Baltimore Development News 12 [Archive]

vivo

March 6th, 2006, 06:24 PM

found out about this in urbanite magazine

http://www.baltimorearchitecture.org/forumsched.html

Spring Forum Series 2006
The Rotunda
March 29

Chris Bell, of Hekemian and Company, will present plans for reconstruction of the former Maryland Casualty property in Hampden.
Restoration of the Masonic Lodge
April 5

Michael Murphy, AIA, partner in Murphy Dittenhafer Architects, will lead a visual tour of the restoration and adaptive reuse of the former ceremonial rooms in the 1866 temple as spectacular settings for the Tremont Plaza Grand Hotel Conference Center.
Baltimore City Master Plan
April 12

Otis Rolley, Directory of Planning, will lead a discussion of Baltimore's charter requirement for a Master Plan.
Branding Baltimore
April 19

Gary Vikan, Director of the Walters Art Museum, will discuss neighborhood, community, and regional marketing strategies.
Progress in Pigtown
April 26

Jack Danna, Coordinator of Baltimore Main Street program, will discuss develoments in this well-known neighborhood.
Baltimore in The Movies
May 3

Hannah Byron, Director of Division of Film, Television & VIdeo for the Baltimore office of Promotion of the Arts, will offer an inside view of Hollywood in Baltimore, its starts, their lives and foibles, and the production of films in Baltimore.
Baltimore School of the Arts
May 10

Diane Cho and Rima Namek, architects in the firm Cho Benn Holback, will review their designs for the expansion and renovation of Baltimore's most successful citywide high school.
The Charles Street Trolley
May 17

David Funk, Chair of the Trolley Committee for Charles Street Development, and consultant Ed Myers of Kittleson and Associates, will present their proposal to connect the Inner Harbor with Johns Hopkins' Homewood campus.

Supported by Century Engineering & The Johns Hopkins University

About the BAF Forum Series:

All Forum sessions are free and at noon in the Berman Auditorium of the Hopkins Downtown Center, Charles and Fayette Streets. Guest are welcome to bring a lunch.

The Johns Hopkins Downtown Center is located at Charles and Fayette Streets. Forum sessions are held in the Center's Berman Auditorium. Guests are welcome to bring brown bag lunches.

About the Baltimore Architecture Foundation:

The Baltimore Architecture Foundation was founded in 1987 as a 501c3 with a mission to research and promote and the Architecture of Baltimore. Through publications, tours, lectures and events, the BAF reaches out to fans of Baltimore architecture.

For information: Joe Clarke (410) 962-0241

wada_guy

March 6th, 2006, 06:54 PM

This is great news for retail in Baltimore. It's bigger news than Best Buy! This company, which started in Philadelphia, does not locate stores just anyplace. The closest one is in Georgetown. The next closest is Rittenhouse Square. There are a couple in Manhattan. It's one of my favorite stores and I e-mailed them about 2 months ago about putting a store in Baltimore at IH East. They never responded.

Philadelphia is treating us well these days! It has always been one of my favorite cities. When the Colts left, I rooted for the Eagles because I coudn't bring myself to root for anything Washington. Between Urban Outfitters and 10 Inner Harbor, it's obvious that they love us back!

The flood gates are open! Get ready for the retail tide to lift our boats!

URBAN OUTFITTERS TO HIT CITY'S HARBORPLACE
Baltimore Business Journal - March 3, 2006by Julekha DashStaff

A two-story Urban Outfitters will open at Harborplace by early fall, marking it the first Maryland store for the retailer, which appeals to metropolitan hipsters.

Slated for the downtown mall's Light Street Pavilion, the 13,500-square-foot store will take over the space formerly occupied by City Lights Seafood, the long-standing restaurant that closed New Year's Day. The casual clothing and housewares store will also take up half the square footage used by the first-floor Discovery Channel Store.

A destination retailer that could draw foot traffic from county residents, Urban Outfitters represents a major coup for mall owner General Growth Properties Inc., retail analysts say. Urban Outfitters has 75 stores in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, including some of the most vibrant city neighborhoods, such as Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. and Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.

Harborplace and the Gallery are slated to get several other brand name retailers that represent some of the trendiest names in fashion. The new stores reflect a resurgence of interest in downtown Baltimore by national retailers as new residents pour into pricier homes in the city, retail experts say.

Free People, a newer concept from Philadelphia's Urban Outfitters Inc., will open a 3,500-square-foot store in the Gallery, currently occupied by Banana Republic women's store, said Kent Digby, the mall's general manager. The latter, along with the Banana Republic men's store, will consolidate to open a 9,000-square-foot superstore where Casual Corner and August Max were located. Hollister Co., which bills itself as a "Southern Cali lifestyle retailer," will be located in the current Banana Republic men's store, housed temporarily on the Gallery's third floor. Hollister is a newer teen concept from Abercrombie & Fitch Co., based in New Albany, Ohio.

"That's very, very exciting stuff," said David Ward, president of Timonium retail brokerage firm H&R Retail Inc. "They're very edgy retailers."

Urban Outfitters, in particular, will be a major draw.

"There is not much of a reason for someone in Towson to go downtown for their shopping but these guys will pull people from the entire metro area," Ward said. Urban Outfitter's Anthropologie, which targets 30 to 45-year-olds, has two Maryland locations, in Towson and Rockville.

The new stores will attract shoppers between the ages of 18 and 35, including the young professionals with disposable income who are moving into the city, said Mark Millman, a retail consultant and president of Millman Search Group in Owings Mills. "These are high-quality tenants with good mass appeal."

The addition of several national teen retail stores is not surprising, as the category had the strongest year-over-year growth in January compared to other retail segments. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the teen segment grew nearly 16 percent between January 2005 and January 2006. That's twice the rate of wholesale clubs and more than four times the growth of discount stores.

wada_guy

March 6th, 2006, 06:56 PM

Developers checking in with boutique hotels
With interest rates on rise, housing market cooling off, developers shifting gears with conversions

By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

The Pier 5 Hotel, owned by Harbor Magic Hotels, is a 65-room boutique hotel located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Boutique hotels are usually smaller than mainstream ones and set themselves apart with unique, quirky design cues and a focus on luxury services.

With rising interest rates and fears that the housing boom is fizzling, developers are considering hotel uses for a number of Class-B office buildings in downtown Baltimore that previously might have gone to residential conversions.

Donald R. Kann, principal of Baltimore architectural firm Kann &Associates Inc., said he has received “quite a few calls” in the last five months about potential hotel conversions in the city’s central business district.

Kann & Associates is now working on designs for three boutique hotel projects, the developers of which are applying for federal and state historic tax credits to help fund the rehabilitation process. Kann declined to name the developers or hotel brands, but he said the projects would come as a surprise to many who expected the buildings to convert to residential use.

“If you look at the bigger picture, the economic evaluation of these buildings, the options are to retain them as Class-B office, to convert them into apartments, to convert them to condos or to convert them to hospitality hotels,” Kann said.

“At this time it appears that the most desirable is the hotel,” he said.

That’s no surprise to those who follow the city’s hospitality industry. Occupancy rates are more than 70 percent, according to a 2005 State of Downtown report by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. And the average room rate grew to $167 per night, up from $150 in 2004, the report said.

That compares to the national average of 61 percent occupancy and a room rate of about $86 per night in 2004, according to the most recent statistics available from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Baltimore “is a very good market,” said Mary Jo McCulloch, president of the Maryland Hotel & Lodging Association. Part of the reason is that Baltimore is underserved, with only about 6,500 rooms citywide, McCulloch said.

Combined with travelers’ growing desire to visit Baltimore — tourism was up nearly 4 percent last year, according to the Downtown Partnership report — a lack of hotel space translates into hefty profits for hotel owners and operators, McCulloch said.

Developers have not ignored this. Five major hotel projects are expected to come on line by 2008, representing $552 million of investment and 1,500 new hotel rooms, according to the Downtown Partnership report. Those projects include the city-backed Convention Center Hotel, Springhill Suites, the Inn at Camden Yards, the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences and Hilton Gardens and Homewood Suites, both at Harbor East.

With the projects ranging from full-service to smaller boutique brands, the market likely will not have trouble absorbing the extra space, McCulloch said.

But she offered one caveat. “You can’t have them all open their doors in the same year,” McCulloch said. “The market has a very hard time absorbing that without cutting prices to the point where it hurts.” The flood of new hotel rooms has not frightened developers.

According to Kann, developers see an unfulfilled demand for boutique hotels, which generally offer fewer than 150 rooms in an upscale atmosphere. “Even with the city building the big, behemoth Convention Center Hotel, it will play to a completely different audience than the boutique hotels,” said Robert Aydukovic, vice president of business and economic development for the partnership for the Downtown Partnership.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one or two more started construction in the next year or two,” he said. Aydukovic said he has heard of at least three projects in the central business district that have not yet been made public.

Developer J. Joseph Clarke, who is attempting to build a boutique hotel at the Recreation Pier in Fells Point, is not surprised that developers are looking for opportunities downtown.

“The consumer mindset has changed a great deal, and it tends to favor hotel use away from full-service hotel facilities,” said Clarke of JJ Clarke Enterprises Inc. “People are more interested in a really good room and a really nice facility and, frequently, high style.”

The centerpiece of Clarke’s $40 million project is a 145-room hotel by San Francisco’s Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants LLC. “Conversion of old, downtown buildings is a good idea because the units wind up being quite large,” Clarke said.

State historic tax credits can sweeten development deals, which tend to be more expensive than residential projects, Clarke said. The Recreation Pier project was boosted by $3 million in state historic tax credits.

The developers Kann’s company is working with are nearing completion of their tax-credit proposals and will know in the coming months whether their hotel projects are a go, Kann said. “Some of them are national franchises and some are individual people who might have a small chain of hotels that they’re interested in expanding,” he said of the hotel brands that might come into the projects.

Whatever the brand names, the projects themselves offer one message, according to McCulloch. “Boutique hotels usually mean that you have a pretty healthy market,” she said.

“It’s interesting to us that in the central business district people have started to evaluate things other than residential uses,” Kann said. “People are trying to understand where the edges of the housing market are.”

Eerik

March 6th, 2006, 07:05 PM

Great news that Urban Outfitters is opening a store in downtown Baltimore. But Harborplace? Uggghh... Too bad the numbers couldn't work for them to open in Fells Point, Harbor East or somewhere along Charles Street in Mount Vernon. Most of their stores, like the ones down here in DC -- Georgetown and Chinatown -- have a branded 'urban' gritty feel to them; hard for me to imagine them in the polished Harborplace Light Street pavilion. But then again, they do have mall locations: the one at Tysons Corner does have a rather sterile feel to it...

StevenW

March 7th, 2006, 12:10 AM

This is definately good news. :)

PeterSmith

March 7th, 2006, 12:23 AM

Oops, didn't see the new thread. I'll copy and paste my recent posts into this one:

I like that Nashville tower, it's got a real nice crown. 10 Inner Harbor could really benefit from a stylish crown - it's really one of the few things that's missing.

That Urban Outfitters news is certainly an example of the spin-off projects that we've been anticipating. We're bringing in an affluent, young population to downtown, and the retail sector is responding. It's interesting that they put it in Harborplace though. Harborplace is more for tourists, will downtown residents be likely to shop there also, since most of the stuff is over-priced? Perhaps Baltimore's tourist demographics are changing as well.

StevenW

March 7th, 2006, 02:16 AM

I think it will do well at the Harborplace.

StevenW

March 7th, 2006, 02:17 AM

btw, when do you guys think that we'll hear more about 10 Inner Harbor? :?

StevenW

March 7th, 2006, 02:42 AM

It's been a while since we've heard anything from this developer's project:
http://www.baltimoredevelopment.com/files/pdf/rfp/upload/701_east_baltimore_street.jpg
701 East Baltimore Street

Nino_B

March 7th, 2006, 03:01 AM

I sent this email to Mark Sapperstein a few days ago. He is one of the main players in the "Cityscape" development project which seems to have fallen off the radar screen. So far no response. Will forward asap if I get something.

Mark, can you provide any info about the status of your Cityscape project? The Baltimore development internet sites are buzzing about your project but no details or renderings seem to be available yet on the Hord Coplan & Macht website.

I am curious how it will preserve the quaint feel of the old Water street businesses nearby while blending the "newness" of the inner harbor with the grand old Redwood Street buildings to the north as well as "hide" the parking structure within the building.

I think you have one of the most interesting projects going if not the most high profile.

Is HCM considering preserving the lower stone facade of the tall slender usf&g annex bldg at 26 South Calvert Street? It would be nice if they could keep at least the street level facade of that building which would preserve look of the street. The rest of the bldgs south of there are of no historical or architectural significance.

congratulations on your project

sincerely,

Silver Springer

March 7th, 2006, 03:18 AM

Hey guys, I just went on nashville's "signature tower" thread in the "southeast forum" and they said that the signature tower's going to be 55 stories & 635 feet. I went to that thread to try to get an idea of just how tall OUR tower is gonna' be. if the signature tower in nashville is going to be as tall as it looks, then OURS is just going to be an absolute KILLER!!!! and to think that our building may actually get taller with something on the top????? sheez!!! i would be absolutely dumbfounded. i couldn't imagine.

I have been looking at skyscrapers proposed in other cities as well and 10 Inner Harbor is definetly one of the tallest. I like the fact that it's taller than all the buildings proposed for San Diego, Altanta and even rivals those in Chicago. I am praying 10 Inner Harbor gets built!

Also a few threads back you guys said that you would send a letter in support of 10 Inner Harbor, was that ever done? Are you guys considering forming a group to push this project along and keep the NIMBYs at bay? How about bringing to attention other projects like one light street as well?

Nino_B

March 7th, 2006, 03:47 AM

fluffyhorse

March 7th, 2006, 07:05 AM

Here is an update from the Downtown Partnership.

http://www.godowntownbaltimore.com/publications/Short_Reports/March06_short_report.pdf

It says that he BGE building will be converted into 183 apartments in a $33 million project to be completed by summer of 2007.

I never heard plans or press for this before. Was this anticipated? :)

Also, i found this news on center plaza:

March 02, 2006
On February 8th the Citys Board of Estimates awarded a construction contract to Facchina Construction Company for the renovation of Center Plaza. Work on the $7.5 million project, which will transform the plaza into City Centers premier green space, is expected to begin within the next 30 days, with completion scheduled in the spring of 2007. Plans for a March groundbreaking ceremony are currently being developed.

PeterSmith

March 7th, 2006, 04:10 PM

Also, i found this news on center plaza:

March 02, 2006
On February 8th the Citys Board of Estimates awarded a construction contract to Facchina Construction Company for the renovation of Center Plaza. Work on the $7.5 million project, which will transform the plaza into City Centers premier green space, is expected to begin within the next 30 days, with completion scheduled in the spring of 2007. Plans for a March groundbreaking ceremony are currently being developed.

That's just right around the corner. How exciting.

More on the Urban Outfitters front: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/06/story4.html?i=31805

Another Urban Outfitters product, Free People, will open in the gallery.

DCKenny

March 7th, 2006, 04:47 PM

I have'nt been to the Urban Outfitters in Georgetown in years nice store. A good edition to Baltimore retail!

Ron C

March 7th, 2006, 07:10 PM

To follow up on the discussion about Detroit, I read an excerpt of an article about the future of America's rust-belt cities by Harvard economist Ed Glaeser entitled "Urban Decline and Durable Housing, Why Does Anyone Still Live in Detroit?".

His contention was that there is no future for such cities without a diverse economy and a large population of "human capital". By human capital he meant a highly educated and entrepeneurial workforce. In his opinion the only thing keeping cities without these qualities going was a large stock of affordable housing. However he forsees a future where cities like Detroit no longer exist as such and will be abandoned. He also felt that New Orleans shouldn't be rebuilt except for the central core because there is no future for N.O. as a major US city due to its lack of these factors.

I don't believe Baltimore falls into this category but if we don't keep making progress on housing and infrastructure development and redevelopment, increasing population, and building a diverse technology based economy there is no reason we couldn't go the way of Detroit.

I apologize for prolonging this discussion if it's off topic, and maybe I'm missing the point (quite possible as I haven't read the article). But I don't quite understand the idea that Detroit or any city, especially one that has a metro area population of over 4 million (or 2 million or 500 thousand or whatever), has no future. Seems to me he's saying that (1) it makes perfect sense to abandon years of urban investment that accompanied the growth of the city in the first place; (2) that such cities are now, and will always be, what they were in 1950; and (3) that we can keep building brand new cities when we get tired of the old ones.

What happens when Pheonix no longer "has a future." Do we abandon it and build another new city?

PeterSmith

March 7th, 2006, 08:14 PM

^^ Yes. Just kidding. Actually, I'm also just jumping in this conversation without having read the article, or any of the previous posts for that matter, but perhaps he's suggesting that people should run away from their problems rather than fix them. Why live in a place like Detroit when you can lead a "better" life somewhere else? I guess the author is neglecting the fact that people have ties to where they're from.

jpreston02

March 7th, 2006, 09:13 PM

Edward Glaeser is widely considered one of the pre-eminent urban economic scholars. The NY Times calls him "prolific and provacative", and his Nobel winning colleagues call him "a genius."

I haven't read the paper, nor any of his reasearch for that matter, but the title of the above mentioned paper is no doubt "provacative."

StevenW

March 8th, 2006, 12:19 AM

A "Hair" raising article for sure!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/news/bal-artslife-travolta0307,0,6877037.story?coll=bal-entertainment-headlines&track=mostemailedlink

StevenW

March 8th, 2006, 01:08 AM

This link is AWESOME! Check it out!

http://www.tv25baltimore.com/home.phtml (TV 25 Baltimore!

:)

Eerik

March 8th, 2006, 02:40 AM

I dug-up some photographs earlier mentioned regarding transit in the Baltimore area. Again, looking at this stuff, I can't help but wonder how (and why) we ever decided to do away with the transit we once had! Of course we all know the how and why, but still, it makes you stop and wonder how stupid we were to give this all up!

First image shows the Howard Street tunnel at the intersection of Howard and Lombard Streets. View is to the north. Notice the passenger platform on the left. This was originally constructed to be one of three underground passenger stations within downtown. Originally built for two-way rail traffic, today, the tunnel serves one-way traffic due to wider cars. If I recall properly, the tunnel width is 27 feet, and the tunnel is fairly shallow on the southern end, in the photo below, the ceiling is a mere three feet below Lombard Street.

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/rail/tunnelcol.jpg

While the tunnel did serve some passenger traffic, the only station to be built and used was Mount Royal Station. The three other tunnel stations were never used. One can only assume that anyone may have been asphyxiated waiting for a train at one of these underground platforms!

The Washington Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad had an interesting history. Their depot was at one time at Camden Station, then more or less where the Holiday Inn today stands, and another location further up Liberty Street. The first photo looks north into the terminal yard. The base of the Bromo Seltzer building can be seen in the upper left.

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/rail/wbastation.jpg

The trains appeared more like streetcars, leaving and entering the terminal. Two separate photographs taken in the 1910s.

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/rail/wbastation2.jpg

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/rail/wbastation3.jpg

This photo is taken of the Washington Baltimore and Annapolis car having left its terminal and running alongside a locomotive in Camden Yards. The warehouse is out of sight to the left. The Washington Baltimore and Annapolis cars shared trackage in Camden Yards before veering off. Note the train shed canopy in the background obscured by steam, as well as the tower of the Lord Baltimore Hotel and the B&O Building to its right.

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/rail/wba_camden.jpg

Finally, a street scene in Baltimore from the late 1950s-early 60s. Streets were alive and bustling...even at night. This is a shot looking east up Lexington Street from Liberty Street. Today, the scene is quite different. With the exception of the Fidelity Building in the back on the left, everything here is gone...

http://www.dcestonian.com/baltimore/west-side/lex.jpg

Nino_B

March 8th, 2006, 03:22 AM

I apologize for prolonging this discussion if it's off topic, and maybe I'm missing the point (quite possible as I haven't read the article). But I don't quite understand the idea that Detroit or any city, especially one that has a metro area population of over 4 million (or 2 million or 500 thousand or whatever), has no future. Seems to me he's saying that (1) it makes perfect sense to abandon years of urban investment that accompanied the growth of the city in the first place; (2) that such cities are now, and will always be, what they were in 1950; and (3) that we can keep building brand new cities when we get tired of the old ones.

What happens when Pheonix no longer "has a future." Do we abandon it and build another new city?

I don't believe that the point of the article was that we should abandon dilapidated cities but that in the future they may no longer be viable. He pointed out that Detroit (among others) has a good affordable housing stock that keeps the net population decrease small and hence will keep the city viable for the forseeable future (not the case with N.O.) although it lacks the other traits that will sustain a city far into the future.

He was basically laying out the traits that make big cities viable (diverse economy, human capital, and good housing stock). I read it more as a wake up call than a "definitely going to happen lets pull the plug now" attitiude. Theoretically any city can turn things around but for some it will be very difficult. Let's hope Baltimore continues its turnaround.

StevenW

March 8th, 2006, 04:39 AM

scando

March 8th, 2006, 05:06 AM

Here is an update from the Downtown Partnership.

http://www.godowntownbaltimore.com/publications/Short_Reports/March06_short_report.pdf

It says that he BGE building will be converted into 183 apartments in a $33 million project to be completed by summer of 2007.

I never heard plans or press for this before. Was this anticipated? :)

Yeah.. a couple years ago it came up in some talk about Center Plaza and the Fidelity Building. If it still as it was, the newer part of the building would continue as offices and the older part would be residential. Good news. Now, how about the Fidelity Bldg. There's a notice posted on the door about asbestos removal and a disposal chute attached. I wonder what's up with that. Anybody heard anything?

scando

March 8th, 2006, 05:28 AM

I apologize for prolonging this discussion if it's off topic, and maybe I'm missing the point (quite possible as I haven't read the article). But I don't quite understand the idea that Detroit or any city, especially one that has a metro area population of over 4 million (or 2 million or 500 thousand or whatever), has no future. Seems to me he's saying that (1) it makes perfect sense to abandon years of urban investment that accompanied the growth of the city in the first place; (2) that such cities are now, and will always be, what they were in 1950; and (3) that we can keep building brand new cities when we get tired of the old ones.

What happens when Pheonix no longer "has a future." Do we abandon it and build another new city?

Detroit seems to have an extreme case of what afflicts a lot of older cities when their reason for living goes away. It's like a downhill spiral where the worse things look, the more people leave, the worse things look...For much of the town's history, the car industry was the main source of its prosperity but that has been withering. Without economic diversity the decline of one industry can run a place into ruin like a really big version of a coal town with a played out mine.

One of the things that has kept Maryland and the Baltimore area running despite the demise of lots of old businesses has been the diversity of the economy. We may not be famous for any one big thing but we have some of almost everything and that buffers us from a downhill spiral like Detroit. When one part of the economy is sick, another is doing well. It doesn't make sense at all to abandon a place that big but you have to find something to replace the auto industry, then you have to figure out how to convince people that the place can succeed well enough to convince them to move back. That's a tall order and something every newer city like Phoenix needs to worry about every day.

Ron C

March 8th, 2006, 03:25 PM

Detroit seems to have an extreme case of what afflicts a lot of older cities when their reason for living goes away. It's like a downhill spiral where the worse things look, the more people leave, the worse things look...For much of the town's history, the car industry was the main source of its prosperity but that has been withering. Without economic diversity the decline of one industry can run a place into ruin like a really big version of a coal town with a played out mine.

One of the things that has kept Maryland and the Baltimore area running despite the demise of lots of old businesses has been the diversity of the economy. We may not be famous for any one big thing but we have some of almost everything and that buffers us from a downhill spiral like Detroit. When one part of the economy is sick, another is doing well. It doesn't make sense at all to abandon a place that big but you have to find something to replace the auto industry, then you have to figure out how to convince people that the place can succeed well enough to convince them to move back. That's a tall order and something every newer city like Phoenix needs to worry about every day.

There are really two different issues at play here, and I don't want to mix them up (though I'm sure I have done so already).

Based on the photos of abandoned buildings in downtown Detroit, I first meant to comment on the abandonment of Detroit City and the movement of large numbers of people from the city to the suburbs. Since there are still lots and lots of people in the Detroit metro area, this movement was clearly not caused by the region's dependence on a single industry. Rather it was an extreme case of blockbusting and white flight, something which lots of cities suffered, just not many on the scale of Detroit.

(There's an interesting book I read recently, called "Made In Detroit," by a writer named Paul Clemens, that addresses this very thing. It's a personal memoir about growing up a white kid in Detroit City in the 1970s and 80s .)

The second, but related point, was that we also tend to abandon regions as well, indicated by the slow growth of many old metro areas, and at the same time, the huge growth of the South-West in the last 50 or so years. While just as short-sighted in my opinion, this is more related to the whole issue of economic diversity that you and others have mentioned (though I think that climate also played a part).

