developers say that without demolition - their foiled facade-ectomy would have torn down everything but the historic facades - their planned multimillion-dollar overhaul of the block isn't feasible.

But preservationists are equally adamant about saving the block, a key link between downtown and the nascent west-side renewal. It's an urban stretch that includes some of Baltimore's only remaining cast-iron buildings.

"It's a virtually intact block of historic buildings in a very important location," says Baltimore Heritage Director Johns Hopkins. "This is a great one - this is one of the defining elements of Baltimore."

Two years ago, with some degree of fanfare, city officials announced the city's choice to redevelop the 400 block of W. Baltimore St.

Just steps from the Hippodrome Theatre and the $80 million Centerpoint apartment homes with its brand-new Starbucks, the block is widely considered to be a crucial piece of the city's west-side redevelopment efforts.

The chosen team, David S. Brown Enterprises, A&R Development Corp., and Baltimore Street shop owner Steve Samuelson planned to spend $15 million converting the block's century-old storefronts, now a scrappy collection of shops, into modern offices and space for national chain restaurants.

The developers also promised to honor the city's 1999 pact with preservationists to retain most of the buildings.

Yet in December 2004, when the team presented the city's architecture review panel with its initial plan for the block - the facade-ectomy - officials rejected it for failing to show enough deference to the street's history.

Despite that rebuke, the developers now insist that demolition is their only option.

Anthony T. Rodgers, A&R's executive vice president, declined to comment for this story, while David S. Brown Vice President Arthur Adler did not return phone calls.

However, Rodgers has made his intentions for the block clear to area preservation organizations and to the city's planning department.

He wrote of his intention to seek an exception to the urban renewal plan, the ordinance that protects the block, in a recent letter to Hopkins and Tyler Gearhart, executive director of Preservation Maryland.

"The modification is necessary [to] make any development plans ... feasible," Rodgers wrote, telling the two he wanted to demolish both sides of the block.

Rodgers added that he wouldn't "necessarily" demolish all of the structures.

"Our development team understands the passion of the historic community and understands that many will fight this change; however we feel it is required for us even to reach an amenable development accord."

Samuelson, who owns a jewelry store on the block, said he wasn't aware of Rodgers' and Adler's plans. But he said he was eager to see the project move forward.

"It's out of my control," Samuelson said. "I'm sitting in the middle of all this garbage. I want to see it done as quick as anybody."

Planning Director Otis Rolley III said there is little chance the city would bend its rules to grant the developers their wish.

"Demolition is just not an option there," Rolley said.
Hopkins is still concerned.

"It's a serious threat," he said. "They're dead serious with this."

Though preservationists would hate to lose any of the buildings on the block, where buildings date to the 1800s, they're particularly concerned about the cast-iron structures.

In the mid-1800s, cast iron became a popular building material but by the 20th century, cheaper metals had largely replaced it.

Baltimore's fire of 1904 wiped out a once-rich reserve of iron edifices. Many of those that survived the fire were razed in the 1970s for the Inner Harbor and Charles Center redevelopment efforts.

According to the book Baltimore's Cast-Iron Buildings & Architectural Ironwork, Baltimore had more than 100 iron buildings a century ago. By 1962, just 36 were left and by 1991, only 10.

Of what's left, two are in the 400 block of W. Baltimore St.

After the hard-won battle to shield the block from development threats, former Baltimore Heritage President John Maclay said preservationists aren't about to give an inch.

"We won that then," he said, "and we certainly don't intend to lose it now."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 05:02 PM

Historic Brexton building to become condominiums
Architecture: Edward Gunts

Originally published Dec 26, 2005
Two years after a Washington-based developer bought Baltimore's long-vacant Brexton apartment building with the idea of converting it to a new use, a key city agency has approved plans for its restoration.

Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, a division of the city Planning Department, approved this month a proposal by Park Avenue LLC to convert the six-story building to upscale condominiums.

Designed by Charles Cassell in the Queen Anne style and located at 868 Park Ave., the Brexton is one of the city's most distinctive buildings - triangular in plan, with elaborately decorated windows, intricate roof forms and turrets like those on a castle. It was briefly the childhood home of Wallis Warfield Simpson, who became the Duchess of Windsor.

