Baltimore Development News 15 [Archive] - Page 9

StevenW

August 16th, 2006, 10:54 AM

$1.4 billion development slated for Westport

Bruce Miller, The Examiner
Aug 16, 2006 5:00 AM (12 mins ago)

BALTIMORE - After 15 months of planning, Patrick Turner, president of Turner Development Group, has unveiled plans for a $1.4 billion development that will be located on Baltimore City’s last large parcel of developable waterfront property.

Located along the Patapsco River’s Middle Branch in Baltimore’s Westport and called Westport Waterfront, project plans call for a mixed-use development that will include residences, office space, retail and entertainment venues.

“This is the biggest project in Baltimore,” said Turner. “We’re almost building a second downtown.”

Specifically, the development will include 2,000 residences, including apartments, town homes, condominiums and lofts, 2.5 million square feet of office space and half-a-million square feet of retail and entertainment space.

The project will be anchored by a 65-story office building and the first building is expected to take delivery by late 2008. Surrounding the structures will be a restored beach and wetland area, as well as more than five-and-a-half miles of hiking and biking trails. It will also feature a Veledrome bicycling arena.

But while the size of the project is expected to have a huge economic impact on the city, raising the amount of property taxes generated from the area from under $50,000 to more than $32 million during the next 10 years, economic development officials see the revitalization of the neighborhood as the major benefit.

“The primary importance of this project is revitalizing the neighborhood,” said Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. “I think the Middle Branch has the potential to become a mini Inner Harbor.”

M.J. “Jay” Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., agreed that the development would have a significant impact in improving the West Port neighborhood and that the project is a prime example of creative and innovative use of a former industrial waterfront area.

“I think good things will come out of Turner’s efforts, housing values will go up and people will fix up their properties,” said Brodie. “He’s not turning his back on Westport at all, and I think that’s a very positive aspect of the plan.”

Turner added that he expects the development to attract both businesses and residents because of the area’s easy accessibility to Interstates 95 and 295, the Westport light rail stop and its proximity to downtown.

The development is being designed to be ecologically friendly by creating green areas and wetlands and by having all the run off from the property filtered and cleaned using bioswales before going into the Patapsco.

bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com

Examiner

Hood

August 16th, 2006, 12:53 PM

My recommendation for ages is 7 & up for the Canoe Escapes for those who intend to sit in the fore or aft and be a paddler. It is certainly within your discretion to bring someone younger who will sit with you or beneath you as you paddle. There is, of course, the risk that the caddle will flip over, which is why we have our age guidelines. We always require everyone to wear a life jacket. Please make reservations 24 hours in advance.

Nate

Good to know. We will pass on it then. i wasn't sure. It sounds sweet thought. YOu'll get a great look at westport.

MasonsInquiries

August 16th, 2006, 03:32 PM

bmorescottamanda

August 16th, 2006, 04:22 PM

Thanks for posting the rendering from the Sun.
How much open land is over there? I could see a world of development taking place. No way they put that beach there and no other site attractions. The Velodrome is a good idea and fits in well with the character with the future of Middle Branch, but if there is going to be a beach over there, then somebody needs to come up with a better vision for the area than just the Velodrome. Perhaps moving pimlico over there? Perhaps some rides or attractions?

This is also what Velodrome looks like.http://www.calgaryalpine.com/photos/24/images/great%20wall%20shot%20group%20motor%20pacing%20velodrome.JPG

I think there should be a couple of roller coasters over there.

PeterSmith

August 16th, 2006, 05:07 PM

Has there been any statement as to what Turner wants the overall product of Westport to be? He is definitely concentrating a diverse collection of recreational options in the area, but I can't quite figure out if this project will be primarily geared towards the neighborhood, the entire city, tourists, or something else. Will the beach be big enough for it to become a viable tourist spot? Any ideas?

PeterSmith

August 16th, 2006, 05:25 PM

I found this website on the Miami forum. I thought it would be of interest here as well. It works like Google Earth, except it does street level views instead of aerials. Check it out.

http://maps.a9.com/?ypLoc=Baltimore

MasonsInquiries

August 16th, 2006, 06:25 PM

JAB323

August 16th, 2006, 07:42 PM

nice.

bmore87

August 16th, 2006, 07:56 PM

Wouldn't it be great if the new Westport site was a destination of the Watertaxi?

bmorescottamanda

August 16th, 2006, 10:45 PM

Wouldn't it be great if the new Westport site was a destination of the Watertaxi?

That would be great and also have some great restaurants along the water front.

JAB323

August 16th, 2006, 10:58 PM

^^ Yeah, it'd be awesome.

StevenW

August 16th, 2006, 11:09 PM

southbalto

August 17th, 2006, 12:21 AM

I'm thinking that this westport project might actually get off the ground. Nick's Fish House moved down there a couple years ago. Considering the money he put in to renovations I'd say theres more development to come. He's politically connected and he woulndt make that investment if he didn't have any assurance that others would follow.......

Eerik

August 17th, 2006, 12:37 AM

Any "Best of.." list is always a pain to interpret, especially if you're not keenly familiar with whatever methodology/process used in the study. However, this one by Forbes caught my eye: they've released their "Best States For Business" rankings.

Interesting data: State-wise we rank lower because of our overall "Business Costs" and "Quality of Life" index. Our "Regulatory" index also is rather high...which makes me think of Constellation Energy, and then the MBNA situation back in the 80s.

Best States for doing business (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/9/06beststates_The-Best-States-For-Business_Rank.html)

Back in May, when they came out with the Best Places (Metro areas) for doing business, what struck me at the time was how low we scored on the education index...and...if you take a closer look, what is interesting...they have a separate listing for Bethesda, MD.

Best Places (Metro Areas) for doing business (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/1/Rank_1.html)

Of course all this stuff is relative, but in an election year, I think there is some food for thought in these rankings.

JAB323

August 17th, 2006, 01:51 AM

^^ #11...not bad.

Baltimoreborn1

August 17th, 2006, 03:33 AM

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/baltimore/photos/Emerson%20Bromo%20Seltzer%20Tower.jpg

Remedy for Artists' headache (Baltimore Sun) (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-bromo0816,0,696578.story) Under the blue glow of Baltimore's castle- like tower where people once promoted headache powder, creative types will soon be making art.

The long-discussed plan to convert downtown's signature Bromo Seltzer tower into studios for artists advanced Wednesday as city officials approved a financing plan for the $1.9 million project.

In a city where affordable, dependable workspace fills as quickly as it opens, artists reacted enthusiastically to news that the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower could open by March.

The idea of working in what has to be the quirkiest leg of Baltimore's skyline only adds to the appeal.

"Are you kidding? That visibility and that type of high-profile space?" asked Anthony Walker, a marble sculptor who owns Gallery ID8 near Fells Point. "I'd kill for space in that."

Painter Jordan Faye Block, part- owner of the Locust Point's Gallery Imperato, said she'd be first in line to apply for space.

"I love old Baltimore and I love buildings that are well-made and have character and persona," she said. "That always serves as inspiration."

Though the idea for the tower conversion emerged years ago, setbacks dogged the project.

Its initial benefactor backed out in 2004. Then last year after new donors, arts advocates Sylvia and Eddie Brown, stepped in with a $500,000 gift to set things back on track, planners realized they'd have to rework the design around fire department communications antennas.

But Wednesday, all systems were go as the Board of Estimates approved contributing the city-owned building and spending $650,000 toward the renovation and studio operating expenses.

Officials said construction would begin within weeks and the finished studios could be revealed at ribbon-cutting by March 1.

Baltimore's Office of Promotion and the Arts will manage the studios, which will fill 13 floors of the tower. Artists will have to apply for the space, but officials say they're seeking a variety of talents -- from painters to writers, seasoned to just starting out.

On the tower's first two levels, plans involve opening a gallery and a coffee shop.

Bill Gilmore, the office's director, said private studios are not the goal, but rather space where the public is welcomed in regularly to mingle with the creators.

"We want people to get inside and see what it's like," Gilmore said.

Proponents of the city's long time push to redevelop the west side are as encouraged as the art ists by the prospect of the studios.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said the studios will help bring vibrancy to the city's west side.

"These artists will be out there on the street, adding to the Baltimore creative class," Brodie said. "It's the spirit and activity they will bring."

Mark Pollak, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Door, volunteered to handle the legal paperwork for the studio conversion pro bono, eager to revive a city landmark, particularly one that could lure people west of downtown.

"It's somewhat iconic in nature," he said the tower. "It's really important to have this very visible symbol cleaned up and renovated."

Jed Dodds, artist director for Highlandtown's Creative Alliance at the Patterson, said artists, particularly Baltimore's artists, will be drawn to the tower, whose story is almost an homage to eccentricity.

"It's been on the kind of strange journey that Baltimore's community seems to really celebrate," Dodds said.

The founder of Bromo Seltzer, an effervescent headache remedy, commissioned the tower to compliment his factory after a trip to Italy where he became smitten with a 13th-century Florentine watch tower.

Finished in 1911, in its early years the 15-story clock-top edifice at Lombard and Eutaw streets was not only an architectural anomaly, but Baltimore's tallest building.

Through the years, however, modern skyscrapers bested the tower in height and a beloved medicine bottle that once spun on its top was removed for fear it was damaging the structure.

Eventually blue lights were installed to make up for the loss of the spinning bottle and city arts officials took up residence inside in the 1970s.

The building has been vacant and deteriorating since they moved out in 2002.

"It's a funky-shaped building with great visibility, a lot of history and a good vibe," Dodds said. "I think artists will definitely appreciate it."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com

jeremai

August 17th, 2006, 04:23 AM

I walked 4.5 miles today, partly downtown and partly in Sowebo. I happened to pass the Rochambeau and took some pictures which some of you may be interested in (I forget if pictures have been posted on here before).

http://images3.fotop.net/albums3/jeremai/August2006/100_3093.jpg

http://images3.fotop.net/albums3/jeremai/August2006/100_3094.jpg

http://images3.fotop.net/albums3/jeremai/August2006/100_3095.jpg

http://images3.fotop.net/albums3/jeremai/August2006/100_3096.jpg

http://images3.fotop.net/albums3/jeremai/August2006/100_3097.jpg

robert parsons

August 17th, 2006, 06:45 AM

any new news on 300 east pratt????

sdeclue

August 17th, 2006, 02:20 PM

That's really disappointing to me that they are knocking that building down. It is a beautiful piece of architecture.

Gsol

August 17th, 2006, 05:20 PM

JAB323

August 17th, 2006, 07:05 PM

it's a sad day for bmore.

Hugh Jaramillo

August 17th, 2006, 07:15 PM

I believe the fate of this building is not yet sealed. There was a court proceeding last week concerning its demise. A ruling is to be handed down in early September. I am do not recall reading that a temporary injuction was issued to prohibit the demolition until the decision is rendered in September.

The permit might still be in effect.

I am hoping that they will tear it down myself. I think it is a perfectly ordinary and undistinguished building that acts as a wall for that part of Charles Street. As a devout atheist, I can say that I am all for the Archdioces on this one!

pennster

August 17th, 2006, 07:23 PM

It is quite a nice-looking building aside from the black trim that was placed near the bottom.

bmorescottamanda

August 17th, 2006, 07:56 PM

it's a sad day for bmore.
why?

NewBaltimore1980

August 17th, 2006, 08:01 PM

it's a sad day for bmore.

Knock it down and lets move on to something else to talk about.

MasonsInquiries

August 17th, 2006, 08:35 PM

Knock it down and lets move on to something else to talk about.
well-said. i couldn't agree more. bring on the wreckin' ball:cheers1:

PeterSmith

August 17th, 2006, 10:03 PM

I do think the Rochambeau is one of the prettier buildings in Baltimore. I hope it survives, but I also don't want this issue to become another Convention Center Hotel that ends up monopolizing the time and resources of so many. It'd be a shame to lose one of Baltimore's few really nice mid-rise apartment buildings, but hopefully we'll get something nice in return. At least the Church won't pull a JJ Clarke and demolish it for a parking lot.

Hood

August 17th, 2006, 10:16 PM

This could be very very bad...

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060817/20060817005419.html?.v=1

StevenW

August 17th, 2006, 11:21 PM

^^ Yes, that does sound bad. :(

I guess this might be some good news:
8 Baltimore schools taken off mandated improvement list

Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
Ron Cassie, The Examiner
Aug 17, 2006 5:00 AM (12 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 169 of 5,391 articles

BALTIMORE - Eight Baltimore City schools made their adequate yearly progress, or AYP, benchmarks and are no longer on the state “needs improvement” list. Six other schools reached their yearly goals and could leave the list next year if they continue to improve on the annual Maryland State Assessment tests.

Overall, 65 Baltimore elementary and middle schools met AYP guidelines. Additionally, 42 percent of schools increased the number of students who were proficient and advanced in reading, and 63 percent increased the number of students who were proficient and advanced in mathematics, according to a statement from the Baltimore City Public School System.

The eight schools exiting the “needs improvement” list this year are: Abbottston, Margaret Brent, Liberty, Garrett Heights, Yorkwood, Pimlico, Highlandtown and Calloway elementary schools.

Each school met AYP guidelines in every student category for the past two years in both mathematics and reading. Five have been in deep-restructuring implementation.

“This is a notable achievement for these schools and their communities,” said interim schools CEO Charlene Cooper Boston.

The six schools ready to exit the improvement list next year if they meet yearly progress goals are: Dickie Hill Elementary/Middle, General Wolfe Elementary, Guilford Elementary, Harriet Tubman Elementary, Rognel Heights Elementary/Middle and Windsor Hills Elementary. High schools are not included in the state testing.

This year, the Baltimore schools with the highest percentage of students achieving proficient or advanced on the reading MSA are Lois T. Murray, George Washington, Medfield Heights, Bentalou and Baybrook elementary schools.

The schools with the highest percentage of students achieving proficient or advanced on the math test are Lois T. Murray, George Washington, Mount Washington and Bentalou elementary schools and Kipp Ujima Village Academy.

However, only 49 of the city’s 90 K-5 schools met AYP, as did 15 of 32 K-8 schools and only one of the city’s 25 traditional middle schools.

In a teleconference Wednesday, Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick said too many Baltimore schools, 45 by the state’s count, remain “chronically underperforming,” including the seven the state attempted to take over last year.

“There really needs to be a shift in overall governance of those schools,” Grasmick said. “Whether it is a zeroing out of the teaching staff, creating a charter school, or bring in a third-party provider.”

rcassie@baltimoreexaminer.com

Examiner

StevenW

August 17th, 2006, 11:42 PM

Filmmaking in Maryland sets record in fiscal 2006

(Arianne Starnes/For the Examiner)
Jack Gerbes, head of the Maryland Film Office, sits for a portrait Wednesday in Baltimore. Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
Bruce Miller, The Examiner
Aug 17, 2006 5:00 AM (12 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 25 of 5,391 articles

BALTIMORE - Beating the record set in 2003, filmmaking in Maryland generated $158 million in economic impact during fiscal 2006, more than doubling last year’s $66 million, according to figures released by the Maryland Film Office.

“This can be directly attributed to the success of the state’s wage rebate program passed last year,” said Jack Gerbes, director of the film office, which is part of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. “It is becoming a battle of incentives, not how good your crew base is or how good your location is. It’s, ‘How much money will you give us?’ ”

The Maryland incentive program, called the Film Wage Rebate program, was passed by the General Assembly last year and was developed to compete with states such as Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois, which offer significant tax credits to attract film and television production.

Under the program, a qualified film or commercial production filming on location in Maryland may claim a rebate of 50 percent of the first $25,000 in wages paid per employee earning less than $1 million. The rebate is capped at $2 million a project and is given only to production companies spending a minimum of $500,000 in the state. For fiscal 2007, the state has allocated $6.875 million to the program.

Gerbes said that films taking advantage of the program in fiscal 2006 included the recently released “Step Up,” independent film “Rocket Science” and the HBO series “The Wire.” Other productions filmed in the state included “The Visiting” starring Nicole Kidman, “Failure to Launch,” the Miss USA competition and various independent films, television productions, commercials and documentaries. In total, Maryland hosted more than 770 production days.

But while the state’s Wage Rebate program is credited with bringing productions to Maryland, Hannah Byron, director of the Baltimore Film Office, said that competing states and countries are continually adding to their incentive programs. For Maryland to remain a major player, the state government needs to consistently invest in the program, she said.

“We’ve always had an excellent reputation as a filmmaking hub because of the caliber of our crew base and the cooperation between city and state agencies,” Byron said. “The incentive program is a huge help but we can’t take our eyes off the fact that this is an incentive program that we need to continue to invest in to be competitive.”

More details

» The last record set for filmmaking in the state was in fiscal 2003, when filmmaking generated $125 million in economic impact. That year, the production of major blockbuster movies such as “Head of State” and “Ladder 49” were credited with setting the record.

bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com

Examiner

JAB323

August 18th, 2006, 12:03 AM

This could be very very bad...

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060817/20060817005419.html?.v=1

This sucks.

scottbbfm

August 18th, 2006, 12:47 AM

This sucks.

I don't think its that bad. I'm pretty sure Legg already has NY presence, and its only 6 floors

pennster

August 18th, 2006, 12:50 AM

Yeah, it's just moving it's hub from another location in NYC. There is nothing bad-sounding in that article. Legg Mason has a presence in many, many cities.

Gsol

August 18th, 2006, 03:48 AM

"The Times Building will be the New York City operations hub for Baltimore-based Legg Mason, the fifth-largest manager of mutual funds in the United States. Employees will move in from Legg Mason and two of its subsidiaries, Western Asset Management Company and ClearBridge Advisors. Previously announced major tenants include the law firms of Covington & Burling; Seyfarth Shaw LLP; and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP."

This segment from the earlier post about Legg Mason being the largest tenant in the new Forest Ratner building might not be the death knell of the brokerage firm in Baltimore. First of all note in the first sentence, ". . .New York City operations hub for Baltimore-based Legg Mason . . ." That seems to imply that the headquarters will remain in Baltimore. If it were a relocation the article would have stated it directly. Also note the reference to "New York City Hub", indicating that Legg Mason already has operations in the Big Apple. Sounds like they are consolidating their NY operations into one location.

It appears that the other subsideries are in NY. If Legg Mason were pulling up its stakes in B-more and moving, don't you think it would have been plastered all over the local media? The city official who tries to find locations to keep businesses in town would have been all over this.

I checked my NYC phone book, Legg Mason has offices at Chase-Manhattan Plaza in lower Manhattan. Many firms are moving out of that area and relocating to midtown. So this is consistent with what other brokerage firms are doing.

Lets keep our fingers crossed that this doesn't mean that once in their castle in the sky, Legg Mason will decide to make that their headquarters.