Both phenomena are wasteful and destructive. And they are things that Baltimore City must continue to address to remain viable. Fortunately, I think things are looking up in both areas.

Brian21

March 8th, 2006, 03:48 PM

This link is AWESOME! Check it out!

http://www.tv25baltimore.com/home.phtml (TV 25 Baltimore!

:)

Hey Steven, that link isn't working for me. It won't come up.

pepperjack

March 8th, 2006, 05:15 PM

http://www.tv25baltimore.com/home.phtml

And in regards to Detroit, there is a downward spiral only goes so far. People start moving back in after a point, when the housing and land becomes cheap. I think we're going to see the same thing as Baltimore, it's just a little behind. You look at the abandoned building websites, you think it's all bad. But there are still 900K people living in the city.

Brian21

March 8th, 2006, 05:19 PM

Hey guys, here is a link to a diagram from skyscraperpage of Baltimore's towers including our new tallest 10 Inner Harbor. Man I hope this thing goes through. It will finally give our skyline a focal point. Not to mention it will really tower. :)

http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?c461

StevenW

March 8th, 2006, 11:10 PM

^^ they list 10 Inner Harbor at 772' tall, not 717'. What's up with that? :? ^^

wada_guy

March 9th, 2006, 02:15 AM

Gsol

March 9th, 2006, 03:55 AM

scando

March 9th, 2006, 04:32 AM

There is a new tower crane clearly visible from I-83. It appears to be near the old Public Health Hospital (now part of Hopkins) on Wyman Park Drive. Does anyone know what they are building over there? It's not the crane between Charles and St. Paul Streets for the student housing.

Whatever is being constructed there, I'm sure it's part of JHU. I don't recall anyone here talking about a project over there. Or if they did, I forgot (OLD AGE).

I have not seen anything about it in print, but I pass by that site regularly. It's on the JHU campus, across the street from the old PH Hospital and behind the BMA. Location suggests that it is another campus building, probably red brick and low rise.

scando

March 9th, 2006, 04:46 AM

I want to revert back to Eerik's photo of the Howard Street Tunnel. He points out a station located at the left side wall. He also mentions that three stations were built in the tunnel, but never used. The station in the photo appears to be separated from the main ROW. It looks as if a second ROW was planned, perhaps for rapid transit. The two modes could share the tunnel, something like Philadelphia's Market Street subway sharing the tunnel with trolleys. Just a thought.

No matter what's down there, that Howard St tunnel just duplicates the course of the Light Rail. The ones that interest me are the other two tunnels, the one that goes west from Penn Station (where the MARC goes) and the tunnel/trench that goes up through Charles Village. They would create some interesting transit possibilities. All this is pipe dreaming however since it couldn't happen unless CSX were to build some alternative route around the city that took those out of service. That has been mentioned (especially after the big tunnel fire of 2001) but billions and years that would be required and nobody seems ready to committ to anything of that magnitude.

scando

March 9th, 2006, 04:50 AM

^^ they list 10 Inner Harbor at 772' tall, not 717'. What's up with that? :? ^^

Since nobody's seen the details yet, may be they don't know either?

Maudibjr

March 9th, 2006, 09:45 AM

Eerik Those are excellent photo's that I have never seen before. Thank you for sharing them.

Does anyone have any additional info about the michael graves building? Do they have a sales office. I hope that there have not been to many condo proposals and they havn't decided to quietly pull out.

PeterSmith

March 9th, 2006, 05:52 PM

Brian21

March 9th, 2006, 06:00 PM

Hey guys I rode past the Zenith last night and it looks like they are up to the 2nd or 3rd floor. :)

PeterSmith

March 9th, 2006, 06:02 PM

There is a new tower crane clearly visible from I-83. It appears to be near the old Public Health Hospital (now part of Hopkins) on Wyman Park Drive. Does anyone know what they are building over there? It's not the crane between Charles and St. Paul Streets for the student housing.

Whatever is being constructed there, I'm sure it's part of JHU. I don't recall anyone here talking about a project over there. Or if they did, I forgot (OLD AGE).

I have no idea what project that is, but then again, I've never been too up on the projects at Hopkins. It seems that whenever w're talking about projects in the city, people always just add Hopkins as an aside. "Oh yeah, the project over at Hopkins...." Hopkins is always doing something. How high does the tower crane appear to be?

Brian21

March 9th, 2006, 11:57 PM

Hotel idea floated for WTC
State gets nearly 20 offers for harbor tower
Baltimore Business Journal - March 3, 2006by Heather Harlan Staff

The state has received close to 20 offers to buy and redevelop the World Trade Center along Baltimore's Inner Harbor, including proposals to convert the pentagonal tower into condominiums or a hotel.

Philip C. Iglehart, executive vice president and principal of Baltimore commercial real estate firm Colliers Pinkard, said the first round of bids -- collected on Feb. 24 and 27 -- detailed a variety of ideas for the iconic, waterfront building at 401 E. Pratt St.

"Clearly, the majority was straight-up office building," he said. "There were a few who were going to -- what I call -- repurpose the building -- residential, hospitality, hotel. It was a great mix and great quality."

Iglehart, whose firm is representing the state in the intended sale of the office tower, declined to name specific buyers or speculate which scenario -- residential, hotel or office -- is more likely.

The high number of bids for the 28-story building -- designed by I.M. Pei and Partners and completed in 1977 -- shows the robust interest in the waterfront property and the continued strength of the downtown real estate market.

"It's an even better asset than I thought before we got into it," Iglehart said.

Although waterfront land and buildings are coveted, some commercial real estate agents had their doubts about the state-owned World Trade Center, which is operated by the Maryland Port Administration.

Hurricane Isabel sent water gushing into the building in fall 2003, displacing about 60 office tenants for more than a month. At the time, the hurricane, which paralyzed parts of downtown for days, destroyed its electrical and mechanical systems. But since then, the building's main systems have been replaced.

James P. Lighthizer, a partner with Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC in Anne Arundel County, said he believes interest remains high in the office complex.

Without naming the company or principal, Lighthizer said he is working with a local "prospective buyer" who is interested in converting the World Trade Center into condominiums.

Many of the ideas, he said, concentrate on transforming the building into apartments, rather than condos. "There seems to be a dilemma as to whether to convert it to apartments or condos," he said.

In a previous interview, Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., questioned where potential homeowners would park. The World Trade Center does not have parking. Many of the building's office tenants park across the street in the garage at the corner of Pratt and Gay streets.

While the possible uses of the building are being batted around, some commercial real estate experts said the state will likely accept the highest offer. According to Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation records, the 417,000-square-foot World Trade Center is valued at more than $51 million.

Iglehart said he is unsure exactly how the state will proceed. "We're in the process of putting our heads together and figuring out what's next," he said.

Typically, building owners narrow the bids, keeping the best offers and asking the top contenders for more specific information about future plans. Often, that group is whittled down again to the top two or three potential buyers before a final decision is made.

The state first put the building on the selling block last year. The move was part of a larger state plan to profit from surplus real estate.

StevenW

March 10th, 2006, 01:42 AM

^^ I sent Cordish another e-mail asking about the project. Hopefully, they'll get back to me. I don't have any reason to believe it's a dead project though. Projects have gone unheard from for longer than this.

I e-mailed Charles Penny about the 701 East Baltimore Tower by Cordish. I asked him when he expects some starting point for construction. Here is what he said:

"Steve,

We are currently in negotiations so I am not able to provide you with the answer to your question.
In a perfect world we would begin in spring, however we do not want to get ahead of ourselves so if you check back in a month or so I should have more for you.
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Charles"

StevenW

March 10th, 2006, 11:43 AM

BTW, i was at the citygov. website and saw this:

Zoning - Conditional Use Structures on Piers - 1715 Thames Street
FOR the purpose of permitting, subject to certain conditions, the establishment,
maintenance, and operation of a hotel and residential use in the context of a
hotel, office space, retail, restaurant and bar with outdoor seating, marina, and
maritime service complex with off-street parking on the property known as 1715
Thames Street, as outlined in red on the accompanying plat; and providing for a
special effective date.
05-0223Sponsors:
City Council President (Administration)Reported Favorable with Amendment

and...

Planned Unit Development - Designation - Greektown Redevelopment
FOR the purpose of approving the application of Hale/KSI, LLC, which is the fee
simple owner or contract purchaser of certain properties known as 820 Oldham
Street, 4601 Foster Avenue, 4700 Fait Avenue, 4526 O'Donnell Street, 4600
O'Donnell Street, 4618 O'Donnell Street, 4620 O'Donnell Street, 4622 O'Donnell
Street, 4624 O'Donnell Street; and Fait Avenue, LLC, the fee simple owner of the
property known as 4500 Fait Avenue; (hereinafter collectively the "Applicant"),
together with the adjoining roads, highways, alleys, rights-of-way, and other similar
property (collectively, the "Properties"), to have the Properties designated a
Residential Planned Unit Development; and approving the Development Plan
submitted by the applicant.
05-0305Sponsors:
Nicholas C. D'Adamo, James B. Kraft and Rochelle 'Rikki' Spector

-------

Sounds good. :)

PeterSmith

March 10th, 2006, 04:48 PM

PeterSmith

March 10th, 2006, 05:04 PM

I was wondering - Robert AM Stern architects updates their website quite often, and still is yet to have any renderings of 10 Inner Harbor. I'm wondering if this means that they are actively re-designing it.

PeterSmith

March 10th, 2006, 05:59 PM

Wada_guy, you better get your lawyers ready. Wikipedia is using one of your photos on its page. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/Baltimoremarriott.jpg/800px-Baltimoremarriott.jpg

Maybe you can use your court winnings to get One Light Street built ;)

StevenW

March 10th, 2006, 11:40 PM

What does that first one refer to, Steven? Is that second one the infamous Ed Hale Greektown development?

Good finds.

Also, has anyone noticed that there are three Baltimore developments threads going on right now? (Two in the Northeast forum and one in the World forum) Baltimore should get its own subforum :)
The 2nd one is refering to the Greektown development.
I think the 1st one is refering to area near or at the Harbor Point location/Fells Landing, maybe?

fanofterps

March 11th, 2006, 01:21 AM

that 10 Inner Harbor is close to signing an agreement with an upscale Starwood hotel chain.

Also, can't wait until Four Seasons, Cordish Tower and 10 Inner Harbor to start.

Got a feeling the wait will be long for Cityscape, 1 Light St and 300 East Pratt.

BigBalto1

March 11th, 2006, 03:57 AM

I bet they resign St. Regis, if not W hotels

Maudibjr

March 11th, 2006, 04:35 AM

Wada_guy, you better get your lawyers ready. Wikipedia is using one of your photos on its page.

....

Maybe you can use your court winnings to get One Light Street built ;)

That pic is the wallpaper on my PC at work. Don't sue me Wada_guy :runaway: :)

One of the best photo's and perspectives of CBD I have seen, not the usual shot from Federal Hill. Of course you will have to find a new angle once 10 Inner Harbor gets built.

Brian21

March 11th, 2006, 05:07 AM

fanofterps

March 11th, 2006, 05:14 AM

I do not have a link.

I bet they resign St. Regis, if not W hotels

wada_guy

March 11th, 2006, 05:46 AM

Wada_guy, you better get your lawyers ready. Wikipedia is using one of your photos on its page.

Maybe you can use your court winnings to get One Light Street built ;)
Thanks Peter. In the interest of education I'll let them slide - this time! I suppose copying is a form of flattery and if it isn't, I'll just pretend it is.

All the photos posted here and on my site are dumbed down so they load quickly. The "Real" pictures are larger and have much better resolution.

I'm rather excited about my new hobby. I registered ArchitectureBaltimore.com and I am going to use it to post the thousands of Baltimore pictures I've taken. My objective is to photograph all the buildings, art work, and public spaces in the city that I like. I also plan to construct a database which will contain information about the subject in each picture and make that information available too. I was in a class to learn how to accomplish that feat this week for a work project I have.

I'm leaning toward organizing my web by building type (churches, fire houses, townhouses, skyscrapers, etc.). This will be my advocation if I make it to retirement in 5 years, 10 months, and 22 days - not that I'm counting or anything. I'll most likely publish the web later this year and then fill it out as time goes on.

THE 414 PICTURE OF THE WEEK - STORY #2 IS ABOUT TO GO UP!
http://www.baltimoreguy.com/images/Photographs%20Misc%2023.jpg

southbalto

March 11th, 2006, 07:16 AM

The Zenith today.........

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/mturner125/DSC02224.jpg

StevenW

March 11th, 2006, 11:42 AM

Center Plaza plan imagines a patch of green downtown
Work begins on project to create 'a front yard' for area buildings
By Joe Palazzolo
sun reporter
Originally published March 11, 2006

In the 1960s, Center Plaza, a 3-acre concrete swath in downtown Baltimore, was called a paragon of modern urban development. It bore an industrially simple form that is now considered uninviting,

After nearly four years of setbacks, disputes and funding shortfalls, the redesign of Center Plaza is under way. Project planners said yesterday that the plaza's transformation from a gray space to a verdant park embroidered with shade trees and segmented by promenades will cost about $7.4 million and take 14 months to complete.

The plaza, just west of Charles Street and north of Fayette Street, bridges the core business district and the west side of downtown. As a common ground to several businesses, condominiums and apartments, the new, greener plaza will act as a buffer.

"We're looking at a backyard. We want it to become a front yard," Mayor Martin O'Malley said at the groundbreaking yesterday. "This is going to be such a wonderful and attractive place."

The state and the city each pitched in $2 million for the project. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings helped secure a $600,000 federal grant from the Department of Transportation. The remaining cost was covered by three contributions of nearly $1 million from Orioles owner and lawyer Peter G. Angelos, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and Southern Management Corp., a regional developer that has invested more than $150 million in Baltimore properties.

Center Plaza was hailed when it was first built as a tranquil oval gathering space that, along with two other courtyards, was described in a 1970 Sun article as awaiting "human use, which hopefully will give new life to the city" that the writer described as often "devoid of simple joy."

The Baltimore Downtown Partnership, which manages the plaza, wants to capture that joy with its plans from 2002 for redesigning the plaza to make it more appealing and attractive for residents.

The overhaul under way was supposed to have begun in 2003, after the Downtown Partnership announced that the project would be jointly financed by city, state, federal and private contributions. But it has been hampered by problems.

David Hillman, president of Southern Management, said that putting the project together was like "getting lions and tigers in a cage together."

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, likened the project to a Whack-A-Mole game, with problems that kept popping up. Now that construction has begun, he said, "There are no moles popping up, but I tell you I'm going to keep [a mallet] handy."

The first time the project stalled in 2003 was when the city considered shaving its contribution to $1 million. Angelos, members of the Downtown Partnership and representatives from businesses around the plaza interpreted the city's flagging support as retribution for having opposed a bid to place billboards on the 1st Mariner Arena. The mayor's office said at the time that the city couldn't afford $2 million because of a shortfall in state funding.

In 2004, the state Department of Legislative Services introduced another obstacle. Complaining of a tight budget, the department recommended that $400,000 of the state's $2 million pledge to Center Plaza be withheld. Then-president of the Baltimore Downtown Partnership, Michele Whelley, successfully lobbied two state committees, House Appropriations and Senate Budget and Taxation, to keep the pledge intact.

The Downtown Partnership was stymied again in February 2005, this time by the owner of a parking garage beneath the plaza. Construction plans include peeling back a thick layer of concrete, beneath which lies a waterproof membrane that separates the garage from the plaza. Fearing that the garage's roof would be damaged, Edison Properties, the garage's owner, asked for $750,000 to ensure that construction practices were "sound."

Instead of placating Edison, the Downtown Partnership ceded managerial control of the project to the city, which has rights to an easement on the plaza. That meant construction could begin without Edison's consent.

Meanwhile, the price of the project rose, from $5.6 million to $7.4 million. Even with construction beginning, planners retain a healthy skepticism.

"Building projects always have to be baby-sat. Something is always going wrong," said Sister Helen Amos, chairwoman of the Downtown Partnership. "But this project is another dimension to all the great things that are happening here in Baltimore."

joe.palazzolo@baltsun.com

StevenW

March 11th, 2006, 11:46 AM

Southbalto, thanks for the picture and update on the Zenith. :)

wada guy, thank you also, for the Water Street Tower update and photo. And I love what you're going to do with the website and documentation. :) Excelent idea! I'm envious! :D

wada_guy

March 11th, 2006, 05:19 PM

Hugh Jaramillo

March 11th, 2006, 06:26 PM

AND THE CONVENTION HOTEL GOES DOWN!

When I snapped this shot last week, I was immediatelly surrounded by a gaggle of construction workers who wanted to know who I was and why I was taking pictures. I replied, "Get out of my face, that information is none of your business, and I'm on public property (sidewalk outside of the construction fence) taking pictures of a public project so get away from me". It got rather ugly. I almost had to call the police. I guess they think it's appropriate to treat one of their project owners that way! Bastards. As you can see, I was not detered and kept snapping away.

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/images/Photographs%20Misc%2024.jpg

Hey Wada Guy

I'm glad that you stood your ground to those rude construction workers because you weren't doing anything illegal. My guess is that this stems from the general paranoia that has had this country in it's grip since 9/11.

Anyway to answer your ealier question about the tower crane in the southwest portion of the JHU campus. They are building a new quadrangle there that will be the new main entrance to the Homewood campus. Right now I think they are building a new visitors center and administration office as one part and then a new computer sciences building linked by a collanade on the other part. They are putting a 500 space parking garage underneath the quadrangle and the are going to landscape it with fountains and greenery on top. Not being as computer savy as you are, there is a rendering of what it will look like in the JHU Gazette of last September or so, when they started the project. The architecture will be Georgian brick with white marble accents like the rest of the buildings on the campus.

StevenW

March 11th, 2006, 08:53 PM

vivo

March 11th, 2006, 11:26 PM

Gsol

March 12th, 2006, 12:41 AM

WADA GUY

You can take photos of anything in public view. However, if you were on the property and its a "Hard Hat" area and you are not wearing one, then they can kick you off. There would be an issue of liability if you get hurt.

If you were not on their site then they can __ themselves.

wada_guy

March 12th, 2006, 01:12 AM

OFFICIAL BALTIMORE BIRDS SPOTTED!

ANOTHER NESTING PAIR OF WEB FOOTED SPECKLED CRANES

I walked by the Ritz site and saw that two cranes, of the tower sub-species, are about to make a home in the hole that has been dug on Key Highway. They are Royal Blue in color! This will afford us in Baltimore the rare opportunity to photograph 5 tower cranes from Federal Hill in one picture. There will be 8 visible, but they are too spread apart to get in one shot.

If the gods are really good to us, we may even be able to get 7 in a single shot before some fly off. Of course, that depends on the Four Seasons getting their act together!

It looks like there will be one on the East and one on the West of the site. The one on the East has it's first section set. The other one is laying under the Ritz sign on it's side. I expect them both to be fully functional in about 2 or 3 weeks. Photos on Tuesday!

GSOL - Thanks. I used the zoom function on my camera to get that shot from the sidewalk clearly OUTSIDE of their site. I was on a public non-blocked off sidewalk. I told them pretty much exactly what you said. Initially, I kept quiet but they didn't. Finally, I had enough. When the one said he was from Montgomery County I blew up! LOL

StevenW - Thanks for the Hopkins info. That main campus is really an economic engine for the area between Hamden and Waverly. It's really starting to look good up there and it is developing it's own skyline.

fanofterps

March 12th, 2006, 02:56 AM

Wada Guy,

You really add to this site with all your updates!!!

DCKenny

March 12th, 2006, 03:43 AM

Great pictures indeed!

scando

March 12th, 2006, 06:44 AM

StevenW

March 12th, 2006, 03:32 PM

^^ Yes, it will be very interesting to see how the "feel" of the plaza changes. :)

MasonsInquiries

March 12th, 2006, 05:36 PM

wada_guy

March 12th, 2006, 08:00 PM

Thanks all. I went to Best Buy to purchase a memory stick on Saturday and I had a conversation with one of the employees who was getting off of work.

I asked him how the store was doing, and he said it had beat expectations so that is good news. He also said it should do even better when the rest of the retail in the complex it leased.

I asked him who their neighbors will be, and this is what he said.
1. Wallgreen's Drug Store (Another national retail chain)
2. P.F. Chang's
3. Panitera Bread Co.
So, according to him, these are the stores that will be moving to Lockwood Place at this point. It will be interesting see if this is fact or fiction!

vivo

March 12th, 2006, 10:00 PM

StevenW

March 13th, 2006, 03:23 AM

^^ Yes, I think you're right, vivo. :)
Good food, too. :D

Hugh Jaramillo

March 13th, 2006, 05:10 AM

The Examiner

Don't know if you guys have seen the advertisements around town for the new free tabloid daily that will begin publishing in April. DC has had one for several months now and since we are a one newspaper town, I wonder how the competition will impact the Sun. I also wonder how they will handle coverage of development news and topics that are of interest to this forum?

Wada Guy, that was interesting news about Lockwood Place and the new retail tenants that are going in there. I would guess that they are pretty accurate, nothing really tony but then nothing really down market either which is what I had feared. There is already a Wallgreens on Fayette Street between Charles and St. Paul, so they must be doing well if they are going to open one in close proximity. I walked past the SuperFresh and it is nowhere near being completed but that plaza looks a lot better now than it ever did before. I especially liked what they have done to the lobby of those apartment towers!

scando

March 13th, 2006, 05:20 AM

fluffyhorse

March 13th, 2006, 06:26 AM

I went by the Rochambeau Apartments today and I saw that big sign the Catholic Chruch put up announcing its planned demolition, in order to build the prayer garden. The sign was outdated. Though there is nothing wrong with building the prayer garden i just wish they dont have to demolish that nice historic building.

Does anyone know if the demoliton is still moving forward because I havent heard anything recently

StevenW

March 13th, 2006, 11:36 AM

Developer of 59-story city tower 'close to signing a deal' with hotel
Baltimore Business Journal - March 10, 2006by Heather HarlanStaff

The developer of the former McCormick spice factory site in downtown Baltimore is trying to lure a boutique hotel operator, including W Hotels, to the property at the corner of Light and Conway streets, according to commercial real estate sources familiar with the talks.

ARC Wheeler LLC of Philadelphia is planning a 59-story building for what is considered one of the last undeveloped tracts along the Inner Harbor. Plans presented last month to Baltimore's Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel show an iconic, mixed-use development that would include 285 condominiums, a 192-room boutique hotel, almost 75,000 square feet of retail space and 800 parking spaces.

John Voneiff, director of southeast operations for ARC Wheeler, declined comment when asked recently about negotiations with boutique hotel operators, including W Hotels.

Voneiff referred all calls to Jon M. Laria, a partner with law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP.

"We are close to signing a deal with a hotel,'' Laria said. "But we are not prepared to release the name. We've been focused on this one operator and are hoping to do a deal with them.''

Jane Lehman, public relations director for W Hotels, said: "While Baltimore would make an ideal city for a W, we don't have anything official in the works.''

W Hotels, a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., is known for its smaller, boutique feel and hip, accompanying bars. Based in New York, W Hotels group plans to open at least eight new locations between this year and 2009.

The new spots will include Dallas, South Beach, Fla., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Las Vegas, Hoboken, N.J., Scottsdale, Ariz., and Hollywood, Calif.

A W Hotel would add a new type of hospitality product to the downtown Baltimore market.

W, and its competitors such as Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, tend to cater to a more sophisticated traveler -- whether it is business or leisure.

Troy Furbay, senior vice president of acquisitions and development for Kimpton, said his group is not talking with ARC Wheeler at this time.

The company has been focused on the Fells Point Pier location, controlled by Baltimore developer J. Joseph Clarke.

waj0527

March 13th, 2006, 06:14 PM

Real Estate & Economic Development
Fuddruckers may exit space
Baltimore Business Journal - March 10, 2006
by Heather HarlanStaff

The "World's Greatest Hamburgers" at the corner of Pratt Street and Market Place in downtown Baltimore may become a meat lover's dream of the past.

Fuddruckers has not exercised an option to renew its lease for roughly 7,000 square feet in the Candler Building, just about a block from the Inner Harbor, commercial real estate brokers said.

As a result, national commercial real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. began advertising the retail space as available.

Even though Jeff Bach, a vice president for CB Richard Ellis in Baltimore, is listed as the lead contact on the flier, he referred all inquiries to the Austin, Texas-based restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers. A Fuddruckers spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Commercial real estate brokers familiar with the situation said the Fuddruckers franchise group that controls the downtown restaurant is not expected to renew the lease. But the corporate entity may decide to keep the restaurant open, they said.

Fuddruckers has more than 200 restaurants from Miami to Great Falls, Mont. In the Baltimore area, other locations include Perry Hall, Pikesville, Owings Mills, Annapolis and Columbia. The company renovated all of its restaurants, including the downtown Baltimore spot, in 2002 at a cost of $225,000 per location.