Annapolis architects Steven Kahle and Charles Roberts developed plans for creating six one-bedroom residences and seven two-bedroom residences within the shell of the building, which dates from 1881.

"This is an unparalled building," city planner Jim Hall told the panel before the final vote. "It is a wonder."

"This is a project that must go forward," said chairwoman Judith Miller. It "takes a ... vacant building and puts it back into use."

For most of the past century, the Brexton was a conventional apartment building. It became rundown starting in the 1960s and has been vacant since 1987.

Since then prospective owners have considered a variety of redevelopment options, including a bed and breakfast operation, artists' housing and a dance club. The primary stockholder of Park Avenue LLC, Stephen Mowbray, bought it in 2003 from a group that acquired it at auction several years before and restored parts of the exterior but never firmed up plans for the interior.

Despite its memorable appearance, the building has proven resistant to redevelopment because it has no parking on the premises. Its interior has been stripped of much of its detail, including fireplace mantels and shutters.

"Because of its richness, intricacy and the small scale of its parts, this building will be very expensive to restore," Hall told the commission. "Yet the number of square feet on each floor is so small that it will be difficult for the building to generate enough income to pay for the operating expenses and mortgage needed to pay for its rescue."

After exploring a number of ideas, Mowbray's group determined that the best use for the Brexton would be condominiums. "It's the thing that comes closest to supporting the cost of the rehab," said project manager John Simpson.

The estimated renovation cost is at least $4 million, and the condominiums are expected to cost $500,000 to $750,000, he added. The target market for the residences is empty nesters and others who "want to return to the city for the social life" it offers.

Simpson said the restoration has been designed to comply with federal and local guidelines, so purchasers may be eligible for tax breaks for historic preservation.

The developers plan to install a new elevator in the original pentagonal elevator shaft, reopen the fireplaces, re-create a missing entrance canopy and save other building elements. They intend to provide off-street parking on land Mowbray owns nearby.

"Our goal was to identify and preserve the most significant architectural features of the building and to take advantage of them in the residences," Kahle said. "It's a very quirky, interesting building. ... We're working with what we have."

During the commission's meeting, part of the presentation focused on the need to construct a stair tower to replace a metal fire escape on one side of the building.

The architects proposed a stair tower that would surround the old elevator shaft and would be constructed partly inside and partly outside an existing exterior wall. They proposed cladding the addition with brick in a color slightly different from the two shades of red brick already on the building, rather than a material not already on the exterior, such as stucco or large sheets of glass.

After a lengthy discussion about the degree to which the addition should blend in with the original building or be differentiated so it's clear that it's a later addition, the panel voted 4-1 to accept the architect's approach. The commissioners asked the designers to meet with city staffers to select the exact combination of brick color and mortar color but said the team did not have to make another presentation to the full commission.

Several panel members praised the architects and developers for finding a clever way to add a stair tower without cutting into the amount of living space in the building.

"I think it's a wonderful project," said panel member Judith Van Dyke. "It's beautiful, really."

Tourism awards
The Louisa May Alcott Orchard House in Massachusetts, a 1690 residence where Alcott wrote Little Women, is the winner of the 2005 Sustainable Tourism Award for Preservation co-sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine and a nonprofit group called Tourism Cares for Tomorrow.
The Orchard House, which opened to the public in 1911, is dedicated to preserving the Alcott legacy through programs, tours and living history events. It received more online votes from the general public than two other finalists, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum, which was restored and expanded after the roof of its historic roundhouse collapsed in a 2003 snowstorm.

The award comes with $20,000 and is given to an organization that supports the preservation of historic or cultural subjects and has a clear connection to tourism. The runners-up receive no money but are part of an elite group of cultural institutions acknowledged for their preservation efforts. "It really is a high honor" to be chosen as a finalist, said B&O museum director Courtney Wilson.

A second establishment, the 10-room Black Sheep Inn Ecolodge in Ecuador, received the 2005 Sustainable Tourism Award for Conservation from the same group. Other finalists in the conservation category were Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa and the Chumbe Island Coral Park in Tanzania.

ed.gunts@baltsun.com

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 05:03 PM

Anybody heard anything on the Super block

I've heard nothing lately on the "Super Block".

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 05:11 PM

Harford, get ready for the boom times
They're coming. There's no way to stop them. So just get ready.