StevenW

August 18th, 2006, 04:16 AM

Trade center buyer may be chosen soon
State is considering ‘multiple offers’ with decision likely this month; Democrats protest
By Andrew A. Green
Sun Reporter
Originally published August 17, 2006, 9:18 PM EDT
The Maryland Department of Transportation could pick a buyer this month for the signature World Trade Center tower at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, an asset that has produced lackluster returns since it was damaged in Tropical Storm Isabel three years ago.

Top Democratic lawmakers who have been briefed on the process say they think the Maryland Port Administration has done a poor job of managing the 31-story building -- now half vacant -- but also question whether the Ehrlich administration will get a good deal if the sale proceeds.

Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said he is reviewing "multiple offers" for the pentagonal I.M. Pei-designed tower just steps from the water. He said that it is not a foregone conclusion he will accept one of them, and that he is "keeping all options open."

Flanagan said the building has never been managed well because the state lacks the expertise to act as a landlord for a first-class office building. Selling it would allow the port administration to focus on its core mission, provide a welcome boost of cash and put the building back on the state and local tax rolls, Flanagan said.

"The original purpose of the building had been to anchor the Inner Harbor development back in 1980, and that purpose has long since been served," he said. "I became convinced that the building should be sold."

Del. Galen R. Clagett, a Frederick Democrat who is also a commercial real estate broker, said he thinks the two appraisals that the state got for the building reflect about half of what the building is worth. One pegged its potential sale price at $30 million and the other at $37 million.

"In my opinion, and I've been in this business for 20 years, this is the worst possible time because they only have a 50 percent occupancy rate," Clagett said. "Anybody knows to sell a commercial property like this one you should have no more than a 5 percent vacancy rate. It drives the value of the building way down."

When the state designated the building as excess property in April last year, it estimated the sale could generate $30 million to $45 million. In last year's budget, the port administration estimated that it would net $35 million from the deal, which would be used toward dredging a 50-foot channel at Seagirt Marine Terminal.

Now, state fiscal analysts and legislators who have been briefed on the negotiations say the offers are closer to $30 million. Democrats say it looks as if Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, is trying to push through the sale, whether it's in the state's long-term interests or not.

"It's an uncertain market, and it's really unfortunate to discuss it at this time with the election only a couple of months away," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who said he wants another appraisal of the building. "This was a recommendation by Ehrlich's transition team, and for four years they've done nothing until right before the election."

Running for office during a time of fiscal distress, Ehrlich made disposing of excess state property a campaign promise, and he ordered government departments to review their assets to determine what could be sold.

The effort raised the ire of the state's environmental community in 2004 when his administration worked out an arrangement to buy a tract of St. Mary's County land for preservation and immediately sell it without an appraisal to an anonymous buyer, who was later revealed to be prominent construction company owner Willard Hackerman.

About the same time, the state Department of Natural Resources identified 3,000 acres in and around state parks that could potentially be sold, leading to a backlash in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.

Transportation Department spokesman Jack Cahalan said the number of bids, the identities of the bidders and the details of their offers for the World Trade Center property are being kept confidential.

Media reports this spring identified Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos as one of the bidders. But Angelos -- an Ehrlich supporter who is planning a fundraiser for the governor next month -- declined to say whether he has an active offer for the building.

A briefing document prepared by the Department of Legislative Services says the Department of Transportation picked a bidder this April and signed agreements to allow him or her to perform due diligence on the building. But the two sides couldn't agree on final sale terms, so the department reopened the process to the top six bidders, allowing them each access to the building for closer inspections.

Offers from them were due Aug. 4. Cahalan said Flanagan would likely have a decision within about two weeks.

The World Trade Center has seen a decline in its fortunes over the past several years. It had effectively full occupancy in the late 1990s, though rentals fell slightly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The real plunge has come since 2003, when Tropical Storm Isabel dumped 3 feet of water into the building's basement, destroying telecommunications equipment and rendering the tower unusable for a month.

The department's annual profit from rents in the building has dropped from a peak of $1.7 million to about $140,000 last year, according to state documents. Flanagan said fixing up the building so it could be fully rented would cost as much as $14 million.

Before beginning to look for a buyer, the state hired Baltimore real estate broker Colliers Pinkard to "make sure we did it in the savviest way possible," Flanagan said. The secretary said the state has been following the broker's advice closely on issues of timing and what needs to be done to maximize the sale price.

John Blumer, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate firm in Baltimore, said the vacancy rate at the World Trade Center isn't necessarily a problem. The commercial market in downtown Baltimore is strong, he said, and a buyer might look at the building's vacancies as an asset because new leases for the empty space could reflect the increasing rents in the area.

"As soon as I heard it was for sale, I thought it's a great opportunity for somebody to take it and really leverage it up to a world-class asset," Blumer said.

Former Rep. Helen Delich Bentley, a consultant to the port administration and the port's namesake, said the building's world-class potential is precisely why she wishes the state would hang on to it, although she said she is ultimately resigned to the sale.

Bentley said the port has man aged the building poorly, but that could be solved by turning the job over to a private firm. A building such as the World Trade Center has invaluable cachet for the port when it brings in shipping officials from around the world to solicit business, she said.

"I would never sell it if I had the final decision to make," she said. "It's an icon. But we do need the money to build a 50-foot berth, and that money is going there, so I'm accepting it for the good of the port as a whole."

As with most major government decisions being made now, this one is being viewed through the lens of election-year politics. Democrats say they want any decision delayed until after the voters decide whether Ehrlich should get a second term.

Del. Peter Franchot, a Montgomery County Democrat and frequent Ehrlich critic, said the sale smacks of the Hackerman deal of two years ago and is born of a philosophy that Maryland voters don't agree with.

"It's talked about as if we're getting rid of this as a philosophical point," Franchot said. "It doesn't really matter if we get a good price for it. It doesn't matter if the taxpayers are ripped off. It doesn't matter if the state loses a valuable building at a fire sale price because we're making an ideological point."

andy.green@baltsun.com

StevenW

August 18th, 2006, 11:09 AM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-ho.bozzuto18aug18,0,6993209.story

Interesting story ^^

BTW, Emporis has the 65 story Westport tower on it's listing now. :) :yes:

Hood

August 18th, 2006, 01:09 PM

well I hope you guys are right. I am not sure how much space they rent in Baltimore, but I think its less than 200,000 SF and to me it makes no sense to have you HQ far away from the majority of your empolyees. Especially since NYC is the financial capital of the world.

scottbbfm

August 18th, 2006, 01:33 PM

Baltimore is the mutual fund capital of the world ;)

There is WELL over $1 trillion in assets under mgmt here.

pennster

August 18th, 2006, 03:28 PM

Yeah, there have been articles in the past about Legg Mason's commitment to stay in Baltimore. I found that Legg Mason has about 350,000sq ft of office space in the city. I wouldn't be worried. T. Rowe Price is also based in Baltimore and is doing well, and it is true that Baltimore is a mutual fund center, something of a hub to NYC's financial center status.

Eerik

August 18th, 2006, 08:04 PM

I think Legg Mason will stay put...at least for the time being. However, there are two possibilities, which could render this assumption obsolete: merger or change in leadership.

Merger
Legg Mason is still considered small (I think it's placed somewhere in the range of 30 for the world's largest) and nationally while in the top ten, it pales in size to the top five. To date, M&A activity has been focused solely on the smaller and medium sized firms. The big guys have been relatively quiet. It's only a matter of time until they begin to consolidate. If Legg were to be acquired, it would probably happen sooner rather than later.

Leadership
Raymond "Chip" Mason is no longer at the helm. While still active, he's the hailed modern day visionary for building Legg into what it is today, he's the one who has been so committed to staying in Baltimore. While still active in the firm, he's approaching 70. It's only a matter of time before he decides to retire.

So back in May, the Board elected James W. Hirschmann as the new President. Furthermore, it was just last month the Board also named him as the COO. As COO, he is in charge of all day-to-day operations, i.e. home base.

If you follow traditional movement of companies, history tells us firms tend to locate, or be located where the President/CEO considers home. Therefore, if Legg Mason were to move, it is more likely to move to California, since that is from where Hirschmann originally hails. But he could move to New York, as he did to London in the 1990s, based upon strategic moved.

It's still to early to tell what his vision for Legg is...

JAB323

August 18th, 2006, 09:04 PM

Yeah, it's just moving it's hub from another location in NYC. There is nothing bad-sounding in that article. Legg Mason has a presence in many, many cities.

Oh, okay, I thought they were stealing Bmore jobs :)

StevenW

August 18th, 2006, 10:27 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2006-08/24945125.jpg
^^ Very good picture from the Sun, today.

bmorescottamanda

August 18th, 2006, 11:09 PM

That scared me for a second Baltimore can't loss another HQ.

getontrac

August 19th, 2006, 12:11 AM

How the heck can the WTC be half vacant???????? How is it only worth $30 million??? That boggles my mind.

Nate

southbalto

August 19th, 2006, 03:18 AM

can someone link me to a story on downtown baltimore and the commercail space vacency rate.

Its improving, correct?

Baltimoreguy

August 19th, 2006, 04:51 AM

the World Trade Center received a lot of damage from Isabel the basement was filled withj water destroying the mechicall systems and the first floor also had water. The building was closed for a number of month and many companies moved elsewhere. that is the main reason for the vacancies.

JAB323

August 19th, 2006, 04:10 PM

How the heck can the WTC be half vacant???????? How is it only worth $30 million??? That boggles my mind.

Nate

Me too. It seems impossible.

StevenW

August 19th, 2006, 05:26 PM

Federal Hill’s Main Street cleans up its act

Treasures of Russia and the Book Escape are on Light Street in Federal Hill. Bruce Miller, The Examiner
Aug 18, 2006 5:00 AM (1 day ago)
Current rank: # 396 of 4,766 articles

BALTIMORE - A clean business district attracts repeat patrons.

At least that’s the idea behind a new beautification program launched by the Federal Hill Main Street Association, the nonprofit association in charge of revitalizing the South Baltimore neighborhood.

Called “Keep Federal Hill Clean and Green,” the multilevel effort focuses on education, enforcement, maintenance and beautification of the neighborhood.

“People like to shop where it is clean and safe,” said Sonny Morstein, president of the South Baltimore Business Association and owner of Morstein’s Jewelers. “People’s first impression is what they leave with. If they see a business district that is dirty, that’s what they’re going to leave with and they’re not going to come back or say nice things about the area.”

Bonnie Crockett, Federal Hill’s executive director, said that the program has already been successful in working with the city to change trash collection times to 10 a.m. so that businesses that close in the afternoon will not have to place their trash out the night before when restaurants and bars are filled with patrons.

“Trash is an issue everywhere in the city and is the No. 1 complaint you hear,” Crockett said. “It’s a problem with city living, but that’s not to say you don’t do something about it.”

Crockett said that so far the organization has spent between $4,000 and $5,000 to place flower pots throughout the business district and the business association has spent about $15,000 to install hanging baskets in the neighborhood. But Crockett said the true costs will be in the man-hours that volunteers dedicate to the project.

But while part of the effort is on beautification, Crockett said the major push will be on education. As part of the program, the organization plans to develop brochures and fliers and will visit area schools to educate students on litter prevention and have them sign pledges to not litter.

“We want to reach our neighbors at a young age and change their habits basically,” Crockett said. “Once you’ve got someone actively committed to preventing litter and keeping their neighborhood clean, they’re going to be conscious of it on a daily basis. And of course this effort will be ongoing indefinitely. Keeping a neighborhood clean is not something you do once and hope it stays that way.”

More information

» Federal Hill Main Street

1105 Light St.

Baltimore, MD 21230

410-727-4500

www.historicfederalhill.org

bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com
Examiner

bmorescottamanda

August 20th, 2006, 12:25 AM

^^^^^ Good I hope they make Federal Hill’s Main Street look as nice as possible.

StevenW

August 20th, 2006, 01:20 AM

Yeah, I'm for all the improvement that can happen. :yes:

JAB323

August 20th, 2006, 01:58 AM

^^ It's already great anyways.

JAB323

August 20th, 2006, 02:00 AM

^^ They need to fix the public schools, to attract families (and money) although I'm sure Federal Hill Elementary is okay, my brother went there (and is now at Digital Harbor) Key school is nearby and that's magnet.

bmorescottamanda

August 20th, 2006, 02:10 AM

I say build a new city school in a new Skyscraper 60 plus story's LOL. I think we be the first city to that.

BigBalto1

August 20th, 2006, 05:11 AM

I saw an article in the Baltimore Biusness Journal about extending the Marc Train line to th Johns Hopkins Bio Park.

getontrac

August 20th, 2006, 05:14 AM

I'd be curious to how that would work as the NEC already runs adjacent to the proposed Park.

Nate

StevenW

August 20th, 2006, 01:54 PM

Yeah, I'm curious too. Does sound nice, though. :yes:

JAB323

August 20th, 2006, 03:50 PM

^^ ditto.

MasonsInquiries

August 20th, 2006, 05:03 PM

MasonsInquiries

August 20th, 2006, 05:07 PM

^^ ditto.
yeah, this idea does sound nice. it would enhance this biopark project significantly.

PeterSmith

August 20th, 2006, 07:17 PM

I wonder if that is any indication as to where they are expecting the biopark employees to be living. Just a few months ago they were talking about all the proposed housing for that area to accommodate the new employees. I wonder if plans have changed. Where exactly would it come from? Penn Station? What route would it take? If this is the case, why not extend the light rail from Penn to the biopark instead? The metro could be extended from the Hospital to the BioPark, as well.

PeterSmith

August 20th, 2006, 07:21 PM

http://www.pfarc.com/images/05010/04.gif
^^^^^^i wonder what's the holdup with this chesapeake house restaurant project on charles street. i'm really anxious to see it finally get off the ground. does anyone know?

I'm glad you brought this up, cause I've been wondering about it a lot too. With all the new tallests proposed we seem to have forgotten about these kinds of projects (the Greektown towers are another one that seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth). I really hope this gets off the ground soon. Nothing has been done to advance, or even promote Station North in quite some time. The momentum that is had has all but entirely faded, I think. I thought I saw a sign downtown somewhere that indicated something to the effect of a new home for the Everyman Theatre, but I can't remember correctly right now. It was on the Westside, possibly on Lombard. Ring a bell to anyone?

getontrac

August 20th, 2006, 07:40 PM

Well, at least the townhouses on the 1700 block of N. Calvert are coming along. Calvert St has improved quite a bit over the last 2 years.

As I mentioned more than once, a Metro extension along the NEC towards Bayview is probably our best bet for new transit projects and the one most likely to receive funding--much more so than an extension to Morgan--but we can always do both in the long run. An extension of the beleagured CLR to E. Baltimore is probably not feasible. The Penn Station spur itself is problematic enough from an operations point of view.

Nate

StevenW

August 20th, 2006, 07:49 PM

Were there ever any renderings released of the new 22/23 story Greektown towers? :?

fanofterps

August 20th, 2006, 09:24 PM

approved.It will be interesting if State Center, Greektown, Westport, and the 5 residential towers(10 Inner Harbor, 300 East Pratt, Citscape, Guilford Towers) all get off the ground and get built over the next 5 years. The city keeps losing population but these projects would add over 9,000-10,000 new units to the city including another 4,000 planned for Canton Crossing, Harbor East/Point, Key Highway,Routunda and Brewers Hill.

Were there ever any renderings released of the new 22/23 story Greektown towers? :?

PeterSmith

August 20th, 2006, 09:45 PM

JAB323

August 21st, 2006, 02:29 AM

Were there ever any renderings released of the new 22/23 story Greektown towers? :?

Yeah, I'd like to know too.

bmorescottamanda

August 21st, 2006, 03:27 AM

fanofterps

August 21st, 2006, 03:38 AM

is a city owned property on Calvert St near the Brookshire hotel. The city provided a RFP(request for proposal) about 2 years ago and selected the Shelter Group to build a 30-35 story luxury apartment house. It appears to be a long time away from starting. Financing could be the problem.

What is Citscape?

JAB323

August 21st, 2006, 04:32 AM

^^ financing, NIMBYs, etc. there's always something. ;)

StevenW

August 21st, 2006, 10:43 AM

Although kind of blurry, here is a maryland daily record pic of the "Westport" development.

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

Love to read the rest of the article. :yes:

StevenW

August 21st, 2006, 10:58 AM

Baltimore Architecture Foundation to hold Fall Forum

Bruce Miller, The Examiner
Aug 21, 2006 5:00 AM (5 mins ago)
Current rank: # 4,258 of 7,206 articles

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Architecture Foundation will begin its Fall Forum 2006 on Sept. 20. The sessions will be held at noon on Wednesdays, and the public is invited to bring lunches to the Berman Auditorium of the Johns Hopkins Downtown Center, where speakers will lead lectures on Baltimore’s architectural environment.

Some of the featured speakers include WYPR commentator Tyler Gearhart, executive director of Preservation Maryland, and Turner Development Group President Pat Turner. Weekly sessions will be held through Nov. 8. For more information, visit www.baltimorearchitecture.org.

Examiner

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

Very interesting. ^^
Would be nice to go. :yes:
Maybe someone could ask him personally about the Westport project. That, and he may talk about it himself in his speech. :)

StevenW

August 21st, 2006, 11:02 AM

Here is the scheduled topics of discussion:

Fall Forum Series 2006
Fraser Smith :: Maryland's elections
September 20, 2006
Fraser Smith, Sun columnist and WYPR political commentator, analyzes the Primary and General elections.

Charles Balfoure :: Niernsee and Nielson: Architects of Baltimore
September 27, 2006
Niernsee and Neilson: Architects of Baltimore. Co-author Charles Balfoure discusses his new book published by the BAF. Niernsee and Neilson worked on many important 19th century buildings including Camden Station, and planning the original Johns Hopkins Hospital campus.

Tom Balsley :: West Shore Park
October 4, 2006
West Shore Park: Tom Balsley, Principal Thomas Balsley and associates. Noted Landscape designer presents the new city plan for this waterfront park.

Fred Shoken :: Baltimore's Bicycle Masterplan
October 11, 2006
Fred Shoken, CHAP Planner and Bicycling enthusiast discusses the City Bicycle Master Plan, Bikeways, and exclusive traffic patterns.

Tyler Gearhart :: Preservation and Development
October 18, 2006
Tyler Gearhart, Executive Director of Preservation Maryland and CHAP Commission chairman will discuss historic preservation as a major development issue

Pat Turner :: What's Next in Baltimore
October 25, 2006
Pat Turner, principal of the Henrietta Development Corporation The pioneer of Southside development, (McHenry Theater, Silo Point) predicts what?s next.