CB Richard Ellis is advertising the retail space as $40 a square foot.

waj0527

March 13th, 2006, 06:22 PM

Morgan Stanley on the prowl for 60,000 square feet
Baltimore Business Journal - March 10, 2006
by Heather Harlan
Staff

Morgan Stanley has launched a search for a massive amount of office space, a year after the New York financial giant's growth in downtown Baltimore was called into question.

The company is looking for roughly 60,000 square feet to supplement its institutional securities processing facility at Bond Street Wharf in Baltimore's Fells Point, according to real estate brokers familiar with the requirement.

Bruce Matthai, a senior vice president and principal with Baltimore commercial real estate firm Colliers Pinkard, declined comment about Morgan Stanley. Other commercial real estate brokers said Matthai is representing the financial company in its search for temporary expansion space.

Scott Shotto, area manager for Morgan Stanley, said he was unsure about the plans for Morgan's institutional securities processing unit. "I wouldn't be surprised," he said, when asked about the potential expansion.

He referred further inquiries to Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Erica Platt, who could not be reached for comment.

Commercial real estate brokers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Morgan Stanley is combing the downtown market for expanded office space. Options include 1 South St., the local headquarters for Deutsche Bank, the brokers said.

Regardless of the location that Morgan Stanley picks, the expansion would be a huge coup for both the city and state, which lured the financial company's back-office operations to the area with substantial incentives.

"It's another stamp of approval for the Baltimore area that an internationally known company is following through with its expansion plans," said David Iannucci, the former secretary for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. In his previous role, Iannucci was instrumental in bringing Morgan Stanley to the region. He now heads Baltimore County's economic development efforts.

Morgan Stanley moved its back-office operations to roughly 30,000 square feet of office space in Bond Street Wharf in June 2003, after state promises of a $3.5 million, taxpayer-funded grant. But in a previous interview, Aris Melissaratos, Maryland's Secretary of Business and Economic Development, said the grant is tied to job creation goals.

In February 2005, the Baltimore Business Journal first reported that Morgan Stanley may have fallen short of its job creation estimates and was unsure about its future downtown expansion. At the time, the company faced turbulence its in executive ranks.

It was unclear this week how many people Morgan Stanley employs at Bond Street Wharf. Commercial real estate brokers said the company has grown into a total of 45,000 square feet there, and has no room left for expansion.

The search for more offices is a short-term fix for the increasing operation, they said. Morgan Stanley needs somewhere for its employees to go until a new building can be constructed to accommodate the company.

Morgan Stanley was eyeing the planned Harbor Point development on the former AlliedSignal chrome factory site to meet its long-term growth needs in Baltimore. That site, which is being developed by H&S Properties Development Corp. and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., both of Baltimore, is just blocks from Bond Street Wharf.

But commercial real estate brokers familiar with the situation said Harbor Point, which has not gotten under way, is just one option under consideration by the company. Since the financial firm first moved to Baltimore, more downtown options have materialized.

They include banker/developer Edwin F. Hale Sr.'s Canton Crossing project east of Fells Point and even portions of Harbor East near the Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

The options in the surrounding counties are plenty.

MasonsInquiries

March 13th, 2006, 07:07 PM

seanlax5

March 13th, 2006, 07:07 PM

Too bad that fuddruckers is gone!!! Now I have to go to White MArsh...

waj0527

March 13th, 2006, 07:44 PM

StevenW

March 14th, 2006, 12:07 AM

^^ Ditto that, waj! ;)

PeterSmith

March 14th, 2006, 06:35 AM

With all this new development coming into Baltimore and all this talk about Baltimore finally overcoming its past and getting over that hump, it puzzles me as to why Fuddrucker's and others would be closing up shop. Baltimore certainly has had its share of rewards this past year, but there have been quite a few tiny setbacks which are starting to add up and annoy me. I'm not even all that big a Fuddrucker's fan (although I have downed the 1lb. Texas burger more than once), but that is a premier spot and no restaurant should be letting it go so easily.

micrip

March 14th, 2006, 09:53 AM

I've never been a fan of Fuds in general and that Fuds in particular. It's always seemed so dark and gloomy esp. when compared to the Fuds in Chinatown in DC. I wonder what they'll put in that space.

Besides....Five Guys is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Fuds anyway.
Has it been my imagination, or does it seem like the burgers (the meat in particular) are not as good as they used to be? I've noticed this over the last year or so. I usually eat at the one in Annapolis.

wada_guy

March 14th, 2006, 02:48 PM

Appetite for parking met on Lombard at Charles
10-story garage to serve nearby office towers

By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

Sam Hassan, owner of the Afghan Kabob restaurant in downtown Baltimore, would be displaced by the planned garage. Hassan and development officials said the city’s need for parking puts pressure on old but well-located buildings.

Washington developer Union Realty Partners Inc. is planning a 10-story garage with about 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail at the corner of Lombard and Charles streets in downtown Baltimore, according to city officials. The garage is expected to meet demand from tenants in nearby office buildings, such as the Legg Mason tower at 100 Light St. and the Bank of America building at 100 S. Charles St., said Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp.

Those buildings are “extremely underparked,” Frank said, meaning they hold far more office workers than parking spaces for their cars.

“There’s always been a demand” for parking downtown, he said. But the need for parking is greater than ever, with more than 6,000 new jobs downtown since 2004, according to statistics by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. “I do think there is more demand today than there was five years ago,” Frank said.

A map on the Downtown Partnership Web site shows about 11 parking garages between Liberty and Light streets and Lombard and Saratoga streets. One of those is a 450-space garage at 25 S. Charles St., adjacent to the planned Lombard Street garage site. Union Realty will tear down a number of buildings, some of them historic, along Charles, Light and Lombard streets to make way for the new garage, Frank said. The company received conceptual approval for the project earlier this month from the city’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel.

Officials at Union Realty did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Most of the buildings between Lombard and Water streets and Charles and Light streets — with the exception of Burke’s Café at Light and Lombard streets — will likely be demolished, Frank said. Many of the block’s storefronts are vacant. Men’s clothing store Gian Marco has a sign in the darkened window that says it is moving across the street to the Bank of America building. Beside Gian Marco sits an empty storefront advertising the B&O Railroad Museum.

But at the corner of Charles and Lombard streets, 37 S. Charles St., the Afghan Kabob restaurant remains a thriving business full of lunchtime customers.

Owner Sam Hassan said he has heard rumors that the brown historic building where he leases street-level retail space for his restaurant would eventually be demolished, but didn’t know what would follow. “We don’t what’s going on,” he said. “I hope to stay here for a long time.” But, Hassan conceded, “This building is in a very bad position. It needs a lot of work.”

Kathleen Kotarba, executive director of the city’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, or CHAP, said she had not heard of the garage plans. Either way, 37 S. Charles St. is not designated as a protected historic property, Kotarba said. “It’s not something that would routinely come to CHAP,” she said. Kotarba declined to comment about how tearing down the historic buildings would affect the high-profile downtown corner.

Charles Street’s early 20th century architecture is part of what makes the downtown environment unique, said J. Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. But, he said, “The current building … is not particularly prominent.”

At some point, he said, officials have to part with the old to gain new infrastructure, such as parking, that will help lure more jobs and investment to the city. “What we’ve been arguing and advocating during the design phase is that the corner of Charles and Lombard be respected as a gateway to the rest of Charles Street,” Fowler said.

He said he is pleased with the design Union Realty has proposed for the site, which emphasizes a strong retail presence at the street level. “It’s really important to treat that corner with the respect it deserves,” Frank said. But, he added, “We always need more parking.”

waj0527

March 14th, 2006, 03:41 PM

Good....more retail.

Balmurfan

March 14th, 2006, 03:43 PM

Rail service negotiating with developer to build 72-room facility
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published March 14, 2006

Amtrak has revived a plan to open a boutique hotel inside Baltimore's historic Penn Station, which would be a first in an Amtrak-owned station.

The passenger rail operator is negotiating with a developer to create a 72-room hotel on three levels at the station, Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said yesterday.

The national rail service is struggling with declining revenues and operating losses that are exceeding $1 billion annually and are projected to grow by 40 percent within four years, according to the Government Accountability Office. Amtrak, which has relied on Congress to subsidize its operating losses, has been under pressure to improve its financial operations.

"It makes sense for us to make the best use of our properties, to help supplement our passenger rail income, and real estate is one way we can do that," Black said.

The upper floors of the station, once used as offices for Amtrak police, customer service and maintenance workers, are vacant, Black said. Baltimore's Penn Station is Amtrak's 10th-busiest.

The negotiations with an unnamed developer also include some redevelopment of the station's main floor for shops, he said. The hotel would encompass about 40,000 square feet, he said

Amtrak planned a hotel there about four years ago and had agreed to a deal calling for Columbia-based James M. Jost & Co. Inc. to construct a moderately priced $5 million hotel.

Jost would have owned the hotel and leased the space from Amtrak. The agreement was contingent on arranging financing and finding a hotel brand.

Black said he did not know what derailed those earlier plans. James M. Jost, the company's owner, could not be reached.

One analyst said yesterday that he suspected the earlier project had difficulty attracting financing and a hotel brand.

"The location is a little off," said Rod Petrik, a Baltimore-based managing director and hotel analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which acquired Legg Mason's investment banking, research and trading operations. "That location certainly is a little way from the center of Baltimore, at least the business community and the convention market."

But he said a hotel could get overflow business if hotels in the central business district are full.

"My issue with a boutique hotel is, is it going to be something unique or are you doing a boutique because you can't get a flag?" Petrik said. "The question is, can you make it unique enough, quirky enough to attract people to stay there?"

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, said the timing is better now for a Penn Station hotel, especially with residential development and redevelopment growing in the neighborhoods around Penn Station.

The neighborhoods of Charles North and Greenmount West, and part of Barclay, have been included in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, a state designation designed to promote revitalization and encourage arts and entertainment uses.

Plans call for converting into housing a former city Housing Authority building that sits over the rail line near Penn Station.

Another development group plans to transform the former Chesapeake Restaurant and an adjacent parking lot at Charles and Lanvale streets into a mixed-use urban renewal project with shops, restaurants, an art gallery and subsidized artists' lofts. It also would include a 91-unit condominium tower behind the former restaurant and 11 townhouses.

And Somerset Development Co. is building luxury townhouses called Station North a block north of Penn Station on North Calvert Street.

"There's a nice ribbon of positive development activity along the Amtrak line just north of Mount Vernon, and the hotel fits right in that ribbon," Fowler said.

A hotel at Penn Station, he said, might attract business from parents of college students at the nearby University of Baltimore, which is expanding this year from a two-year college to a four-year program, and Maryland Institute College of Art.

"More and more people are using the MARC line, as well as Amtrak, and ... this project would fit well into the goal to have more transit-oriented development," which typically includes a mix of development uses around mass transit, Fowler said.

Black said he had no timetable for the current project and no details on whether Amtrak or a developer would own the hotel.

"Amtrak real estate is working on this, and they're in negotiations, and we don't want to get ahead of that," he said.

PeterSmith

March 14th, 2006, 04:43 PM

MasonsInquiries

March 14th, 2006, 06:20 PM

The neighborhoods of Charles North and Greenmount West, and part of Barclay, have been included in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, a state designation designed to promote revitalization and encourage arts and entertainment uses.

Another development group plans to transform the former Chesapeake Restaurant and an adjacent parking lot at Charles and Lanvale streets into a mixed-use urban renewal project with shops, restaurants, an art gallery and subsidized artists' lofts. It also would include a 91-unit condominium tower behind the former restaurant and 11 townhouses.

And Somerset Development Co. is building luxury townhouses called Station North a block north of Penn Station on North Calvert Street.

Plans call for converting into housing a former city Housing Authority building that sits over the rail line near Penn Station.
So, they are going to do something with this building? This is really good news. I've had my eye on this building for some time now. I can't wait to see the plan on this put into effect as well as the other projects in the Penn Station area. That area is going to be really thriving in, say, 3-4 years.

waj0527

March 14th, 2006, 06:50 PM

I checked the W website to see if there was any mention of a Baltimore property being added and I noticed most of their new properties were single use buildings. The only real mixes were W hotel below W Residences. Has anyone in their travels seen a W located in a mixed use setting i.e. 10 Inner Harbor?

PeterSmith

March 14th, 2006, 07:16 PM

Rail service negotiating with developer to build 72-room facility
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published March 14, 2006

"There's a nice ribbon of positive development activity along the Amtrak line just north of Mount Vernon, and the hotel fits right in that ribbon," Fowler said.

What projects are included in this "ribbon"?

wada_guy

March 14th, 2006, 08:01 PM

Planners add Baltimore to BRAC equation
City's housing and infrastructure might accommodate influx of defense workers
By Phillip McGowan
Sun reporter
Originally published March 14, 2006
As state and local officials focus on ways to house and move thousands of defense-sector workers bound for the region, some have begun focusing on Baltimore - with its abundance of affordable housing and established transportation network - as a way to handle the growth.

Representatives of the counties in and around Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground said at a meeting yesterday that they are taking a regional approach to confronting the potential sprawl generated by the Pentagon's base realignment and closure process, known as BRAC, which is expected to draw 40,000 to 60,000 private- and public-sector jobs to Maryland within the next six years.

Although officials have concentrated on the roads, schools and homes needed to meet the needs of two heavily affected installations - Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County - officials are increasingly turning their attention to what Baltimore City has to offer.

Clarence T. Bishop, chief of staff to Mayor Martin O'Malley, acknowledged after his testimony to the regional planning group that "the city has been on the periphery [of the BRAC discussion] because the growth is taking place at Aberdeen and Fort Meade." As far as Baltimore's place in the discussion of BRAC growth, Bishop said: "There is no way around us."

Harford County Executive David R. Craig, a Republican, referred to Baltimore as "no longer a hole in the doughnut." He said he expected the city to play a role in a regional marketing partnership recently established among Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties.

Discussion of the city's role came at the most recent gathering of the Maryland Military Installation Strategic Planning Council, a consortium of local, state and federal officials overseeing military growth in Maryland. The meeting was held in Crownsville in Anne Arundel County. While jurisdictions from Prince George's to Cecil counties are preparing for billions of dollars of infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the growth from BRAC, city officials emphasized that Baltimore's existing infrastructure could accommodate 170,000 new residents - a goal city officials hope to achieve in the next decade.

Leaders in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties also said that concentrations of affordable housing exist within their jurisdictions. Many of those areas are in older, established neighborhoods such as Glen Burnie, or in shuttered industrial areas such as in Middle River.

Bishop said the city's location between Fort Meade and Aberdeen makes it a convenient place to house workers from both the south and north and provide them with accessible commuting options. There was little discussion of the city's troubled school system, which has grappled with low-performing schools, budget shortfalls and a court order over special education.

Urban attractions
Rather, state officials pointed to the urban charms and cultural diversity that Baltimore offers in attracting families from New Jersey, where jobs are being shifted from Fort Monmouth to Aberdeen, and Northern Virginia, which is losing jobs to Fort Meade. They also said the thousands of abandoned rowhouses could provide a sanctuary of affordable housing for less-affluent families who might be displaced by the influx of high-paying defense jobs.

Bishop said the city's population decline has leveled off, and he pointed to some $10 billion in private development since 2000 within Baltimore as a sign of the city's rebirth. He estimated that an additional $2.5 billion will be spent there within the next two years.

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, a Democrat, spoke yesterday of partnering with several surrounding jurisdictions to bring a regional focus to managing growth. "We need Howard County, Baltimore City and Prince George's County," she said, adding that Anne Arundel County was in a good position "at this point."

Owens has submitted a bill to the County Council to form a growth committee for the Fort Meade area. Howard County Executive James N. Robey will soon appoint a similar panel by executive order, said Richard W. Story, chief executive of Howard's Economic Development Authority.

Other regional committees addressing needs around Aberdeen have already begun developing a list of road, water and sewer improvements, from Baltimore to Cecil counties. State and local leaders stressed that the projections of job gains are still changing, and that the estimated 60,000 new jobs won't translate into 60,000 workers - and their families - coming into the state. Some workers in Northern Virginia, for example, could commute to Fort Meade.

Officials said yesterday they hope to redirect a portion of the state's deep pool of high-tech workers from jobs in the Washington area to Maryland. Joseph W. Rutter Jr., Anne Arundel County's planning director, said, "We are really looking to shorten commutes rather than moving people."

Gsol

March 14th, 2006, 10:13 PM

Ron C

March 14th, 2006, 11:28 PM

wada_guy

March 15th, 2006, 12:22 AM

I submitted a question to Sun Paper political columnist David Nitkin in his Q&A segment online. He selected my question and responded in what I feel, an incomplete manner. Anyway here is the segment:

Gary Solomon, New York, N.Y. : O'Malley is taking a lot of heat for the crime rate in Baltimore. However, on the positive side, why doesn't the mayor stress the investment in Baltimore that has occurred during his term? There are construction cranes everywhere. More people are moving into the downtown area, [and] these are more affluent people that should increase the city's tax base. I read somewhere that the city's population loss has been turned around.

Even though the city has a poor image on crime, people are investing in the city with their money and presence.

Nitkin: True enough. There's lots of residential and commercial construction going on in Baltimore. How much of it can be attributed to the mayor's policies, as opposed to general national and regional economic health -- or the D.C. housing market pushing buyers to Baltimore -- is a debatable question.

Baltimoreans have a long history and tradition of being their own worst enemy. When I was young some of the harshest critics of the city were those that left it because of blockbusting and other practices. We came within a hair of voting down Harborplace, then we almost did the same thing with “Schaefer’s Fish Tank” which we all now know as the National Aquarium.

So it doesn’t surprise me one bit that this columnist chooses to give credit to other forces beside the mayor. It is indeed ironic that cities from around the world, and this country too, have sent delegations to look at the CityStat program which is one of the most innovative programs in the country. It brought to the table what was significantly lacking in city government – ACCOUNTABILITY. And beyond a doubt, it was O’Malley’s creation.

I think the mayor is doing a bang up job with the resources he has. Schmoke, who was in office during the Clinton years which was one of the longest runs of prosperity this country has ever had, got nothing built except a Convention Center hotel. He personally chose the location and we all know who had to fix that boondangle. So it doesn’t surprise me one bit that some Baltimoreans don’t see the difference. Time, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal seem to have noticed. Odd, isn’t it?

Columnists come and columnists go. Perhaps this guy wasn't around during the Schmoke years. I suspect anyone who was would give credit where credit is due.

Ladies and Gentlemen - The beginings of one of two new tower cranes at the Ritz!

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/images/Photographs%20Misc%2025.jpg

StevenW

March 15th, 2006, 12:36 AM

^^ Yeah, cool. And look at 1st Mariner in the Background there.

scando

March 15th, 2006, 05:20 AM

Haha, I was just barreling over here to post that article, Bawlmurfan. It's good to finally get some news today. It seems like after the announcement of 10 Inner Harbor things just got real quiet. I'm all for the idea of the boutique hotel in Penn Station. The area is vacant, and being a train station, there aren't many other uses I can think of for that area. We sure don't need another railway museum. I don't really see all that much potential with the project though, perhaps it will help get the ball rolling on other Station North projects, and if it's a success, maybe they'll expand.

I took the train to DC last Wednesay and while waiting I couldn't help notice how the first floor looks pretty good but the upper floors look so forlorn. That contrast was especially sharp in comparison to the palatial Union Station in DC. A small hotel there could serve travelers, overflow from downtown and possibly visiting artists in the adjecent area. I thought it was a good idea a few years ago and a better one now.

As for the parking garage, I'm conflicted. I love Afghan Kabob and hope that it never goes away, but this could be a good chance to revitalize that area, since the article said much of it is vacant. The parking is needed, I suppose, but I'm usually against anything that promotes more people driving. The garage could be used as a base for a taller building perhaps, but I'm getting kind of tired of towers perched on top of parking garage pedestals. Nevertheless, I think it'll be a good addition to the area.

Yes. I like the food and the people at Afgan Kabob. I hope they can either find a space for him in the garage or at least some place for him to relocate. It's a small, family sized restaurant and I imagine that they don't have a lot of capital to survive a long down time.

scando

March 15th, 2006, 05:39 AM

...O'Malley is taking a lot of heat for the crime rate in Baltimore. However, on the positive side, why doesn't the mayor stress the investment in Baltimore that has occurred during his term? There are construction cranes everywhere. More people are moving into the downtown area, [and] these are more affluent people that should increase the city's tax base. I read somewhere that the city's population loss has been turned around.....There's lots of residential and commercial construction going on in Baltimore. How much of it can be attributed to the mayor's policies, as opposed to general national and regional economic health -- or the D.C. housing market pushing buyers to Baltimore -- is a debatable question.

I just don't understand how anybody can NOT see the ways in which the city has improved. Having been here for a while, I can viscerally remember the grim days of the Schmoke administration, for whom the Baltimore slogan seemed to be "Baltimore, About As Good As It Ever Will Be". I really wasn't sure that this place wasn't going to dry up and blow away. All you need to do is look at the crane count, the skyline, the people doing things in the city, investment, people who have money who choose to live in the city and compare that to 1995.

Gsol

March 15th, 2006, 05:47 AM

WADA-GUY you get it. If the mayor takes the blame for the bad things that happen during his watch, then he should take credit for the benefits as well. But the facts speak for themselves. Schmoke actually benefitted for one of his biggest mistakes, the convention hotel. The Marriott turned out to be successful in stimulating the development of the Harbor East area, an unintended consequence. This was seen as a failure at the time.

Another major Schmoke failure that still makes itself felt today is his selection of Schulweiss (sp?) as a developer for the Pratt Street site on which Best Buy sits. The project fell apart. One of the proposals for the site that the mayor nixed was supposed to be the site for a major law firm, now one of the largest in the world - the name escapes me. But the the firm fled to Mt. Wwashington. Law firms rarely leave the central city, but Schmoke caused it. Sometimes the mayor can intervene to effect things, and this was one of those instances. I cannnot cite anything that O'Malley did to cause all those cranes to appear downtown, however he did not do anything to prevent them from being there. Unlike his predecessor.

StevenW

March 15th, 2006, 11:44 AM

StevenW

March 15th, 2006, 11:46 AM

A good article about the JFX! :D

News on the JFX proposal! (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.jfx15mar15,0,7956280.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)

:)

Well? :D Any comments?

Ron C

March 15th, 2006, 01:39 PM

A good article about the JFX! :D

News on the JFX proposal! (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.jfx15mar15,0,7956280.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)

:)

Well? :D Any comments?

Not a comment, but a question. There's a line in the article about "an expanding shopping area along Hillen Street."

What is this referring to? I don't remember any shopping around there worth mentioning.

Hood

March 15th, 2006, 02:10 PM

I was at that presentation. It was decent, but really didn't look at how they would get to where they need to go, or if there was even a market for the edison parking/bge lots over there.

For instance, during construction, were do you reroute all of that traffic? How long will construction last, 2 years, 3 years? do you think mt. vernon will want an extra 60,000 cars a day to go on their already busy streets?

Why is that part all that desireable that it warrants the investment and pain of removing the JFX. IN San fan the exressway they never rebuilt after the qauke was right on the bay. The jfx section they are talking about fronts the jail, the BGE front street complex. The connection to be made would be from a stable/desolate part of town to the projects between hopkins and BGE up on orleans?

there are so many other parcels of land that could absorb the square footages that I am truly pessamistic about this plan and its merits.

wada_guy

March 15th, 2006, 02:56 PM

A good article about the JFX! :D

News on the JFX proposal! (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.jfx15mar15,0,7956280.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)

:)

Well? :D Any comments?
What they are proposing is a Martin Luther King Blvd. on the East Side of Downtown. Anyone who has ever driven on MLK knows it SUCKS during rush hour, as well as most other times for that matter. Conversly, I-83 is a breeze during rush hour.

They just spent MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars renovating this section of I-83. To tear it down in 10 or 15 years would be a total waste of money considering there are many streets in this city that are so in need of repaving that they are almost impassable, I have a real problem with this proposal.

I am a Mt. Vernon property owner. On the other side of I-83 in the Mt. Vernon Area is the largest prison complex in the state, a massive new one stop shop for the homeless which includes the city's largest soup kitchen (under construction), the city jail, the largest strip club in the city (Scores), and north of the prison complex a few blocks of boarded up crack houses of little architectural merrit. So where is the development they hope to spark going to occur? Are they going to move the city jail and prision? I think not.

I just don't see development happening to the East in the Mt. Vernon area. And if it doesn't, simply put, I DON'T WANT TO BE CLOSER TO MY NEIGHBORS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY! They aren't society's best citizens. I might add, most of the crime we experience in Mt. Vernon comes from our neighbors who live to the east. That's a fact. This city has too many needs to be using scarce transportation money for a proposal like this.