It's simple advice for any Harford Countian who is a bit worried about Aberdeen and its environs becoming the next hot destination. With an estimated 20,000 jobs heading to Harford County over the next decade thanks to the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, plan, big growth is inevitable. Who wouldn't be a little worried?

The benefit to the economy, though still not estimated, will likely be great. The military is transferring 6,200 high-paid military workers into the region from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Aberdeen Proving Ground in the next 10 years. County officials estimate that civilian jobs will sprout at a rate of 2-to-1 over military jobs. That's not even including the potential spinoff of new companies and the increased braintrust in the region.

But there is always a downside to growth.

Thousands more people need houses, schools and government services. School overcrowding is often a given in a fast-growing, poorly planned region. The area's already crowded roads will see more vehicles.

Harford County is making the right move in acting now to try to avoid the overcrowding that affected St. Mary's County when the Patuxent River Naval Air Station received thousands of reassigned military jobs in the mid-1990s.

The county has established a planning commission to study the projected growth's effect on its sewer, water, roads and schools. The commission must do more than study. It must act. Done right, the changes to Harford brought on by the BRAC closings will be welcome.

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc

scando

December 26th, 2005, 05:42 PM

Harford, get ready for the boom times
They're coming. There's no way to stop them. So just get ready.

It's simple advice for any Harford Countian who is a bit worried about Aberdeen and its environs becoming the next hot destination. With an estimated 20,000 jobs heading to Harford County over the next decade thanks to the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, plan, big growth is inevitable. Who wouldn't be a little worried?

My bet's on them messing up this opportunity. Over the years, I have known two types of people from Harford. One type was the agricultural/rural people, who have been getting squeezed out in recent years. The others were pretty staunch suburban types who believed that life consists of a single house on a grassy plot with a driveway and a conspicuous garage so they can drive to wherever on I 95 and complain about traffic on weekdays and go to Walmart or Kohl's on Saturday. In spite of the fact that rampant growth hasn't been all that kind, everybody I talk to there seems to think that the only answer is more of the same. I bet that when it comes to the planners coming up with smart growth communities or just spreading the McHouses around the entire county on whatever farmland is left for sale, they choose McHouses. Sad... it was once a very pretty county.

StevenW

December 26th, 2005, 05:50 PM

Yeah? That's sad, then. I'd hope they'd plan for smart growth.

waj0527

December 26th, 2005, 09:11 PM

Is this the final design for the CC hotel? I wish it were taller. It may look a bit better. I think I'm gonna like the streetscape changes to that area. Is the street between Camden Yards and the Hotel site being closed to automobile traffic?

http://www.rtkl.com/images/portfolio_images/Baltimore%20Hilton_cropped.jpg

scando

December 26th, 2005, 09:40 PM

Yeah? That's sad, then. I'd hope they'd plan for smart growth.

It is and all I hear about the upcoming change are the usual expressions like "how many more roads will we need? or "how many schools do we build?" and "my area is already too built up...put them somewhere else", etc. I wish somebody from Harford would tell me that what I am wrong, but I don't think I am.

fluffyhorse

December 26th, 2005, 10:11 PM

Is this the final design for the CC hotel? I wish it were taller. It may look a bit better. I think I'm gonna like the streetscape changes to that area. Is the street between Camden Yards and the Hotel site being closed to automobile traffic?

In regards to the Hilton design, I don't see anything so special and wish that the architect was more creative and designed the building comparable to other landmark buildings being constructed around the world. Such as the construction now in Jakarta or Asian boomtowns. Overall I find the design bland and boring, relatively indestinguishable from other buildings downtown.

Baltimore has enough brick base boxlike buildings and has been in need of a landmark that would also attract attention/commerce from other areas. That is why I like the Michael Graves "Pez Building" just because it is somewhat different.

CU_rak

December 26th, 2005, 10:13 PM

That CC hotel looks a lot better than before, but I'm wondering if it is just the artist's doing since the design looks pretty much the same. From what I read in the paper, this is the final design, so I guess we should get used to it and hope it looks more like the second rendering. Can somebody repost the original one so we can compare?

By the way, the Zenith looks great in the background there!

StevenW

December 27th, 2005, 01:11 AM

really, the best thing about this development is the density and street life added.

http://www.rtkl.com/images/portfolio_images/Baltimore%20Hilton_cropped.jpg

scando

December 27th, 2005, 05:49 AM

really, the best thing about this development is the density and street life added.