Jack Waite :: The Basilica
November 1, 2006
Jack Waite, Latrobe expert and project architect for the Baltimore Basilica, details the lessons and discoveries from this important and fascinating restoration project.

Tracey Clark & Charlie Duff :: Baltimore Then and Now
November 8, 2006
Baltimore: Then and Now Collaborators Tracey Clark and Charlie Duff discuss their new book recently published by the BAF and Arcadia Press.

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

also:

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.

Gsol

August 21st, 2006, 03:53 PM

There are several intersting stories in this week's baltimore Business Journal, but unfortunately we are unable to access them. One story discusses the MARC train expansion to the Hopkins Busuiness Park. There is another about the 600 block of Broadway renovation. Does anyone have access to these articles, or at least able to brief them? Some other goodies talk about jobs ncreasing in Balt. another about getting more fans to Oriole games.

getontrac

August 21st, 2006, 04:41 PM

^Did it say Hopkins bio park or Hopkins business park. Maybe there is a difference. Does Hopkins have a business campus along either MARC line between Baltimore and Washington? This definitely critical news.

Nate

Gsol

August 21st, 2006, 06:11 PM

The MARC extention is to the Hopkins Biotech site, not the Busniess site. Can someone brief the story? How likely is this to happen? How would this service be implemented? Much more frequent service is needed then what is presently available. How would the service connect with present mass transit? The MARC right-of-way is very close to the site.

Wouldn't a better option be to extend the subway a short distance from its exisitng terminal at Hopkins? It just needs to extend serveral blocks north on Broadway. In terms of access, rolling stock and ability to provide frequent service this is the best option.

The MARC trains, being a commuter rail opeation, are more detached from exisiting mass transit and operate much less frequently. It is probably a good idea to add a station to the existing line to provide better access to workers comming from the DC area or Harford county. Maybe this is what they have in mind rather than better access for city residents. If they do this more service has to be added. There are much fewer trains operating north of Penn station, and that service is not provided during the midday period. Of course, as in all MARC service, there are no trains on weekends. That needs to change.

Both options, extending the existing subway line and adding service on MARC should be explored.

cgunna

August 21st, 2006, 06:39 PM

whats a NIMBY?

bmore87

August 21st, 2006, 06:46 PM

JAB323

August 21st, 2006, 06:58 PM

whats a NIMBY?

Not In My Back Yard

Eerik

August 21st, 2006, 07:52 PM

getontrac

August 21st, 2006, 09:18 PM

Nate, I must have missed your numerous mentions of that. Where would you propose stations if such an extension was being considered?

What we can do, and what has been proposed at various times in the past, is extend our subway north along Broadway, but then vear east and come out of the ground near Ellsworth St and elevate along the Amtrak/NEC right-of-way. This alignment is similar to the 2002 Rail Plan "Purple Line", except our Metro would feed onto it.

The next, best likely stop would be at N. Patterson Park Ave. This would nicely bracket the Biotech Park neighborhood with subway stops at opposite ends (JHH Metro the other, of course). The next stop would be in Orangeville and then the Bayview Yards area and then turning down the I-895 ROW to Bayview Hospital. Very likely, the alignment would only require about 0.6 miles of tunnel and the rest above ground in some manner.

The alignment would be superior to the extension to Morgan State in the short run because it would allow suburban commuters to access the staion off I-895/I-95 while be done less costly due to less tunneling by utilizing previously existing ROW. Heading through E. Balto. also allows more TOD than either Morgan or and eastside Red Line and travel though the center of town with more feeding bus lines instead of being cut-off by the water like Canton.

Of course, we can always extend the tunnel under Broadway toward Morgan at some future date, more cost-effectively, as the ridership density of the system would be higher. Then we would have a stop at the cross between MARC and Broadway.

The Maryland Department of Planning commissed the printing of an alternate subway plan during the 2002 (rushed) Rail Planning Process, knowing that a single draft plan was an unsound practice. The alternate plan was designed by current TRAC president Edward Cohen. The plan was not a "design-build" plan by a "land reservation" plan. It was drafted to show that metro Baltimore could be a system of X level complexity and still fit together perfectly. Cohen explicitly stated that all of it need not be built, but whatever is built will always work. To acheive this goal, we need a true comprehensive rail planning process which included the freight railroads in addition to preserving rights-of-way, which is something TRAC strongly pushed for with the City's new Master Plan (LiveEarnPlayLearn), and the City agreed with us.

Unfortunately, the Cohen Plan was printed with about a dozen errors, errors too significant to make marketing the map viable for fear of misconstruing the plan. That's why we're looking for some mapping programs that are easy to use and inexpensive. I'm still to computer dense to get with upgrading my skills--it would really help us if we could!

Nate

StevenW

August 21st, 2006, 10:19 PM

whats a NIMBY?
Welcome to the Forum, cgunna! :yes:
please post often. Do you live in or near Baltimore?
As JAB said earlier, NIMBY means not in my back yard refering to when big development is proposed for areas, most likely neighborhoods, and the people, (residents mostly), of the area oppose it because of the "problems" that may or may not occur if and when the 'big development' happens, ie; view corridors, increases traffic, crime, etc.

Here's a picture of the demolition going on for the Hopkins East Bio Park area:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/alternatethumbnails/photo/2006-08/24985393.jpg

:)

StevenW

August 21st, 2006, 11:28 PM

Did anybody see this today?

"Baltimore rowhouse fire spreads to several buildings!"

Printer Friendly | PDF | Email
The Associated Press
Aug 21, 2006 4:46 PM (38 mins ago)
Current rank: # 1,499 of 4,832 articles

BALTIMORE - A rowhouse fire spread to adjacent buildings Monday, sending a plume of smoke skyward that could be seen for miles, fire officials said.

An explosion was reported before fire broke out shortly after 3 p.m., but details were sketchy, a dispatcher said.

No injuries were immediately reported.

Kevin Cartwright, a fire department spokesman, told Baltimore television station WJZ that the fire had spread to multiple buildings on the block, in the Charles Village neighborhood north of downtown.

The building where the fire started is in a block of about a dozen buildings, some of which are vacant.

Television images showed the roof of one building had collapsed, and flames were visible coming from several adjacent buildings. The images also showed fire damaged a separate groups of homes on the block and it was not immediately clear if one fire caused the other.

JAB323

August 21st, 2006, 11:53 PM

^^ How old were the rowhomes?

sdeclue

August 22nd, 2006, 01:28 AM

Ever since the news of Westport, there hasn't been anything to talk about and the site has been dead. I always get excited to come here and look at things but there isn't much going on.

Any word on Greektown towers?

Also, with so many projects at this point, it might be worth putting together a seperate thread where the projects that are being built and only the projects are put so we can keep track of them in one spot.

getontrac

August 22nd, 2006, 01:35 AM

^It's summer; people are on vacation. :)

sdeclue

August 22nd, 2006, 01:38 AM

Yeah i know. I guess I'm just getting impatient because I want these 65 story towers to start going up.

MasonsInquiries

August 22nd, 2006, 01:41 AM

sdeclue

August 22nd, 2006, 01:45 AM

MasonsInquiries

August 22nd, 2006, 01:55 AM

Yeah i know. I guess I'm just getting impatient because I want these 65 story towers to start going up.
patience; we gotta' have patience. originally, i chose only 4 of these MANY towers to actually go up within the next five years (the 4 being 10IH, 300 E. Light, and the 2 guilford towers), but now, i'm starting to have a new outlook on things. the skyline would really make a statement if everything went up. it would really look sharp!

skwilson

August 22nd, 2006, 03:33 AM

southbalto

August 22nd, 2006, 10:46 PM

One question. I think it was baltimoreguy said awhile back that three more towers around 300 feet would be under construction shortly right around the First Mariner Bank building. Is this still the case?

I got a chance to talk to the man himself a couple weeks ago. Ed Hale said that he would break ground on a 20+ condo tower in 2007. They are already taking down the old warehouse to make way for it.

Unfortunaly, I was off the day he gave our group a tour of the new building. They have some 1st mariner staff on the 4th floor already though the building is still full of construction workers.

StevenW

August 22nd, 2006, 11:26 PM

^^ Thanks for the update on Ed Hale's condos. :yes:

JAB323

August 23rd, 2006, 12:02 AM

Ed Hale for Mayor! :)

Baltimoreborn1

August 23rd, 2006, 01:16 AM

Pigtown sites? (http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/08/21/daily13.html) New City Partners LLC, made up of Kirsten Brecht and Joseph Yaffe from New City One LLC and Marc and Patrice Smith of Magnum Construction Inc., will develop the second site, five properties in the 700 block of Washington Boulevard. Both sites will be used for mixed use retail and residential development. Im not sure how big of a project this is. Could highrisers be there or just retail?

Some photos of construction at Canton Crossing.(I dont know how old they are)

http://www.cabcraft.com/images/HPIM0014_0.jpg http://www.gipe.net/Canton-Const.jpg

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 01:48 AM

Yeah, those are a little old. ^^
Close by the condo tower/s should start rising next year. :yes:

bmorescottamanda

August 23rd, 2006, 02:32 AM

Ed Hale for Mayor! :)

I would vote for him But only if O'Malley wins.

Gsol

August 23rd, 2006, 03:34 AM

I would vote for him But only if O'Malley wins.

When does THE WIRE return on HBO?

bmore87

August 23rd, 2006, 05:53 AM

When does THE WIRE return on HBO?

I believe September 10th, Gsol. I wish my school offered HBO. Then again, who does these days.

micrip

August 23rd, 2006, 09:03 AM

The fire was enormous. I live on University Pkwy. in a highrise, and I could see the flames, although they were near North Ave. I have some photos of the smoke, which blocked out about a sixth of the entire horizon to the south.

Saul
It was a big one...5 alarms, 100 firefighters and 40 pieces of equipment. One of the biggest fires in the area in years.

Reminds me of that fire they had in Philly several years ago when they tried to evict that radical group. I believe a solid city block of rowhomes burned in that one...this was one row on one block..20th st I believe.

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 10:59 AM

"Developers picked for two Pigtown blocks"
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published August 23, 2006

New restaurants, shops and apartments are slated for Pigtown's main commercial district under two city-approved proposals for the rebounding neighborhood in Southwest Baltimore.

The Baltimore Development Corp., the city's development agent, said yesterday that it has selected two of the seven teams that were vying to revitalize dilapidated portions of the 700 and 900 blocks of Washington Blvd.

In the 900 block, Historic Pigtown Development LLC plans a $1.6 million renovation of seven mostly vacant properties. The Thirsty Pig restaurant will open in a 3,000-square-foot, ground-level portion of a corner building, with office space on the second floor and four apartments on the third floor.

The Historic Pigtown team will combine another three rowhouses for a ground-level shop with three more apartments on the upper levels. Plans call for an artist's gallery and upstairs residential loft in another building.

The city also awarded rights to develop four properties in the 700 block of Washington Blvd. and one on Eislen Street for one or two first-floor restaurants with eight apartments or condominiums on the upper floors. The rights were awarded to a team composed of New City One LLC and Magnum Construction Inc.

In seeking redevelopment proposals, city officials said they're hoping to attract much-needed retail to the neighborhood, while creating a 24-hour district with offices and residences, said Mary Pat Fannon, director of Baltimore Main Streets, an initiative of the BDC that helps revitalize neighborhood commercial districts.

Fannon said the neighborhood has pent-up demand for apartments that could be marketed to students and workers at the University of Maryland Medical Center and graduate school complex.

Officials and developers are hoping the projects - the neighborhood's biggest ever commercial redevelopment - will stimulate additional retail redevelopment along Washington Boulevard.

"This is a corridor that has not seen much if any private investment over the last 20 years," Fannon said. "It's a neighborhood that's been plagued by absentee landlords and speculators."

Tristan O'Connell, project manager for Historic Pigtown Development, said the team hopes to start construction by next spring and have the restaurant open a year from now.

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 11:00 AM

THIS sounds interesting. :yes:

Route 1 plan rolled out; big win expected

Howard County and state officials yesterday hailed the plans for a $175 million, mixed-use development at the Savage MARC station as a smart use for underutilized space and a good answer to some of the concerns that will accompany the growth associated with military base realignment.

- DORI BERMAN

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 11:03 AM

Commercial real estate market gaining

(Examiner photo )
Jon Cordish of Baltimore-based development company, The Cordish Co. Printer Friendly | PDF | Email | digg
Bruce Miller, The Examiner
Aug 23, 2006 5:00 AM (2 mins ago)
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE - The market for commercial real estate should continue to remain strong through 2007, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors.

For the second quarter of 2006, The Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity, a leading indicator for the commercial real estate, was 119.4, marking a 0.4 percent increase compared with a reading of 118.9 in the first quarter of 2006 and a 2.5 percent increase compared with a reading of 116.5 for the second quarter of 2005. The second-quarter index also marked the fifth straight quarter of growth.

The association’s commercial leading indicator is a tool to access market behavior in major commercial real estate sectors. The index uses 13 variables that reflect future commercial real estate activity, weighted appropriately to produce a single indicator of future market performance.

“On the most fundamental levels, the economics of commercial real estate remain very viable right now,” said John Cordish, vice president of Baltimore-based development company The Cordish Co. “It’s a different market than the residential market, which has its own set of challenges at the moment.”

Cordish added that in Maryland the market for commercial real estate could fare better than other regions.

“What you’ve got in Maryland is a situation, where on a macro basis, it’s still somewhat underserved relative to other regions — particularly in retail,” said Cordish. “So you’ve still got a very attractive environment for retail versus other real estate sectors.”

But while NAR officials expect growth in commercial real estate to continue into 2007, the association’s chief economist, David Lereah, said that growth will be slower than in recent quarters due to other factors in the economy.

“We are seeing a deceleration in the rate of growth — apparently in response to higher oil prices and interest rates — so the expansion in net absorption and commercial construction should continue, but at a slower pace,” said Lereah.

John Hopkins, an associate professor of applied economics at Towson University’s RESI, said that the NAR’s second quarter numbers are indicative of a shift in the overall real estate market.

“It confirms what we’re seeing with today’s economy, which is experiencing a shift in strength from the consumer to the business sector,” said Hopkins. “In Maryland we’re seeing a microcosm of the nation, so it’s no surprise that there is a lot of activity in the downtown area. But the higher growth within the commercial real estate is at the same time that we’re seeing a slowdown in residential real estate.”

Hopkins said, however, that there is a negative aspect to the growth in commercial real estate.

“There is a downside to all this business activity and that’s in the higher oil and other commodity prices,” said Hopkins. “What that is doing is increasing business costs. So what [companies] are doing is they’re hiring at a slower rate.”

More detail

» The NAR is projecting that in the fourth quarter of 2006, between $300 million and $310 billion in new commercial construction is expected.

» $296 billion in new commercial construction was recorded in the second quarter of 2006.

bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com
Examiner

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 11:08 AM

New Hopkins dorm project coming 'down to the wire'
Baltimore Business Journal - August 18, 2006by Alan ZibelStaff
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
Nicholas Griner | Staff
Jim Miller, director of design and construction at Johns Hopkins University.
View Larger For 618 lucky Johns Hopkins University students, the days of cramped, aging dorm rooms will soon be a distant memory.

The long-planned Charles Commons dormitory complex along 33rd Street by Hopkins' Homewood campus is opening next month. Students are scheduled to start arriving Sept. 3, and construction workers are scrambling to finish their work.

"This is a uniquely stressful thing," said David McDonough, senior director of development oversight for Hopkins' real estate office. With parents due to show up with their sons and daughters in tow, he said, there is "no elasticity" about when the building can open.

Jim Miller, director of design and construction in the university's office of facilities management, said the building will be ready on time. Furniture is to be delivered in the coming weeks, he said. Dorm rooms are finished, but workers are still finishing work on a dining hall and common areas.

"We're down to the wire," Miller said.

The dorms, built in one 12-story building and one 10-story building connected by a walkway, are loaded with amenities designed to meet the needs of the student. All bedrooms are private, with shared common areas and kitchens forming more than 200 two-bedroom and four-bedroom suites. There are music recital spaces, an exercise room, a community kitchen, a dining hall with a performance space and a brick oven pizzeria, and student lounges.

Hopkins officials believe the development, which includes a two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore on St. Paul Street that's scheduled to open Oct. 23, will help bring a more lively feel to Charles Village. The neighborhood has a smattering of bars and restaurants but lacks the energy of college neighborhoods in other cities.

While Hopkins guarantees housing for freshmen and sophomores, the university does not have enough space to house juniors and seniors. The university aims to eventually guarantee housing for all undergraduates.

"We're gaining on that goal of being able to say: If you want housing for all four years, you get it," Miller said.

Charles Commons will house sophomores, juniors and seniors picked through a lottery. They will pay about $875 a month in housing fees. The $80 million project is being built for Hopkins by local developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., in partnership with Capstone Development, an Alabama-based developer of student housing.

StevenW

August 23rd, 2006, 11:09 AM

New Town Center Planned For MARC Stop

POSTED: 6:18 pm EDT August 22, 2006

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SAVAGE, Md. -- The MARC train station in Savage will be the site of a new town center.

Advocates said the $175 million Savage Towne Centre project would help meet the need for housing in the growing area around Fort Meade and the National Security Agency.

Under the plan, the state-owned parking lot at the train station would be used for 260 apartments, a hotel, restaurants and shops, an office building and a five-story parking garage.

JAB323

August 23rd, 2006, 02:54 PM

^^ shouldn't this be in MD Development, Steven? ;) BTW, I've been looking forward to all the Fort Meade development and it's coming fast now! :cheers1:

PeterSmith

August 23rd, 2006, 05:29 PM

That area will will very lively once JHU begins classes and students move into that dorm. I wonder how the area will be affected in the summer though when enrollment is a lot less.

PeterSmith

August 23rd, 2006, 05:31 PM

Also, I wonder if that article is any indication that Cordish is looking towards the commercial real estate market. Have they ever developed a major commercial project that wasn't retail and entertainment?

Also, what is the status of their 700 E Baltimore St. tower?

waj0527

August 23rd, 2006, 05:52 PM

That area will will very lively once JHU begins classes and students move into that dorm. I wonder how the area will be affected in the summer though when enrollment is a lot less.
Charles Village will most certainly become more lively even during the summer months. Village Lofts (a condo only building) opens later this year. The Olmstead (another condo building) is under construction too. Also, if Charles Commons is a Capstone project. Capstone also oversees two developments (University Courtyards and University Commons) at Maryland. Lots of kids stay in Capstone developments even when school is not in session.

bmorescottamanda

August 23rd, 2006, 08:02 PM

When does THE WIRE return on HBO?

The 4th season comes out on Sep 10 and the third season came out on DVD on aug 8th.