P.S. With regard to the San Francisco and Milwaukee projects that were referenced, the highways that were torn down ran right by water and separated thriving neighborhoods, and in San Francisco's case downtown, from it. No wonder they were successful. That's sure not the case here - unless they want to open up the Jones Falls which is burried beneath the highway and the Fallsway, hence the name. If they opened the stream back up and made a park along it's banks, I'm sure it would be beautiful and I think it may spur some development. But then you wouldn't have room for the road.

waj0527

March 15th, 2006, 03:55 PM

This couldnt be headed for 10 Inner Harbor....could it? I'd certainly be disappointed if the hotel developed in our 'world-class' new tallest were a discount, W knock-off. Maybe this is the new boutique hotel being built opposite Oriole Park. Or maybe this one of the rehabs in the CBD or whatever. The BBJ reported that ArcWheeler was close to signing with Starwood....more specifically W Hotels. Not a W knock off. Hopefully Im being presumptious.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------

High-style (but discount) aloft hotels on the way

07:46 AM CST on Wednesday, March 15, 2006
By SUZANNE MARTA / The Dallas Morning News

Business travelers to North Texas will soon find some hipper digs.

Local developer Gatebridge Hospitality said Tuesday that it plans to build five aloft hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s new limited-service brand that promises the style of a W at a much lower price.

North Texas locations targeted include downtown Dallas, Fort Worth's arts district, Las Colinas, Plano and Frisco.

Gatebridge president Joe Champ said deals for land are still being finalized.

But he expects to open two of the hotels by late 2007.

They would be the first aloft hotels in Texas.

Starwood announced that it was creating the brand in September and unveiled its prototype in January.

Although the hotels are designed to go into suburban locations, aloft has an urban feel. The hotels will have rooms with 9-foot ceilings and large windows, contemporary coffeehouse-style refreshments and hip hotel bars.

Starwood is planning an aggressive aloft expansion with 500 locations worldwide by 2012. The first aren't expected to open until early next year.

Other alofts are under development in San Francisco; Phoenix; Tucson, Ariz.; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; and suburban Chicago, Boston and Denver.

Starwood has strong customer loyalty and commands premium prices for its W Hotels brand, so it's a good time to launch aloft.

Although the W was developed as an upscale brand, it commands room prices more akin to its luxury competitors. John Keeling, senior vice president for PKF Consulting in Houston, said aloft aims to make a similar play in the limited-service arena.

Limited-service hotels, which include such brands as La Quinta, Fairfield Inn and Courtyard by Marriott, have enjoyed a healthy rebound in recent years, outperforming brands in the economy, upscale and luxury segments.

"This is the first salvo of Starwood," Mr. Keeling said. "This isn't just going to be a limited-service hotel, it's going to be a sexy limited-service hotel."

Starwood isn't the only large chain to launch a boutique-flavored limited-service offering.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC rolled out Hotel Indigo nearly two years ago and is adding locations in downtown Dallas, Houston and several other U.S. cities.

Hotel Indigo and aloft have taken a cue from retailers like Target that attract loyal customers with high-style discount products.

"It takes the stylish stuff and brings it down to a price point that the average Joe can afford," Mr. Keeling said.

Mr. Champ, a 21-year veteran in the hotel industry who helped Starwood launch the W brand in 1998, says he liked the flexibility of aloft.

The 136-room prototype can be built for $13 million and works in both suburban and urban business markets.

Aloft was designed by David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group, whose award-winning projects include the Kodak Theater, Nobu and the W Union Square.

"This takes the look and feel and excitement of W Hotels but can go into markets like Las Colinas," he said.

E-mail smarta@dallasnews.com

Gsol

March 15th, 2006, 04:37 PM

Gsol, are you sure it wasn't the 300 east pratt street address you are refering to? :?
I didn't think that Schulweiss owned the Lockwood Place land. I may be wrong.

Steve I am sure it was the earlier version of the Lockwood site.

Gsol

March 15th, 2006, 04:48 PM

wada_guy

March 15th, 2006, 05:18 PM

Huck

March 15th, 2006, 06:15 PM

Steve I am sure it was the earlier version of the Lockwood site.

Gsol is right. It was at Lockwood. But Schulweiss was not involved. I think the land at Lockwood is owned the Community college of Baltimore. Cordish submitted a bid to develop the site that would have included a 20 story office tower with Piper Marbury (which has since merged with another firm... Rudnick?) as its main tenant. When CCB didn't give the contract to Cordish, Piper Marbury moved to the USFG building in Mt Washington.

MasonsInquiries

March 15th, 2006, 07:35 PM

A good article about the JFX! :D

News on the JFX proposal! (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.jfx15mar15,0,7956280.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)

:)

Well? :D Any comments?
i would have to see the rendering of this first to make a judgement on it at all. jeffbaltimore made an interesting point. where in the world would they possibly direct all this traffic throughout the day? ESPECIALLY during the times of a.m. and p.m. rush hour. it's sounds like it would the biggest nightmare for drivers that work downtown for years to come.

StevenW

March 15th, 2006, 11:14 PM

Town Center proposal (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/13/daily22.html?jst=b_ln_hl)
Yet another interesting article.

StevenW

March 15th, 2006, 11:19 PM

Hi,

In regard to 10 Inner Harbor, the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel needs to grant final approval before site work can begin. The developers of that site have only been before the board once. Typically, developers need to appear before the board at least three times before final approval is granted. Then, permits will need to be secured before even site work can begin. A fall construction start is ambitious, but not impossible. It is more likely, though, that construction will be under way in 2007 if everything is approved.

Heather Harlan
Senior Reporter/Television Correspondent
Baltimore Business Journal
111 Market Place
Suite 720
Baltimore, MD 21202
410.454.0517

wada_guy

March 16th, 2006, 01:09 AM

OPINION - BALTIMORE SUN
What gives?
Originally published March 15, 2006

The Hippodrome Theatre's coming season can't be beat for showstoppers. Its playbill, featuring the best Broadway play and musical of 2005, reminds us how enticing this part of town is becoming. There's the theater, playing to impressive audiences. A big new Starbucks at the corner, 88 percent occupancy at the Centerpoint complex, a hip new Irish restaurant nearby, the renovation of the historic Abell building under way. Now if only the 400 block of W. Baltimore St. would clean up its act.

The block remains a jumble of construction fencing, shuttered structures and a few businesses. Two years ago, Mayor Martin O'Malley and the city announced a development team for the block, promoting its planned $15 million overhaul as a "key" component of the west side's march toward "a vibrant and livable downtown community." The project promised to be a bargain for the city. The developers - David S. Brown Enterprises, A&R Development Corp. and local businessman Steve Samuelson - weren't going to ask for a dime in tax breaks to revitalize the area and preserve the historic properties.

So much for the buildup.

Back in 2003, Arthur Adler of Brown Enterprises rightly pegged the 400 block of W. Baltimore St. as a vital link between the expanding Maryland medical and law school campuses and the evolving revival to the east. That's even more true today.

It's time for the city to call the question. Can this development team change the face of this tawdry block? If it can't, Baltimore economic development officials should re- offer the block for development. It's showtime, folks.

StevenW

March 16th, 2006, 01:18 AM

I whole-heartedly agree. :)

fluffyhorse

March 16th, 2006, 01:27 AM

I agree also. Its a nice project also.
Same thing goes for 1 Light Street

MasonsInquiries

March 16th, 2006, 02:43 AM

if only i could snap my fingers and make a wish.........
http://www.davidsbrown.com/images/photo-400-west-baltimore.jpg

scando

March 16th, 2006, 04:36 AM

Not a comment, but a question. There's a line in the article about "an expanding shopping area along Hillen Street."

What is this referring to? I don't remember any shopping around there worth mentioning.

"If part of the highway is removed, developers envision more park space around East Monument and Orleans streets. The idea would be to make it similar to Mount Vernon Square.

The architects said that the new boulevard would make it easier for people to drive to new housing going up in East Baltimore and to an expanding shopping area along Hillen Street."

I can only assume that this is quite a distant vision. "More park space" - just what park space would they add too? Similar to Mt Vernon? Except that there would be no monument, no wonderful Victorian buildings, no Peabody and no Walters....just minor considerations. As for the expanding shopping opportunities, that must refer to the drug market outside the prison complex. Maybe they have more vision than I do, maybe 15 years will make a big difference, but for now, I like having that big highway between the jails and Mt Vernon.

scando

March 16th, 2006, 04:43 AM

i would have to see the rendering of this first to make a judgement on it at all. jeffbaltimore made an interesting point. where in the world would they possibly direct all this traffic throughout the day? ESPECIALLY during the times of a.m. and p.m. rush hour. it's sounds like it would the biggest nightmare for drivers that work downtown for years to come.

It's pretty obvious where they would put it since they aren't talking about doing away with the entire highway.. right out on the streets and on a boulevard that would replace the JFX. What isn't obvious is how this would be an improvement. You'd still have 60,000 vehicles per day, only at street level instead of elevated. That's a lot of work in order to improve the view from the jail. Maybe we could lobby for a "Big Dig II" and bury the monster.

scando

March 16th, 2006, 04:55 AM

The JFX proposal should have a mass transit component. This is a great opportunity to bring the light rail east from Penn Station along this proposed boulevard into the Harbor East area. Perhaps it could be extended to Fells Point and Canton.

If they are going to spend the bucks for this project, how much more to add a ROW for the light rail? This would allow riders from the northern end to transfer at the Mt Royal Station for eastside access.

Interesting idea. The Red Line is supposed to run east to west across Fells Point and Canton, but if you could hook that little stump of a shuttle that connects UB with Penn Station to wherever the Red Line is, that 4 block ride might extend into something worth having.

micrip

March 16th, 2006, 10:28 AM

PeterSmith

March 16th, 2006, 04:14 PM

Baltimore will have two Sheraton hotels
Twin-towered Wyndham hotel to be renovated, renamed Sheraton City Center by end of year
By June Arney
sun reporter
Originally published March 16, 2006
Downtown Baltimore will get a second Sheraton hotel when the 707-room Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor takes on a new flag by year's end.

The 27-story twin towers will operate as the Sheraton City Center after an overhaul of the hotel's rooms and public spaces, officials said yesterday. The property, at 101 W. Fayette St. in Charles Center, is just a few blocks north of the Sheraton Inner Harbor at 300 S. Charles St.

The reflagging will be the property's fourth brand, after previously operating as a Hilton and an Omni. It's now the city's second-largest hotel, after the 750-room Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, but will drop to third once a 756-room convention hotel opens in 2008.

Renovations are to begin Aug. 1, said Chris Phillips, the Baltimore Wyndham's general manager.

The hotel, which opened as the 352-room Baltimore Statler Hilton Hotel in 1967, was a key piece of the city's early renewal efforts, said Martin Millspaugh, who then headed Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management Inc., the city's urban renewal agency. When renewal plans were first drawn up, downtown's economy was sagging and hotel occupancy was under 50 percent, he said.

Hilton concluded a convention hotel would not succeed but agreed to a hotel aimed at business travelers, betting the new office towers rising in Charles Center would bring customers.

"It was a linchpin, a major turning point," Millspaugh said. "It gave the city credibility in business circles. Businessmen would have avoided being left overnight in Baltimore. Now they could look forward to staying. That was very good for business and for Baltimore's image."

Columbia Sussex Corp. of Fort Mitchell, Ky., acquired the Baltimore property in October along with 13 other full-service hotels from Wyndham International Inc.

"Columbia Sussex is committed to creating a quality representation of a Sheraton brand here in Baltimore," Phillips said. "They're committed to putting in the money and doing the renovations to do that."

A spokeswoman for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. said the Sheraton Inner Harbor would continue to operate as a Sheraton after the Wyndham's conversion.

"We think that the Baltimore market can easily support two Sheratons," K.C. Kavanagh said at Starwood headquarters in White Plains, N.Y. "The other hotel is a smaller hotel that caters to individual business travelers. They'll both fly the Sheraton flags. That's far from unprecedented."

Orlando, Fla., Atlanta, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Mexico City are among the cities that currently have multiple Sheratons, she said.

Columbia Sussex will own and operate the Sheraton City Center, and Starwood will franchise it under the Sheraton flag, Kavanagh said. Starwood will retain its position as manager and operator of the Sheraton Inner Harbor, she said.

"We think they'll enhance one another, attract larger convention business - for instance, we could use one for overflow - and we could market them together," Kavanagh said.

The switch to the Sheraton flag will be good for Baltimore, said Rod Petrik, a Baltimore-based managing director and hotel analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

"Sheraton, which is a Starwood brand, is a much stronger brand - with their reservation system, the Internet system and, more importantly, their Starwood Preferred Guests system," he said. "Those programs make up close to 40 percent of all their reservations."

After its recent bankruptcy and sale to the Blackstone Group, the Wyndham brand is not what it once was, he said. "Wyndham is at best a broken brand," Petrik said. "It's more a collection of assets than a brand."

But while good news for the city's tourist trade overall, it may not be for Sheraton Inner Harbor, which is controlled by Baltimore businessman Willard Hackerman, head of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

"If I'm the owner of the Sheraton [Inner Harbor], I'm not happy," Petrik said. "You have a loyalty program, and if I'm the existing Sheraton, I'm the Starwood Hotel of choice in Baltimore."

The one-time Hilton switched to the Omni brand in 1984. Wyndham bought the property in 1998 when the company merged with Patriot American Hospitality Inc. It was converted to a Wyndham in September 2000.

The change in flag from Omni to Wyndham coincided with a $6 million upgrade to the property.

Through the years, the hotel has enjoyed its moments of fame - for instance, a 1980 presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and John B. Anderson occurred there. The fact that the hotel is Baltimore's only union hotel brings it categories of business that it wouldn't get otherwise.

In weeks, the Wyndham has a date with the Miss USA Pageant beauties when the contest returns to Baltimore for a second year.

PeterSmith

March 16th, 2006, 04:21 PM

Brooklyn gets town center plan
Developer would put homes, shops on lot
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published March 16, 2006
Condos or apartments, a grocery store and neighborhood shops would be built on the site of a former junkyard in Brooklyn under a developer's proposal to transform 17 industrial acres in the South Baltimore neighborhood.

Business Real Estate Partners LLC proposed the project in response to a request from Baltimore Development Corp., which is marketing the vacant, city-owned land along with a vacant parcel owned by the state.

The developer, the only one to submit a plan for the site at Potee and Garrett streets, envisions a Brooklyn town center that could help build a neighborhood identity. The site is bordered by the Harbor Tunnel Thruway to the west, commercial development along Potee Street to the east and rowhouses just across the Anne Arundel County border to the south.

BDC officials said they were reviewing the proposal.

The BDC did not specify uses for the site in its request for developer proposals, Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the BDC, said yesterday. If the town center proposal is accepted, the site would need to be rezoned to allow housing, he said. "We believed in offering this that the site had industrial-use potential and mixed-use potential, so a proposal for residential is something we need to carefully consider," he said.

"The city's general goal is to see redevelopment that will create jobs and increase the tax base and be something that supports the community's vision for the site," Frank said. Community members have long hoped to see a supermarket locate in the area, he said.

As a vacant, trash-strewn parcel for the past 15 years, "it's been a tremendous detriment to Brooklyn," said Mitch Gold, a partner in Business Real Estate.

"This piece of property does more to drag down the neighborhood than any other property," Gold said.

He said that while redevelopment has swept across much of the city, bringing in new homes, shops and entertainment, "I would say Brooklyn has been overlooked."

The project would be the first development for Gold, who has worked as a commercial broker for two decades.

The plan calls for 320 residential units and 90,000 square feet of commercial space in six buildings. Gold said he had no estimate of the project's cost.

Some 224 condos or apartments would be in two buildings, including one with a six-floor, 300-space parking garage with a full-service grocery store on the ground level, and one with 15,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level. The developers haven't determined whether to build rental apartments or condos that would likely sell for up to $250,000, Gold said.

The project would also include a 96-unit subsidized senior housing building with a garage and three single-story buildings for neighborhood shops.

The city acquired its parcel in 1986 through eminent domain, after residents complained about the salvage yard that operated there at the time. The state had purchased a portion of the site from the city to build a courthouse, but abandoned those plans when methane gas was discovered underneath.

The BDC has done site testing and analysis with the help of brownfields funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. A site developer would likely have access to the BDC's revolving loan fund for cleanup.

A developer would need to clean up contaminants from the site's days as an unregulated landfill, then an auto salvage yard, said Evans Paull, BDC's director of the Brownfields Initiative. The extent and type of cleanup would depend in part on the type of development done.

Gold said the first step in his team's plan would be to create a four-acre park zone and storm-water management sites. The project would be completed in two phases, with the land development and cleanup taking about two years.

The construction would start after that, based on market demand, Gold said.

Gold is working with a team that includes Robertson Design as the architect, AKRF as civil engineer, Manekin Corp. as retail consultant and CC. Graves & Associates as planning consultant.

southbalto

March 16th, 2006, 04:23 PM

http://www.brecocondos.com/ & http://www.canalstreetmalthouse.com/

http://www.madisonflats.com/

http://rombrolofts.com/

pepperjack

March 16th, 2006, 09:13 PM

Did they changed the plans for the breco? I remember looking at it a year or so ago, and it had freaky penthouses on the top, not resembling the rest of the building. Not that I was going to be able to buy one, of course. They just seemed interseting and different, so I guess it's no suprise they got nixed.

waj0527

March 16th, 2006, 10:34 PM

^^A few months back the developers changed the design due to increased costs of steel and glass. The penthouse got nixed as a result.

StevenW

March 16th, 2006, 11:20 PM

Jackson5

March 17th, 2006, 01:45 AM

What they are proposing is a Martin Luther King Blvd. on the East Side of Downtown. Anyone who has ever driven on MLK knows it SUCKS during rush hour, as well as most other times for that matter. Conversly, I-83 is a breeze during rush hour....

P.S. With regard to the San Francisco and Milwaukee projects that were referenced, the highways that were torn down ran right by water and separated thriving neighborhoods, and in San Francisco's case downtown, from it. No wonder they were successful. That's sure not the case here - unless they want to open up the Jones Falls which is burried beneath the highway and the Fallsway, hence the name. If they opened the stream back up and made a park along it's banks, I'm sure it would be beautiful and I think it may spur some development. But then you wouldn't have room for the road.

As a counterpoint, a better example in San Francisco is the Central Freeway, which was damaged by the same 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that led to the creation of the Embarcadero (the waterfront boulevard that now sits where the Embarcadero Freeway used to run). Unlike the Embarcadero, the Central Freeway ran through the middle of the city. After the Loma Prieta quake, a portion of the Central Freeway was torn down in 1992, and just a couple years ago the remaining section north of Market St. was torn down and replaced with Octavia Boulevard.

The result is awesome. Much of the development lining the boulevard is still in the approval process, but the boulevard itself is a distinct improvement over the freeway that was there. Moreover, what 15 years ago was one of the shadier parts of the city, abutted by public housing projects and intermixed with homeless encampments under the freeway, has done a 180. Hayes Valley is now one of the hipper parts of town, lined with good restaurants, shops and bars (if you are ever in SF, I strongly recommend Suppenkuche or Frjtz).

As for traffic, everybody expected gridlock when they reopened the freeway as a boulevard, but strangely that never materialized. Over the course of several blocks, cars integrate into the normal city grid instead of being funneled out of one offramp. Obviously, every project is different and there are several conditions in Baltimore not present in SF and vice versa, but I thought you'd like to hear about a similar project that turned out well.

Here are a couple good links: http://www.sfcityscape.com/projects/octavia.html

http://www.sfgov.org/site/octavia_blvd_index.asp?id=238 and

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/13/BAGP6EMIOR1.DTL

Nino_B

March 17th, 2006, 02:33 AM

Article about the restoration of one of Baltimore's architectural masterpieces and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral built in the United States (yes the one in New Orleans is a little older but it was built by Spain when they owned N.O). I've wanted to visit the catacombs underneath but they were always off limits when I visited. Even if you aren't Catholic, Christian or even religious, if you are interested in American architecture and history it will be worth a visit in November. Hyperlink at the end has a few photos.

Restoration of Oldest U.S. Catholic Cathedral Almost Complete
BY MATTHEW HAY BROWN
SUN REPORTER
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 16, 2006

When the great dome of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's cathedral first rose over the Baltimore skyline two centuries ago, it loomed as a bold symbol of a new liberty.

The British had suppressed Roman Catholicism in the American colonies, forcing the faithful to worship in secret. But now a church building that rivaled Latrobe's U.S. Capitol in size and sophistication, a cathedral on a hill for a Catholic diocese that encompassed the entire young nation, proclaimed a new era for religious freedom.
Today, Michael J. Ruck Sr. said, the message of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is as relevant as ever.

"At a time when sacred mosques are being destroyed by explosives, and riots are engulfing basilicas in distant lands," the chairman of the basilica historic trust said yesterday, "this cathedral deserves to be preserved, protected and, yes, showcased for Americans of today and Americans of tomorrow as a symbol of our right to worship without fear of persecution or attack."

Ruck spoke as the historic trust announced plans for the bicentennial reopening in November of America's first Catholic cathedral. It has been closed since November 2004 for a $32 million restoration.

The festivities will begin with a ceremony and open house Nov. 4, followed by a Mass and the reconsecration of the altar the next day. Also planned for the bicentennial week are a concert, an interreligious service and tours for the public. The festivities end with a procession of the nation's Catholic bishops and a Mass on Nov. 12 -- a repeat of the pageantry that accompanied the centennial of the basilica in 1906.

Pope Benedict XVI, invited to attend, will not be coming. Cardinal William H. Keeler, who has known the pontiff for decades, has asked him to consider making a stop during a visit to the United States he might make next year.

Built from 1806 to 1821, the neoclassical cathedral was declared a basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1937. It also has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and a National Shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Yesterday, the historic trust, the independent organization that has raised $25 million for the restoration, offered reporters an early glimpse inside.

The project, designed by John G. Waite Associates and Beyer Blinder Belle and managed by Henry H. Lewis Contractors, was intended to peel away two centuries' worth of changes to the original vision of Latrobe and Archbishop John Carroll. The trust hopes to establish the building as a destination for pilgrims and tourists.

"We're using the history to build for the future," said Mark J. Potter, executive director of the trust. "People are going to want to view the 19th-century cathedral as Carroll and Latrobe intended. ... It will be a living classroom for future generations."

Workers have uncovered and replaced the 24 skylights of the great dome, which will suffuse the sanctuary with warm natural light, and they have restored interior walls to their original palette of pale yellow, blue and rose. A floor of white marble remains to be installed.

The undercroft, the level below the sanctuary, has been excavated to create space for a lower-level chapel. Workers have opened access behind the altar to the crypt that holds the remains of Carroll, Cardinal James Gibbons and Archbishop Martin John Spalding, among others.

Four touches not envisioned by Latrobe will be part of the finished interior. Fresco paintings dating from 1865, representations of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that were walled up in the late 19th century and not rediscovered until last summer, will again be revealed. New paintings that depict the Assumption of Mary and the Ascension of Jesus in the style of the early 19th century have been installed in the saucer domes that flank the great dome.

Other work includes the replacement of electrical, plumbing, and heating and air-conditioning systems, and the installation of wheelchair-accessible restrooms. Potter said the building would be fully compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The trust also has built a museum to display artifacts from the basilica's history. The building hosted the ordinations of the Rev. Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, and the Rev. Thomas F. Price, co-founder of Maryknoll. Mother Mary Lange, who founded the first order of black nuns in the world, worshiped there, and Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II visited.

Yesterday, Dr. Marie-Alberte Boursiquot, a member of the historic trust board, described her first encounter with the basilica. Recently arrived in Baltimore to complete her medical training, she was looking for a place to worship.

"I thought I was lost, because it did not look like a church," Boursiquot said. "In fact, I thought it was a bank. After having circled the building twice, I decided to enter the 'bank' to ask for directions.

"As I entered, I noticed, in the very center of the building, the tabernacle which houses the most sacred objects of our faith. I realized then that I had entered my new parish home."

She was looking forward to attending Mass again at the basilica.

"Having an historic landmark that stands as a symbol of our right as Americans to worship openly, irrespective of our individual religious beliefs, without fear of reprisal is, in my view, something truly worth celebrating. ... And getting my favorite church back is worth a bit of celebrating, too," she said.
matthew.brown@baltsun.com

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.basilica16mar16,0,6437560.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 02:57 AM

robert parsons

March 17th, 2006, 06:58 AM

I think the key point in the JFX proposal is "it won't happen for at least 10-15 years." That is a very long time. With Inner Harbor East and Canton continuing to boom, the JFX is going to remain very important as a transportation corridor to those areas. So for the short term, it should be left as is.

The article made a very good point...this option should only be considered when it is time for a major rebuild of the elevated portion. Then, if tearing it down makes sense from a development standpoint, it might be fiscally responsible.