In light of one of your previous comments on the condo behind the Charles Theater, does this appear to be another building with a brick base and something less on top? Is this Baltimore's brick rowhouse tradition? While I'm in my question mode, I looked at your link to RTKL, checked out their web site and my question is, why do all architects have some sort of time consuming Flash animation that you have to look at before you see the guts of their web site?

RTKL often seems to be ahead of the wave on architecture. I wonder if they see something in this design that eludes me? The windows (fenestration for the verbally pretentious) looks like a magnification of the pattern of 1's and 0's on a CD surface. The "K" in RTKL used to be a neighbor of mine. He was retired but recalled many times how his firm had moved their offices, each time they arrived at their new location just before the place like Annapolis or whatever had become cool. They are now in Fells Point (odd, FP has always been cool). Maybe they know something about this building that I miss. It looks like a Federal office building. I just hope this monster gets built sometime before we all get old and before the city goes broke.

DCKenny

December 27th, 2005, 06:00 AM

Are there going to be a Dave & Buster in Baltimore?

gych

December 27th, 2005, 06:07 AM

wada_guy

December 27th, 2005, 01:23 PM

I have a question for you guys about Cordish Co. As you know, they developed 4th St. Live here in Louisville which is similar to the Power Plant Live. How is retail in that area in Baltimore? After the Power Plant rejuvenated the inner harbor, how long did it take for retail to move in and what are some examples of stores? The reason I ask is bc Cordish has had their development here for 2 years and while it brought some good entertainment, we are less than satisfied with the retail. Has Cordish been known to bring in major department stores or other forms of boutique retail around these areas, or do they focus exclusively on restaurants/entertainment?

Cordish has just aquired another 60,000 sq foot building adjacent to the develpment in Louisville and is apparently looking for more space. Based on their history, any chance they have strong retail connections to bring in a department store in an urban district? How about boutiques or discount retailers like Target or TJ Maxx? Sorry to interupt your thread, but I am too curious.
Cordish has historically concentrated on the entertainment aspect of development though they are branching out into other areas. They are now into gambling in Florida, malls in Atlantic City, and condo's in Baltimore.

In Baltimore they initially constructed the Power Plant which is a mixture of retail and entertainment. It has a Border's Books, ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. It also has a large office component.

After they built that, they got control of a whole city block approximately 2 blocks from the Power Plant. They call that development Power Plant Live and it is almost exclusively entertainment oriented. There are tons of bars and restaurants such as Rams Head, Ruth Chris, Howl at the Moon, Havana Club, etc. It is visable from the Power Plant and is connected to it by a wide boulevard.

If you go to thier web site, http://www.cordish.com/, click on the "New Development" button and then on the links for the Power Plant and Power Plant Live. This will give you an overview of what they have done here. Make sure you hit the "Next" button under the photos to page through all of them.

Also, if you go to the first page of this thread, the third post is a picture of his newest project in Baltimore. It is a highrise condo designed by Michael Graves and it will be located next to Power Plant live over a subway station.

So, in answer to your question, in Baltimore he has done very little retail and lots of entertainment venues. I believe it's all about economies of scale. The more entertainment venues located in an area, the more successful they all become. They feed off of each other.

Another developer, however, has stepped up and built a retail complex in the area between Cordish's two developments. A large new Best Buy just opened on the third floor of this complex called Lockwood Place. There is talk of a Pottery Barn locating on the first floor.

A 60,000 square foot building is not large. Typically, a Target or TJ Max is at least 100,000 square feet. If I were a betting man, in Louisville I would expect to see entertainment on the lower floors and residential or office above - if there is an above. Who knows though. He will put in what he thinks will be most successful. I do know that the mall Cordish constructed in Atlantic City is fairly high end retail and there were lots of public subsidies involved. The good thing is he will not sit on the project and will move ahead quickly.

I hope this was helpful.

scando

December 27th, 2005, 01:42 PM

Wow, Baltimore is really starting to take off. Nice development posts.