JAB323

August 23rd, 2006, 10:51 PM

^^ I just got the third season, i've got all three now, but I don't have HBO, so I'll have to wait for season 4 to come out on DVD :(

sdeclue

August 24th, 2006, 01:37 AM

Great news about the Canton Crossing towers. Thanks for the info Southbalto! Just add on another tower rising in Baltimore sometime next year!!

fanofterps

August 24th, 2006, 02:29 AM

There is so much land in Canton Crossing. I get the feeling that 3 20+ condo towers and a 450 room hotel is not the end of the project. Canton is going to be a 2nd downtown soon.

I got a chance to talk to the man himself a couple weeks ago. Ed Hale said that he would break ground on a 20+ condo tower in 2007. They are already taking down the old warehouse to make way for it.

Unfortunaly, I was off the day he gave our group a tour of the new building. They have some 1st mariner staff on the 4th floor already though the building is still full of construction workers.

bmorescottamanda

August 24th, 2006, 03:48 AM

There is so much land in Canton Crossing. I get the feeling that 3 20+ condo towers and a 450 room hotel is not the end of the project. Canton is going to be a 2nd downtown soon.

You mean a third we already have harbor east.

StevenW

August 24th, 2006, 04:03 AM

Add Westport, (when finished), and that's 4. ;)

:yes:

micrip

August 24th, 2006, 09:37 AM

You mean a third we already have harbor east.
For now it's 2...CBD and Harbor East. What would be cool is if CBD continues to expand eastward...then these 2 would become 1 skyline!!! It already appears that way if you are viewing it from down the harbor..say...from Canton.

Couldn't the Johns Hopkins Hospital area be another skyline? What it lacks in hieght is made up for in density. Lot's of smaller towns would love to have a downtown that looks like that.

Gsol

August 24th, 2006, 03:45 PM

Talking about all these high rises and CBDs, isn't construction supposed to start soon on the Harbor Point project? I recall an article around six months ago stating that construction was to begin on the first building in the summer. The site was given the OK by the Army Corps of Engineers the city acceded as well. I forget who the developer is, but he was anxious to get rolling on this.

PeterSmith

August 24th, 2006, 04:34 PM

I thought Paterakis was the developer for Harbor Point....

fanofterps

August 24th, 2006, 04:38 PM

2 apartment or condo buildings and an office building are suppose to break ground Sept 2006 to Dec 2007.

I thought Paterakis was the developer for Harbor Point....

PeterSmith

August 24th, 2006, 04:39 PM

As for the CBD and Harbor East skylines connecting, I think it will be much easier to create the illusion that they are connected than it would be to actually connect them. They are separated by low-rise areas that are already highly built-up and, in some cases, historic. I suppose a skyline could wrap around Little Italy to the north and east (I think that is Jonestown or Oldstown, right?) and eventually connect the two, but that seems many years away, if it ever does come to fruition.

bmorescottamanda

August 28th, 2006, 01:34 PM

For now it's 2...CBD and Harbor East. What would be cool is if CBD continues to expand eastward...then these 2 would become 1 skyline!!! It already appears that way if you are viewing it from down the harbor..say...from Canton.

Couldn't the Johns Hopkins Hospital area be another skyline? What it lacks in hieght is made up for in density. Lot's of smaller towns would love to have a downtown that looks like that.

I would say yes if DC can call there buildings a skyline. Johns Hopkins should be able to.

MasonsInquiries

August 28th, 2006, 09:21 PM

whew!!!!!!!!!!! just went through the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL in baltimore city, everyone. today alone, sixteen students got suspended and 2 got expelled for setting off fires in the building (i teach at sothwestern h.s.).

Originally Posted by PeterSmith
As for the CBD and Harbor East skylines connecting, I think it will be much easier to create the illusion that they are connected than it would be to actually connect them. They are separated by low-rise areas that are already highly built-up and, in some cases, historic. I suppose a skyline could wrap around Little Italy to the north and east (I think that is Jonestown or Oldstown, right?) and eventually connect the two, but that seems many years away, if it ever does come to fruition. i'll be glad when I hear news of ksi services's plans on putting up the greektown project (2 twenty-three story towers and a ton of townhomes). this project is really going to do alot of good for not only the area of greektown, but for the homeowners in that area as well in terms of their propety values.

StevenW

August 28th, 2006, 10:11 PM

New steel plant coming to Baltimore?

Baltimore-based Y&M Development Inc. is looking to build a new, light-steel plant in the city, where it would manufacture framing systems for residential construction projects.
- JEN DEGREGORIO

PeterSmith

August 28th, 2006, 10:47 PM

Yeah, I am anxious to hear about the Greektown developments as well. I would like to see Greektown become a little denser, and these towers and townhomes should help. Ideally, also, the Red Line will extend out there and the train tracks separating Greektown from Highandtown will be diminished as a physical barrier. That walk under that bridge next to that adandoned building is one of the most uninviting in the entire city. It's interesting that KSI is still pursuing this project, assuming they are. Originally, when it was connected to Ed Hale, it was easy to see that he was proposing them because he has a strong connection to the area. But now, with Hale out of the picture, does KSI still see potential in the project? I guess the biopark jobs are driving this one.

PeterSmith

August 28th, 2006, 10:48 PM

As for the Y&M Development news, do they already have a plant in the city? Where would the new one be located?

fanofterps

August 29th, 2006, 02:00 AM

1.Still on for a Four Seasons start by year end. In for permits and financing now. No stores yet, Four Seasons running 2 out of 3 restaurants.

2.January ‘07 - one waterfront restaurant. Residential facing Block ST will have retail. In design stage now.

3.June ’07 - +- 160 unit condo waterfront – Wills Pier. Fall ’07 the ‘head house’ of the first phase with +-220 apartments on Block street. These three buildings are on a common foundation with parking under and constitute the first phase of Harbor Point.

4.We are planning new building at Tide Point for existing tenant in need of expansion. Your info is good!

Best regards and thanks for your interest.

: [mailto:fanofterps
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 6:50 AM
To: Struever
Subject: Four Seasons and Harbor Point

Love your updates . My questions are the following:

1. When will the Four Seasons start? What stores or restaurants have signed leases?

2. When will the first office building in Harbor Point start? Will it have street level retail and how many stores?

3. What is the latest on the residential component in Harbor Point? When will it break ground? How many units will be in each building? Will the units be condo's or apartments? Will the residential buildings contain street level retail?

4. Any other new projects Struever is working on besides Four Seasons, Harbor Point, and State Center for 2007/2008. Heard maybe changes in Brewers Hill pud and maybe a new building next to Tide Point?

Thanks as always for your information.

StevenW

August 29th, 2006, 02:20 AM

^^ That's awesome updated news! :) :yes:

southbalto

August 29th, 2006, 05:36 AM

^^ That's awesome updated news! :) :yes:

I've just about given up on the 4seasons. I'm tired of the delays and wondering if this thing is ever going to get going.

It would be a lovley addition to harbor east but I hate it when they keep missing deadlines.............July start....Aug start....late 2006 start....

Baltimoreguy

August 29th, 2006, 06:17 AM

I registered at skyscraperpage.com to add buldings to the diagrams for baltimore and logged in a couple of times. then over the weekend, I could not log in and they did n;t recognize my email address either. Has anyone else had a poroblem over there. I emailed an administrator two day ago and have to gotten a response.

micrip

August 29th, 2006, 07:25 AM

Baltimoreguy

August 29th, 2006, 09:16 AM

I still can't log into skyscraperpage.com Maybe I should reregisiter.

MasonsInquiries

August 29th, 2006, 09:20 AM

Yes....I could not log on all weekend..must have been closed down for maintenance...
same here

StevenW

August 29th, 2006, 02:25 PM

I'm not sure why ssp and ssc have been acting up lately. It is frustrating, indeed. :yes:

StevenW

August 29th, 2006, 03:13 PM

Developer hopes to build small steel stamping plant

Y & M Development hopes light steel will replace wood in housing construction.
Earle Eldridge, The Examiner
Aug 29, 2006 5:00 AM (4 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 26 of 6,949 articles

BALTIMORE - A Baltimore developer hopes to build a small steel stamping plant in Baltimore that would buy rolled steel coils from steel plants and convert the coil to light-gauge steel for housing.

Yonah Zahler, CEO of Y & M Development, said the steel plant in Baltimore would need about 10,000 square feet and employ 10 to 20 workers.

His company is currently building homes in the 110 to 120 block of South Register in Baltimore that use the type of steel frames he wants to come from the plant.

The homes are townhouses in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood, part of a project called Ropewalk Village. Work began in earlier this month and the first three completed homes set to be ready in October.

“The pricing of steel is getting closer to the price of wood,” Zahler said.

Insurance companies are offering discounts to developers and homeowners because, with more steel than wood, the homes are less prone to spread fires.

“Steel doesn’t act as a fuel like wood,” Zahler said.

He added that because steel doesn’t stretch and bend over time like wood, it can cut energy costs by 40 percent over the life of home.

Steel won’t settle like wood and create plaster cracks or seal leakage around windows, Zahler said.

He added that steel is less prone to wind damage and that helps reduce insurance costs as well.

A steel plant in Baltimore would be located close to major highways, Zahler said. That would help make it easy for large tractor-trailers to bring steel coils into the plants.

“We are in discussions with the city about potential sites,” Zahler said.

The goal is that, as more developers learn about the efficiency and insurance costs related to using steel framing in new homes, that demand will soar for steel produced at the plant, Zahler said.

“This type of steel is more popular in Canada than the United States right now,” he said.

eeldridge@baltimoreexaminer.com
Examiner

bmorescottamanda

August 30th, 2006, 02:12 AM

^^^^ Sounds great I would love for Baltimore to be a big steel city again.

seanlax5

August 30th, 2006, 03:23 AM

Hey everyone, Im back. What # are we up to now, ummm

holy crap #15!!! I missed a lot. So did everyone else! My 1st day of school was on monday, and I actually have teachers that speak good english! Anyway, there was a shooting sunday night up the street from me, the first EVER on our block. Nothing else, but I do have to say that HArbor East looks better, and better every day.

StevenW

August 30th, 2006, 01:38 PM

Md. drivers see a rise in time behind wheel
By Timothy B. Wheeler
Sun reporter
Originally published August 30, 2006
Sheila Welsh doesn't need government statistics to convince her that the hourlong commute from Westminster to College Park is getting more challenging, despite her best efforts to dodge gridlock.

Welsh, 59, rolls out a good hour before sunrise so she can reach her desk at the University of Maryland by 6:30 a.m. But lately, she said, she has noticed more company on her 48-mile trek.

"It's gotten worse," said Welsh, an administrative assistant in the admissions office. "Other folks have decided to leave early to beat the rush."

Marylanders, who endure some of the nation's longest daily commutes, are spending even more time these days getting to work, according to a survey released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. And though still not large, the percentage of commuters opting for public transportation over the stress and expense of driving alone is creeping upward.

The mean time that Marylanders took to reach work last year was 30.8 minutes, the bureau reported in its 2005 American Community Survey, an annual statistical snapshot of the nation. That's an increase of more than a minute since 2000.

Commuting times vary across the state, with Calvert County residents claiming the longest, at 39.4 minutes. Next are Charles, Prince George's and Montgomery counties, all in the Washington area.

In the Baltimore area, Carroll residents reported the longest commutes, at 33.1 minutes, followed by Harford (30.6), Howard (30.2), Baltimore City (28.7) and Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties (tied at 27.8).

Nationwide, only New Yorkers took more time than Marylanders getting to work in 2005, with a mean commute of 31.2 minutes.

Federal census officials cautioned against comparing the 2005 data with that from the year before, noting changes in how the surveys were conducted. Last year's questionnaire reached a larger segment of the population, for instance, moving beyond sampling the state's most populous counties to quiz residents of any place with at least 65,000 residents.

Survey variations notwithstanding, other data have tended to confirm that commutes in the region are lengthening. Recent surveys by the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and by the Texas Transportation Institute, for instance, have reported worsening congestion on the region's roads.

Maryland's highways have grown busier since 2000, according to data furnished by the state Department of Transportation. For instance, the average number of vehicles counted on the northwestern stretch of the Baltimore Beltway every day has swelled from 150,065 in 2000 to 185,262 last year, state figures show.

State Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan called the commute times "a congestion tax that our citizens are paying."

"They are paying in the form of wasted time, traffic hazards on the roads, wear and tear on their cars, ... wasted gasoline," Flanagan said. "All of this is a burden on our citizens." He said the Ehrlich administration responded to earlier reports of Marylanders' long commutes by pushing for highway and transit upgrades.

But Harvey Bloom, transportation director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, cautioned that highway and traffic projects are costly and take years to complete. The region's congestion is "a very difficult thing to build our way out of," he said. And it might just be the price the region has to pay for economic vitality, he suggested, because worsening rush-hour traffic indicates more people going to work.

Adding to the traffic is that 46 percent of Marylanders work outside the county where they live - well above the national average and second only to Virginia in the percentage of border-hopping commuters.

For some, that growth is translating into "extreme" commutes. One in 20 Baltimore residents logged trips to work of 90 minutes or more each way in 2003, the Census Bureau reported last year.

Jean Balent, 27, is one of those. The environmental engineer estimates that her morning commute from her house in Patterson Park to Crystal City in Arlington, Va., usually takes an hour and 40 minutes, with time out to join a car pool in Federal Hill. Her late-afternoon trek home from her job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency generally stretches to two or 2 1/2 hours, she said.

Car-pooling relieves some of the drudgery of driving, Balent said. She and up to three others who share the ride "chitchat, talk about things and share food," she said. In the morning, since they set out before dawn, one or more will try to squeeze in a little extra snooze in the back seat.

Nearly 74 percent of Marylanders reported that they still drove to and from work alone last year - down slightly from prior years and below the national average of 77 percent.

Nearly one in 12 Marylanders reported that they car-pooled to and from work last year. While slightly below the level of ride-sharing reported in the 2000 survey, the figure has been creeping up marginally in the annual questionnaires the past two years.

For Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dave Wilhelm, car-pooling offers a respite from a commute that can take 90 minutes or more each way from his home in Baldwin to the service's headquarters in Washington.

"I don't mind the commute," said Wilhelm, 34. "You get used to it." He hasn't thought about moving closer to Washington because he grew up in Baltimore and prefers the schools here for his children.

Public transportation also appears to be gaining at least a few riders, with more than one in 12 Marylanders saying they took buses, subways or trains - or some combination - to get to and from work last year.

"I think it shows that as traffic congestion is getting worse, more and more people are looking for options," said Dan Pontious, regional policy director for the Citizens Planning and Housing Association.

Ridership on the state's MARC commuter rail lines linking Baltimore and Washington with the suburbs reached record levels in the spring, topping 30,000 riders daily on three occasions, according to the Greater Baltimore Committee.

Dave Wills, 59, prefers to hop over the traffic for what has to be one of the more unusual commutes in Maryland. The commercial real estate broker pilots his Cessna 150 from Hagerstown, where he lives, to College Park, where he switches to a car for a 15-minute drive to his office in Lanham. The air leg of his trek to work takes 35 to 40 minutes, he said.

"All the traffic pilots call me 'Commuter Dave,'" he said.

tim.wheeler@baltsun.com

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2006-08/25130041.jpg

StevenW

August 30th, 2006, 01:53 PM

Light Street Pavilion scores coup with Urban Outfitters

(Chris Ammann/Examiner)
Visitors stop by the Discovery Channel Store at the Light Street Pavilion on Tuesday. Printer Friendly | PDF | Email | digg
Earle Eldridge, The Examiner

BALTIMORE - Marking its entry into Maryland, Urban Outfitters plans to open a store in downtown Baltimore at the Light Street Pavilion in the city’s Inner Harbor area.

The store represents a coup for Baltimore City officials, who were able to persuade the company to locate in the city instead of a suburban mall, and its a jewel for the Light Street Pavilion which witness the departure of City Lights Seafood restaurant that closed on Jan. 1.

“We are delighted to get Urban Outfitters,” said Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

Fowler said his staff, as well as other Baltimore-area groups, organizations and city officials have been reaching out to retailers in hopes of getting more to locate in the city — particularly in the downtown area, which has experienced a recent boom in residential and commercial activity.

“We are seeing gradual rebirth of retail in downtown. If you looked just a few years go, it was hard to find a Starbucks or Office Depot,” Fowler said.

He added that the residential base, which includes an average household income of $75,000 for households within a one-mile radius of Baltimore’s downtown, making it No. 8 in the nation for downtown city residential income.

“When you add in the increasing employment numbers downtown and the number of tourists, it looks real attractive to retailers,” Fowler said.

Christopher Schardt, senior general manager at Harborplace, which oversees the Light Street Pavilion, said bringing Urban Outfitters to the pavilion adds variety to the facility.

“It brings a little more traditional retailer into what has been perceived as a food-oriented pavilion,” Schardt said.

“Urban Outfitters caters to a younger customer,” he added.

The store will take two floors at the pavilion as well as part of the floor space previously occupied by the Discovery Channel store, which after remodeling its site in the pavilion, reopened its doors last week, Schardt said.

Officials with Urban Outfitters could not be reached for comment.

According to the company Web site, Urban Outfitters operates 97 stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, and caters to 18- to 30-year-old customers.

The company “offers a unique and eclectic mix of fashion merchandise in a lifestyle sensitive store environment,” the company stated on its Web site, www.outfitters.com.

eeldridge@baltimoreexaminer.com
Examiner

Sounds nice! :) :yes:

fluffyhorse

August 30th, 2006, 08:53 PM

Daily Record, The (Baltimore, MD); 08/25/2006
Baltimore city panel delays condominium/townhouse development By Louis Llovio

Developers of a proposed Baltimore condominium/townhouse development were sent packing yesterday by the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel, after its members decided the plans being presented had been altered to change the scope of the original master plan. The plans in question were for Wyndholme Village, a mixed condominium/townhouse project by Ryan Homes on a 24.5-acre parcel of land in Southwest Baltimore's Beechfield neighborhood. The developers were hoping to get final approval from the panel, which would have allowed them to move forward on the long-delayed project. But before Ryan representatives had even finished with their presentations, the panel cleared the room.

After a five-minute, closed-door meeting, panel members brought the company representatives back, and told them they would have to start the approval process all over again at the staff level. Panel members said the proposal was drastically different from the one proposed at a preliminary presentation in July. The development group, which was hoping to break ground in early 2007, disagreed with the panel's decision. A representative of the group who asked not to be named used an expletive to describe the panel's decision, as he walked out of the conference room. "This is asinine," he said after asking a reporter not to print his original comment.