Wada Guy made a very good point...the highway as it stands now does serve as sort of screen between Mount Vernon and the prison complex.

i would like to see the blvd in place to open up development towards hopkins and i would love to see 83 go underground and tunnel its way to 95 and extend i-70 towards 83 to make getting out of the city a little easier. putting 83 underground was also one of the concepts the city was playing with. another was extending the water way up the middle of an at grade blvd and light rail running down the other side next to central booking, the old frieght tracks are still there that they were going to use.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/cfxj530/lightrail.jpg

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 11:58 AM

500-car garage proposed near Legg Mason tower
'Parking is definitely an issue' for large investment firm, landlord Newkirk says, and Legg's lease expires in 2009
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published March 17, 2006

City officials are hoping a 500-space garage proposed for downtown Baltimore across from the Legg Mason tower will help keep Legg Mason Inc. in the building that bears its name.

The 10-story garage, to be constructed on Lombard Street between Charles and Light streets, is being developed by the owner of the 100 Light Street office tower to accommodate tenants, said John Alba, a vice president of Newkirk Realty Trust of New York, the tower owner.

Legg Mason occupies about two-thirds of the 35-story tower, the city's tallest building, which has an underground garage with 300 spaces. The company's lease expires in 2009.

"It's a very prominent building on the Inner Harbor, one of the original buildings there, and parking is definitely an issue for the building," Alba said.

"To enhance our investment and further the needs of the building, we are dedicated to getting this garage constructed ... to accommodate Legg's needs and any other tenant we'll be leasing to," he said.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of Baltimore Development Corp., said BDC officials have had continuing discussions with Legg Mason about the investment firm's space requirements, even before last summer, when Legg and New York-based Citigroup Inc. announced a landmark $3.7 billion business swap.

Through the transaction, completed in December, Legg acquired Citigroup's mutual funds and asset management businesses, doubling the assets it manages to $851 billion and becoming the nation's fifth-largest money manager. In return, Citigroup's Smith Barney subsidiary took Legg's roughly 1,500 brokers.

"We've had these conversations with Legg Mason and parking in that building is one of their concerns," Brodie said. "They have a lot of folks, and they have relatively little parking."

The firm is going through the typical assessment of space that most companies undertake a couple of years before a lease is to expire, Brodie said.

"Parking is one of the elements in their ongoing conversation," he said. "We would like them to stay downtown and would like them to stay in that building."

A Legg Mason spokesman said the company had no comment on its downtown office space needs or the garage.

"We are not going to have any comment on the proposed work on Lombard Street," said Jeffrey Bukowski, the spokesman.

Legg Mason has about 600 employees working at 100 Light St. A number of former Legg employees who are now with Stifel Nicolaus & Co., which acquired Legg's investment banking, research and trading operations, also continue to work from the Legg Mason tower, though they will likely relocate, Brodie said. In addition, Smith Barney will eventually relocate the brokers who occupy two floors at 100 Light St. under a sublet from Legg.

Alba, the Newkirk vice president, said Legg officials have not indicated to him what their future space requirements will be.

"With the Citigroup transaction that happened, they are deciding how much they really need in terms of space down there," he said. "We've not been told. I don't know if they want the whole building or entirely out of it or somewhere in the middle. That remains to be seen."

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, said the garage should help meet the parking needs of such a key downtown tenant.

"It appears that the parking is a necessity to assist Legg Mason," he said. "It appears from the attempt by the property owner to create this garage that Legg Mason is inclined to stay downtown."

"There clearly for years has been discussion of the need for downtown parking, and it seemed like we had reached a peak a couple of years ago where we'd met much of the need," said Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee. But with increased activity and new jobs downtown, "one of the things we have to worry about is staying ahead of the curve."

Newkirk has several properties along the Lombard Street block under contract from the current owner, M&T Bank Corp., pending city approval of the garage design. The project won a preliminary approval yesterday from the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel.

Alba said Newkirk hopes to start constructing the garage by the first quarter of 2007. He had no estimate on the project cost. Buildings on the block would be razed for the project, except for Burke's restaurant, which plans to stay open. The garage will extend as far north on the block as the M&T Bank building at 25 S. Charles St.

The project is slated to have ground-level retail. Alba said it's possible some of the existing tenants, such as the Afghan Kabob restaurant, could relocate to the retail space in the new project. Newkirk also hopes to attract national retailers .

At the design panel presentation, John Maclay, a past president of Baltimore Heritage Inc., expressed disappointment that the garage developers hadn't found a way to save the century-old brick building at the corner of Lombard and Charles. "It's always regrettable to lose historic buildings in that area," he said.

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com

wada_guy

March 17th, 2006, 01:55 PM

As a counterpoint, a better example in San Francisco is the Central Freeway, which was damaged by the same 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that led to the creation of the Embarcadero (the waterfront boulevard that now sits where the Embarcadero Freeway used to run). Unlike the Embarcadero, the Central Freeway ran through the middle of the city. After the Loma Prieta quake, a portion of the Central Freeway was torn down in 1992, and just a couple years ago the remaining section north of Market St. was torn down and replaced with Octavia Boulevard.

The result is awesome. Much of the development lining the boulevard is still in the approval process, but the boulevard itself is a distinct improvement over the freeway that was there. Moreover, what 15 years ago was one of the shadier parts of the city, abutted by public housing projects and intermixed with homeless encampments under the freeway, has done a 180. Hayes Valley is now one of the hipper parts of town, lined with good restaurants, shops and bars (if you are ever in SF, I strongly recommend Suppenkuche or Frjtz).

As for traffic, everybody expected gridlock when they reopened the freeway as a boulevard, but strangely that never materialized. Over the course of several blocks, cars integrate into the normal city grid instead of being funneled out of one offramp. Obviously, every project is different and there are several conditions in Baltimore not present in SF and vice versa, but I thought you'd like to hear about a similar project that turned out well.

Here are a couple good links: http://www.sfcityscape.com/projects/octavia.html

http://www.sfgov.org/site/octavia_blvd_index.asp?id=238 and

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/13/BAGP6EMIOR1.DTL

Thanks for the info J-5. I think there are similarities and there are differences between what was done in SF and what is proposed in Baltimore.

The biggest difference is that most of the land to the East of the highway in Baltimore is occupied by the largest prison complex in the state of Maryland. The State prison complex and the City Jail / Central booking facility sit on approximately 8 to 10 square blocks. North and to the east of that are some of the absolute worst slums in the city.

I just don't think that real estate will be developed until most of the other prime land Downtown, the area between Hopkins Hospital and Fells Point, and the West Side is built out.

I suspect that is what has happened in SF. It is a very small city geographically and it has gotten to the point where most of the bad areas are actually in South San Francisco - which is a separate city and not part of SF proper. The city of SF it's self is quite wealthy. Even east of Market Street is doing well these days and I remember when that area used to be the pits.

SF has become like Manhattan. You either have to be a millionaire or homeless to successfully live there! So if you're given the opportunity to buy something that is relatively affordable even if it is in a previously bad area, you jump on it because you know it is only going to appreciate in value. In Baltimore, there are still many affordable alternatives.

wada_guy

March 17th, 2006, 02:06 PM

March 17, 2006

NO WELCOME MAT FOR CONDOMINIUM BUYERS
By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

Developers of some of Baltimore’s high-end condo projects, like Spinnaker Bay in Harbor East, have taken steps to limit speculator activity in their buildings. Real estate speculators have been trying to turn quick profits by buying, then selling, units in Baltimore’s newest condominium buildings. The practice, known as flipping, was once a problem associated with traditional single-family housing units, but is now trickling down to condominiums as that market expands.

The developers of three major condominium projects in Baltimore have spotted the trend and are taking steps to stop flipping, which can drive up prices and cause big losses for those who overpaid for property they could not afford. “We’re limiting investors by requiring that investors live in the projects for a year,” said Frank Wise, a vice president of HarborView Properties Development Co. The company is known for its HarborView tower on South Baltimore’s waterfront, as well as the PierSide Apartments, which the company last year converted into condominiums.

After a number of investors began buying up the PierSide units, which are priced between $300,000 and $400,000 each, HarborView last year added a clause to its sales contracts restricting buyers from selling or renting their units until a year after purchase. “We then have a right to buy it back at the price they paid for it, and they pay for all the closing costs and transfer taxes,” Wise said.

Investors typically veil their intention to flip property, Wise said. So the developer’s right of refusal on a resale helps sort the wheat from the chaff. “If they then have to sell it back to us, it provides a great disincentive” for flipping the property, Wise said. HarborView has allowed about 30 percent of its units to sell to investors, while the remainder is reserved strictly for live-in homeowners.

The company has plans in the coming months to break ground on another condominium tower adjacent to HarborView called the Pinnacle, which will contain about 50 units. “We’ll be looking at the same sorts of limitations” for the Pinnacle, Wise said. Although investor interest in HarborView’s properties gives Wise confidence that the units are in high demand, he fears too much of a good thing. “We welcome some investor interest, but we don’t want a community full of investors because it creates less stability,” Wise said. “We definitely just want to limit it to a number that the vast majority of people in our buildings are good, stable homeowners.”

HarborView is not the only wary developer.

Greenbelt-based Bozzuto Group, which developed the Spinnaker Bay condominiums at Inner Harbor East, also keeps tabs on speculator purchases. “We only allow 15 percent investors,” said Scott Peterson, Bozzuto’s vice president. “The reason why we try to keep [investors] to a minimum is because we try to create communities.” Much like HarborView’s contracts, Bozzuto has the right to buy back any unit sold within a year from purchase, Peterson said. “We have been surprised before,” Peterson said. “We’ve had people come in and say, ‘This is great,’ and they bring their kids in … and then all of a sudden you go to settlement and they’re not living there, they’re flipping the unit.” The contract helps Spinnaker Bay remain a more vibrant, stable community, he said.

“There’s no question that the market was heated up artificially by investor activity,” said Andrew Viola, vice president of the Washington-based Bush Cos., which is developing a 21-story condominium tower in the 400 block of Water St. in the city’s financial district. “It was obvious that there was a lot of appreciation and it was obviously an opportunity for investors if you allowed them,” Viola said.

Bush, which has done a number of projects in the Washington area, foresaw the flipping a few years back and began limiting investor purchases in its developments to about 10 percent of sales, Viola said. The same goes for 414 Water St., which is already 50 percent sold out since contracting began in November. The result has been a high-caliber clientele, most of whom earn incomes of more than $100,000 per year, Viola said. Units are selling for about $350 per square foot down to about $200 per square foot, he said.

But William Rich, a senior associate with Virginia-based market-research firm Delta Associates, said he does not think the contracts are as secure as the developers imagine them to be. He said he has seen a number of new condominium units throughout the city advertised for resale online, including units in Spinnaker Bay. On the other hand, he said, market forces may more significantly dampen the trend. “I think that will become a problem as these units start to deliver and the price increases are not as robust as the buyers thought they would be,” Rich said.

He predicts that rising interest rates will continue to curb demand for condominiums and other for-sale units, in which case it might become more difficult for developers to be so restrictive in their sales contracts. Said Bozzuto’s Peterson, “I think that as the market tightens … there may be a tendency for more people to look the other way so that they can get their sales.”

PeterSmith

March 17th, 2006, 04:25 PM

Garage Rendering for downtown:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2006-03/22481691.jpg

waj0527

March 17th, 2006, 04:33 PM

Surprise gifts aim to cheer up downtown
Public safety guides are handing out free gifts, coupons
By June Arney
Sun reporter
Originally published March 17, 2006

Whether it's a harried businessman caught in a downpour without an umbrella, a family standing on the corner with a bunch of tired kids, or someone eating lunch on a park bench - all are now fair targets for the Downtown Partnership's newest mission: spreading cheer with random acts of kindness.

Armed with hospitality bags, which like Santa's are packed with goodies, the organizations 45 paid public safety guides are on the hunt for people who look like they could use a surprise gift.

Downtown merchants and attractions have donated thousands of dollars in coupons for free or discounted food, drinks, merchandise and tickets to the National Aquarium and other sites.

"Life is fast-paced and complicated," said Michael Evitts, a spokesman for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. "If someone can give you a pleasant reason to break out of your pace, or help you out of a jam, wouldn't you like that?"

About two dozen people have received surprise tokens of Baltimore hospitality so far, Evitts said.

"The response has been, as you might expect, overwhelmingly positive," he said.

Usually, there are no strings attached. But, on Monday, a safety guide had to get creative when she approached a man eating lunch at a park bench on Pratt Street and several people nearby also wanted the free, maroon, Under Armour T-shirt with the Mercantile Tennis Challenge logo that she was offering.

She improvised a quick quiz, asking the location of the Bromo Seltzer Tower and the type of numerals on its clock face.

The man got the shirt, and the safety guide moved on.

"The guides will be looking for people who look like they could use a pick-me-up," Evitts said. "If you can be there in that one moment when people need something and you can provide it, you can make someone's day."

Among the donated items are coupons from the National Aquarium, Baltimore Ravens, B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore Museum of Industry, Top of the World observation deck at the World Trade Center, 7-Eleven, Dunkin' Donuts, Harborplace and the Gallery. For those rainy days, there are umbrellas from the Maryland Historical Society.

And, in case you ever need to know, the Bromo Seltzer Tower is on West Lombard Street. And there are no numerals on the clock face - in their place are the 12 letters that spell "Bromo Seltzer."

Gsol

March 17th, 2006, 05:14 PM

What is the story behind the Light Rail loop that appears in a newspaper article a few posts back? I tried to find it in the Sunpaper, but couldn't.

PeterSmith

March 17th, 2006, 06:31 PM

^^ I think it's an old article.

In transit news, however, I just found this PDF file on the Baltimore Regional Rail website. It outlines why heavy rail is not being considered for the Red Line. http://www.baltimoreregiontransitplan.com/images/finalmetrofactsheet.pdf

While I agree that heavy rail for the Red Line is a far-fetched dream, I feel that the report puts a very thin argument. It argues that the Red Line will not have enough projected daily ridership to make it competitive for federal funds, and yet admits that they have neglected to do a study to project what daily ridership will be. It also completely dodges the question of whether or not Baltimore will be receiving a "second rate rail system" by stating that just because other cities are building non-heavy rail that it is also good enough for Baltimore. The article states some details that contradict other facts that they have stated in the past as reasons against building heavy rail. They project that the entire early 13 miles of heavy rail would amount to approximately $2.4 billion. In the past they have told us that heavy rail costs $500 million for a half mile of track. Under these previous projections, the same system would have cost $13 billion, not $2.5 billion. Which is it?

I understand the funds are limited, but I also think that if you keep building "second rate" systems, then you're going to get second rate ridership. Is money the only variable coming into play here? What about easing traffic? Improving infrastructure?

My final question is not as rhetorical as my last few. In the light rail option, and the BRT option as well, I suppose, will they be on dedicated lines, or will they operate in the same stream of traffic as other vehicles? Anyone know?

wada_guy

March 17th, 2006, 08:44 PM

My take on this is --- this administration thinks nothing about dropping 2.5 Billion dollars for the Inter County Connecter in Montgomery county. And they seem to have no problem spending 2.5 Billion dollars to extend the Washington Green line to Fort Meade and onto BWI airport through Prince Geroges and Anne Arundel counties. And the rebuild of I-270 in Montgomery County 10 years ago to 12 lanes wide cost that much in today's dollars.

Yet, when it comes to Baltimore, all the sudden 2.5 Billion is big money.

What they need to do is set a certain percentage of the gas tax and dedicate it to public tranist. Then we could have a transit system that was continuously being developed. You start a line and keep building it until it is finished. When you lay track to a new station, you open it and wait until the next one is finished.

It may take 50 years but you would eventually have a comprehensive multi line system. Rather than constructing it all at once, you simply continuously build but at a slower pace.

PeterSmith

March 17th, 2006, 09:09 PM

I agree that that would be an effective method of getting this done. People typically don't mind being taxed more as long as they can see where their money is going towards (and that that use is a good one, of course). But my guess is that because we operate on annual budgets, if it can't be paid for in a single year it won't ever get done.

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 10:30 PM

Trump 'Apprentice' to tout downtown development
Baltimore Business Journal - 1:46 PM EST Fridayby Julekha DashStaff
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Donald Trump's latest protégé is coming to Baltimore.

Downtown Partnership of Baltimore will feature Randal Pinkett, the winner of last season's "The Apprentice," as the speaker for its May 2 Business Over Breakfast event, which will focus on maintaining a competitive downtown.

The breakfast will be held at the Radisson Lord Baltimore hotel. Additional details on the event are still being worked out, Downtown Partnership spokesman Mike Evitts said. Verizon, one of the breakfast's sponsors, secured the speaking engagement with the star of the NBC show, hosted by real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Pinkett, 34, is the founder of BCT Partners, a management and policy consulting firm based in Newark, N.J. The Rhodes Scholar beat 17 candidates to win the competition, which pits two teams against each other in various business tasks.

He holds five academic degrees in engineering, business and technology from Rutgers University, Oxford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The quarterly breakfasts draw about 400, and the most recent one, discussing the group's annual state of downtown report, drew 600.

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 10:32 PM

Survey: Baltimore's downtown 'emerging'
Baltimore Business Journal - February 16, 2006by Heather HarlanStaff
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Downtown Baltimore ranks ninth in the country when it comes to highest homeownership rates, according to a recent study from the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

Highlighted at a Downtown Partnership of Baltimore event on Thursday morning, the study shows that downtown Baltimore had a 27 percent homeownership rate in 2000 -- with close to 4,392 homeowners out of 16,277 housing units.

Eugenie Birch, co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the study's author, said the homeownership figure is important indication of city stabilization.

"Homeowners stay,'' she said during the breakfast presentation. "Homeowners are not transient.''

The No. 1 spot on the homeownership list belonged to Chicago, while Cincinnati fell to last place.

Overall, Birch labeled Baltimore as an "emerging downtown,'' along with others such as Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta.

The category is one step below "fully-developed downtowns,'' a distinction that belongs to Boston, Chicago, Manhattan and Philadelphia.

Downtown Baltimore's population grew from 1990 to 2000 by roughly 5 percent, giving the area just more than 30,000 residents.

Birch acknowledged that downtown Baltimore's numbers have changed dramatically since 2000 -- with the housing boom.

"We know that many wonderful things have happened here in downtown Baltimore,'' she said.

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 10:36 PM

Downtown job base expanded last year, group says
Baltimore Business Journal - February 15, 2006by Heather HarlanStaff
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Downtown Baltimore's employment base grew almost 7 percent last year over 2004, bringing the number of jobs to nearly 97,500, according to a new report from Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

Expected to be released at a Thursday morning event, the report details that 2,385 businesses added 6,223 jobs from Sept. 1, 2004 through Dec. 31, 2005.

That's up 6.8 percent from the previous reporting period of Sept. 1, 2003-Aug. 31, 2004, according to the partnership. Although the time frames were slightly different, Downtown Partnership President Kirby Fowler said the same 2,385 businesses were polled.

"Even with the loss of some headquarter companies, the job base is still growing,'' Fowler said.

Among those companies that hired new employees were architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The study results represent a turnaround from the previous report, which reflected a nearly 1 percent loss in jobs from downtown.

Fowler attributed the growth to a strong national and state economy, local corporate expansion and company relocation from outlying areas or other regions.

Although Legg Mason's asset swap and Constellation Energy Group Inc.'s pending merger have left some doubt about downtown's future, Fowler said he is confident about the coming years.

The asset swap with Citigroup, he said, is likely to create some job spin-off that could be a win for downtown. On the Constellation front, Fowler said he is hopeful the company will maintain its large Baltimore presence.

Although the job base expanded last year, investment in downtown was not as robust -- at least on paper. In 2005, new development projects -- worth a total of $551 million -- were completed. That was down slightly from $668 million in the previous reporting period.

Yet, at the end of last year, new development projects totaling $722 million were under construction and those valued at $2.34 billion were in active planning stages, said Robert Aydukovic, vice president of economic development at Downtown Partnership.

StevenW

March 17th, 2006, 10:38 PM

Cities need new urban design strategies, author says
Baltimore Business Journal - November 16, 2005by Heather HarlanStaff
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With a looming oil and natural gas shortage, Baltimore planners and architects should consider constructing smaller office buildings and allocating some Inner Harbor land for functioning commercial business.

That's the message that J. Howard Kunstler, author of "The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age,'' delivered to more than 400 local businesspeople on Wednesday morning.

"I am a bit troubled about the destiny of the skyscraper and the mega-structure,'' he told a packed audience at the Tremont Grand off Charles Street.

During a program sponsored by Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Kunstler explained that the United States uses 20 million barrels of crude oil a day and 7 billion barrels a year. Yet, the U.S. crude oil reserves total only 28 billion barrels, Kunstler said.

Given those figures, Americans in every city will need to change the way they live and how they design their urban areas in the future, the author continued.

Kunstler predicted that developers here and nationally will not be able to power large office towers in the future, prompting a need for smaller complexes.

Speaking specifically about Baltimore, he said, "The waterfront has been transformed into an entertainment venue over the past 25 years.''

But he also suggested that truck traffic should shrink in the future, and shipping would -- once again -- take center stage. Given that notion, Kunstler said Baltimore needs to save some land for actual commercial and industrial uses.

The rather grim picture was also sprinkled with some compliments about Charm City. "I was very impressed with everything I saw in Baltimore,'' he said. "You're doing way better than Washington.''

He praised Baltimore for building back its urban residential base, and he touted both Fells Point and Howard Street as unique areas.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership, said Kunstler toured Baltimore for four hours on Tuesday.

The president joked that everyone should keep an open mind while weighing Kunstler's perspective.

scando

March 18th, 2006, 06:21 AM

While I agree that heavy rail for the Red Line is a far-fetched dream, I feel that the report puts a very thin argument. It argues that the Red Line will not have enough projected daily ridership to make it competitive for federal funds, and yet admits that they have neglected to do a study to project what daily ridership will be. It also completely dodges the question of whether or not Baltimore will be receiving a "second rate rail system" by stating that just because other cities are building non-heavy rail that it is also good enough for Baltimore. The article states some details that contradict other facts that they have stated in the past as reasons against building heavy rail. They project that the entire early 13 miles of heavy rail would amount to approximately $2.4 billion. In the past they have told us that heavy rail costs $500 million for a half mile of track. Under these previous projections, the same system would have cost $13 billion, not $2.5 billion. Which is it?

The article on the MTA web site is pretty brief, but I don't think the news would get any better with a better article; it would be more details in support of the same conclusion. The simple reality of this moment is the the Federal government is running breathtakng deficits and is looking at people like us to do the sacrificing. They are not funding any new subway lines anywhere, only extensions of existing ones in places with proven high ridership. Unfortunately there's no precident for high ridership in Baltimore. The current subway gets about 50,000 on a typical day, hopefully the light rail will get back up to 30,000 now that construction has mostly ended (by the way, it's an improved ride now, cuts 5 minutes off my ride and runs more frequently). From what I have read in several places no subway is getting funding that doesn't expect 150,000 per day and I don't think the most optimistic estimates puts us anywhere near that. Cost estimates vary but $500,000,000 per mile is not too far off for tunnel. Surface rail is cheaper, elevated is less than tunnel but not cheap either so the total cost depends on how much tunneling and elevating you do and you can't tell that until you have a detailed plan.

I understand the funds are limited, but I also think that if you keep building "second rate" systems, then you're going to get second rate ridership. Is money the only variable coming into play here? What about easing traffic? Improving infrastructure?

Light Rail or BRT doesn't HAVE to be second rate if it's done right. If you get a well designed system with a dedicated ROW, it can move quite well.

My final question is not as rhetorical as my last few. In the light rail option, and the BRT option as well, I suppose, will they be on dedicated lines, or will they operate in the same stream of traffic as other vehicles? Anyone know?

Depends. That's what they are exploring now. One of the biggest factors in the design is trying to find a place that is separate from cars but still accessible, unlike some of the stops on the north central light rail.

scando

March 18th, 2006, 06:33 AM

Yet, when it comes to Baltimore, all the sudden 2.5 Billion is big money.

What they need to do is set a certain percentage of the gas tax and dedicate it to public tranist. Then we could have a transit system that was continuously being developed. You start a line and keep building it until it is finished. When you lay track to a new station, you open it and wait until the next one is finished.

It may take 50 years but you would eventually have a comprehensive multi line system. Rather than constructing it all at once, you simply continuously build but at a slower pace.

My pipe dream is for a regional authority that doesn't have to share a pool of funds with the rest of the State and/or DC. No question that everything in the DC transportation picture is more overloaded and dysfunctional than Baltimore, but we still need to build our own system. In the current system, not matter what, DC always has 3 squeaky wheels so they get most of the grease.

scando

March 18th, 2006, 06:43 AM

The No. 1 spot on the homeownership list belonged to Chicago, while Cincinnati fell to last place.

Overall, Birch labeled Baltimore as an "emerging downtown,'' along with others such as Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Atlanta.