I have a question for you guys about Cordish Co. As you know, they developed 4th St. Live here in Louisville which is similar to the Power Plant Live. How is retail in that area in Baltimore? After the Power Plant rejuvenated the inner harbor, how long did it take for retail to move in and what are some examples of stores? The reason I ask is bc Cordish has had their development here for 2 years and while it brought some good entertainment, we are less than satisfied with the retail. Has Cordish been known to bring in major department stores or other forms of boutique retail around these areas, or do they focus exclusively on restaurants/entertainment?

Cordish has just aquired another 60,000 sq foot building adjacent to the develpment in Louisville and is apparently looking for more space. Based on their history, any chance they have strong retail connections to bring in a department store in an urban district? How about boutiques or discount retailers like Target or TJ Maxx? Sorry to interupt your thread, but I am too curious.

Cordish (a hometown guy) has 2 large developments in the area, both of which are significant additions to their respective areas. In downtown Baltimore, the Power Plant rejuvenated a huge hulking empty steam power generating plant (empty for years, 2 previous failed rehab attempts) into a successful office-retail-restaurant building. It contains a Barnes and Noble, Hard Rock and the very first ESPN Zone. Across the street, a bunch of old small dead buildings were converted into Power Plant Live, which has about a dozen restaurants and a large music venue (Rams Head Live).

Both the Power Plant and PP Live have been very important additions to Baltimore, although it would be an overstatement to refer to them as having rejuvenated the harbor, which was doing well anyway. In Towson (nearby suburb) a long dead "old-time" department store was converted into Towson Circle, a bunch of retail stores including Barnes and Noble, Trader Joe's, Pier One and and some other stores; again a really important addition to downtown Towson. Neither retail environment appears to be able to support a department store but nevertheless, both developments are of huge importance in their respective areas. Currently Cordish wants to add a 30-something storey condo building to the Power Plant Live development; it's architecture has raised eyebrows, but he really wants to put some rubber on the road.

You may have reservations about his gimmicky architecture, but in an area where big neon signs and garish designs can fit in, I really like what he does.

wada_guy

December 27th, 2005, 04:22 PM

Use the following link to see a nice collection of downtown Baltimore photographs that were taken in 1985. The link is to the United States National Park Service (NPS) site and the photographs were taken to support the creation of a historic district downtown.

You don't realize how much things have changed in 20 years until you look back. A lot of buildings visible in the photos, like the Tower Building, have since been demolished. The buildings that once occupied the Alex Brown (Commerce Place) site were beautiful (page 23, right).

http://www.nr.nps.gov/photograph/87002065.pdf

I found this link while trying to see the status of a new Federal Courthouse that is scheduled to be built downtown sometime in the next 10 years. Looks like it will be a while because it hasn't been designed yet. It's still on the list of courthouses to be replaced though.

__________________________________________
On another note,
http://www.rtkl.com/images/portfolio_images/Baltimore%20Hilton_cropped.jpg
The bottom of the hotel reminds me of Mervo High School.

Brian21

December 27th, 2005, 05:14 PM

Wow, thanks for those photos wada guy. Yes alot of has changed in 20 yrs. I was only 4 yrs old when these pics were taken. :)

pepperjack

December 27th, 2005, 05:30 PM

thank link is pretty cool. We need some current shots at those locations so we can compare.

Where was that Bennigans? I don't recognize that location or that building.

wada_guy

December 27th, 2005, 05:45 PM

The Bennegin's is now part of Power Plant Live. It's the structure in the middle of Market Place that will most likely be demolished for the Pez Building by Cordish. Before that complex became Power Plant Live, it was a real 2 level shopping mall with relatively high end stores. The developer went belly up!

Funny thing, when I looked through all the photos there is one of City Hall. There is scaffolding in the exact same place on the building as it is today (page 67). Perhaps the more things change, the more they stay the same! I wonder if it's the same scoffolding? It's a city building and we all know that "work" can't be rushed! LOL :devil:

DCKenny

December 27th, 2005, 05:55 PM

Wow 1985 I was 12 on 13 back in those days!

waj0527

December 27th, 2005, 06:47 PM

Maudibjr

December 27th, 2005, 06:54 PM

http://www.nr.nps.gov/photograph/87002065.pdf

I found this link while trying to see the status of a new Federal Courthouse that is scheduled to be built downtown sometime in the next 10 years. Looks like it will be a while because it hasn't been designed yet. It's still on the list of courthouses to be replaced though.
.