Al Barry of A.B. Associates, a land use consultant who works for the developers, was more reserved. "We considered these [changes made] refinements" based on the notes the panel had given developers at the last meeting, he said. Members of the panel, though, saw the revised plans as an entirely new master plan with a new set of considerations.

At the July hearing, members suggested eliminating a 60-foot-wide access road that ran along the perimeter of the proposed development, together with other changes. The recommendations were part of the standard architectural review process. Yesterday's meeting was to have been the final one to see if the changes met with the panel's requests. If the architectural plan with the refinements had been accepted, the developers could have moved forward with the project. Instead, panel members said they saw a "whole new concept." The road they had asked to be removed instead was relocated inside the complex, and a row of five-story buildings was moved to abut forest space. The new plan also changed the mix of condominiums and townhouses.

The plan presented in July contained 212 units, with 156 condominium flats and 56 townhouses. The plans presented yesterday consisted of 290 units — 256 condominiums and 34 townhouses. The 1,500-square foot condominiums will now start at $200,000, or $100,000 less than Ryan officials believed they could get just several months ago. The units will top out at $250,000. Barry cited Ryan Homes' concerns over a changing real estate market for the price reduction. The panel's rebuff is another setback to a development that has been in limbo for a decade.

Ellicott City-based developer James M. Lancelotta originally intended to build a retirement home for the deaf on the land. Lancelotta grew up on the Frederick Road property and his family has a history of deafness. But legal and financial troubles, including an embezzlement scheme at the bank backing the development, have plagued the project since 1996. Ryan Homes now has the property under contract, and is hoping to break ground on the development early in 2007. As for the project moving forward, Barry said he believes the delay will only set the development back 30 days. Panel member Deborah K. Dietsch said that time frame is doable if Ryan could get through the staff review process and onto the calendar for the next panel meeting, scheduled for Sept. 14.

fluffyhorse

August 30th, 2006, 09:02 PM

Did redevelopment plan survive the fire?
Jen DeGregario
Daily Record, The (Baltimore, MD); 08/24/2006

A fire that damaged 17 rowhouses in North Baltimore this week could frustrate a Washington company's plan to develop hundreds of homes in the neighborhood as part of a city revitalization project. Telesis Corp. expected to renovate city-owned properties on the 300 block of East 20th Street, where the fire erupted Monday, and sell them at prices affordable to moderate- and low-income earners, said Michael Mazepink, director of People's Homesteading Group Inc., a local consultant for the project. "That block had a lot of potential," Mazepink said. "There was an opportunity … to go back to single-family houses, and that would bring more homeowners to the community."

The rowhouses were once used as apartments and, until the city took control of them about a year ago, occupied largely by "extremely low-" income renters. Telesis' rehabilitation would likely have enabled the creation of owner-occupied dwellings available to a mix of incomes. But since Friday's fire destroyed such a large portion of the block, Telesis might now have to demolish most of the block and build from scratch, Mazepink said. "It doesn't make sense to come back and rebuild a Baltimore City rowhouse replacement," he said.

In January, the city housing department awarded Telesis the right to develop nearly 300 units of housing in Barclay, a neighborhood that has suffered from disinvestment and crime. Barclay's strengths, such as its adjacency to the city school system headquarters and proximity to downtown, also make it a prime candidate for revitalization. Mayor Martin O'Malley specifically targeted the neighborhood for a major redevelopment strategy.

To that end, the city acquired the 91-unit Barclay Townhomes and nearly 200 other vacant and blighted row houses, packaging them for the deal that went to Telesis in January. The 300 block of East 20th Street, which is close to the school system headquarters, was considered strongest and slated for the first phase of development, Mazepink said.

While Telesis officials worry about the fire damage, the company is doubly worried that it has yet to gain ownership of the properties, said Manisha Gadia, housing development project manager for People's Homesteading. While it has awarded the project to Telesis, the city retains ownership of the properties. Dealing with the aftermath of the fire could further delay the housing department's transfer of ownership to Telesis. "Telesis wants to get its foot in the door in Baltimore, and they've put a lot of time and energy and investment into the project," Gadia said. "What may discourage them is that if there continues to be delays in getting site control of the project."

The Maryland gubernatorial election is less than three months away, causing Telesis officials to worry that a win by Democratic candidate O'Malley could change city leadership and end Telesis' role in Barclay. Telesis officials did not return phone calls for comment. Christopher Shea, the housing department's deputy commissioner of development, said Telesis has nothing to worry about. "I don't think it does delay us," Shea said of the fire. "It simply changes the discussion." "We now have a different reality on that street, and we have to factor that reality into the development," he said.

StevenW

August 30th, 2006, 09:54 PM

What was the name of that development that's being postponed? :?

JAB323

August 30th, 2006, 11:17 PM

StevenW

August 31st, 2006, 12:40 AM

City invests $21 million in 'College Town' project
Leaders tout tax revenue, other benefits of Charles Village area renewal
By Doug Donovan
Sun Reporter
Originally published August 30, 2006, 5:55 PM EDT
The city's Board of Estimates agreed today to spend $21 million to support the "College Town" development that is rising in the Charles Village streets bordering Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Campus, an investment that gives City Hall a profit-sharing piece of the project.

In return for taxpayer-backed money, the city will own a substantial portion of a parking garage that will be open to the public and will guarantee substantial improvements to sidewalks along the St. Paul Street corridor between 30th and 33rd streets.

"That whole corner is really going to be a dynamic, vibrant college town center," Mayor Martin O'Malley said. "It's exciting to see all of that new investment happening in the city and creating a real sense of place at 33rd and St. Paul."

The $170 million project at the intersection of St. Paul and 33rd streets consists of three parts. The first, called Charles Commons, is a Hopkins-financed $60 million dorm tower rising on the northwest corner above a street-level Barnes & Noble bookstore.

The other two are part of a joint partnership between Struever Bros Eccles & Rouse and the Canyon Johnson Urban Fund II started by basketball star Magic Johnson.

One phase, on the east side of St. Paul Street, is the $27 million, four-story Village Lofts project that consists of 13,000 square feet of retail space, private parking and 68 loft-style condominiums. The west side portion is the $83 million, 12-floor Olmstead project consisting of 15,000 square feet of stores, 107 condominiums and a parking garage.

The five-member board controlled by O'Malley authorized the Baltimore Development Corp. to use tax-increment financing and revenue bonds to finance $4.9 million in street improvements and the $15.8 million purchase of a major portion of the parking garage to offer 395 spaces to the public.

"Why are we putting money in this? Because it wouldn't happen without the city investment," said Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency. "And the returns to the city are enormous in terms of direct benefits from the taxes but also the indirect benefits of beginning to create a college town next to our most prestigious and largest university."

City officials estimate that the project will generate $1.7 million of additional annual tax revenues for the city, after paying off the debt service payments on the city's subsidy.

Frank said the city will reap 25 percent of the profits from the project after the developers take their share. He said the developers will convert the sidewalks into brick walkways with new lighting and that eventually new lights will line the sidewalks of two side streets connecting St. Paul Street with Greenmount Avenue.

doug.donovan@baltsun.com

JAB323

August 31st, 2006, 01:02 AM

^^ cool. :)

StevenW

August 31st, 2006, 05:23 AM

^^ Yeah, I agree.

StevenW

August 31st, 2006, 02:23 PM

City approves funding deals for Charles Village project
Baltimore Business Journal - 2:49 PM EDT Wednesday
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
The Baltimore Development Corp. has won approval to acquire a parking garage and fund streetscape improvements for a $110 million Charles Village development.

The city's economic development agency said Wednesday the Board of Estimates signed off on five agreements related to the development, which consists of two projects on St. Paul Street.

One, the $27.6 million Village Lofts project, will include 68 condominiums and 13,000 square feet of retail space. The other is the $83 million Olmstead project, comprised of a 613-space parking structure, 107 condos and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

The city will use $9.9 million in tax-increment financing bonds to finance land acquisition and garage construction, as well as paying for street improvements.

The city also will enter into a profit-sharing agreement with the developer and owner of the project -- CJUF Charles Village LLC, a joint venture of Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse and Canyon Johnson Urban Fund II, a real estate fund formed in part by basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

waj0527

August 31st, 2006, 04:17 PM

Im really excited about the whole St. Paul Street corridor. Charles Village was already a great neighborhood with great offerings, and its getting even better.

Brian21

August 31st, 2006, 05:01 PM

Does anyone know if they are already starting on the Pratt Street sidwalk makeover? It looks like they have started digging up the sidewalk dividers.

waj0527

August 31st, 2006, 06:32 PM

I havent been downtown in a couple of weeks. If I go, I'll let you know unless someone else gets to it before I do.

StevenW

August 31st, 2006, 08:49 PM

Has anyone taken any recent pics of Harbor East and/or Water Tower in the skyline?

PeterSmith

August 31st, 2006, 11:28 PM

Well, I guess that calms my fears about that area slipping backwards again. Actually, I was more concerned about Station North, but Charles Village is so close that these improvements will definitely have a positive impact further down the St. Paul street corridor.

bmorescottamanda

September 2nd, 2006, 04:02 AM

Has anyone taken any recent pics of Harbor East and/or Water Tower in the skyline?

They both look about the same as the last picture's. 414 Water st might have a few more floors but thats it and since Vue Harbor was top off it's look the same.

MasonsInquiries

September 2nd, 2006, 06:11 AM

They both look about the same as the last picture's. 414 Water st might have a few more floors but thats it and since Vue Harbor was top off it's look the same.
^^^^^^^^^^wow, one post today? news in baltimore have slowed down drastically. i take it that this is the calm before the storm.

scando

September 2nd, 2006, 06:22 AM

i take it that this is the calm before the storm.

I think the storm arrived tonight. Wind and rain. They call it a tropical storm, but it's so cold. I think we also may be in a pause point in development. It appears that real estate is crashing and after a good run, the developers may be catching their breath and waiting to see if things are going to improve before they commit.

scando

September 2nd, 2006, 06:51 AM

Im really excited about the whole St. Paul Street corridor. Charles Village was already a great neighborhood with great offerings, and its getting even better.

I'm looking forward to this being done, especially the super-Barnes and Noble. Apparently this will be a regular bookstore combined with the Hopkins student bookstore. Should be a great place for text junkies. With a nearby Record and Tape Trader and some new restaurants, this will be a good hang out for the literate. It will be interesting to see how the music thing works. In Towson there is a RTT a block from BN and I regularly find CDs about 5 bucks cheaper at Record and Tape Trader and sometimes you can find it used for half price. This is a great area in which to live and and once the Rotunda development gets done another big hole in the area will be filled in. The Charles Village/Canturbury-Tuscany/Hampden corridor is, IMHO the easiset and best part of the city to live in that still feels like real city.

getontrac

September 2nd, 2006, 07:07 AM

pennster

September 2nd, 2006, 07:15 AM

I think the storm arrived tonight. Wind and rain. They call it a tropical storm, but it's so cold. I think we also may be in a pause point in development. It appears that real estate is crashing and after a good run, the developers may be catching their breath and waiting to see if things are going to improve before they commit.

Crashing? No. Leveling off? Yes.

scando

September 2nd, 2006, 07:27 AM

Crashing? No. Leveling off? Yes.

Good topic for prognosticators. I think I saw that MD had a 34% decrease, which translates into lots of unsold houses and very nervous sellers, who need to sell before they settle on a new house and have to be thining about cutting their asking price. 34% is definitely a crash in volume. I guess whether that translates into a crash in price is what we will see. I have noticed lately that in my neighborhood, which has been "red-hot", sale signs and incentives like reduced prices and "beautiful inside" add-ons to sale signs have proliferated. Having lived through real estate crashes before, this kinda smells familiar. Fortunately, unlike lots of things, people always need a place to live, aspire to a better house and real estate always eventually recovers, often before other sectors of the economy.

scando

September 2nd, 2006, 07:39 AM

^You may be right, although parking in CV will be back to its horrendous self after the completion of the new projects, perhaps even more so than before. Parking is cake there now, but hopefully this will encourage more people to ride the #22!

Nate

Also, when global warming hits, that area will stay dry.

Parking isn't that great there now but fortunately most Hopkins students don't have cars and it's a pleasant area to walk so it will be managable. CV is about 200 feet up so it's OK until Antartica starts to melt.

bmorescottamanda

September 2nd, 2006, 09:18 PM

southbalto

September 2nd, 2006, 10:46 PM

I not sure but I don't think that Baltimore has decrease in sales as much as the rest of the state.

hey scott,

what's going on whit that new development going in between the Malt shoppe and Shoppers?

South side of Fort. Ave

Luxury townhomes with garages? got any more info on the project?

pennster

September 3rd, 2006, 01:49 AM

Good topic for prognosticators. I think I saw that MD had a 34% decrease, which translates into lots of unsold houses and very nervous sellers, who need to sell before they settle on a new house and have to be thining about cutting their asking price. 34% is definitely a crash in volume. I guess whether that translates into a crash in price is what we will see. I have noticed lately that in my neighborhood, which has been "red-hot", sale signs and incentives like reduced prices and "beautiful inside" add-ons to sale signs have proliferated. Having lived through real estate crashes before, this kinda smells familiar. Fortunately, unlike lots of things, people always need a place to live, aspire to a better house and real estate always eventually recovers, often before other sectors of the economy.

34% decrease compared to what exactly? You need to elaborate. Compared to last year, homes are obviously staying on the market longer (not to mention August is traditionally the slowest sales month), but that is because right now people realize they can wait to buy. Once people start buying again, others will realize they don't have the time they once had to mull over their decision. The market definitely hasn't crashed. That would require a crash in prices as well as in volume (which we're not seeing). Things are leveling off, but not taking a nose dive. Some in the media have been trying to dramatize the situation, where there really is no drama lol (but that is the nature of their job, no?).

scando

September 3rd, 2006, 08:08 AM

34% decrease compared to what exactly? You need to elaborate. Compared to last year, homes are obviously staying on the market longer (not to mention August is traditionally the slowest sales month), but that is because right now people realize they can wait to buy. Once people start buying again, others will realize they don't have the time they once had to mull over their decision. The market definitely hasn't crashed. That would require a fall in prices as well as in volume (which we're not seeing). Things are leveling off, but not taking a nose dive. Some in the media have been trying to dramatize the situation, where there really is no drama lol (but that is the nature of their job, no?).

The exact number was in the news a few days ago as a comparison to last year's sales in August. It's significant because so much of the economy (x-mas sales, car sales, etc) has been rather flat but real estate has defied rationality and climbed to prices that were a fantasy a few years ago. That has been based on very low interest rates but those rates have increased and even with the increase in % of income that you can finance, at some point either sales or price or both have to decrease. That is showing up in scary increases in variable rate mortgages and will start to show up in fixed rates too. All this points to a downturn. This isn't a crash in the larger sense, but it definitly points to a tougher market that will discourage the kind of faith-based, build-it-and-they-will-come building that has sustained the market downtown. As I said, things recover, but we might be in for a rough ride and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see at least one of those mega-tall projects downtown get delayed or evaporate. It's not drama, but you have to wonder how much a developer is willing to gamble on a weak market.

MasonsInquiries

September 3rd, 2006, 12:27 PM

HarborView wins height fight
Housing official says 58-foot rule not violated, despite neighborhood protests
By Jill Rosen
sun reporter
Originally published September 3, 2006
In a blow to a coalition of Baltimore community leaders who say penthouses atop the Pier Homes at HarborView violate height limits and should come down, a city housing officer has affirmed her department's decision to allow the developer to continue building rooftop structures at the luxury waterfront project.

Although neighborhood groups argued at an Aug. 4 hearing that the penthouses - with stairways, elevators and sinks - are more like living space than shelter for mechanical equipment and are in violation of the city's 58-foot height limit, hearing officer Jan Goslee declared the rooftop structures in compliance.

"I ... find that the City's approval of the ... permits to allow rooftop structures or penthouses that are higher than 58 feet is consistent with the provisions of the Key Highway Urban Renewal Plan and not arbitrary," Goslee wrote in a 25-page opinion released late Friday.

HarborView developer Richard A. Swirnow applauded the decision yesterday.

"We are gratified that the Baltimore Housing Authority has upheld what we have always known: That we have never violated any law governing the development of HarborView," Swirnow said in a statement released through RedZone, a crisis-management public relations firm. "And we have never built anything other than what has been specifically reviewed and approved."

But Paul W. Robinson, president of the Friends of Federal Hill Park, one of the association's challenging HarborView, said yesterday the decision disturbingly demonstrates how the city's land-use laws are open to convenient interpretation.

"I'm having a hard time getting my head around how terms like '58 feet' are ambiguous enough to require interpretation," he said. "Something's broken here.

"City Council has to really step up to the plate and acknowledge that one unelected official has the power to essentially void some pretty clear restrictions on height and view corridors."

Robinson said he and his co-appellants will now decide whether to appeal the decision to city Circuit Court.

The clash between HarborView and the community, brewing for some time, escalated in June when the city's housing commissioner issued a stop-work order on the Pier Homes because the penthouses put them about 4 feet over the 58-foot limit.

The South Baltimore area's urban renewal plan exempts rooftop structures from height constraints, but only those that house mechanical equipment. Swirnow has been advertising penthouses with wet bars.

For more than a year before the stop-work order, as the developer continued building the 88-townhouse development, Robinson and other Federal Hill activists tried fruitlessly to get city planning and housing officials and Mayor Martin O'Malley to address the problem.

Even as Swirnow defied the stop-work order and an ensuing cease-and-desist order, officials forced him to shrink the penthouses, get rid of the wet bars and pay $10,000 for new permits to reflect the changes. They allowed him, however, to continue installing elevators, staircases and small sinks.

Believing elevators and sinks were as illegal as the wet bars, the activists appealed - prompting last month's hearing, which filled a city hearing room and lasted nearly 10 hours.

They hoped they could stop Swirnow from building more penthouses and force him to remove ones he had already built.

But Goslee decided that the city's building and zoning codes, which allow elevators and stairs, trump the urban renewal plan.

"I'm disappointed," John Murphy, the community group's attorney, said yesterday. "We thought the ordinance was clear. And we don't think [rules] should just be 'interpreted' away."

City Councilman Edward L. Reisinger, who represents South Baltimore, said yesterday that he will draft legislation to give the council, rather than housing or planning officials, authority on certain kinds of land-use appeals.

"I think planning was in error here. I think [housing] was in error. And I think the decision made by the hearing officer was incorrect," Reisinger said. "We're leaving issues of design and height and location to bureaucracy."

Swirnow said the penthouses "enhance and complete the beautiful architecture."

"Now it is time for the small group of naysayers to join with us and all of our neighbors and continue to make our community - and our City - as great as we all know it can be," the developer said in his statement.

Robinson said he found Swirnow's assessment of the situation "offensive."