The category is one step below "fully-developed downtowns,'' a distinction that belongs to Boston, Chicago, Manhattan and Philadelphia.

Downtown Baltimore's population grew from 1990 to 2000 by roughly 5 percent, giving the area just more than 30,000 residents.

Birch acknowledged that downtown Baltimore's numbers have changed dramatically since 2000 -- with the housing boom.

"We know that many wonderful things have happened here in downtown Baltimore,'' she said.

I look forward to being more "fully developed". The thing I love about downtowns like NY and Boston is that you can really live downtown. There is enough retail that you don't need to make emergency runs to the suburbs to do simple things. Baltimore definitely isn't there yet but things like the increase in supermarkets are a step forward. Another big step is more places where you can get plain everyday stuff. You used to be able to do that in the Howard St corridor but that's all gone now. We need to re-create something like what Howard St was 50 or 60 years ago. With all of the new residentials, it just might have a chance at survival this time.

robert parsons

March 18th, 2006, 07:11 AM

What is the story behind the Light Rail loop that appears in a newspaper article a few posts back? I tried to find it in the Sunpaper, but couldn't.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y238/cfxj530/lightrail.jpg :)

robert parsons

March 18th, 2006, 07:14 AM

is the new parking garage for leg mason on the site of where cityscape is to go?????

scando

March 18th, 2006, 07:22 AM

is the new parking garage for leg mason on the site of where cityscape is to go?????

Cityscape is the next block east, between Light and Calvert Sts. This garage will be between Charles and Light.

micrip

March 18th, 2006, 09:42 AM

I wonder if this garage is going to be built in such a way that a tower could be added later. It would be a shame to use this site just for a garage.

Ron C

March 18th, 2006, 01:11 PM

On Thursday, the Census Bureau released new population estimates by county for July 1, 2005. Since Baltimore City is independent, population estimates for it are included.

US Census Bureau Population Estimates (http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.php)

According to the Bureau, each year from 2000-2005 (July to July), Baltimore population changes were: -3,249; -8,606; +6,605; -1,361; and -6,128 respectively, for a net loss of -12,739 over that time.

If accurate, the numbers indicate a good bit of variability by year. The best year was 2002-2003 (+6,605) followed by 2003-2004 (-1,361). Disappointingly, the year 2004-2005 was the second worst (-6,128) after 2001-2002(-8,606).

The 5-year population change from the April 1, 2000 "estimate base" (-15,339) represents about a 2.4% loss.

Any thoughts?

Silver Springer

March 18th, 2006, 05:28 PM

Silver Springer

March 18th, 2006, 05:29 PM

southbalto

March 19th, 2006, 04:45 PM

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/mturner125/DSC02295.jpg

clean streets, potted plants, good neighbors.........

Hood

March 19th, 2006, 05:27 PM

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/mturner125/DSC02295.jpg

clean streets, potted plants, good neighbors.........

Is that jackson street looking north to Hill top?

SoBoChris

March 19th, 2006, 07:58 PM

Yep, that's exactly where it is.

MasonsInquiries

March 19th, 2006, 10:10 PM

I have a colleague that works at the Census Bureau and we got into a little squabble about Baltimore’s population growth, I argued that it was growing again and he said it wasn't...I guess he was right according to the Bureau but according to them D.C. is loosing population as well which the mayor has vocally disputed. I wonder why there is such conflicting information. Anyways I wouldn't sweat it, I think it is more important the quality of people you are attracting to the city than sheer numbers. All the luxury condos and BRAC will bring educated high quality residents to the city and hopefully families. I have to disagree when people say all minorities and immigrant types help revitalize cities, some certainly do not.
I truly believe that our population has indeed grown.

Drifting off the subject a little bit, the statement i'm about to make isn't directed at you per say Silver Springer, but i don't understand why when it comes to baltimore, we're portrayed in nothing but the negative light. When it comes to Montgomery County, P.G. county, and the rest of suburban D.C. wanting something, you can almost consider it done. It's really not fair. I think wada_guy made a valid statement a couple of posts back about it being a problem with baltimore recieving 2.5 billion for transit. It's really sad. All I can say is the sooner Ehrlich gets out of office, the better. Hopefully then, this string of biasness against baltimore city will cease permanantly. What's good for the cities and towns should be good for the STATE, but it's starting to appear to me that our fellow Marylanders down in suburban D.C. don't see it that way.

wada_guy

March 19th, 2006, 10:26 PM

MasonsInquiries

March 19th, 2006, 10:57 PM

And lastly, there are 2 more tower cranes that were just put up this weekend in Owings Mills. They are for theTown Center project that is being constructed on the MTA parking lots there. Since I was doing 75, taking a shot of them was out of the question.
Be careful doing that. The county cops lurk in that area alot. I got a ticket myself in that area just last week doing 75.

wada_guy

March 19th, 2006, 11:59 PM

Be careful doing that. The county cops lurk in that area alot. I got a ticket myself in that area just last week doing 75.
Ouch! Thanks for the warning. I advise going to court if you have a relatively decent driving record. I got a speeding ticket 5 years ago on US 15 in Frederick county. I went to court and got probation before judgement because I hadn't had a ticket in 21 years. It may be worth a try.

fluffyhorse

March 20th, 2006, 03:02 AM

***

MasonsInquiries

March 20th, 2006, 04:39 AM

It looks like we're getting somewhere with this "ICON" project in canton. It looks like they've scaled the condo section of it back a bit. This might not be so much of a bad thing though.
http://www.iconatcanton.com/images/icon.jpg

http://www.iconatcanton.com/images/siteplan.gif

PeterSmith

March 20th, 2006, 08:06 AM

It's a shame that the Icon has been shortened. Is that the doing of the Canton Community or the developer? Either way, can't wait to see this one go up. I nearly forgot about it.

jpreston02

March 20th, 2006, 05:29 PM

That is a very nice shot SoBo! Here is one from Locust Point on Saturday. Did I miss a holiday or something? Note how clean everything is. I don't think I saw a piece of trash or a spray painted wall during my walk in Locust Point.

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/images/Photographs%20Balto%202006%20Page%2008%2023.jpg

That looks like Latrobe Park terrace. I love that picture, great shot Wada_guy.

Locust Point is very clean (and safe), with a lot of civic pride in the neighborhood. Everyone does their part cleaning up the streets as often as they can. With all the formstome coming off lately in the neighborhood, I hope the new residents will continue to keep the streets clean.

Pulte Homes are almost done, though there hasn't been much significant work done to Silo Point since they demolished the silos. Chesapeake Paperboard is almost completely demolished, I think Sapperstein is hoping to wrap up that 40 million dollar project in 2007 to coincide with the completion of Silo Point.

The Key Highway extension will finally be finished by then as well. They're putting in water mains and storm drains as we speak and most of the old CSX track has been cleared out of the way. (A CSX loop is still being maintained adjacent to the new road.)

Locust Point is really changing. 2007 will be very exciting to see many of these projects finally completed along with many others that are under construction all over the South Baltimore peninsula.

wada_guy

March 20th, 2006, 07:02 PM

jaysonjaz

March 20th, 2006, 08:58 PM

[QUOTE=wada_guy]^^

Thanks jp. I walked down the extension of Key Highway, across the railroad tracks, and up a steep hill to find yet another housing project that I haven't heard anything about. Apparently a company by the name of Ruppert Homes is constructing 71 new townhouses in a develpment named "The Townes At Locust Point" and it looks like the utility work is just about done. Looks like they should start building the houses soon. Here is the web site of the builder.
QUOTE]

I guess with national developers moving in, we are going to be subjected to idiotic development names like "the Townes of Locust Point" whatever the heck that means... anyway I guess its worth the trade off though to get some development moving in the city. :-P

waj0527

March 20th, 2006, 09:14 PM

Does anyone know whats going on behind the Walters? There's a relatively low, white crane up near there.

waj0527

March 20th, 2006, 09:27 PM

Sources: Inner Harbor's Verizon Building to sell for $20M
By Heather Harlan
Baltimore Business Journal
Updated: 7:00 p.m. ET March 19, 2006

Less than a year after buying the Verizon Building at Pratt and Light streets in downtown Baltimore, Amstar Group is selling the 10-story complex.

The Denver-based real estate private equity firm plans to transfer ownership to lead office tenant Verizon for roughly $20 million or $63 a square foot, commercial real estate sources familiar with the deal said.

Verizon will then turn around and sell the 320,000-square-foot building to Griffith Properties LLC of Boston, they said. Amstar Group, however, will maintain ownership of the plaza-level real estate, largely the retail portion of the complex known as 1 E. Pratt St.

Robert A. Toomey Jr., vice president of Amstar Group, declined comment. Brad Griffith, founder of Griffith Properties LLC, could not be reached for comment. But a Griffith Properties employee who answered the phone this week confirmed the company's latest acquisition of 1 E. Pratt St.

The deal marks Griffith Properties' foray into the downtown Baltimore market at a time when local commercial real estate is highly coveted and fetching top dollar.

It was unclear this week how much Griffith ultimately will pay for the office and retail site. Maryland property records have not reflected the latest agreement, but show 1 E. Pratt St. is valued at just under $8 million.

Although the building is in a prime spot just across from the Inner Harbor, its architecture and interior is considered somewhat outdated. As a result, the building will not command the high price that some of its neighbors have secured recently.

Last year, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc. picked up 100 E. Pratt St. for more than $207 million. With roughly 656,000 rentable square feet of office space, the sale price broke down to roughly $316 a square foot -- considered a record for downtown Baltimore.

The Baltimore Business Journal reported last August that Amstar Group had re-entered the downtown market with its purchase of 1 E. Pratt St. According to property records, the Denver firm paid $20.7 million for the site.

Completed in 1977, the building includes 265,000 square feet of office space, 52,000 square feet of retail space and an above-ground, 187-space parking garage.

Amstar Group previously controlled 300 E. Lombard St. The company sold that property in September 2004 to an Irish entity, CMC Investments, for about $40 million or $165 a square foot.

© 2006 Baltimore Business Journal

jpreston02

March 20th, 2006, 11:14 PM

^^

Thanks jp. I walked down the extension of Key Highway, across the railroad tracks, and up a steep hill to find yet another housing project that I haven't heard anything about. Apparently a company by the name of Ruppert Homes is constructing 71 new townhouses in a develpment named "The Townes At Locust Point" and it looks like the utility work is just about done. Looks like they should start building the houses soon. Here is the web site of the builder.

http://www.rupperthomes.com/communities/index.html

This company has almost as many project going in the city as they do in the counties surrounding it. That is good news indeed.

I also saw a few infill projects containing 2 to 6 houses by other builders. I took pictures of the few remaining silos that they left on the corners. I suppose they are going to be incorporated into the Locust Point Condo project. Locust Point is a happening little place isn't it?

Also, today I stumbled upon a link to the Pratt Library that contains a lot of old photographs and prints from the Cator Collection. Aparently they are finally getting around to digitizing their vast holdings. Here is the link.

http://www.epfl.net/exhibits/catorprints/subjectindex.html

Great link to the library.

Lots of infill projects in Locust Point, and even more on the way with what's been presented at our recent neighborhood association meetings. LP is a pretty happening place, that's for sure.

The Ruppert Homes project has been very slow going, they were supposed to be finished by now! Nonetheless, with utilities done, hopefully they'll start building soon, but I don't have any additional insider info to add.

The extension has the capability to transform Locust Point. Specifically, it brings residential transit even closer to the Dominos property. Not that I'm advocating closing the factory, but rather, if it ever does close, the loop road makes redevelopment on that property even more viable. (Let's face it, the economic reality of the sugar industry doesn't bode well for our Baltimore Institution.)

But the most impressive near term gain of the extension will hopefully be the elimination of all the Tide Pointers zooming up our quaint, quiet streets.

jpreston02

March 20th, 2006, 11:19 PM

It's a shame that the Icon has been shortened. Is that the doing of the Canton Community or the developer? Either way, can't wait to see this one go up. I nearly forgot about it.

If it's Canton, then my question is: What's the difference between 296' and 240'? Is 60 feet really going to make a difference on what they're hoping to prevent? If a tall building is going to go there anyway, then why fight a few measily feet.

StevenW

March 20th, 2006, 11:52 PM

Time Limit For Clarke! (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/20/story4.html)

Eerik

March 21st, 2006, 12:10 AM

Does anyone know whats going on behind the Walters? There's a relatively low, white crane up near there.
Not sure if the construction you are referring to is the same, but in late 2005 the Walters Art Museum signed a contract with the Maryland Historical Society to purchase a building just west of the Walters (at Park and 100 W. Centre Streets) for $1.5 million. It's a small parcel, approximately 35,000 square feet. The parcel includes a building constructed in the late 1920s for an insurance company, and designed by Clyde Fritz, who also designed the Enoch Pratt Free (Central) Library. The Walters is running out of room fast and needs additional expansion space. I can't remember, but this purchase may have been spawned by either a public or anonymous gift at or about the purchase price. I do know the City and State have committed funds for this project. If this is the construction you are referring to, despite being in the planning stages for quite some time, I am somewhat surprised the design and planning occurred so quickly...

If the construction is to the north of the Walters, it could be at The Engineers Club. They are currently undergoing a massive renovation/expansion program.

SoBoChris

March 21st, 2006, 12:10 AM

Time Limit For Clarke! (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/20/story4.html)

Now if only the city could find a way to do the same thing about 1 Light Street!

Ron C

March 21st, 2006, 12:29 AM

^^

Apparently a company by the name of Ruppert Homes is constructing 71 new townhouses in a develpment named "The Townes At Locust Point"

I guess after recording "The Pina Colada Song," he decided to go into the building business. I hope his houses are better than his songs.

:jk:

MasonsInquiries

March 21st, 2006, 01:23 AM

If it's Canton, then my question is: What's the difference between 296' and 240'? Is 60 feet really going to make a difference on what they're hoping to prevent? If a tall building is going to go there anyway, then why fight a few measily feet.
Those were my thoughts exactly when I saw the "scale-down". Councilman Kraft and the rest of the Canton Community Council did all that bitchin' for a measly 56'. Some things you just have to learn to let go. tsk tsk tsk
:bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash: :bash:

MasonsInquiries

March 21st, 2006, 01:30 AM

Now if only the city could find a way to do the same thing about 1 Light Street!
Yeah, tell me about it. waiting 10 years for ONE development is ten years too long.

Hugh Jaramillo

March 21st, 2006, 03:12 AM

I guess after recording "The Pina Colada Song," he decided to go into the building business. I hope his houses are better than his songs.

:jk:

Rupert (1 P not 2)

Is a venerable British first name. Prince Rupert was King Charles I nephew born 17 December 1619 and commander of the Royalist cavalry. One of the most charismatic of the Royalist leaders, during the English Civil War. Anyway to this day there are countless pubs in the U.K. that make reference to his name e.g. The Rupert Arms or The Prince Rupert. And therefore is a fairly common name in the U.K. e.g. Rupert Everitt or Rupert Grint to name but a few well known Ruperts.

I don't know anything about "The Pina Colada Song"!

vivo

March 21st, 2006, 04:12 AM

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/20/focus1.html

PeterSmith

March 21st, 2006, 05:23 AM

Now if only the city could find a way to do the same thing about 1 Light Street!

Exactly. I was actually thinking this was for 1 Light Street. Can you blame Clark for thinking he can stall a year on the Pier deal? After all, we've allowed him over a decade with 1 Light Street.

Silver Springer

March 21st, 2006, 07:33 AM

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/20/focus1.html

WTF was that? One of the worst articles I have ever read. Could they go on any further quoting the guy who doesn't know ish about Silver Spring! SILVER SPRING HAS BEEN URBAN FOR A LONG TIME! People seem to forget that Silver spring had highrises back in the 60's, heck even the tallest buildings were built in the 80's to early 90's. The place has been urban since like 1930s, its been through the Art Deco age and declined like most major cities did during the 60s-90s for crying out loud, this is where Montgomery county really started to develop! The way he describes it you would think Silver Spring was corn fields and hay 10 years ago, nothing being proposed or built will be anywhere close to what is the tallest building now, WOW what a dummy.

Does this look suburban to you?
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y77/Silver-Springer/logo12dl.jpg

Silver Springer

March 21st, 2006, 08:25 AM

I truly believe that our population has indeed grown.

Drifting off the subject a little bit, the statement i'm about to make isn't directed at you per say Silver Springer, but i don't understand why when it comes to baltimore, we're portrayed in nothing but the negative light. When it comes to Montgomery County, P.G. county, and the rest of suburban D.C. wanting something, you can almost consider it done. It's really not fair. I think wada_guy made a valid statement a couple of posts back about it being a problem with baltimore recieving 2.5 billion for transit. It's really sad. All I can say is the sooner Ehrlich gets out of office, the better. Hopefully then, this string of biasness against baltimore city will cease permanantly. What's good for the cities and towns should be good for the STATE, but it's starting to appear to me that our fellow Marylanders down in suburban D.C. don't see it that way.

I believe so too, all those cranes can't be for nothing but like I said quality residents is better than just residents.

As for the other part of your post, to be honest I don't think the D.C. area thinks of B'more in a negative light...quite frankly they just don't think of B'more at all. I didn't hear one whisper of 10 Inner Harbor on the local news or Washington Post, maybe I missed it but if it was meant to be seen I would have saw it. As for mass transit like the purple line, I'm afraid the well is dry down here as well. It is not close to getting built and if the ICC is is built (it looks like it will) we may never see any form of mass transit. The ICC is an answer to a question no one asked, it will not mitigate traffic ( a proven fact) and will be a toll road. I only wish Erlich would get his priorites straight, there is your culprit.

I don't think you guys up in B'more understand how much Northern Virginia is competing with us in Maryland. They are essentially leaching off the land that was donated by Maryland and what we now call the nations capital. Fairfax is a sprawling mess (You will love Montgomery once you see fairfax trust me) but funny enough they have more jobs and office space (57 mill vs 101mill sq\ft) than MoCo and are richer by measure of median income, of course Montgomery is about 300x bigger in the biotech sector, and has a higher concentration of educated and affluent areas(highest in the country) but NOVA has coined it's self "internet captital of the world"(lol) and they have a considerable amount of high-tech computer jobs.

BWI is also directly affected by Dulles in VA, they are stealing major business from it, this why I am in total support of the green line extension to BWI then to Baltimore, it will only make Maryland stronger and competitve, this may be hard for me to say but the purple line can wait if they give this thing the go ahead. If the jobs don't stay in Maryland guess where they are going...yup Virginia.

On another side note the projects in B'more walks all over the ones in the D.C.\MD suburbs. I wish we had a Cordish, Arc Wheeler or Struess. Most of the developers here don't give a damn, they are overly cautious and don't try hard enough and just like clarke they sit on the projects. The architecture ends up ugly or bland and the heights reduced especially in Silver Spring. You guys have it nice. The only really great project we have is National Harbor and that is being done by a developer from Va.

Ron C

March 21st, 2006, 09:23 AM

Rupert (1 P not 2)

Is a venerable British first name. Prince Rupert was King Charles I nephew born 17 December 1619 and commander of the Royalist cavalry. One of the most charismatic of the Royalist leaders, during the English Civil War. Anyway to this day there are countless pubs in the U.K. that make reference to his name e.g. The Rupert Arms or The Prince Rupert. And therefore is a fairly common name in the U.K. e.g. Rupert Everitt or Rupert Grint to name but a few well known Ruperts.

And of course that great American singer/songwriter, Rupert Holmes (with an "L").

I don't know anything about "The Pina Colada Song"!
Lucky you!

wada_guy

March 21st, 2006, 01:39 PM

Does anyone know whats going on behind the Walters? There's a relatively low, white crane up near there.
I believe they are replacing AC/Heating units on the roof of one of the buildings. It's been there for 2 or 3 weeks.

As an aside, a noted Baltimore Architecture critic who we all read, owns quite a few condos on Mt. Vernon square. They are located between St. Paul Street and Charles Street on the North side in the brownstones.

One of my friends rented one for years and they were friends, so she thought. When the AC unit broke, rather than replace the unit he wanted her to put a portable unit in, the kind on wheels, and vent it out the window like a dryer. He said it was too expensive to replace the unit on the roof because it required a crane.

Isn't that how slums start? Rather than fix it correctly, jerry rig it with anything that works then take the money and run. She moved and I don't believe they speak anymore. The rest of the building owners were furious with him and his plan. He threatened to put a Section 8 person in the unit during one of their arguments. You don't read that in the Sun do you?

AND FROM THE DAILY RECORD TODAY, A LITTLE NEWS TO MAKE YOU HUNGRY!
Deli-cious

Attman’s Deli, an East Baltimore landmark that is the nation’s oldest family-owned Jewish delicatessen, said it is being listed as one of the “10 Best Delis” in America in an article to be published Friday in USA Today’s travel section.

LilMoeJoeJoe

March 21st, 2006, 02:27 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.state21mar21,0,4488678.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

jaysonjaz

March 21st, 2006, 03:26 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.state21mar21,0,4488678.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

Man that Ehrlich sure does have an anti-Baltimore bias.. :-P

waj0527

March 21st, 2006, 03:39 PM

wada_guy

March 21st, 2006, 04:11 PM

Man that Ehrlich sure does have an anti-Baltimore bias.. :-P
You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Baltimore City and how it relates to the state politicians. I have basically concluded that we make out better when we have a Governor from the DC burbs, and the DC burbs make out better when they have a Governor from Baltimore.

The reason, I've concluded, is because they try to buy votes from the areas of the state they are not from with big showy projects. Ehrlich is from Baltimore County and his parents are from Baltimore City. He could give a rat's ass about the city and it shows on every level. He is throwing project after project to Montgomery and PG counties including the ICC, Metro extensions, and moving the department of Planning from Baltimore to PG.

I knew I didn't like this man when right after he was sworn into office, there was a big snow storm and the airport was closed. His comment on TV after they showed people sleeping on chairs and on the floor, was "We're glad you are here and spending your money." Anyone who has ever traveled knows how SO WRONG it was to say that.

Glendening, who was from PG county, bent over backward to be helpful to Baltimore City. He supported the football stadium and the Hippodrome renovation. And the best thing of all that he did was the Smart Growth initiative. That did more for Baltimore City than any single project because it helped to create housing demand which is filling the condo towers.

You would think it wouldn't be this way, but that is how I see it. Simply put, the politicians are looking out for the next election and themselves and they try to buy votes from areas they are not from. Period.

PeterSmith

March 21st, 2006, 04:39 PM

The State Center news is great.

I really hope that SBER's transformation of State Center will force someone to get more serious about developing Howard Street. Superblock aside, I havent really heard about anything.

Yeah, it's great to see this project moving along. I don't think we'll see too much stalling on this one. I can't wait to see some renderings. Just out of curiousity, this project is $800 million and spans 25-acres. How do these numbers compare to Harbor East?

PeterSmith

March 21st, 2006, 04:41 PM

BWI is also directly affected by Dulles in VA, they are stealing major business from it, this why I am in total support of the green line extension to BWI then to Baltimore, it will only make Maryland stronger and competitve, this may be hard for me to say but the purple line can wait if they give this thing the go ahead. If the jobs don't stay in Maryland guess where they are going...yup Virginia.

I thought BWI was the fastest growing airport in the country and that it was increasing its share of business in the region....

PeterSmith

March 21st, 2006, 04:48 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.housing21mar21,0,4163409.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

PeterSmith

March 21st, 2006, 04:49 PM

More on the Mt. Vernon height limit issue:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.council21mar21,0,7417391.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

pepperjack

March 21st, 2006, 05:21 PM

Anybody read the cover story of the latest issue of the City Paper? I hate to post it because it's not the usual good news we get here, but it's a pretty compelling read:

http://citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=11587

waj0527

March 21st, 2006, 05:28 PM

Yeah, it's great to see this project moving along. I don't think we'll see too much stalling on this one. I can't wait to see some renderings. Just out of curiousity, this project is $800 million and spans 25-acres. How do these numbers compare to Harbor East?
Well Harbor East cost $500 and covers more ground, so we could be expecting another district similar to Harbor East. Lets hope.

StevenW

March 22nd, 2006, 12:08 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/mapimage/2006-03/22541551.gif
I'm quite excited by this State Center development. :) Wonderful possibilities.

StevenW

March 22nd, 2006, 12:23 AM

Orioles sue city over construction barriers
Baltimore Business Journal - 4:45 PM EST Tuesday

The Baltimore Orioles filed a lawsuit against the city over the construction of a city-owned hotel just outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The Orioles claim construction barriers for the convention headquarters hotel block their fans from using the public sidewalks on Eutaw Street before and after baseball games.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday, March 24, at 4 p.m.

In a statement released today, the Orioles said the chain-link fence barrier creates "an intolerable hazard for hundreds of thousands of pedestrians" the Orioles plan to host during the first two-weeks of the Major League Baseball season in April.

Orioles officials are seeking a temporary and permanent injuction for as long as the construction continues.