Nice photo find.

Do you have more information on a new Federal courthouse for Baltimore? This is the first I have heard that it is being replaced anytime soon.

We could luck out with a fairly tall building with a decent design, such as Seattle's. or Portland, OR. :cucumber:

wada_guy

December 27th, 2005, 07:21 PM

Here is the link to GSA's site that contains the list of cities to get new courthouses. There was something in the Sun about this a few years ago. They said it was going to cost a bundle and that the Garmatz building would become federal offices. They also said the judges hated the Garmatz building court rooms (not enough marble and dark wood)!

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?programId=8393&channelId=-12922&ooid=8294&contentId=14152&pageTypeId=8195&contentType=GSA_BASIC&programPage=%2Fep%2Fprogram%2FgsaBasic.jsp&P=PM

I have no idea how I got from the GSA site to the park service site. I think I did a search on the GSA site using "Baltimore Courthouse" and wound up at the Park Service site after clicking on one of the returned links.

Law enforcement is definately a growth industry downtown. We don't have to worry about some company purchasing the courts do we? I look to see a new Federal AND State courthouse in the next few years. The lot on Baltimore Street, where the Tower building was, is the site they are eying for the new state court.

Eerik

December 27th, 2005, 09:17 PM

Those are amazing photos wada_guy! Perhaps some of that Baltimore charm comes from the fact that they are black and white photos?

I couldn’t help but notice the prevalence of several things in those photos: people/foot traffic on the streets, street retail (i.e. Radio Shack at the SE corner of Lexington and Charles Street), and near completion of several significant construction projects downtown (at the intersection of Baltimore and St.Paul/Light Streets). I remember the timeframe of when those photos were taken very well. Looking at those photos brings back a memory of a tide of optimism that was completely swept away some seven or so years later.

The weeks leading up to the holidays were so busy that I kept forgetting to cite another article, this time in The Sun, about a new courthouse. The December 4th article by Julie Bykowicz featured an interview with Circuit Judge Holland and her wish for a new modern courthouse. Premise being the current courthouse is too small and congested.

What was missing, as I recall, were the complaints heard already some 10-15 years ago, about the existing buildings being laden with asbestos and “bad air”. Debate has flipped back and fourth across Monument Square, that the old Post Office, or Courthouse East should be fully renovated to free up more space in the West Building. Once in a very blue moon, as in this article, discussion focuses back on the old Tower Building site as a possibility for a new building.

According to the article, “the study, by Richter Cornbrooks Gribble Inc. architects and Ricci Greene Associates, proposed eight locations for a courthouse, including Holland’s preferred site near the Munsey Building. If it were built on that land, according to the study, the courthouse would need to be about 15 stories and would encompass 40,100 square feet. The researchers ranked this the preferred site, noting proximity to the other courthouses and to mass transit. Other suggested locations include Guilford and Saratoga Street, Guilford and Lexington Street, the Fallsway between Pleasant and Gay Streets (across from the Juvenile Justice Center) and the Fallsway between Madison and Monument streets.”

The one detail here that I’m not too sure about is the quotation about space: 40,100 square feet. That is not the size of the lot, and at 15 stories it can’t be the total square footage of built space. My suggestion: perhaps it ought to read 400,100 square feet total built space?

I guess, as wada-guy said, it shows you can’t rule out crime as yet another generator for economic development…

Hugh Jaramillo

December 27th, 2005, 09:51 PM

Thoughts on the Convention Center Hotel

Well, I'm glad to say that I was somewhat assuaged when I saw the rendering of the proposed Hilton convention center hotel in the business section of the Sun on Friday. However, I don't think that it's quite there yet!

The base and especially that low rise brick building across from Eutaw St., looks hideous. I reminds me of a wharehouse in Glen Burnie. The fenestration on the 2 towers is a vast improvement and the entire look has a more stylized feel to it and looks less fortress like than the previous renderings showed. I like the base in the old rendering better than the new one though. My main concern is that they get on with it and start to build it, because I feel a lot of time has been unneccessarily wasted. This is never going to be an elegent looking or tall building but then when you compare it to the Marriott Waterfront, it's a bit of an improvement. RTKL does some nice work and I wonder why this project has never really inspired them to do better than what has been proposed so far?