"This is not about a small group of naysayers. This is about a very large group of concerned citizens," he said. "He can blow smoke and call people naysayers, but ... we won't be letting him off the hook."

fanofterps

September 3rd, 2006, 05:15 PM

http://www.101wells.com

StevenW

September 3rd, 2006, 08:00 PM

^^ Nice. :yes: Looks like they might have a really nice view of the skyline there. :)

PeterSmith

September 3rd, 2006, 11:43 PM

That apartment development does look pretty nice. I like its location too. How is the area around there? I'm assuming this is a conversion, yes?

fluffyhorse

September 4th, 2006, 12:15 AM

wow, I remember seeing something happening in that building a while ago but had no idea that it was being converted to apartments.

bmorescottamanda

September 4th, 2006, 01:34 AM

I wonder how much they will go for?

fanofterps

September 4th, 2006, 03:14 AM

The building is at the edge of Federal Hill near 95. Area seems nice but could use some more renovation of old warehouses. Rents are going at a good penny or $1,000 to $2,000 a month.

That apartment development does look pretty nice. I like its location too. How is the area around there? I'm assuming this is a conversion, yes?

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 03:22 AM

Just imagine the view if and when those taller towers are built. :yes: :D

Maudibjr

September 4th, 2006, 03:37 AM

Hey I noticed that they were tearing up baltimore St. behind Police headquarters and tat there was some construction next to BAR Baltimore. Is this part of Cordish's highrise plans?

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 05:02 AM

^^ I don't know, but that sure does sound promising. :yes:

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 05:18 AM

MasonsInquiries

September 4th, 2006, 06:39 AM

http://www.arcwheeler.com/projects/414lightstreet/project_414lightstreet.gif
ARCWheeler to acquire ground for 10 Inner Harbor project on September 15

^^
I think this MAY be the date we should be waiting on.
whew, now I can breathe easily again. at first, i was beginning to think that 10IH was going to stall a good 4-5 years.

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 02:27 PM

^^ To be honest, I really never thought that 10 IH was going to be stalled since they e-mailed me along ago telling me that their $$$ was working full speed. However, I do doubt that the "Naing" Towers will get off the ground any time soon. It will probably be a good while before we hear anything on that. I'm confident about 300 East Pratt Street Tower AND the Westport development, too. :yes:
And, ya know, I'm beginning to believe that the Cordish Tower may soon start to see some life. :D

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 02:57 PM

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2006/09/04/

^^ This week's Baltimore Business Jounal on line is all about Realestate. Wish someone had access to the articles. Could be an interesting week in news. :)

ohpenn

September 4th, 2006, 03:31 PM

After the boom
Buyers, sellers and other real estate players adjust in the face of a changing market
Baltimore Business Journal - September 1, 2006by Robert J. Terry and Stephanie WentworthStaff

The game's changed.

The real estate boom in Greater Baltimore is becoming a distant memory, industry experts say. What was until recently a seller's market now seems tipped in the buyer's favor. Home sales in July plunged to the lowest level in more than two years, and the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high, the National Association of Realtors said in its latest sales snapshot.

How are the players in the residential real estate game retrenching? The Baltimore Business Journal asked five people to share their experiences.

The Seller
Guy Anderson thought things would move quickly.

The 52-year-old engineer and his wife figured selling their 2,800-square-foot home in Columbia's River Hill neighborhood -- one of Howard County's most sought-after addresses -- would play out much the way it has for others the past few years.

A few days on the market, maybe an open house, then a buyer with a contract in hand would be ready to snap it up. Or he would get multiple offers at or above the asking price.

But Anderson's five-bedroom home is still on the market, more than 60 days after it was first listed. His original asking price of $725,000 has dropped to $674,900. His real estate agent staged another open house Aug. 27 in hopes of impressing a potential buyer. Anderson knows he is ensnared in the downturn that's gripping the Greater Baltimore real estate market.

Is he surprised? "Completely," he said. "We understood the market was in flux but homes in our neighborhood were selling in a couple of days. A lot of sellers are saying it's taking a lot longer, just hang in there."

"Buyers are just picking everything apart. There's no sense of urgency," added Eric Black, listing partner with the Pat Hiban Real Estate Group and Anderson's agent.

Anderson said he's not ready to panic. He doesn't have to move, motivated to sell more by a desire for something new now that his three kids are in college or on their own.

He watched as the market heated up the last several years and his friends and neighbors began to view a house more as an investment vehicle than as a home, but he said he largely resisted that urge. However, with the Howard County housing inventory not increasing significantly and the region expected to gain thousands of jobs as a result of military job transfers resulting from Pentagon base closures, Anderson figured the time was right "to drag some of the equity out and find a new place."

Now he's weighing his next move.

"The traffic [of people looking at his house] is down, that's for sure," Anderson said. "Everyone decided, it seems, to be cautious, to see what happens."

The Realtor
When the market was hot, it didn't take much to sell a house, said David Politzer, a real estate broker who has been in the business almost two decades.

But as the Baltimore market slowed, "true professionals" were again given a chance to showcase their work, Politzer said. Having a more normal market makes selling a home more challenging because you have to differentiate yourself as an agent, but it's a challenge he welcomes.

He would rather show people why to use his company than jump into the feeding frenzy of a market spinning out of control.

"I prefer this market. It's changing back to normal," Politzer said. "The problem was when the market was hot, agents didn't have to or need to do creative things."

Politzer, 39, said he saw the beginning of a slowdown last spring, and he started working on several promotions to make his Highland real estate company stand out.

Many customers can't buy a home until they sell their existing one, he said. So beginning last June, Politzer started a program to buy his customers' existing houses for cash when they purchase a new one with him, provided the old house was not already on the market with another agent.

He also invested $1,000 into 20 bigger, brighter yard signs. The new purple, red and yellow markers advertise his special offers, and having more than one sign at a property catches potential buyers' attention, he said. Calls from customers driving by properties has increased nearly 70 percent.

Politzer is even offering a satisfaction-guaranteed clause in his contracts. If customers aren't completely happy within the first year of owning their new home, he'll buy it back. Politzer hasn't yet encountered an unhappy customer ready to take him up on the offer -- and for that he says he is fortunate -- but he feels it's made anxious customers more willing to go forward with their purchase.

"Everyone needs a safety net. People are nervous about taking the leap," he said.

The Mortgage Broker
Laura Randall, a mortgage broker with K Bank in Owings Mills, is enjoying the market stabilization.

It has brought with it a welcome return to more normal hours -- 40 to 50 hours per week, instead of the 60 to 80 hours she was averaging last summer, when "you worked with as much energy as you had seven days a week until you couldn't work anymore."

Randall, 37, and a partner run a specialized loan division for K Bank. She works specifically with investors seeking property construction and rehab loans.

When the market was hot last year, Randall wrote 25 construction loans. Investment properties are more expensive loans for borrowers. They usually have higher interest rates and stipulations that buyers must keep added insurance on the vacant properties. It's money contractors are willing to pay when they're flipping a property quickly.

But when the market changed from a seller's to a buyer's market those investors didn't want to continue paying high construction loans for properties they didn't plan to sell quickly.

This year her construction loans have dropped in half. Developers looking to sell houses quickly for a large profit are instead holding onto the properties until prices go up, she said. Rather than selling the renovated properties, investors are renting them and switching from the more expensive construction loans to mortgages.

The Rehabber
Regan Harycki said purchasing rowhome shells was "like a gold rush" last year.

He and his brother Ed were driving to rundown homes in East Baltimore the day that the properties were listed on the market to even have a chance at bidding on them.

And even on the first day the property was listed, several potential buyers were already combing the lot or walking through the attics and basements. Out-of-state investors were gobbling up shells sight unseen.

Harycki, 43, said he has never seen anything like it in the 10 years he has been rehabbing properties for resale or rent. Houses would sit on the market one to two days and have five contracts on them.

"It was crazy," he said.

Bidding wars and an urgency to sign contracts have calmed down this year. But Harycki said he is still paying the same rate he paid last year -- $55,000 to $85,000 for a shell. The difference is that this year he can be pickier and negotiate prices more.

He also isn't running into the hurry-up-or-miss-out battle he fought in 2005. Harycki said the market is "not as aggressive," with shells sitting for two to three weeks.

Harycki and his brother own 90 rental properties between Johns Hopkins Hospital, Highland Avenue, and Baltimore and Chase streets. The brothers bought 60 to 65 rowhomes last year near the East Baltimore hospital. This year they have purchased 25 shells.

They're planning to sell four of them this year to test the market.

Harycki rents 82 rowhomes for an average of $875 a month. He plans to hold onto those properties for five years, when a massive East Side redevelopment project is set to bring a biotechnology park and new retail and residential growth to 88 acres north of Hopkins.

At that time, Harycki expects to attract more than $1,300 on monthly rent at his properties. He and his brother plan to reevaluate the market at that time and market many of their rental properties for sale.

After spending $10,000 to $25,000 rehabbing the properties, he is hoping to sell them in the $250,000 to $300,000 range.

The Buyer
Dan Collins is proudly old school in his approach to buying a home. And for the past eight months that's probably kept him an apartment dweller. He has been unable to find a deal on a condominium with the exact terms he desires.

But the market's shifted to his favor. Tiny condos that once listed for $50,000 more than the $200,000 or so ceiling he set for himself have dropped precipitously.

Collins, 44, rents a two-bedroom Cockeysville apartment, for which he pays less than $1,000 a month. He is on the top floor overlooking a golf course, and until recently his rent included gas, water and trash pickup.

Single, averse to household maintenance and proud of it, Collins also enjoyed renting because he didn't want to take on debt. But his financial planner convinced him of the benefits of owning, which in turn spurred him to start looking at condos.

"Anything where I have to fix a roof or mow a lawn probably isn't going to work for me," said Collins, senior director of media relations at Mercy Medical Center.

But a 930-square-foot condo on Ridgemere Road that he looked at Aug. 27 just might. The $182,500 asking price certainly fits the bill, and if a washer and dryer can fit in the unit, he's likely to put a contract on the place.

"I've been trying to find the four-star candidate and it's been pretty rough," he said. "It look likes all the factors may have finally come together."

--

NewBaltimore1980

September 4th, 2006, 04:28 PM

skwilson

September 4th, 2006, 05:13 PM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.hopkins04sep04,0,3573594.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
From the Baltimore Sun

Hopkins dorm opens, igniting renewal hopes

Complex is key element of Charles Village project

By Gadi Dechter
Sun reporter

September 4, 2006

Though she had hoped for a bit more space, sophomore Jess Buicko nonetheless pronounced her 100-square-foot bedroom in the new Johns Hopkins University residence hall "4 million times better" than her freshman digs on the Homewood campus.

The 18-year-old Albany, N.Y., native was one of more than 600 college sophomores and upperclassmen moving yesterday and today into the $60 million Charles Commons, a two- tower complex at St. Paul and 33rd streets in Charles Village.

The university's first dorm for upperclassmen is the first of three adjacent mixed-use projects in the North Baltimore neighborhood that officials hope will transform a sleepy redoubt into a vibrant "college town" - and address undergraduate dissatisfaction with Hopkins college life, rising town-gown tensions and street crime.

Marketed as Village Commons by lead developer Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse, the $170 million development includes the dorm towers, two high-end condominium projects currently under construction, more than 50,000 square feet of street-level shops and restaurants, and a new parking garage with nearly 400 spaces for the public.

The project will be anchored by a two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore, containing a Starbucks cafe, scheduled to open at the end of October in the dorm complex. The new store will replace a much smaller bookstore in the basement of a classroom building on campus.

Hopkins students yesterday greeted the prospect of Starbucks coffee with more a sense of entitlement than enthusiasm.

"This is probably the only nook of the world that doesn't already have a Starbucks," said sophomore Sarah Ratzenberger of Westchester County, N.Y.

Soon, it will have two.

In addition to the in-store cafe, the Seattle-based coffee retailer will open a stand-alone shop less than a block south, on the street level of the 68-unit Village Lofts condo building, according to Jamie Lanham, head of Struever Bros.' commercial real estate division.

That building will also house a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant, a Coldstone Creamery ice cream shop, a Cloud 9 clothing store, a locally owned stationers and the reincarnation of a convenience store displaced by construction, to be called University Gourmet.

An additional 15,000 square feet of retail space will open up across the street, at the base of the 107-unit Olmsted condominium building, scheduled for completion in early 2008, according to a spokesman.

The only confirmed retail tenants in that building are a Royal Farms convenience store and a florist shop, but Struever Bros. development director, Joshua Nieman, said the company was working to attract a wine bar at one corner, and a "bistro-type restaurant" at the other.

Though Charles Village has a reputation for jealously protecting its quirky, iconoclastic image of "painted lady" Victorian rowhouses and bohemian edge, the mood on the street among students, residents and veteran Charles Village merchants was mostly supportive of national retail chains and upscale shopping options.

"It's fantastic," said Eli Sendelman, 21, an art history major from New York City. "I think it's good to gussy up the neighborhood a little bit. Not too much, but it needs a kick, a swift kick."

When he arrived in Charles Village three years ago, Sendelman said he "didn't understand why the main drag, as it were, was so dismal. Why couldn't they have a little [Harvard Square] going on around here?"

Jerry Gordon, owner of the Eddie's of Charles Village market, said he welcomed the competition from other food-service businesses. "I think it's great. I've been waiting for this for a long time," said Gordon, whose family has operated the store since 1962. "I don't know why it took so long."

Paula Berger, Hopkins dean of undergraduate education, said impetus for action partly came from a 2002-2003 university commission she chaired that found deep discontent among undergraduates about their residential and social lives.

Among the commission's findings was that undergraduates lacked spaces to socialize, shared few traditions other than cutthroat academic competitiveness, and often felt like second-class citizens in a university whose national reputation was largely made on the strengths of its graduate programs in medicine, science and engineering.

"Plenty of evidence suggests that improving residential and social life can go a long way toward breaking an endemic culture of competitiveness and complaint," the Commission on Undergraduate Education said in its final report.

By 2003, institutional and private investment in "college town" projects was a national trend, as the economic desirability of universities as neighborhood anchors was becoming clear, said Randy Ruttenberg, a principal in Fairmount Properties, a Cleveland-based developer of such projects.

Among widely mentioned college-town success stories is a 1998 hotel-and-bookstore development at the University of Pennsylvania that has spawned a robust commercial district next to campus.

Penn's vice president for business services, Marie Witt, said the resulting increase in pedestrian traffic has improved neighborhood safety, a benefit Hopkins officials also hope for in Charles Village, where two Hopkins undergraduates were killed in off-campus apartments within nine months of each other in 2004 and 2005.

During the recent housing boom, median home prices in Charles Village rose from under $100,000 in 2000 to $270,000 last year, according to data aggregated by Live Baltimore.

Tensions between homeowners and students renters-particularly fraternity members who host frequent parties-have risen along with the home prices.

Beth Bullamore, outgoing president of the Charles Village Civic Association, said she expected the new residence hall would reduce undergraduate demand for rowhouse rentals, which would in turn encourage landlords to upgrade them or sell to prospective single-family occupants.

"The best part of this is we get the residential areas back for permanent, full-time residents and the students [go into] space that's more appropriate for them," Bullamore said.

But John Hinegardner, who owns about 200 rental units in the neighborhood, including several properties used as fraternity houses, said demand remained strong, and that rents continue to increase, despite a slowdown in the real estate market.

Indeed, some Charles Village residents worried that gentrification would force them to leave the neighborhood. Jeremiah Spencer, 29, an engineering technician who makes less than $40,000 a year, said he would likely leave the area after renting there for six years, and try to buy a house north of Patterson Park. "I don't want to see Starbucks here," Spencer said. "I absolutely hate those condos. I always wanted to buy a house in Charles Village and now it's unobtainable."

Meanwhile, some supporters of the Struever Bros. development worried that the slumping housing market would stall the neighborhood's revitalization.

About a quarter of the Village Loft condominiums have been reserved with a deposit, according to the developer. Scheduled for completion around the end of this year, the condos have asking prices ranging from the high-$300,000s to the mid-$500,000s.

Penthouse units in The Olmsted will carry prices in the high-$700,000s, but William Struever, president and CEO of Struever Bros., expressed confidence in his marketing strategy, noting that more than half the condos in that building would be offered at less than $400,000, many starting in the mid-$300,000s. That would appear to represent a price reduction, because signs around the construction site advertise units starting at $400,000.

But Struever insisted there had been no markdown. "We're still reflecting increased pricing," he said. "In fact, the pricing we have today is substantially higher that we started with."

gadi.dechter@baltsun.com
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun

MasonsInquiries

September 4th, 2006, 05:45 PM

In case you guys haven't noticed, the Silo Point Tower is in full construction mode. The crain has removed most of the ugly industrial stuff from the top of the tower. This is going to be a great project and will show is Larry Silverstein is a real developer or just small time. He is the same developer for Westport.
oh, ok. at first, i thought the developer for the ENTIRE westport area was patrick turner. i didn't know that larry silverstein was in on this as well. oh well, i guess two developers for westport is better than one. the news about silo point is also good news, NB1980.

i drove past that "100Wells" project the other day straight back on light street near I-95. i had no idea that building was that large. it's really going to look nice when it's finished. buildings like this one is why i love baltimore so much. it preserves the past and at the same time gives it a well-deserved future.

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 06:25 PM

^^ Yes, that is very pleasing to me, too. :yes: :)

PeterSmith

September 4th, 2006, 06:49 PM

That is good news about 10IH. But concerning the Cordish tower, isn't that location a little further east than the one you described, Maudibjr?

fanofterps

September 4th, 2006, 06:55 PM

Cordish has always been a producer like Paterakis so I feel good about this project. Lucky Strike bowling http://www.bowlluckystrike.com will add more to Power Plant Live.

I think 10 Inner Harbor and 300 East Pratt will really appeal to the DC empty nesters. People buying the condo's will have outstanding views of the Inner Harbor.They will likely cost 700k to 900k which is still alot cheaper than DC.

^^ To be honest, I really never thought that 10 IH was going to be stalled since they e-mailed me along ago telling me that their $$$ was working full speed. However, I do doubt that the "Naing" Towers will get off the ground any time soon. It will probably be a good while before we hear anything on that. I'm confident about 300 East Pratt Street Tower AND the Westport development, too. :yes:
And, ya know, I'm beginning to believe that the Cordish Tower may soon start to see some life. :D

Huck

September 4th, 2006, 07:02 PM

In addition to the in-store cafe, the Seattle-based coffee retailer will open a stand-alone shop less than a block south, on the street level of the 68-unit Village Lofts condo building, according to Jamie Lanham, head of Struever Bros.' commercial real estate division.