"We will show at the hearing on Friday that there are alternatives to the reopening of Eutaw Street," said City Solicitor Ralph Tyler.

MasonsInquiries

March 22nd, 2006, 01:33 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.housing21mar21,0,4163409.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
Peter, I read this article and frankly, I don't know what to think of it. I mean, on one hand, I'm thinking it's good that the poor is getting an opportunity to live in better areas. On the other hand, I'm wondering what the communities where these people are moving will think. I'm kind of on the fence about this.

jaysonjaz

March 22nd, 2006, 01:47 AM

Peter, I read this article and frankly, I don't know what to think of it. I mean, on one hand, I'm thinking it's good that the poor is getting an opportunity to live in better areas. On the other hand, I'm wondering what the communities where these people are moving will think. I'm kind of on the fence about this.

This is a terrible terrible terrible idea. This is straight up communism and should not be allowed to happen. People who live in nice well to do neighborhoods live there b/c they worked hard and saved monty to get there. What right does a judge have to plop section 8 housing next to 1 million dollar homes in Baltimore County. All of your incentives are meaningless if you don't have to earn your way to get there. You just get a free ride to the sweet life.

Before I moved to Bmore, I lived in a nice suburban town right next to section 8 housing and it was not a pretty place. There were tons of jobs in the area and tons of opportunity, yet these people still remained poor. Now its a nice idea that most of the poor people in the city are there b/c of terrible circumstances and racism beyond the control and all they really need is opportunity (which apparently doesnt exist in the city?) and they'll make all the right choices and turn things around. However, the reality is many (but not all) of them are poor b/c they have made poor choices in their lives. All you will really be doing is taking all of the problems of poverty in an urban environment and transporting it into a suburban environment. You will be doing nothing to change behaviors. You will just be exporting them.

Lastly, these people are getting free houses from the government, now they're demanding mansions in the suburbs. It would be the equivilent as if I gave you a Ford Escort and you sued me b/c what you really wanted was a Mustang. Its absolutely outrageous.

fanofterps

March 22nd, 2006, 02:10 AM

All of Struever's projects have been wonderful for the city. This could really be big for Mt. Vernon/State Center.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/mapimage/2006-03/22541551.gif
I'm quite excited by this State Center development. :) Wonderful possibilities.

SoBoChris

March 22nd, 2006, 02:51 AM

I agree completely! Why would anyone strive to do better for themselves if they've already been handed a life that their next door neighbor strived for? For them its like winning the lottery without buying a ticket!

This is a terrible terrible terrible idea. This is straight up communism and should not be allowed to happen. People who live in nice well to do neighborhoods live there b/c they worked hard and saved monty to get there. What right does a judge have to plop section 8 housing next to 1 million dollar homes in Baltimore County. All of your incentives are meaningless if you don't have to earn your way to get there. You just get a free ride to the sweet life.

Before I moved to Bmore, I lived in a nice suburban town right next to section 8 housing and it was not a pretty place. There were tons of jobs in the area and tons of opportunity, yet these people still remained poor. Now its a nice idea that most of the poor people in the city are there b/c of terrible circumstances and racism beyond the control and all they really need is opportunity (which apparently doesnt exist in the city?) and they'll make all the right choices and turn things around. However, the reality is many (but not all) of them are poor b/c they have made poor choices in their lives. All you will really be doing is taking all of the problems of poverty in an urban environment and transporting it into a suburban environment. You will be doing nothing to change behaviors. You will just be exporting them.

Lastly, these people are getting free houses from the government, now they're demanding mansions in the suburbs. It would be the equivilent as if I gave you a Ford Escort and you sued me b/c what you really wanted was a Mustang. Its absolutely outrageous.

Silver Springer

March 22nd, 2006, 04:48 AM

I thought BWI was the fastest growing airport in the country and that it was increasing its share of business in the region....

I didn't know it was the fastest growing do you have a link? BWI has about 5 mill sq\ft of office compared to 10 mill at Dulles which is pretty good. But If they extend metro to Dulles and Maryland does nothing you can kiss your future lunch goodbye. Good news is that people seem to be really pushing for the green line to BWI. It would be an economic boom for the state and just makes plain common sense.

scando

March 22nd, 2006, 04:54 AM

wada_guy

March 22nd, 2006, 01:10 PM

I didn't know it was the fastest growing do you have a link? BWI has about 5 mill sq\ft of office compared to 10 mill at Dulles which is pretty good. But If they extend metro to Dulles and Maryland does nothing you can kiss your future lunch goodbye. Good news is that people seem to be really pushing for the green line to BWI. It would be an economic boom for the state and just makes plain common sense.
It doesn't make plain common sense to spend 2 Billion dollars for a few people to ride in comfort to the airport, when you have a densely populated city and county named Baltimore calling out for public transit i.e. the Red Line and others. I thought the Inter County Connector highway was being constructed to make it easier for you folks to get to the airport? That was the justification the administration gave according to the Washington Post.

They curently have direct bus service from the end of the green line to the airport run by the MTA. It gets an average of 8 riders per bus. It would be cheaper to call them all a cab and then bill the MTA.

Our future lunch? Friendship Airport did fine when it was owned by Baltimore City. It does fine now that it is owned by the State. It will continue to do fine in the future when the 1.8 Billion Dollar expansion is complete. If you think people from Montgomery County are going to drive to a subway stop, find a parking spot (if they can), take a train to Downtown Washington, change trains, and then ride 40 miles on the Orange line when all they have to do is get into thier car and be at BWI and parked in 40 minutes, you're wrong. It's a wealthy area and convience is more inportant than saving a few bucks. That subway trip will be twice as long and will not be as comfortable as riding in your own car listening to good tunes.

BWI gets a large number of passengers from Harrisburg and Southern PA. It's future is not tied to Montgomery and PG counties by any means.

P.S. Until 2004, BWI was the busiest airport in the region as measured by passenger count. Dulles surpassed it when Independence Air was practically giving away tickets. Now that they are bankrupt and out of business, BWI will most likely handle more passengers than National and Dulles again in 2006.

Ron C

March 22nd, 2006, 01:53 PM

This agrument always seems to full of bad faith and un-truth. Whenever someone brings up a plan to move poor people to the burbs there is a panicky chorus of cries about all sorts of high-sounding reasons why poor people don't belong in nice neighborhoods. It all comes down to, "I don't want THEM HERE; put them somewhere else". Since all suburban neighborhoods react the same way, one can only come to the conclusion that what they really mean is "keep them in the city where they belong". It does seem as though the city has paid its dues on this. Something like 70% of the poor people in the state live in the city and that much concentration isn't good for them or for the city. Politicians always eventually relent on this issue though. I've heard it so many times over the years and aside from a few scattered cases, it looks like the NOMB's (not on MY block) usually win.

Yes, I never did understand why Americans just assume poor people are supposed to live in cities. In Europe, usually the opposite is true. The wealthy live in the center of cities and the poor are shunted off to "suburbs."

IMHO, segregation of the poor causes problems either way. One of the biggest problems is that you unfairly tax the budgets and services of whichever localities contain most of the poor. As a resident (mostly) and taxpayer in Baltimore City, I think it unfair that my jurisdiction has to manage such a disproportionately high percentage of the poor in the region. Other jurisdictions should have to share the responsibilities.

Gsol

March 22nd, 2006, 04:31 PM

It doesn't make plain common sense to spend 2 Billion dollars for a few people to ride in comfort to the airport, when you have a densely populated city and county named Baltimore calling out for public transit i.e. the Red Line and others. I thought the Inter County Connector highway was being constructed to make it easier for you folks to get to the airport? That was the justification the administration gave according to the Washington Post.

They curently have direct bus service from the end of the green line to the airport run by the MTA. It gets an average of 8 riders per bus. It would be cheaper to call them all a cab and then bill the MTA.

Our future lunch? Friendship Airport did fine when it was owned by Baltimore City. It does fine now that it is owned by the State. It will continue to do fine in the future when the 1.8 Billion Dollar expansion is complete. If you think people from Montgomery County are going to drive to a subway stop, find a parking spot (if they can), take a train to Downtown Washington, change trains, and then ride 40 miles on the Orange line when all they have to do is get into thier car and be at BWI and parked in 40 minutes, you're wrong. It's a wealthy area and convience is more inportant than saving a few bucks. That subway trip will be twice as long and will not be as comfortable as riding in your own car listening to good tunes.

BWI gets a large number of passengers from Harrisburg and Southern PA. It's future is not tied to Montgomery and PG counties by any means.

P.S. Until 2004, BWI was the busiest airport in the region as measured by passenger count. Dulles surpassed it when Independence Air was practically giving away tickets. Now that they are bankrupt and out of business, BWI will most likely handle more passengers than National and Dulles again in 2006.

BWI is closer to many parts of the DC suburbs than Dulles. The problem is access to the airport. Ehrlich nixed the monorail that would have linked the Amtrak station, satellite parking, car rentals and airport terminals together and provided more dependable service. Currently these sites are connected by a slow unreliable bus service. The buses have to share the crowded roadway with cars, taxis and limos. In order to make BWI more convenient and attractive the monorail needs to be constructed, the light rail should be extended through the terminal area to the Amtrak station and MARC train service should be expanded to weekends. This would preclude the need for expensive subway construction. The buses should be used to link the hotels and surrounding businesses to the airport.

waj0527

March 22nd, 2006, 04:36 PM

$800M Mixed-Use Project Will Replace State Offices
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: March 22, 2006 07:41am

BALTIMORE-Plans for the redevelopment of the State Center office complex move forward. Maryland officials have selected Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse to transform what the Department of General Services describes in an RFQ as “an underutilized 25-acre state-owned site” into a mixed-use property.

SBER will head up a team that will convert the transportation-centered property--which is currently home to five buildings totaling 700,000 sf--in a multi-phased endeavor that will cost an estimated $800 million to complete. McCormack Baron Salazar and Doracon Development are also part of the SBER team.

Home to a handful of government agencies for the last 45 years, State Center sits about one mile from the city’s Inner Harbor and is surrounded by Metro stations, bus lines and light rail access. Seeking to create a transit-oriented live-work-play atmosphere, the SBER team is planning a complex with an as yet undetermined amount of office and retail space, residential offerings and parking.

“The state had the big and bold thinking to not do the obvious and stay with just office space and surface parking,” SBER’s Bill Struever tells GlobeSt.com. “This is a catalytic development that will crate a new mixed-income neighborhood linking downtown to West Baltimore, making this area a part of the revitalization that has been happening in other parts of the city.”

The project is still in the early stages so the specifics are not yet in place. Colliers will handle office leasing, SBER will oversee retail leasing and architectural firm Design Collective is on board to handle the project’s design. “Community input is a critical part of this effort,” the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Jack Cahalan tells GlobeSt.com. Seven neighborhood communities will work with the state and the private developers on the master plan to take the last 15 months of the vision process and translate that into hard details of what should be there and what, realistically, can be there.”

MasonsInquiries

March 22nd, 2006, 07:19 PM

Eerik

March 22nd, 2006, 08:09 PM

In 2005, BWI was the middle of the three regional airports in terms of passengers. Baltimore stood a hair below 20 million passengers compared with 27 million at Dulles. Reagan-National handled slightly less than 18 million passengers.

Of course, whenever you state numbers like this, you run into a sort of game of what constitutes a passenger: are you counting people moving through via connecting flights, origination and destination, or some other factor.

In February, Tim Campbell, Executive Director of the Maryland Aviation Administration cited in testimony that "BWI is Maryland’s largest commercial airport and the largest origination and destination (O&D) airport within the Metropolitan Washington area." Of the 19.7 million passengers in 2005, about 16 million were O&D passengers. The Washington airports (combined) handle slightly less than 45 million passengers, compared with the 20 million at BWI.

While it's anyone's guess as to the true value of building mass transit from Washington to serve BWI, I think it is in BWI's best interest to make it easier to reach the airport. According to a survey by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council a few years back, nearly fifty percent of BWI passengers came from the immediate DC area (Virginia and Suburban Washington-MD). Southern Pennsylvania contributes less than 15 percent. Delmarva makes up about 8 percent. Amazingly, less than a quarter of BWI users come from the Baltimore area.

While I too prefer driving my car, there are times when mass transit is the best option -- forget the cleaner environment, smart growth, or building sustainable communities -- when commuting from DC, where traffic continues to go from bad to horrific, to always rely on driving is not an option. On several occasions with flights out of BWI, I have opted for MARC or Amtrak. Likewise during rush-hour on the Metro, the executives making six digit salaries and Congressional Hill staffers, use the Metro for the same reason I and others would use it to get to BWI: a better guarantee of getting where you need to, and on time!

# # #

As a side note, I find a lot of the "us and them" comparisons here to be pointless. It's the same provincial thinking that has literally decimated the Baltimore region over the past fifty-plus years. In today's global economy, as residents of a region, we must begin to think of our communities outside of the local jurisdiction. While Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and others continue to maintain a rivalry with Montgomery and Prince Georges and other counties, on the other side of the Potomac, Virginia is prospering and growing by leaps and bounds. It is rare to see the kind of provincialism between Fairfax and Arlington as you find in the Maryland counties. Hopefully, for the sake of prosperity, things have begun to change in terms of the way we think in the Baltimore area...

wada_guy

March 22nd, 2006, 09:26 PM

As a side note, I find a lot of the "us and them" comparisons here to be pointless. It's the same provincial thinking that has literally decimated the Baltimore region over the past fifty-plus years. In today's global economy, as residents of a region, we must begin to think of our communities outside of the local jurisdiction. While Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and others continue to maintain a rivalry with Montgomery and Prince Georges and other counties, on the other side of the Potomac, Virginia is prospering and growing by leaps and bounds. It is rare to see the kind of provincialism between Fairfax and Arlington as you find in the Maryland counties. Hopefully, for the sake of prosperity, things have begun to change in terms of the way we think in the Baltimore area...

I don't view it as provincialism. This is a Baltimroe Development thread that is in existance to highlight the Baltimore area. There is a Washington Development thread to highlight the Washington area. I don't go to the Washington thread because I have no interest in that city or it's suburbs.

In Maryland, both Baltimore and the Washington suburbs are competing for the same piece of pie when it comes to state funding. Being from Baltimore, I am going to advocate on it's behalf. I am sure there are people in the Washington thread who do the same for their city.

If we would just stick to the topic, and deal with Baltimore development, I don't think there would be a problem at all.

I think it is rude to to come to the Baltimore thread and make statements like "I'm surprised that Baltimore is even getting a Ritz and a Four Seasons", or to tie the Baltimore airport's prosperity to the Washington green line getting extended to it.

I try to be on topic in this thread and celebrate, constructively criticize, and defend my city. Just because these cities are close together doesn't mean they are one. I don't think they will ever be. At least I hope they never are.

I also want to say that I hope this thread never becomes like some others I have seen. I like the fact that everyone can voice and opinion, and sometime disagree, yet for the most part we all get along relatively well.

StevenW

March 22nd, 2006, 11:20 PM

Shipping News! (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/03/20/daily22.html?jst=b_ln_hl)
:D

waj0527

March 22nd, 2006, 11:56 PM

HAs the dredging of the Inner Harbor near the West Shore Park started yet? IIRC the city wanted this done before the Volvo Ocean Race comes to town.

StevenW

March 23rd, 2006, 01:01 AM

^^ Not sure, waj. :?

Eerik

March 23rd, 2006, 01:32 AM

I don't view it as provincialism. This is a Baltimroe Development thread that is in existance to highlight the Baltimore area. There is a Washington Development thread to highlight the Washington area. I don't go to the Washington thread because I have no interest in that city or it's suburbs.

In Maryland, both Baltimore and the Washington suburbs are competing for the same piece of pie when it comes to state funding. Being from Baltimore, I am going to advocate on it's behalf. I am sure there are people in the Washington thread who do the same for their city.

If we would just stick to the topic, and deal with Baltimore development, I don't think there would be a problem at all.

I think it is rude to to come to the Baltimore thread and make statements like "I'm surprised that Baltimore is even getting a Ritz and a Four Seasons", or to tie the Baltimore airport's prosperity to the Washington green line getting extended to it.

I try to be on topic in this thread and celebrate, constructively criticize, and defend my city. Just because these cities are close together doesn't mean they are one. I don't think they will ever be. At least I hope they never are.

I also want to say that I hope this thread never becomes like some others I have seen. I like the fact that everyone can voice and opinion, and sometime disagree, yet for the most part we all get along relatively well.
Obviously the general topic of this thread focuses specifically on Baltimore development, but the focus must also entail the region as a whole. To discuss development trends, construction, and the economy, there is more to the equation than what simply exists within the boundaries of Baltimore City. In the 1900s these boundaries, or edges become blurred, especially with respect to things like infrastructure: the highways, i.e. Beltway, the reservoirs, and the economy. Today, the next step is defining relationships on a larger regional scale.

We need to figure out a way of taking advantage of Washington. If housing is cheaper in the Baltimore area, then I say let as many Washingtonians move to Baltimore and bring their tax dollars as possible. If there's a corporation, law firm, or association interested in paying three times less for office space, then I say we should let them know we have some really nice harbor views along Pratt Street...

Huck

March 23rd, 2006, 02:20 AM

HAs the dredging of the Inner Harbor near the West Shore Park started yet? IIRC the city wanted this done before the Volvo Ocean Race comes to town.

I drive home around Key Highway just about everyday. Last week I saw a large crane floating out in the harbor near the Science Center and couldn't figure out what was going on.Now I know. I guess to answer your question... yes. :)

NewBaltimore1980

March 23rd, 2006, 03:41 AM

It's going to really be interesting to see where the mccollough projects fits into this entire equation.

Hopefully they meet the same fate as the Flaghouse Courts and the other high rise projects. That real estate is now too prime to be owned by the government and should be returned to private hands.

StevenW

March 23rd, 2006, 05:09 AM

^^ Do you guys think that this land could end up being another HArbor East type development? :? :)

scando

March 23rd, 2006, 05:24 AM

I drive home around Key Highway just about everyday. Last week I saw a large crane floating out in the harbor near the Science Center and couldn't figure out what was going on.Now I know. I guess to answer your question... yes. :)

I walked by out of curiosity and they appear to be digging out the muck there so something bigger can dock there.

scando

March 23rd, 2006, 05:40 AM

Hopefully they meet the same fate as the Flaghouse Courts and the other high rise projects. That real estate is now too prime to be owned by the government and should be returned to private hands.

While I can see the potential on Preston St, I can't see that it is an instant gold mine. If property in that area were so prime, there wouldn't be so much that is currently underutilized outside the State complex. Crappy buildings, parking lots, under-maintained buildings are all over that area and nobody's champing at the bit to clear and re-build those. Unless the Mc Cullogh projects are gone before the developers arrive, that area will be a drag on the new developments. It's currently a source of robbery and vandalism for the State employees that are in the area and that won't change just because somebody puts up some new buildings; it might just put more meat on the table. Howard St is also pretty grim. There's no waterfront nearby. I think this will eventually work but not all that soon and not if there's a real estate downturn.

robert parsons

March 23rd, 2006, 05:47 AM

wada_guy

March 23rd, 2006, 01:20 PM

They are still dredging the harbor for the Volvo Ocean race which makes it's only U.S. stop here in April. I believe they want to have the dredging completed by then. That is also the completion date for the West Shore park for the same reason. Some of those ships have a draft of, believe it or not, over 20 feet because they have a fin that extends way down into the water. I have a photo of the McLean Co. crane, which was sitting on a barge by the IH marina at Rash Field. I took it last Saturday on my way to Locust Point.

wada_guy

March 23rd, 2006, 01:58 PM

I find it incredibly ironic that the man most responsible for Howard and Lexington Street's demise now wants to be responsible for its resurrection!

Harry Weinberg was the largest property owner in the area and one of Baltimore's largest slum landlords when he was alive. He would buy properties, sit on them, and make minimal repairs while they deteriorated. He also purchased thousands of acres of Hawaiian land and made billions of $ in the process. I believe Schaefer used to referred to him as Honolulu Harry.

In his will he established a foundation. He endowed it with billions and it is based in Owings Mills. It also happens to be one of the largest foundations based in the State. One of the clauses in its charter is that it can not sell any of the properties it controls. Eminent domain, however, the foundation has no control over.

It sure will be very interesting to see how this plays out. I just wish it would play out SOON!

Weinberg wants control at West Side project
By JEN DEGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

Though it is already promised by Baltimore officials to a New York development team, the Weinberg Foundation wants control of all 51 superblock properties so it can work with The Cordish Co. on a renovation.
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation wants Baltimore to pull out of an agreement with a New York development team so the foundation can partner with Baltimore’s Cordish Co. to renovate the West Side superblock.

Weinberg owns roughly half of the 51 properties in the superblock, a depressed retail area anchored at Lexington Street and Park Avenue that has kept the city’s West Side redevelopment in a state of economic limbo. “Our aim is to develop that whole area,” said Weinberg Foundation President Shale D. Stiller. “We would like to do the entire thing.”

But the high-profile project is already promised to the Chera Feil Goldman Group of New York, whose planned mix of housing, retail and office uses won a public proposal process. The Chera group would rely on the city’s power of eminent domain to seize and turn over the superblock’s privately-owned properties, including those owned by Weinberg.

But more than a year has passed since the BDC awarded the project to Chera, and the superblock has continued to languish. “The city would be better off permitting us to do the development,” Stiller said. “We have an interest in getting it done, and getting it done fast and right.”

The Daily Record reported in November that Weinberg wanted a bigger role in the superblock and was willing to partner with Chera. In an interview for that story, Stiller said the city had not been facilitating a dialogue between Chera and Weinberg about their roles.

Weinberg has since given up on a partnership. “That’s going to be too complicated, I think,” Stiller said. “It’s been a year and a half and nothing has happened,” he continued. “If Cordish and Weinberg were in there, we could do a great deal in a very prompt way.”

Officials at the Chera group could not be reached for comment, nor could officials at Cordish. Baltimore Development Corp. President M.J. “Jay” Brodie also did not return phone calls seeking comment. But Baltimore attorney John C. Murphy said the standstill at the superblock has hurt small businesses whose buildings have stood under the threat of condemnation for more than five years.

“The merchants down there are absolutely dying,” said Murphy, who represented some of those business owners in a lawsuit against the BDC for refusing to reveal information about how it chose a development team.

The city’s power to confiscate superblock buildings has discouraged private investment that might otherwise have come there, he said. Projects such as the Centerpoint apartment complex on Howard Street and Irish pub Maggie Moore’s are examples of new, successful business ventures on the West Side. “It seems to me common sense to say that the city should at least take a really close look at what Cordish and Weinberg are proposing,” Murphy said.

“The Weinberg Foundation owns over 50 percent of the property now, and it would save the city, I’m sure, millions of dollars to go with them rather than buy it all from the Weinberg Foundation and turn it over to Chera,” he said.

wada_guy

March 23rd, 2006, 02:03 PM

Ruling paves way for Chesapeake Restaurant condemnation
By JEN DEGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

Baltimore City has the right to use its eminent domain powers to take the abandoned Chesapeake Restaurant on North Charles Street and surrounding properties, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City ruled Monday. The properties belong to Baltimore attorney Robert A. Sapero, who garnered attention in October for selling the condemnation-threatened properties to a group of investors for $2 million. That is $1.2 million more than what the city had offered to pay, based on its appraisals.

Monday’s court decision stems from a December filing by the Mayor and City Council for the quick-take of Sapero’s properties at 1701-1709 N. Charles St. and 22-24 E. Lanvale St.. Attorney John C. Murphy argued in Sapero’s defense that the city did not have the right to take the land because the new investors, led by Vic Cheswick Jr., were not told of the quick-take until 10 days before the trial, too late to organize a response. Murphy also argued the city failed to provide information to Sapero about plans for the property, among other complaints.

But on Tuesday, Judge Stuart R. Berger issued an order that the city did have the right to confiscate the properties. Exactly how much the city will pay for those properties will be decided in another hearing. The city has already increased its offering to $1.2 million. The Board of Estimates, the city’s spending panel, yesterday approved adding $410,000 to its initial $770,000 offer.

“We try to get updated appraisals,” M.J. “Jay” Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said during the Board of Estimates meeting yesterday. “We try to be fair.” Brodie said the new purchase price had nothing to do with Sapero’s contract to sell the building to the investors.

Brodie did not return phone calls later to comment on the court decision.

The Daily Record reported in October that Cheswick’s planned purchase could have undermined the city’s efforts to confiscate the Chesapeake Restaurant, which for years has been a lifeless spot on an otherwise thriving block in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. The BDC received approval from the City Council to condemn the Chesapeake Restaurant and offer it and surrounding properties to developers interested in putting the space to better use.

After a public proposal process, the BDC awarded the properties to Station North Development Partners, a team that includes Charles Theatre and Everyman Theatre owners Alan and Michael Shecter. But Sapero said the sale to private investors raised the question of whether the city needed to intervene. “It would appear that property rights are out the window and the city is taking property at its whim,” Sapero said. Murphy declined to comment yesterday. Sapero said “it is possible” that he would file an appeal.

Gsol

March 23rd, 2006, 04:35 PM

waj0527

March 23rd, 2006, 04:46 PM

Guys, check out this Sun article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.western23mar23,0,4879719.story

Its not directly related to development, but quality public education in the city of Baltimore certainly affects the city's growth. Here's a synopsis: BCPSS school officials have lowered the admission standards at Western and for certain programs at Dunbar due to a low number of qualified applicants. School officials are pissed because no one told them. Western parents, alums and administrators are pissed because it could have an adverse effect on its 'elite status'.

One thing that has always bothered me about Baltimore is the way it has marketed its school system. It never seems to accentuate the very few positives it has. City and Poly are two of the oldest high schools in the country and both have strong alumni bases that contribute to Capital Campaigns and Annual Funds and the like to sustain the schools beyond what’s provided by the city and the state. Each school consistently ranks among the state leaders in test scores, the alumni hall of fames at both schools is a regional and national ‘who’s who’, both schools offer rigorous, college-level coursework (City College is an IB World School...Poly has the Ingenuity Program), City is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence...Poly was recognized by the state in a similar fashion.

If you go to either of those schools, you'll graduate, go to college and likely do well. You won’t encounter violence or other stupid foolishness that you see at some of the neighborhood schools. The same types of things can be said about Baltimore School for the Arts and Western High School.

These facts and supporting figures should be included in a Live Baltimore packet or something. Education is especially important to the middle class, which is the group Baltimore should be targeting. Obviously I realize space is limited in each of these four schools, but if families care enough about their kids' education, then they'll find a way to get them not only into these schools, but also into the more prestigious programs at these schools.

PeterSmith

March 23rd, 2006, 04:48 PM

waj0527

March 23rd, 2006, 04:52 PM

The two preceding posts by Wada Guy illustrate an endemic problem the city faces in its attemps to improve neighborhoods and infrastructure. Lawsuits, lawsuits and more lawsuits at every turn. The Chesapeake Rest. has been a blight on that block for years. The city has tried to do the right thing and claim eminent domain, but the selfish greedy owners keep holding out for more with no intent to improve the property.

Now the long saga of the Super Block has another snag. Where was Weinberg's foundation in the early stages of this proposal? Why didn't they develop it privately? The answer is the value of the property has increased to the extent where profits can be made. Perhaps his partnership with Cordish would work out. Cordish has a proven track record with the city. At least he is not looking to partner with Clark. But going back to the drawing boards on this one will cause huge delays, but that appears to happening anyway. That block needs to be redeveloped to spark a full renaissance from Camden Yards up Howard Street to the new State Office propsal.

BTW - the development would be further enhanced if the light rail could be relocated underground, or share the subway tunnel under Eutaw St. That would speed the ride and improve the appearence of Howard St.

This WHINEberg thing pisses me off. They've been stalling this project for months now and suddenly they want the city to renig on its promise to the developer (who has been ready to move foward for months now, but has been forced to wait on the Weinberg Group). This group tries to get its name on EVERY building it can in Baltimore. Now, they want this all to themselves so they can erect a huge sign calling it the Weinburg Superblock. Someone needs to sit them down and say look....work this out...get this thing going...or you'll be shut out completely.

PeterSmith

March 23rd, 2006, 04:52 PM

It's not the best news that the city might have to use eminent domain in both these cases, but it's certainly a relief of sorts to know that these projects haven't been forgotten. Let's hope that the city can find more cooperation in the future and not have to be known as a bully who takes people's property, for better or worse.

seanlax5

March 23rd, 2006, 05:14 PM

Hopefully they meet the same fate as the Flaghouse Courts and the other high rise projects. That real estate is now too prime to be owned by the government and should be returned to private hands. Yes, but the flaghouse homes were nearly empty, while the mcculloh homes as well as the treelead ct, douglass homes, and perkins homes are well occupied. Treeleaf ct and the dunbar high school area will come down before the mccullough homes, even with the new state center. Perkins homes, howver may never come down, because they are still (enevitably) in middle-east. I haven't been by the douglass homes in a while, are they as nice looking as ten years ago? I haven't gone by them since I was about six!

seanlax5

March 23rd, 2006, 05:19 PM

seanlax5

March 23rd, 2006, 05:23 PM

Sorry about my ramble, but I just actually read that article, and Dunbar has a great academic program IMO. They killed us at every music festival/competition, creamed us at many sports, and it is rumored that they can take down som Baltimore County Schools.

waj0527

March 23rd, 2006, 05:47 PM

Who Will Make Baltimore Safe?
Mayor O'Malley Isn't Solving the Crime Problem

--------->By Douglas M. Duncan <----------
Thursday, March 23, 2006; Page A23

Too often in Maryland politics we see jurisdictional squabbling and turf battles. We see fights between the Washington suburbs and the Baltimore region, or the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland. Such squabbles are not productive; in fact, they are roadblocks to progress. But one thing is clear: All residents of Maryland have a stake in our state's largest city. We cannot have a healthy Maryland until we have a healthy Baltimore. And when it comes to crime, Baltimore is not healthy.

In 2003 Baltimore was the second-most dangerous big city in America. Today it remains so. Per capita homicide rates have actually increased since 2000. Baltimore is six times as deadly as New York and three times as deadly as Los Angeles. In 2004 only three major cities reported increases in homicides: Detroit, St. Louis and Baltimore. While other cities have had historic declines in homicides and violent crime, Baltimore has not had similar success. And while there has been progress in the Inner Harbor, far too many neighborhoods are still racked with crime.

The mayor of Baltimore can't seem to crack the problem. He's on his fourth police commissioner, and the police department itself is dealing with a major scandal. The mayor openly spars with prosecutors when they need to be working together. And sadly, politics are being put ahead of people. The Baltimore Sun recently reported that the crime numbers being kept by the city may not be accurate. A WBAL-TV series in Baltimore revealed dramatic instances of crimes not being reported. Solid, sound information is the bedrock of crime fighting and prevention.

But instead of solutions, we're seeing political posturing. Mayor Martin O'Malley repeatedly refers to a 40 percent decline in violent crime. Independent experts say it may be more like 23 percent. While campaigning in Montgomery County, O'Malley claimed it was 50 percent. He labels calls for independent audits as political stunts. But somehow O'Malley's 1999 audit of crime -- conducted by consultants he hired -- is considered by the mayor to be above reproach. Some, however, question whether it was used to overstate the reduction in crime.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is calling for an audit -- but only of five jurisdictions, which gives the appearance of politicization in an election year. While this is a step in the right direction, a statewide audit is the only way to get an accurate assessment of crime in Maryland.

Who's thinking about the people of Baltimore?

Given all the recent reports that have come out about the suspect crime numbers, several members of the General Assembly have introduced a bill for a comprehensive, independent audit of crime across the state, not just in five jurisdictions. I urge swift passage of this bill. The first step in solving a problem is assessing the problem.

I recently stood with Baltimore's top prosecutor and other leaders and released a comprehensive plan to reduce crime across the state. It calls for 1,000 more police officers on the streets, but that's just a start. It calls for more drug treatment and the expansion of currently successful drug courts. It calls for better pre-release services and expanding Operation Restart, which helps put people's lives back on track when they get out of jail. There are new laws to crack down on gangs and combat sexual predators. And, perhaps most important, the plan would commit resources to community crime task forces. These task forces would bring together law enforcement, community groups and other agencies in Maryland to target efforts in high-crime areas. Sometimes a housing agency can shut down a crack house faster than the police can. Or the health department can shut down a restaurant that is also a front for crime faster than the courts. By pooling community knowledge and efforts, we can improve communities faster.

It's a blueprint for the first step in achieving a healthy Baltimore, and a healthy Maryland.

Some have said I am engaged in "Baltimore bashing." They need to ask themselves who is doing the real disservice to the good people of Baltimore: those who talk honestly and openly about the problems and lay out strategies to solve them, or those who engage in constant political posturing and continue to describe rosy scenarios while people still live in fear?

I believe education is the long-term solution to reducing crime and improving the quality of life in Maryland. But families cannot be asked to wait for safer neighborhoods. Children deserve safe streets today.

The writer is Montgomery County executive and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Maryland.

PeterSmith

March 23rd, 2006, 10:53 PM

Miller ends slots bill, accenting Ehrlich rift
He says governor lacked initiative on his proposal
By Jennifer Skalka
Sun reporter
Originally published March 23, 2006
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller was the governor's chief ally on slot machines for the past three years, ramming Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s gambling legislation through his chamber and struggling mightily to broker a compromise with the House of Delegates.

But yesterday, Miller quietly pulled the plug on what has long been the governor's top legislative priority, canceling a slots hearing in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Barring changes, this will be the fourth consecutive year the legislature has failed to pass a bill.

"It takes two to tango in the legislative process, and we need some initiative and hard work on the part of the governor, which we haven't seen," Miller said. "And we need some movement on the part of the House, and we haven't seen that either."

Sen. Ulysses Currie, a Prince George's Democrat and chairman of the budget committee, called the slots proposal "100 percent" dead.

The hearing cancellation reveals a growing rift between two of the state's most powerful political leaders, members of opposing parties who had little to bind them other than a desire to see more gambling in the state.

It's no secret that Miller wants to see a Democrat elected governor this year, so his willingness to help Ehrlich, a Republican, has been waning for months. And with the election season upon him, Ehrlich may be in no mood to spend valuable political capital on a lost cause.

Over the years, Ehrlich has pitched slots revenue as a solution for a number of problems, including closing a budget shortfall, saving horse racing, and paying for school construction and boosting teacher pensions. But with Maryland looking at an enormous budget surplus, the financial need for slots has withered, as has lawmakers' interest in the contentious issue.

Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell said he would like to see the governor's proposal resuscitated. He said that Ehrlich has put "countless hours in on the issue with both lawmakers and the public."

Asked about Miller's call for more action from Ehrlich, Fawell said: "This coming from somebody who is canceling a hearing." Currie said there is simply slots fatigue on his committee.

"We did most of the heavy lifting," he said. "I think everyone realizes it's a losing issue."

Bill hearings are nearly always held when legislation is filed early enough in the annual 90-day session. Without a hearing, it is unlikely that the governor's bill will come up for a vote in the committee.

Ehrlich ran on a pro-slots platform in 2002 and has called his victory that year over former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a slots opponent, a mandate to bring the machines to Maryland.

At the time, the state was facing a crushing revenue shortfall, with millions of Maryland dollars being spent on legalized slots in nearby Delaware and West Virginia. Owners of the Pimlico, Laurel and Rosecroft tracks said slots customers would help revive a dying industry with a long history in the state.

But each year since, proposals have stalled with the House and Senate unable to reach an agreement.

Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat, said that this year Ehrlich has, for practical reasons, backed away from the more public push for slots that has been the hallmark of his administration.

"There are a number of issues on which he's waving the white flag," Frosh said, pointing to medical malpractice reform as another example. "He doesn't expect to get anything done."

Gerard E. Evans, a lobbyist for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, said he thinks Ehrlich's commitment to slots is as fierce as ever. He vowed to be back next year and said slots are necessary to save horse racing.

"It's an election year; it's always more difficult to ask a legislator to take a tough vote in an election year," Evans said.

Slots aside, all has not been well between the Senate president and governor. Miller set the tone for the session early on with a promise to stick it to his rivals.

GOP leaders are "going to be flying high, but we're going to get together and we're going to shoot them down. We're going to put them in the ground, and it'll be 10 years before they crawl out again," he said during a state Democratic Party luncheon to kick off the session.

During the session, Ehrlich and House Speaker Michael E. Busch - who has been pilloried by Republicans for the past three years for opposing slots - have been meeting regularly. Miller has passed on several of those leadership gatherings.

Miller has also championed the legislative inquiry into Ehrlich's hiring and firing practices, an effort to determine if state workers have been fired for political reasons or unjustly. The GOP has railed against the effort, calling it election-year politics at its worst.

"There's no question there's a lot of friction between Miller and the governor," said Sen. J. Lowell Stoltzfus, an Eastern Shore Republican. "I think Miller brought it on. Doggone, he can just do some really silly things sometimes."

The Senate has also treated Ehrlich's agenda as an afterthought, throwing together a daylong series of public hearings on unrelated bills, a whirlwind that left Ehrlich's staffers frustrated and stunned. Senators are also considering a bill that would require certain members of Ehrlich's Cabinet to be reconfirmed should he win re-election.

Aaron Meisner, an investment adviser and coordinating chairman of StopSlotsMaryland, said the slots legislation was a victim of the leaders' soured relationship.

"There was so much bad blood between Ehrlich and Miller that I wasn't all that surprised to see that," he said.

With Busch and the House not willing to budge on the matter, Miller put it more succinctly. "I don't believe in futile efforts," he said.

seanlax5

March 24th, 2006, 01:33 AM

Well said, waj. Safe streets need to happen NOW. Maybe we can get some state support if the next mayor is actually good. Not that o'mailly is bad, but there are better people for the job. Because o'mailly WILL support baltimore in state funds and such, Baltimore could really take off if Martin is elected. I'm not saying he was a bad mayor, but he may make an even better governor. Now I may not know what i'm saying or talking about (im not even 14), but as a resident of this city, and what I've seen, heard, and experienced, that is my FINAL answer.

MasonsInquiries

March 24th, 2006, 04:41 AM

scando

March 24th, 2006, 05:29 AM

NewBaltimore1980

March 24th, 2006, 05:48 AM

Yes, but the flaghouse homes were nearly empty, while the mcculloh homes as well as the treelead ct, douglass homes, and perkins homes are well occupied. Treeleaf ct and the dunbar high school area will come down before the mccullough homes, even with the new state center. Perkins homes, howver may never come down, because they are still (enevitably) in middle-east. I haven't been by the douglass homes in a while, are they as nice looking as ten years ago? I haven't gone by them since I was about six!

Public Housing = Communism

Earn your own living!

StevenW

March 24th, 2006, 11:55 AM

Is Inner Harbor condominium market saturated?
One developer backs off real estate component, saying demand now greater for waterfront offices

Condominiums have been a major driver of development around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor during the last year, thanks to low interest rates and a concerted effort by city officials to lure more residents downtown.

- JEN DeGREGORIO

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

Man! I would LOVE to read this article all the way through! :D Anyone? :? Help! :D
Which developer are they talking about? Is it someone we know that WAS going to build condos at 300 East Pratt Street, maybe? ;)

wada_guy

March 24th, 2006, 01:17 PM

I'M SHOCKED!
Development falls through, again
By JEN DEGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

Long-delayed plans for construction at One Light Street in downtown Baltimore faced another hurdle recently when an Atlanta condominium developer backed out of a deal for the site.

J. Joseph Clarke of J.J. Clarke Enterprises, the property’s resident agent and husband of Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, said the company had an 18-month contract for the project but bowed out late last year. (AND WE ARE JUST HEARING ABOUT IT?) The company — which Clarke declined to name — could not pull together the necessary elements to build its planned condominium tower at the prominent downtown locale. Clarke said he did not know why the company had trouble.

“It’s a difficult site,” he said. “It’s very expensive to build high.” Once home to the Southern Hotel, One Light Street has garnered much attention from developers during the last 10 years. Ideas for the site included a hotel, apartments and an office tower, none of which materialized, according to newspaper reports. The constant failures have been a sore point for city officials and others who think development at One Light Street — located just blocks from the Inner Harbor — is long overdue.

“It’s certainly preferable for something to be happening at the lot,” said J. Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. Clarke thinks city zoning rules — penned in the early 1970s —do not allow enough density to make development affordable at One Light Street. Those rules would allow only about 250 residential units at One Light Street, while it would take about 400 or more to make the project “economically feasible,” Clarke said.

City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell recently submitted a bill at the behest of the Downtown Partnership that would allow more density for downtown properties zoned B-4 and B-5. The city Planning Commission yesterday gave that bill its approval, Fowler said. “That legislation would allow projects like One Light Street and other projects to create more units and to build up to the floor-to-area ratio for the building,” Fowler said.

Despite its latest plan falling through, One Light Street has not suffered from a lack of interest. “I get calls from people all the time,” Clarke said (PROBABLY ASKING WHY ITS TAKING SO DAMN LONG). Fowler said his group keeps its eyes on the property.

“We’ve been trying to steer some developers and people with money to the project,” Fowler said. “There’s definitely interest in the site due to its central location.” Fowler sees a variety of opportunities for One Light Street. “I think anything could go at this point because the three major markets — office, residential and hotel — are all thriving right now,” he said.

wada_guy

March 24th, 2006, 01:30 PM

Here you go StevenW. Its not bad news at all. One thing that isn't mentioned is that offices are much more profitable to developers than residential units are.

Here is the link to the project: (Same developer as the Malt House)
http://www.unionboxcompany.com/

Is Inner Harbor condominium market saturated?
One developer backs off real estate component, saying demand now greater for waterfront offices

By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer
Baltimore’s Union Box Co. has had longtime plans to develop Union Wharf, above, in the city’s Fells Point neighborhood, dedicating the majority of waterfront space there to either apartments or condominiums. But Union Box recently proposed to slash the number of residential offerings at the site, opting instead to boost the office component to about 150,000 square feet.

Condominiums have been a major driver of development around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor during the last year, thanks to low interest rates and a concerted effort by city officials to lure more residents downtown.

Projects such as ARC Wheeler’s planned 59-story tower at the former McCormick spice plant on Light Street and the conversion of the PierSide Apartments by HarborView Properties Development Co. are just two examples of residential developers’ desire for Baltimore waterfront. Even the state-owned World Trade Center, one of Baltimore’s premier waterfront office buildings, could have a condominium component after the Maryland Department of Transportation sells it this year.

But one developer has his doubts that the condominium wave will hold much longer. Baltimore’s Union Box Co. has had longtime plans to develop Union Wharf in the city’s Fells Point neighborhood, dedicating the majority of waterfront space there to either apartments or condominiums.

But Union Box recently proposed to slash the number of residential offerings at the site, opting instead to boost the office component to about 150,000 square feet. The company also plans to develop the office first, whereas it had initially planned on the condominiums coming first. “I think because everyone is putting residential on the waterfront there suddenly is an opportunity to do office because no one is doing it,” said Larry Silverstein, president of Union Box. “We see a big demand for office space.”

The emphasis of the waterfront office space surprised some members of the city’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel, which reviewed the company’s new plans at a hearing last month. Architect Jim Carroll told the panel that Union Box realized that the market was shifting along the waterfront.

That comes as no surprise to Baltimore’s commercial real estate brokers. “I think you look at the residential market, and you have to ask, ‘Well, when will it be tapped out?” said T. Courtenay Jenkins III, a broker for Trammell Crow Co. “There’s a lot of residential product now, and I think the developers are probably balancing … and making a business decision.”

Developer Edwin F. Hale’s 500,000-square-foot Canton Crossing, an office tower on the eastern shore of the Inner Harbor, proves the demand for waterfront office — even beyond the city’s central business district. The building is nearly 80 percent leased, according to Jenkins, who at one time helped lease space there. “The demand for office space continues to be strong and will be strong for the foreseeable future,” Jenkins said.

Downtown, major office buildings, such as 500 and 400 E. Pratt St., are quickly running out of space, leasing for between $20 and $30 per square foot, Jenkins said. Downtown office buildings are also becoming a hot investment opportunity. In May, an Atlanta-based real estate investment trust purchased 100 E. Pratt St. for a record $316 per square foot.

“I think the old theory is that if you get a mass of residential that moves downtown then offices would want to relocate back downtown because the workforce is back downtown,” said William W. Whitty, senior vice president of Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC. Scott Peterson, vice president of The Bozzuto Group, which helped develop the Spinnaker Bay condominiums at Inner Harbor East, said he might think twice before building another condominium on Baltimore’s waterfront.

“If I were going to do another condo project in Baltimore, something we would look at is how many more condo units are coming online?” Peterson said. “Developers are looking at what’s in the pipeline and they are seeing that there are a fairly large number of units coming online.” Office vacancy rates fell to 17.1 percent last year, down from 18.2 percent in 2004. But those rates are much lower for waterfront Class A Buildings, Jenkins said.

With development opportunities in low supply downtown — with the former News American site at Pratt and South streets being one of the few real options — office opportunities in other waterfront locales are ripe for office construction. Fells Point would be an extremely desirable spot, as the neighborhood currently has few office offerings, Jenkins said. Restaurant and entertainment amenities, as well as the young professionals settling in the neighborhoods’ rehabilitated row houses and new condominiums, are amenities for any business. “I have a number of prospects that would consider that project,” Jenkins said of Union Wharf.

Hood

March 24th, 2006, 02:02 PM

With development opportunities in low supply downtown — with the former News American site at Pratt and South streets being one of the few real options — office opportunities in other waterfront locales are ripe for office construction. [B] Fells Point would be an extremely desirable spot, as the neighborhood currently has few office offerings, Jenkins said. Restaurant and entertainment amenities, as well as the young professionals settling in the neighborhoods’ rehabilitated row houses and new condominiums, are amenities for any business. “I have a number of prospects that would consider that project,” Jenkins said of Union Wharf.

Amen to that. I love working in a fells point office building. So much better than being down town.

waj0527

March 24th, 2006, 03:40 PM

Does everything in Baltimore have to be either/or? I know space is limited because you cant really go up in that neighborhood, but whats wrong with a mix of uses at Union Wharf?

LilMoeJoeJoe

March 24th, 2006, 04:35 PM

If the condo, hotel, and office market are hot right now, why not find another developer build the tower that was originally planned for this site which would offer all three? The Baltimore Office market is strong according to the article so why not build a nice tall tower with an office and or hotel/condo component. That site in the heart of the CBD is just screaming for a building at least as tall as Legg Mason. I personally think that whatever is built there should be taller that Legg Mason because it would look better due to it's central location.

Gsol

March 24th, 2006, 04:54 PM

Where in Fells Point is Union Wharf?

Notice everything Clarke is involved with turns to doo-doo. Hopefully he will sell the rights to the property, and with the approved allowance for more density, someone with a proven track record will develop the site. According to the official, Fowler, there is interest in the site. If so why can't Clarke tap into that interest? He's a LOOSER!

I thought there was supposed to be some office use planned for the former Allied Chemical site. Where does that stand?

jaysonjaz

March 24th, 2006, 06:51 PM

I do believe that we're going to eventually get slots, but we'll get it next year when O'MALLEY'S in office. :nocrook: :nocrook: :rock: :rock:

I don't no why you seem so excited by this. If slots are such a big and important thing for the state, then the democrats shouldn't have played games with it.

I know they will pass it once a dem gets into office, but they should take no credit for it. Were it not for the effort Ehrlich has put into it over the past four years, it would never had happened

jaysonjaz

March 24th, 2006, 06:52 PM

MasonsInquiries

March 24th, 2006, 07:11 PM

I'm really sad to see that the condo component of the union wharf project has been scaled down, but i guess it's in the best interest of baltimore.

MasonsInquiries

March 24th, 2006, 07:12 PM

I don't no why you seem so excited by this. If slots are such a big and important thing for the state, then the democrats shouldn't have played games with it.

I know they will pass it once a dem gets into office, but they should take no credit for it. Were it not for the effort Ehrlich has put into it over the past four years, it would never had happened
EHRLICH may have invented the idea, but O'MALLEY'S going to perfect it. In the eyes of the senators, it's not WHAT'S being ask for, but WHO'S asking for it. Furthermore, Ehrlich sucks to high heaven, jason. He's done NOTHING for the city of baltimore. He's the ultimate enemy as far as i'm concerned.

Cabo

March 24th, 2006, 07:49 PM

^ O'Malley will ignore Baltimore too if he becomes governor!

jaysonjaz

March 24th, 2006, 08:10 PM

He's the ultimate enemy as far as i'm concerned.

Wow.. i feel bad for you if this is what you realy think.

PeterSmith

March 24th, 2006, 09:09 PM

Ehrlich is not the best thing for Baltimore, but he's not doing anything that most politicians wouldn't do. The money, the votes, and the connections are all in the DC side of Maryland, not in Baltimore. Everything he needs to advance his political career comes from siding with the DC suburbs. The only way Baltimore is ever going to get its fair share is if the governor is a true advocate for Baltimore. Given that O'Malley isn't from Baltimore, it's tough to say whether he fits this description. Nevertheless, he has proven himself a good leader, and the fact that the Demcratic constituency is located heavily in Baltimore, a Democrat governor would probably be better for Baltimore than a Republican one. And since Duncan has yet to impress me even the slightest, my support remains firmly behind O'Malley.

PeterSmith

March 24th, 2006, 09:10 PM

QUick question out of curiousity - have they ever put back up the Italian flags that surround the Columbus statue in Little Italy? They were down for a long time before I left.

StevenW

March 24th, 2006, 11:39 PM