The photos of mid 80's downtown Baltimore where really interesting Wada Guy. Thanks for sharing those. We really have come a long way since those days, especially in terms of the number of people who are choosing to live downtown. I read an interview with Kurt Schmuck in this mornings Sun paper, boy what a blighter he was!

DCKenny

December 27th, 2005, 11:25 PM

Those old pictures of Baltimore in the mid eighties. It seems that there no people downtown? Was the downtown population small back then?

jaysonjaz

December 28th, 2005, 12:54 AM

StevenW

December 28th, 2005, 02:09 AM

I'm sorry, but, every time I see the old Tower Building in those photos it just makes me mad that it's still not there. It really was a Baltimore charm, (very much missed). :(
I'm glad I got to see it up close back in 83'-84'.
I wish they would use that top clock portion again. You know? Wouldn't it be really nice if some architect could incorporate that top of the tower building onto a new courthouse? :D To me it would be a nice tribute to the old tower. :)

BTW, thanks for posting those pics wada guy.

scando

December 28th, 2005, 03:50 AM

Wow...what a great link. Thanks for posting it Wada_Guy.
I was barely talking when those pictures were taken, so its not like I remember a whole bunch about Baltimore during those days.Downtown Baltimore had soooo much charm and character back then. Its kinda sad to see what great buildings were dimolished (esp on Baltimore Street near 'The Block') to make way for today's unspectacular edifices.

I was there to see those old buildings and while they had some charm (the Tower Building was my favorite), they were also grim, grimy, underutilized, small, smelly and deteriorating. They also were not all that old, having been built after the 1904 fire and while they had ornate fronts, the rest of the building was just a block with little merit on the interiors. Aside from the Tower, there isn't much there that I miss. The best part, Redwood St, is still mostly there but I can't say that I miss the Tower's neighbors all that much and any time they want to take the remains of The Block, or give it to David Cordish, I am on board.

scando

December 28th, 2005, 04:04 AM

Those old pictures of Baltimore in the mid eighties. It seems that there no people downtown? Was the downtown population small back then?

The downtown resident population then was close to zero but there were also at least as many people working downtown then and more people seemed to go out to lunch to eat and shop compared to today's puritan tinged stoic/workaholic atmosphere where people pleasurelessly subsist on coffee and Pringles. Those pictures must have been taken at a quiet part of the day because I remember the streets being more busy then than now.

DCKenny

December 28th, 2005, 07:10 AM

So you're saying that the streets of Baltimore where more busier 20 years ago than today because my first time I went to Baltimore back in 86'!

Eerik

December 28th, 2005, 07:37 AM

I'd love to see a new courthouse in town. The building as it is now is a huge dead spot on Pratt St. Maybe when the new courthouse is completed, they can do some renovations to make the building articulate better with Pratt.
Don’t confuse the Mitchell Courthouse/Courthouse East with the Edward A. Garmatz Federal Courthouse at 101 W. Lombard Street. Two different courts at different locations...

...but it would be an improvement if somehow, the building could better relate with the street. The original structure cost ca. $22 million to construct; who knows, once the building ages a little bit more, the next round of renovations may not be as justified as the last. They'll probably tear it down and build something new. Another RTKL beauty. It's amazing to watch how quickly RTKL has lost luster in the last twenty or so years; in the US, modernism isn't as popular as it once was. No wonder RTKL opened offices in Asia and Europe.

Eerik

December 28th, 2005, 08:12 AM

So you're saying that the streets of Baltimore where more busier 20 years ago than today because my first time I went to Baltimore back in 86'!
Many of the photos from 1985 were taken September 3rd, the Tuesday after Labor Day. Based upon the direction of the sun, I’d say its mid afternoon. When I used to work in Baltimore, the only real street “crowd” appeared around lunchtime, and only on nice days. If the weather was too hot or cold, or rainy…most office workers stayed inside. Besides the CBD, the only other real pedestrian activity was along the Lexington Street Mall. Areas along Calvert Street, Guilford and others were relatively dead. (As a side note, in the 1980s, Calvert Street was considered the “back office” artery for the CBD. Most of the large corporations had support staff located in cheaper, less glamorous office space. Little did we know that twenty years later the ENTIRE CITY would be termed as a “branch-office city”!)

Today, there are less office workers in the CBD. They have been replaced by the lost and wandering tourist from the harbor.