That building will also house a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant, a Coldstone Creamery ice cream shop, a Cloud 9 clothing store, a locally owned stationers and the reincarnation of a convenience store displaced by construction, to be called University Gourmet.

An additional 15,000 square feet of retail space will open up across the street, at the base of the 107-unit Olmsted condominium building, scheduled for completion in early 2008, according to a spokesman.

The only confirmed retail tenants in that building are a Royal Farms convenience store and a florist shop, but Struever Bros. development director, Joshua Nieman, said the company was working to attract a wine bar at one corner, and a "bistro-type restaurant" at the other.

Wow! This great news. While I can understand some reticence about a bunch of national chains, you have to admit this is awesome news for CV. You will also see a lot of residents of Guilford, Tuscany/Canterbury and Oakenshawe frequenting these businesses. Hmmmmm. Does a 10 block walk to a Coldtone Creamery and then a 10 block walk back home negate the calories? I sure hope so.

StevenW

September 4th, 2006, 07:18 PM

http://www.designcollective.com/_internal/cimg!0/8vvu8jlh53t
Where is construction at now on the Zenith? :? Is it close to being topped out yet? :?

PeterSmith

September 4th, 2006, 07:22 PM

That is awesome news about al the retail coming to Charles Village. I noticed the signs for the Chipotle a few weeks back when I was home visiting my parents. I love that place, and it will certainly do well with all the college students around. The mix of retail is also impressive. It's quite a diverse list. I'd like to see similar mid-rise apartments with ground level retail are built around the area.

fanofterps

September 4th, 2006, 07:26 PM

PeterSmith

September 4th, 2006, 07:30 PM

A little off topic, but something I have been thinking about: With the completion of West Shore Park, and the future natural spaces provided by the Westport development, Baltimore will benefit from some quality green space, but the city still lacks a great park, in my opinion. Druid Hill is large and definitely possesses some prime locations, but overall its surrounded by a very unwelcoming area. It's also poorly kept at times, and its location makes it somewhat inaccessible to much of the city. Patterson Park, on the other hand, has a fantastic location, but it is not visually stunning and its various parts do not blend well together, in my opinion.

So, have there ever been any, or are there any plans to create a world-class park in Baltimore? Do you think a traditional urban park would be better for Baltimore, or a more pristine wilderness park? Could any of the existing parks be converted to fit these needs or would a new park have to be created from scratch? If the latter, where could it be situated?

sdeclue

September 4th, 2006, 09:05 PM

Xander21

September 4th, 2006, 09:53 PM

bmorescottamanda

September 4th, 2006, 09:53 PM

Nice renderings Steven. I had never seen those before. I like them a lot. I actually havent been in the downtown area in probably a month but my guess is the Zenith is around 16-18 floors at this point. I would think it will top out by mid to late October.

The other day I was driving pass it, it looked like 17 floors to me.

fanofterps

September 4th, 2006, 11:37 PM

When the building was proposed, the Baltimore Sun had a picture of the building with a Lucky Strike on the street level floor.

I may have missed this, but has it been announced that Lucky Strike is opening at Power Plant?

StevenW

September 5th, 2006, 02:09 AM

Well, as far as another big park for the city, I would think the best chance would to make one from all the rowhouses being torn down for the Bio parks. Obviously, this land already is planned and designed for a mixed use of homes and retail and office space and some little parks. Other than that, I can't think of exactly "where" another large park near or in the downtown area that would be able to happen.
Anyone else? :?

Brian21

September 5th, 2006, 04:15 AM

^Besides the park thats under construction at Hopkins Plaza. :)

scando

September 5th, 2006, 04:46 AM

We have some nice spots in downtown like Mt. Vernon, Federal Hill and Canton but really nothing in midtown. This project could be our midtown. Cloud 9 clothing http://thinkclothing.com is also coming which caters to college students. Charles Village could really be a college town now.

I've been singing the praises of this area for a long time and I'm really glad to see this development. While Charles Village has lacked in walkable retail for a long time, there are a lot of things about the larger area that I think makes it the most easily livable part of the city. The synergy that comes from Charles Village, Hopkins, Tuscany/Cantubury, the BMA, Hampden, Mt Washington and Roland Park has made it into an area that never has never been in a deteriorated state. Unlike many of the rehabbed parts of the city, this corridor has always been a good place to live and seems poised to get better. When the new Rotunda project happens, it will be another reason to live here.

scando

September 5th, 2006, 04:51 AM

So, have there ever been any, or are there any plans to create a world-class park in Baltimore? Do you think a traditional urban park would be better for Baltimore, or a more pristine wilderness park? Could any of the existing parks be converted to fit these needs or would a new park have to be created from scratch? If the latter, where could it be situated?

I don't think there are any plans for new parks. The city has trouble maintaining the ones it has and most land in the city is already spoken for. Since Baltimore already has a large percentage of its land taken up in parks, we ought to be concentrating on fixing what we have. There is so much land around the Jones Falls Valley, Druid Hill Park, Gwynns Falls, etc that would could have a top drawer park system with some fix up money and lots of lawn mowers. As for the neigborhoods, that's another problem.

fluffyhorse

September 5th, 2006, 08:35 AM

Baltimore does have a lot of park space in Clifton Park, Herring Run, Montebello, Hanlon/Ashburton, Carroll Park, and Leakin Park. However, it would be nice to see some smaller new "pocket parks" and green space as part of the two biopark developments, as both Poppleton and the area north of Hopkins Hospital are sorely lacking any semblance of green. I also thought that I heard about a plan to bring more trees to more of the inner neighborhoods of East and West Baltimore over the next few years. It might be nice to have a new waterfront park along an underutilized industrial stretch, while extending the promenade. Maybe the area near Canton Crossing, along Key Highway, or in Locust Point somewhere.

jeremai

September 5th, 2006, 12:51 PM

Greenways connecting the parks (with pocket parks along the way I guess) would be a good improvement to the park system. There was an article in Urbanite advocating this several months ago.

Hood

September 5th, 2006, 01:16 PM

The post popular park in the city is a park in disguise, the inner harbor promenade. When all is said and done, we will have a park like no other city, 8 miles of contiguos waterfront passive entertainment.

Hood

September 5th, 2006, 01:22 PM

hey scott,

what's going on whit that new development going in between the Malt shoppe and Shoppers?

South side of Fort. Ave

Luxury townhomes with garages? got any more info on the project?

Isn’t that lot much bigger than it has always seemed to be? 27 homes. Garages, new public street (culdesac off of fort). Widening the boyle street alley to allow for parking to occur for both the existing homes (the alley is too narrow now for pads) and for a row of the new homes. This is going to be a good little infil project that adds to the community. They are providing 3 spaces per home so that will help mitigate any parking loss. Plus, that lot is an eyesore now. I am excited to see the finished product.

MasonsInquiries

September 5th, 2006, 08:00 PM

Nice renderings Steven. I had never seen those before. I like them a lot. I actually havent been in the downtown area in probably a month but my guess is the Zenith is around 16-18 floors at this point. I would think it will top out by mid to late October.
yep, it's at 18 floors. i went downtown on my break and took a look at it. it's really coming together nicely.

StevenW

September 5th, 2006, 11:04 PM

Check out all these very interesting articles:

Condos, apartments join 'green' trend in building
Waterview Overlook condos to be environmentally friendly
By Pat McGlone
Sun reporter
Originally published September 5, 2006
Waterview Overlook, a condominium complex to be built in the Harbor West community, will be among the most environmentally friendly buildings in Baltimore.

Developers are using recycled wood for half of all the flooring and cabinets in the units. It uses Energy Star appliances and building materials such as caulk and tiles that are made with environmentally friendly products.

While homes and office buildings have led the "green" building boom, developers are now applying environmentally friendly materials to residential high-rises and apartment complexes in hopes of luring more customers. Though consumers often frown on the higher costs of green buildings - an average of 2 percent to 5 percent more than traditional construction - developers say lower energy bills for consumers can offset those prices in the long term.

A green home or office could mean a variety of things. The building could have been partially constructed with recycled materials or contain energy-saving lights and windows. The U.S. Green Building Council has developed a ratings system known as LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - that groups classes of environmentally friendly buildings into rankings.

Nationwide, green construction that includes commercial and residential high-rise construction has boomed from 38 certified buildings in 2002 to 403 in 2006.

Meanwhile, more than 3,400 buildings are registered and awaiting certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In Maryland, there currently are 10 buildings certified as green.

"People are interested in this today," said Ed Hord, a senior principal at the Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord, Coplan and Macht.

"We architects have been pushing it for a long time but you can't really push it, it has to be driven by the demand side. People have to want it and right now they want it," Hord said.

The trend has emerged in big cities such as New York and Washington.

In Baltimore, Waterview Overlook, a 77-unit condominium building being developed by Consolidated Investment and Management Group, is scheduled to be finished in 2008. Developers say it will be 35 percent more energy efficient than similar condominiums made without such building materials. The condominiums will start at $270,000. When the project is completed, it will be the highest-rated green building in Baltimore, according to Taryn Holowka, communications manager at the U.S. Green Building Council.

A. Rod Womack, chief executive officer for Consolidated Investment and Management Group, says that building green is something new for them but will probably become their standard.

"It generally costs 3 to 5 percent more construction cost to go green," Womack said. "But in the long run, it saves the buyers and renters money in energy costs. So do we get a marketing bang out of it? Probably, yes."

Green materials such as energy- efficient windows, plumbing and appliances are being used in constructing New Shiloh Village in West Baltimore, a low-income rental development for seniors. Its 80 apartments are scheduled to be completed in May. The project is the first development in Maryland recognized by Green Communities, a national environmental program of Columbia-based Enterprise Community Partners. That program is involved with about 100 green projects across the country.

"We see it as a response to providing a healthier-living environment," said Dana Bourland, director of Green Communities, " ... and an awareness in the building community that there is a different way to do business that is more environmentally responsible."

Blair Towns in Silver Spring is a five-year-old apartment complex that was developed with green building materials, said Marnie Abramson, a principal at Tower Companies, which operates the complex. She said the company has found that consumers still struggle to understand what green building means.

"The cost of construction [in general] is so outrageous people misunderstand the value of green. People see green as the low-hanging fruit that they can easily cut off," Abramson said. "We've had other residents with asthma or allergies say that [their symptoms] been greatly diminished because of the lack of toxic material inside the apartments."

Don Tucker, a principle of Environmental Design Group, a green architecture and development firm in Bethesda, says that in their Eastern Village complex, in Silver Spring, an average two-bedroom unit costs $30 a month in utilities because of the geothermal heating and cooling system they set up versus a more typical $110 a month for a regular two-bedroom condominium.

Cathy Edstrom, a resident at Eastern Village, says that when she was looking for a place to live, the green aspect was not a big selling point but she is pleased with the results. The green features at Eastern Village include bamboo flooring and rainwater cisterns.

If Edstrom had to move, she says, "I don't think I'd go too far out of the way ... but if I found a community with geothermal heating I would definitely be interested."

Jenefer Russum, program manager for energy efficiency at the Maryland Energy Administration, believes prices for green products may drop as competition increases. And she said higher energy costs in Maryland figure to make more people consider green building. "I don't know anybody in the state that's not worried about their energy bill."

pat.mcglone@baltsun.com
---------------------------------------------------------

Lockwood Place waiting for right tenant
Earle Eldridge, The Examiner
Sep 5, 2006 5:00 AM (11 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 72 of 9,569 articles

BALTIMORE - It’s prime retail real estate in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on Pratt Street, but the owners don’t want just any tenant to occupy it.

“They have been very selective on who they are leasing to,” said Robert Aydukovic, vice president of economic development for the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, a nonprofit association aimed at attracting businesses to downtown. “They could have leased the building five times over.”

It’s called Lockwood Place and its third floor is home to a Best Buy electronics retail store, which is the kind of big-name tenant the owners, David S. Brown Enterprises, would like to see at 300 East Pratt St. Lockwood Place sits directly across the street from the tourist-heavy National Aquarium and restaurants and shops in the Power Plant.

No one from David S. Brown Enterprises could be reached for comment.

Lockwood contains “90,000 square feet of prime retail space for a mix of upscale retailers and restaurants in a modern three-story glass and steel landmark building,” according to the firm’s Web site, davidsbrown.com.

Aydukovic said Brown Enterprises’ approach to bring high-profile retailers to the site makes sense because of the growing residential units coming to the Inner Harbor area.

“If you look at the way the Power Plant is leased, it’s mostly entertainment with bars and restaurants,” he said.

A retailer like Best Buy attracts tourists looking to get the latest music CD or a camera while in town but also accommodates residents looking to make major electronic purchases, Aydukovic added.

He hinted that Brown Enterprises may be close to signing a deal with a tenant that is part of a major local chain that would offer clothing and other goods.

Brown Enterprises has several other projects and developments in Maryland, including the Symphony Center at 1010, 1020 and 1040 Park Ave. in Baltimore’s cultural district.

Symphony Center features 120,000 square feet of office space with street-level retail suites along with an attached, covered parking structure and landscaped courtyards.

Brown Enterprises also has retail commercial sites in Owings Mills, White Marsh, Fullerton and other Maryland and Pennsylvania locations.

eeldridge@baltimoreexaminer.com

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

City’s superblock ultimatum postponed
Talks between Baltimore and Weinberg Foundation continue

Baltimore City officials are still negotiating with the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation over the redevelopment of the city’s West Side, despite an expired deadline Mayor Martin O’Malley gave the charity to sell properties it owned there.
- JEN DeGREGORIO
----------------------------------

Developers eyeing mixed-income project for East Baltimore

With a long-planned urban renewal project in East Baltimore finally underway, the private real estate market is beginning to pick up steam in the neighborhood.

- JEN DeGREGORIO
-----------------------------
Sure wish we'd be able to read all of those two Maryland Daily Record articles. :yes:

Pretty exciting stuff! :yes: :)

PeterSmith

September 6th, 2006, 12:59 AM

I would like to read those articles, Steven, especially the one concerning the SuperBlock. I wonder if these continued talks are any indication that perhaps there is some substance behind the Weinberg's ambitious plans. Let's hope they don't talk too much though.

I can understand that Lockwood is being picky about their tenants. They have possibly the most prime site in the area now, but I have to wonder if this selection process has anything to do with future plans to erect a tower above the current structure. Perhaps the right tenant will lead to the right funding for such a project.

As for the East Baltimore news, I woujld be surprised if any major news is coming out of that area just yet. It seems a little too early, I would think.

fanofterps

September 6th, 2006, 01:54 AM

I saw a building permit was requested to put up a PF Chang sign for 600 East Pratt.I'm guessing they are one of the new tennants coming to Lockwood along with a another clothing retailer to go with Best Buy.

I would like to read those articles, Steven, especially the one concerning the SuperBlock. I wonder if these continued talks are any indication that perhaps there is some substance behind the Weinberg's ambitious plans. Let's hope they don't talk too much though.

I can understand that Lockwood is being picky about their tenants. They have possibly the most prime site in the area now, but I have to wonder if this selection process has anything to do with future plans to erect a tower above the current structure. Perhaps the right tenant will lead to the right funding for such a project.

As for the East Baltimore news, I woujld be surprised if any major news is coming out of that area just yet. It seems a little too early, I would think.

StevenW

September 6th, 2006, 03:10 AM

Yeah, the "Super Block" issue really has my attention now. :yes:

StevenW

September 6th, 2006, 03:26 AM

Here's a cool article I found at www.urbanitebaltimore.com I thought you guys would like to read. It's actually an, "Essay". Go figure. :D

"Twelve Ways To Look At A Skyline"
Urbanite #16 October 05
And what of those of us who are not painters-and what of still other types of contemplation? And what of Baltimore’s skyline, as opposed to New York’s? In the spirit of extending Hospers’ ideas, and of rendering them more locally relevant, here are twelve further ways of viewing a city skyline.

As unimaginable, until very recently in human history.

Any one of the buildings that make up the Baltimore skyline easily outstrips-in simple terms of scale-any of the structures known to most of our ancestors. The great statue of Nero in Rome, which lent its name to the adjacent Colosseum, was about 37 meters tall, and the nave vaults of Amiens Cathedral in France stand 44 meters above the floor. The famed lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the ancient wonders of the world, is reported to have stood about 120 meters in height. Now consider that the Tremont Plaza Hotel ( 222 Saint Paul Place), only the eighth-tallest pillar in Baltimore’s skyline, also stands 120 meters from ground to crown. The rough equivalent of an ancient wonder stands in our midst, overlooked and overshadowed.

As a touch better than Ankara’s.

Baltimore ’s skyline may outsize ancient Alexandria’s, but its place in the contemporary world is nevertheless rather modest. Using a basic algorithm (the sum of all building heights, minus spires, above 90 meters), Paul Kazmierczak, a self-described skyscraper hobbyist, has assigned each of the world’s skylines a specific total, and is thus able to rank them with some precision. Unsurprisingly, Hong Kong (with more than 3,000 buildings over 90 meters in height) ran away with the cake, and New York finished a reasonable second. Baltimore, whose tallest structure-the Legg Mason Building, on Light Street between Lombard and Pratt Streets-is relatively small at 161 meters, ranked 102nd, just behind Kansas City, but one place ahead of Ankara, Turkey.

As a sign of modernism’s ascendancy.

In 1915, an impish Marcel Duchamp declared the art of Europe dead and finished, and pointed to the American cityscape as a new font of vitality. “Look at the skyscrapers!” he wrote. “Has Europe anything to show more beautiful than these?” A little over a half century later, the painter Robert Motherwell looked back and coolly evaluated the legacy of modernism: “I think that one of the major American contributions to modern art is sheer size.” Baltimore’s skyline (like the skylines of many American cities) is thus a visible inscription of an ideal that emerged in the first half of the last century.

As surprisingly picturesque, in the Georgian sense of the word.

Size is not everything; one also wants a subtler vocabulary. Consider the picturesque. One of the most famous explications of the term appears in the work of William Gilpin, an eighteenth-century Englishman. While dated, his ideas remain fertile. For instance, he wrote that picturesque architectural scenes are usually characterized by a broad combination of styles, instead of monotonous regularity. One might think here of the difference between the giddily postmodern latticework that crowns 100 East Pratt, and the solemn prismatic modernity of the Blaustein Building ( 1 North Charles Street). Or turn to Gilpin’s claim that the most beautiful mountain views were commonly characterized by a pyramidal shape and the “easy flow of an irregular line.” Gilpin never saw Commerce Place ( 1 South Street), with its truncated pyramidal cap and subtle soft curves, but we might guess that he would not have been displeased.

As a valuable concession to the lizard in all of us.