The real blow to retailing in the CBD came in 1986 with the opening of the Gallery at Harborplace. Many of the existing retailers moved to 200 E. Pratt Street. So, Waldenbooks, who used to have a location at the NE corner of Lombard and Charles Streets, vacated and moved to The Gallery. Others simply went out of business since newer and larger competitors moved into town via The Gallery. When I worked at the BDC, this was -- and always will be the challenge – how to generate more customers for existing and proposed new retail. Since office occupancy has been relatively flat in Baltimore for the last ten or so years, the only real hope is the proposed influx of new residential for spurring downtown. Let’s hope the market doesn’t falter on us!

gych

December 28th, 2005, 08:56 AM

Cordish has historically concentrated on the entertainment aspect of development though they are branching out into other areas. They are now into gambling in Florida, malls in Atlantic City, and condo's in Baltimore.

In Baltimore they initially constructed the Power Plant which is a mixture of retail and entertainment. It has a Border's Books, ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. It also has a large office component.

After they built that, they got control of a whole city block approximately 2 blocks from the Power Plant. They call that development Power Plant Live and it is almost exclusively entertainment oriented. There are tons of bars and restaurants such as Rams Head, Ruth Chris, Howl at the Moon, Havana Club, etc. It is visable from the Power Plant and is connected to it by a wide boulevard.

If you go to thier web site, http://www.cordish.com/, click on the "New Development" button and then on the links for the Power Plant and Power Plant Live. This will give you an overview of what they have done here. Make sure you hit the "Next" button under the photos to page through all of them.

Also, if you go to the first page of this thread, the third post is a picture of his newest project in Baltimore. It is a highrise condo designed by Michael Graves and it will be located next to Power Plant live over a subway station.

So, in answer to your question, in Baltimore he has done very little retail and lots of entertainment venues. I believe it's all about economies of scale. The more entertainment venues located in an area, the more successful they all become. They feed off of each other.

Another developer, however, has stepped up and built a retail complex in the area between Cordish's two developments. A large new Best Buy just opened on the third floor of this complex called Lockwood Place. There is talk of a Pottery Barn locating on the first floor.

A 60,000 square foot building is not large. Typically, a Target or TJ Max is at least 100,000 square feet. If I were a betting man, in Louisville I would expect to see entertainment on the lower floors and residential or office above - if there is an above. Who knows though. He will put in what he thinks will be most successful. I do know that the mall Cordish constructed in Atlantic City is fairly high end retail and there were lots of public subsidies involved. The good thing is he will not sit on the project and will move ahead quickly.

I hope this was helpful.

Thanks, you and Scando were both very helpful. And yes, the building he acquired was an old JCPenneys, and the same block was home to upscale department stores like Stewart's and Byck's that were know throughout Kentucky and Indiana. The builing he aquired seems rather large, and I think it is about 5 stories.

Like most cities retail corridors, the 4th st area fell on hard times in the 70's and was mostly a wasteland of wig shops and junk stores as part of the "River City Mall" until 1985, when the Galleria mall was built. The Galleria failed bc it closed off 4th street to traffic (being built in the middle of the street) but mainly bc it offered no better options than a third tier suburban mall, back when the metro had around 7 malls; it couldn't draw suburbanites in to shop at average stores they could get in the "safety" of their own neighborhood and there wasnt enough affluent downtown residents to support it yet in the 80's. Professional office workers shopped there during the day until some questionable urban stores moved in offering the kind of gear that middle aged suburban white women are afraid of.

So, after closing the mall around 2000, Cordish bought it, reopened the street, and basiclaly brought in the exact same tenants as in the Baltimore development less ESPNZone. Its has been a roaring success, drawing 4.4 million visitors in its first year. So I guess more entertainment would be fine, but downtown Louisville really needs to get a major retail development. Even during downtown's roughest years in the 70's and 80's there was at least one major department store downtown. Downtown has not had a department store in over 5 years! Conventioners and tourists are not happy when they find out they must drive to a suburb to find a mall (granted, a few malls are within a 15 minute drive of downtown, but still).

So this brings up my final question. Has residential growth picked up dramatically after these developments? How long have major retailers been in downtown Baltimore? Did they precede the two Cordish developments or did the retail come later by a different developer?