In The Syntax of Cities, written in 1977, Peter F. Smith urged urban designers to appeal to the various zones of the human brain, instead of focusing solely on certain modes of thought and experience. A longstanding tendency to privilege left-brained rationalism had yielded, he argued, a restrictive abstraction and an unrewardingly heavy emphasis on signage. But what of our more primordial, reptilian urges, seated in the limbic part of the brain? Bright color, glitter, and gigantism are associated with limbic perception, and Smith suggested that the inclusion of such features in cityscapes would lead to a more fulfilling urban environment. Baltimore’s skyline answers the call. From the golden cap of the Bank of America Building ( 10 Light Street) to the brightly reflective surfaces of the Wachovia Tower ( 7 Saint Paul Street), the Baltimore cityscape provides a feast for the limbic eye.

As an illustration of the displacement of local congregations by big business.

Until the late 1800s, as Yi-Fu Tuan has pointed out, church steeples formed a prominent (if not dominant) aspect of nearly every American cityscape; indeed, Charleston’s skyline was largely made up of steeples as late as the 1940s. Baltimore’s central skyline, viewed from most points, includes nary a steeple. And, tellingly, when the Bank of America Building-then the Baltimore Trust Company Building-was completed in 1929, promotional materials hailed it as “a veritable temple of finance. Its rugged outlines towering against the sky stand as an evidence of faith in a great city.” Much as banks have usurped the church’s place in the skyline, they have also appropriated its terminologies; and thus temples of finance have displaced more familiar temples.

As the distant descendant of Mesopotamian urban traditions.

Even temples of finance, however, accommodate distant pasts. Among the forms recalled by the Baltimore skyline are the great ziggurats of Uruk and Ur. Involving a series of vast terraces, the ziggurats were vast artificial mountains that seem to have functioned as earthly thrones for the gods, and as ladders between heaven and earth. The emphatic vertical thrust of such structures could inspire, but it could also cause concern; the massive ziggurat of Babylon, which rose more than 60 meters above the ground, was the subject of the story of the Tower of Babel. What would the ancient Mesopotamians have made of the crisp setbacks of the Wachovia Tower, which may be necessitated by planning codes but nonetheless also confidently recall the jagged outlines of ziggurats, or of the rugged, mountainous mass of Charles Center South ( 36 South Charles Street), a prismatic solid that stands 101 meters tall?

As a decent emblem of yugen, a Japanese term that implies obscurity and profundity.

A classic illustration of yugen is the moon partially glimpsed behind wisps of clouds. But the Baltimore skyline, provocatively obscured from a number of angles throughout the city, can exhibit the quality, too. Try looking, for instance, south along Greenmount toward North Avenue. You’ll clearly see the Marriott and the easily recognizable peak of Commerce Place, but the rest of the skyline will stand just out of sight, like peaks blocked by a close outcrop. Or stand at the main entrance to the World Trade Center, on Pratt, on the Inner Harbor, and look to the northwest. A part of the skyline will be crisply framed, but the Bank of America Building- Baltimore’s second tallest-will be fully obscured. There is no adequate English term for the potent, dramatic sensation that a vast object looms nearby and yet remains unseen.

As a possible subject for a series of Kodak Picture Spots.

At a number of amusement parks and zoos across the country, signposts sponsored by Kodak politely mark especially pleasing scenes to passing photographers. The denoted views often involve framed, balanced views of a distant subject: the Magic Kingdom, for instance, seen through a copse of trees. Where would Kodak place their signposts in Baltimore? I imagine them standing helpfully in certain mundane parking lots: in the parking lot, say, beside the Hampden Giant, which yields (especially at night) a surprising view of the skyline, or in the parking lot before the Canton Safeway, from which one can see the skyline rising above a thin middle ground of trees. Each sign would be a silent, generous witness to a scene of composed urban beauty.

As a dynamic reminder of our limited frames of reference.

The city skyline seems permanent, a given-but the apparent durability of every city core is of course only an illusion, rooted in turn in the fact that the city has both a history and a future that exceed our grasp. Come and gone are very large structures: The Tower Building, once a part of Baltimore’s skyline but demolished in the 1980s, was taller than any building that has ever been erected in Washington, D.C. And of course there are constant additions, as well: Think of the planned development of Harbor East. In short, our sense of time is local, and attempting to see the city skyline as an evolving organism can underline the limits of our own perception. When one looks at the skyline one also looks into, but cannot fully conceive, the maw of time.

A s a sort of commercial magnet that can exert a pull on consumers even when unseen.

In 1948, a British sociologist named Tom Brennan conducted a survey of shopping habits in Wolverhampton. His findings were surprisingly simple: The catchment area of a typical store took “the form of a semicircle on the side of the shop away from the centre of town.” This soon became known as Brennan’s Law: Other things roughly equal, shoppers will tend to gravitate toward the city center, opting for a central store instead of an equidistant one that lies in the direction of the suburbs. And so the World Trade Center, rising quietly above the Inner Harbor, is thus appropriately named, at least in theory.

As a reminder of the gulfs that can exist in the city.

Viewed from above, distances collapse-but on the ground, the distances can remain very real. In 1968, the sociologist Herbert Kohl worked with a group of schoolchildren from Harlem, studying their attitudes towards the urban environment in which they lived. He soon realized that the world beyond their immediate neighborhood was virtually foreign; for instance, they had no idea that Columbia University existed, even though they could see the campus clearly from their classroom window. Similarly, when he led his class, by subway, to opulent midtown Park Avenue, the children had trouble believing that it was in fact a continuation of the street that passed through their own neighborhood.

Similarly, Baltimore’s skyline, though visible from points scattered throughout the city, may remain a distant apparition or unfamiliar realm for many of those who call the same city home.

fanofterps

September 6th, 2006, 03:58 AM

They have 25% of the Westside fixed up now(Eutaw, Greene and Paca between Pratt and Fayette). Now its time to try for more and the Super Block is really holding it up.

Yeah, the "Super Block" issue really has my attention now. :yes:

StevenW

September 6th, 2006, 11:03 AM

^^ Yeah, the Super Block is key to 'finishing off' the overall success of the Westside.
I hope the right decisions are made, and asap. :yes:

bmorescottamanda

September 6th, 2006, 11:16 AM

Yeah, the "Super Block" issue really has my attention now. :yes:

Is the super block going to have any high-rises?

southbalto

September 6th, 2006, 03:20 PM

From todays Examiner:
Washington developer shifts focus to Baltimore
"Richard Naing imagines the 60 story twin towers north of city hall will be signature properties that will serve as the 'gateway' to baltimore from 83. Tentatively scheduled for a 2008 groundbreaking, Naing is preparing for a national competition that will yield a "premier architect" for the $500 million project"

There was an article on the bizjournal yesterday about CSX discontinuing its use of the Howard Street tunnel. Cargo is getting too big for the tunnel. CSX is considering a move to Howard county. What will that do for transit?

southbalto

September 6th, 2006, 03:23 PM

Group Vows To Fight For Rochambeau
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
WBAL Radio and The Associated Press

The fight over plans to demolish a 100-year-old Baltimore apartment building appears headed to court.

A hearing officer yesterday upheld the decision by city housing officials allowing the demolition, but preservationists are expected to file an appeal in Baltimore Circuit Court.

The Renaissance Revival hotel, called the Rochambeau, is owned by the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is next to the 200-year-old Basilica of the Assumption.

Plans call for the building to be torn down to make room for a prayer garden.

Opponents say Mayor Martin O'Malley and Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano improperly factored religion into their decision to allow the demolition.

Gsol

September 6th, 2006, 04:00 PM

From todays Examiner:
[b]There was an article on the bizjournal yesterday about CSX discontinuing its use of the Howard Street tunnel. Cargo is getting too big for the tunnel. CSX is considering a move to Howard county. What will that do for transit?

If true this would be a great opportunity to put the light rail under Howard Street making it real rapid tranasit. I hope this is considered.

Maudibjr

September 6th, 2006, 05:40 PM

There was an article on the bizjournal yesterday about CSX discontinuing its use of the Howard Street tunnel. Cargo is getting too big for the tunnel. CSX is considering a move to Howard county. What will that do for transit?

Interesting. I don't know how CSX plans to move freight up and down the east coast then, except for a round-a-abput route through PA.

Do they mean CSX is moving an office or a warehouse to Howard county? They are not building a new rail line there.

southbalto

September 6th, 2006, 06:10 PM

Interesting. I don't know how CSX plans to move freight up and down the east coast then, except for a round-a-abput route through PA.

Do they mean CSX is moving an office or a warehouse to Howard county? They are not building a new rail line there.

Its a shame the article is no longer available. I guess you need a premium access to read the story today. CSX is considering a few alternatives to taking freight through the city. Historically cargo containers were eight feet tall. They could be stacked and the howard st. tunnel could accomodate the 16'. Aparently, containers are increasing in size and CSX will either have to spend enormous amounts of money to update the tunnel or move freight by other means. One possibility would be putting the cargo on trucks to get around the city then continue on by rail....

Again, wish I had access to the full story. They are considering relocating to the Rt 1 jessup area.

It would be pretty great it they could run the light rail through there. Is the existing tunnel wide enough to accomodate double light rail tracks?

quabex

September 6th, 2006, 07:37 PM

If true this would be a great opportunity to put the light rail under Howard Street making it real rapid tranasit. I hope this is considered.

i can't imagine the powers that be spending the money to move the lightrail. it would be millions of transportation dollars that are hard enough to come by. however, considering the relatively straight course of the tunnel, i think it would be a great gateway to the north for the oft discussed, on again off again dream of maglev! d.c. to baltimore at camden yards...through the tunnel and off to philly and new york!

a guy can dream, right?

MasonsInquiries

September 6th, 2006, 08:21 PM

Is the super block going to have any high-rises?
yeah, possibly four that are maybe 35 floors a piece

PeterSmith

September 6th, 2006, 08:24 PM

This is turning out to be a very big day in Baltimore development news. I thought it would be a long while before we heard mention of the Naing towers again. This project has always seemed to good to be true though. $500 million, a premier architect, and a 2008 groundbreaking all seem a little optimistic. I would like to see some concrete work on this project released soon.

It makes me wonder, with ArcWheeler, Naing, Turner, and others seemingly moving forward, what's holding up Cordish?

PeterSmith

September 6th, 2006, 08:29 PM

Freeing up the Howard Street tunnel could also potentially be big news as well. I would love to see transit occupy that tunnel. Perhaps the metro and the light rail could be connected better if it were submerged. It does seem optimistic that the state would spend that much money to submerge an already existing transit line, but it's not out of the question. I think we'll see a good indication of what the future of transit is with our city once further decisions are made on the red line project. If the state decides to half-ass that project, chances are they'll do the same to any future projects, as well as the already-existing ones. If they do a solid job with the red line, there might just be hope for the future of our transit system.

Gsol

September 6th, 2006, 08:44 PM

The Howard Street tunnel used to be double-tracked. Freight and passenger trains shared it between Camden and Mt. Royal Stations (it must have been wider at Mt. Royal Station to spearate freight from passenger trains). It would be a cheap and convenient way to bury the light rail as done in Boston, Phila and San Fran.

The major cost of a subway is the tunneling. With this project that is already done under Howard St. They need to double-track, construct stations and make tunnel improvements. This is a helluva opportunity to speed up the ride through downtown.

The tunnel parallels the existing light rail right-of-way. From the north, the entrance is just where the light rail goes up the incline before the U of B station. The southern end of the tunnel is very close the Camden Yard station. You could not ask for a better and cheaper way to improve the ride through downtown. This would also free up Howard Street for cars and buses. Also improve the street's appearence.

If that tunnel is abandoned I hope the powers that be do not let this opportunity slip by.

quabex

September 6th, 2006, 09:01 PM

The Howard Street tunnel used to be double-tracked. Freight and passenger trains shared it between Camden and Mt. Royal Stations (it must have been wider at Mt. Royal Station to spearate freight from passenger trains).

all of the photos i've seen of the south entrance of the tunnel show a single track leading in, but i know there are two sets of tracks at the north entrance. are there 2 south entrances to this tunnel? i've never really taken a close look!

sdeclue

September 6th, 2006, 09:20 PM

I thought there might be 12 towers as much as 35 floors with the west side project.

sdeclue

September 6th, 2006, 09:23 PM

Also, really good news on the Naing towers. Obviously it is very far from a done deal as a 2008 starting point is not only ambitious but also still a long ways off. With real estate slowing down, I'm not sure it'll end up happening, but I certainly think today's news is a step in the right direction.

Only a little more than a week until news on 10IH!!

Brian21

September 6th, 2006, 09:51 PM

^I can't wait. I sure hope we do hear something on the 15th. Can't wait to see the updated renderings and height! :)

Eerik

September 7th, 2006, 12:01 AM

The Howard Street tunnel is rather narrow by today's standards. Not sure if the entire length can be double tracked. Keep in mind there are several unused train platforms...largest of which is beneath Liberty/Lombard Street. Another location is near Howard and Lexington, adjacent to what was once Hoschild Kohn, which is within a block of the Lexington Street station. But I tend to agree: whatever happens or develops, I hope the city manages to creatively utilize the tunnel.

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

As for the CSX proposal, this is a great opportunity for the Port of Baltimore. In the last thirty years or so, CSX hasn't been very friendly with its home-city. Even before they moved their headquarters out of Baltimore, we've been pretty low on their priority list. CSX has been lackluster in terms of promoting rail/freight service at the port, while the State of MD has been trying to increase freight at Seagirt Marine terminal for a long time.

Getting CSX to vacate would open up new and larger business propositions at Seagirt. It should be interesting to see how all this politically threshes out. Baltimore and Maryland have been paying quite a bit of lip service to this topic for too long...I'm almost giddy with excitement to see us actually take action.

Worse case scenario would be CSX gives-in and helps share the cost of enlarging the Howard Street tunnel as well as the other freight tunnels around Baltimore. They would then opt to stay at Seagirt, and by default would be inclined to increase freight at the port. (And this would be the worst case scenario!) Personally, I think it's going to be some kind of middle-ground, where overall rail service at the port gets shifted, opening up more possibilities. Because right now, the rail service we have is sort of a ménage à trois monopoly, which is crushing our competitive edge...

bmorescottamanda

September 7th, 2006, 12:02 AM

I thought there might be 12 towers as much as 35 floors with the west side project.

That sounds great :)

JAB323

September 7th, 2006, 12:12 AM

PeterSmith

September 7th, 2006, 01:28 AM

I thought there might be 12 towers as much as 35 floors with the west side project.

I remember hearing that before too. Is there even room on the Superblock for twelve towers?

AmherstMan

September 7th, 2006, 01:57 AM

I thought there might be 12 towers as much as 35 floors with the west side project.

That would be sweet.

skwilson

September 7th, 2006, 03:20 AM

The Howard Street Tunnel is presently only one track, but it has space for two (it used to have them).

The real problem with removing rail from the port is that the port would then have no way to ship goods by land except truck, and that would jam the highways - a bit of a problem. Remember, a train can be 100+ cars (or truck-lengths) long. Those trucks could kill Baltimore and the Port with the resulting congestion.

skwilson

September 7th, 2006, 03:22 AM

Rochambeau decision upheld

A stay of demolition to be sought today by lawyer for opponents

By Jill Rosen
sun reporter

September 6, 2006

City officials upheld yesterday their decision to allow the Archdiocese Of Baltimore to raze the 100-year-old Rochambeau apartment building for a prayer garden.

The city housing officer's ruling on the demolition permit rejected the contention of a small group of Mount Vernon residents that Mayor Martin O'Malley and Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano had inappropriately factored religion into their decision.

Amy Wilkinson, a hearing officer for the city's housing department, decided that Graziano was justified in considering federal religious land-use protections as he weighed the benefits of allowing the church to tear down the Rochambeau, which preservationists argue is architecturally significant and integral to the Charles Street streetscape.

"The neighbors argue that the Commissioner was required by law to process the permit 'without reference to' the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act," Wilkinson wrote in a 30-page opinion. "The Commissioner may ... consider the impact of federal law on the legality of a decision to deny the permit."

The archdiocese, eager to proceed with plans for its prayer garden, is grateful that its demolition papers were affirmed, Cardinal William H. Keeler said yesterday in a statement.

"We look forward to enhancing the church's presence on Charles Street and are excited to [complement] the outreach of My Sister's Place and Our Daily Bread with a place for Catholic education and prayer," Keeler said.

George W. Leibmann, the attorney representing the neighbors fighting the demolition, said he will file papers today to appeal the city's decision in Baltimore Circuit Court.

The Renaissance Revival Rochambeau has occupied the corner of Charles and Franklin streets since 1905. Now vacant, it sits next to the archdiocese's famed Basilica of the Assumption, which is slated to reopen in November after a $32 million renovation to celebrate its 200th anniversary.

The archdiocese wants to build a prayer garden where the Rochambeau stands to better show off the basilica. Eventually, church officials have said, they hope to use the site for a basilica visitors' center.

Keeler said the archdiocese plans to move quickly to build the prayer garden, which he said will include flowering trees, perennial flowers and shrubs and statuary.

"It is our hope that this prayer garden will provide people of all faiths with knowledge about the church's long history in Baltimore and with a space for quiet prayer and reflection," Keeler said. "That it is located in the shadows of the architectural symbol of religious freedom should not be lost on any of us."

The archdiocese was preparing to demolish the Rochambeau last month but agreed to hold off until 48 hours after the hearing opinion. That would mean the building is safe until Thursday afternoon.

Leibmann said he plans to ask the courts today for a stay of demolition.

Members of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association who joined a small group of residents and business owners to fight the demolition believe there is hope for the Rochambeau.

"It is time to move beyond legal technicalities and for the mayor and the cardinal to sit down and figure out how to do the right thing for Baltimore," said Paul Warren, vice president of the Mount Vernon Belvedere Association. "So far, the mayor seems to have lost his voice as to the inappropriateness of this demolition plan and the loss of a key opportunity to foster repopulation and retail development of the Charles Street corridor."

At the lengthy appeal hearing a month ago, Graziano and City Planning Director Otis Rolley III testified that razing the Rochambeau goes against Baltimore's urban-renewal tactics of preservation and bolstering residential density along Charles Street.

Graziano stated bluntly that he would have denied a demolition permit to anyone but the church. He also said that he and O'Malley had considered giving the archdiocese a $900,000 subsidy to make it economically feasible for the church to spare the Rochambeau and convert it to condominiums.

Wilkinson said that despite all this Graziano did not err in issuing the demolition permit.

"After considering legal advice that the Church would prevail if it challenged denial of the demolition permit," she wrote, "[Graziano] exercised his discretion not to initiate the process of pursuing City funds to acquire or condemn the Rochambeau."

jill.rosen@baltsun.com
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun