Courtesy to wada guy for getting this article. :)

LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
Developers buy site for Inner Harbor tower
By JEN DeGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer

UrbanAmerica LP and Doracon LLC inked a $30 million deal this week for 300 E. Pratt St., the parking lot that was once home to the News American newspaper and is now one of the last developable spots along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The companies plan to erect a 50-story-or-taller condominium and hotel tower on the site, investing $250 million for a skyscraper atop one of the city’s most coveted pieces of real estate. There is room to build more than 1 million square feet of space.

“It’s the best location in Baltimore,” said Richmond S. McCoy, president and chief executive of UrbanAmerica, a private, New York-based real estate equity firm. “We think its one of the best sites in the entire Northeast, and we’re thrilled to have acquired it,” McCoy said. “It’s 100 percent ground zero, on the Inner Harbor with spectacular views of the water and Fort McHenry.”

Doracon, headed by Baltimore developer Ronald Lipscomb, and UrbanAmerica will act as joint developers and owners of the project, McCoy said. Lipscomb could not be reached for comment. The companies plan to submit project designs to the city by the end of the year and will likely break ground at some point in 2007, McCoy said. A hotel operator will be selected in the months ahead.

“Our intention is to build a five-star building with parking, retail, a luxury hotel and luxury condominiums,” McCoy said. “It will change the landscape of downtown Baltimore.” News of Doracon’s and UrbanAmerica’s tower follows the February announcement of another skyline-altering project. Philadelphia-based ARC Wheeler Group unveiled plans to construct a glass skyscraper rising 59 stories on Light Street, at the long-vacant site of the old McCormick spice plant.

The McCormick site had for years been a favorite topic in real estate circles, with brokers and buyers gossiping about what sort of development would ultimately rise there. After the ARC Wheeler plan was made public, the also juicy subject of the News American lot became an even juicier mystery.

Schulweis Realty Inc. — the company of Harvey Schulweis, chief executive of Town and Country Trust, which merged with an investor group led by Morgan Stanley Real Estate — has owned the property for years and floated a number of unfruitful ideas for the site. In 2001, the company proposed building a $100 million apartment, retail and parking building. But nothing ever came of it.

“The fact that Doracon and UrbanAmerica were motivated to purchase the site … is great news,” said Andrew B. Frank, vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city’s economic development arm. “It’s terrific news because it means something will happen on that site. We lost faith that something would be built there.”

“It’s another example of a national developer discovering that there are opportunities in Baltimore,” Frank said. The Inner Harbor tower would be UrbanAmerica’s first venture in Baltimore. The company has been involved in Maryland real estate, maintaining 600,000 square feet of mainly retail and office space here and in Washington.

Bruce Matthai, a senior vice president and principal of Colliers Pinkard, said condominiums are good uses for the prominent Inner Harbor locale. “Residences downtown is something that the city would really benefit from,” Matthai said. “It would make the [central business district] a more vibrant 24-7 environment.”

However, Matthai would offer the developer one caution. “There are a lot of luxury condominiums that are under construct today,” he said. ARC Wheeler’s plans, for example, call for high-end condominiums and a boutique hotel. The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore found in a recent survey of industry experts that condominiums priced higher than $750,000 were at risk of being overbuilt downtown while condominiums priced below $500,000 would do well.
------------------------------

This is AWESOME news! :D
Baltimore is rising!!! ;)

Good news, but it won't be great news until the rowhouse neighborhoods improve and become desirable again. You can live in a tall apartment building nearly anywhere. Only Baltimore has its rowhomes. I think I'd cry if too many more are lost to urban renewal. Seriously.

Good news, but it won't be great news until the rowhouse neighborhoods improve and become desirable again. You can live in a tall apartment building nearly anywhere. Only Baltimore has its rowhomes. I think I'd cry if too many more are lost to urban renewal. Seriously.
Well, that's happening now as well. Many neighborhoods/rowhouses are refurbishing and some completely new owhouse neighborhoods are being built. Old ones are being demolished. :)

Canton, Brewers Hill, Patterson Park, Burchers Hill, MT. Vernon and Hampden. The rehab market is very hot in Baltimore. Prices for row houses are running $250k to about 600k.


Good news, but it won't be great news until the rowhouse neighborhoods improve and become desirable again. You can live in a tall apartment building nearly anywhere. Only Baltimore has its rowhomes. I think I'd cry if too many more are lost to urban renewal. Seriously.

Go Baltimore!

Steven, I know this is the news you've been waiting on FOREVER! Now let's get some of these 50+ story towers off the ground!!!!

Hell Yeah!

Steven, I know this is the news you've been waiting on FOREVER! Now let's get some of these 50+ story towers off the ground!!!!
This is the ONE project that I've been following for years with much anticipation. This, I hope, will be the project that deserves to be on that plot of land. :)

I had a feeling that it was going to be tall. WOW. 50+floors. Holy Sh it. It should be taller than the Legg Mason. It should be at least 550 feet tall depending on what kind of roofline it has.

^^ Yeah, it will most likely be at least 550 ft. tall. They said it is the "BEST" site on the East coast for development. That should mean a very high quality project that has a great design AND height to it. :)

Harbor East and Harbor Point and now 10 Inner Harbor, Cordish Tower, 300 East Pratt and hopefully the Guilford Towers.

Hotel, condos to rise on former News American parcel
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published July 21, 2006

One of the last prime, undeveloped parcels at the Inner Harbor has been sold to developers who plan to build a 50-story condominium and hotel skyscraper, joining other high-profile projects slated to add downtown housing and radically alter Baltimore's skyline.


UrbanAmerica LP, a New York-based real estate private equity firm, and Baltimore developer Doracon LLC have acquired the former site of the News American newspaper at 300 E. Pratt St. for $28 million. The block, now a parking lot between South and Commerce streets, had been controlled by Harvey Schulweis, president of New York-based Schulweis Realty Co. The company had floated proposals over the years for offices, a hotel, apartments and condominiums, but none ever materialized.

The $250 million project would include 300 condos, a 250-room, five-star hotel and 40,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, Richmond McCoy, president and chief executive of UrbanAmerica, said yesterday. A high-end hotel should boost the appeal of the condos because of the shared amenities such as a concierge, room service, swimming pools and spa services, the developers said.

McCoy said UrbanAmerica has sought development sites in the Baltimore area for about three years. "This one obviously stood out above all the rest," he said. "With all the success of downtown and the Inner Harbor, we think it's a fabulous location."

The partners, which will own the site and develop it in a joint venture, are negotiating with several high-end hotel investor operators, McCoy said.

Construction could begin next year, he said.

A cooling of the area's housing market has not dampened the partners' enthusiasm or belief that demand for condos downtown remains strong, he said. The condos would likely be priced in a range of $600 per square foot, which would equate to about $720,000 for a 1,200-square-foot apartment.

Some housing experts surveyed by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore have cautioned that high-end condos downtown are at risk of being overbuilt, especially those in the $750,000 to $800,000-plus range.

But McCoy said the developers have been encouraged by the early success of condominium projects already under way, such as the Ritz Carlton Residences, now rising on the waterfront at the foot of Federal Hill, where buyers are spending $1 million and up.



Other projects include a condominium tower under construction at 414 Water St., a 34-story tower planned by The Cordish Co. that would rise atop a Metro stop at Market Place, and two 60-story condo and apartment high-rises in the Guilford Avenue corridor downtown planned by Potomac developer Richard W. Naing. Additionally, Philadelphia-based ARC Wheeler is proposing a 59-story glass condo and hotel skyscraper on Light Street.

"We think there's enough demand in the city and the region to support most of these projects, and we'll continue to monitor the strength of the market," McCoy said.

Andrew B. Frank, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency, said the mix of uses being considered suits the East Pratt Street site.

"It is a prime site at the intersection of the Inner Harbor and the central business districts and east of Charles Street, where development is certainly moving," Frank said. "This is at the intersection of three very hot areas."

Developer Harold B. Wheeler, a principal with ARC Wheeler, said having another residential and hotel tower at the Inner Harbor can only boost the downtown market.

"Quality projects like that make Baltimore more of a destination, and people want to live downtown even more," Wheeler said.



Wheeler said he hopes to close on the purchase of the Light Street site, a parking lot that once housed a McCormick & Co. spice factory, by mid-September and to have a deal with a boutique hotel operator by then. That project will also feature shops, restaurants and parking.

The 300 E. Pratt St. site has remained vacant since it was cleared in 1990. Schulweis had proposed building an office tower there in 1989, before the office market suffered a downturn. In 1996, Schulweis proposed an 800-room Westin as a city convention headquarters hotel, a project the city ultimately awarded to H&S Properties Inc. for a hotel that became the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at Harbor East. Schulweis pushed on with plans to build a hotel on the site, before shifting to plans for an apartment tower, then to a mix of apartments and condominiums.



When Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, heard about the sale, "My reaction was, finally something might happen on this site," he said. "It's such an underutilized property."

The partnership is encouraging the new owners to include a significant amount of shopping along with the hotel and condos, Fowler said.

"We believe there will be more and more demand for retail along Pratt Street as more of it starts to fill in," Fowler said. "We'd like to push for more retail to play off the complementary retail at The Gallery," next door on Pratt Street.

But, Fowler added, "given the location of this property, there's little doubt that many different uses could work effectively here."

McCoy said UrbanAmerica usually works with a local development partner and has confidence in Doracon because of the developer's involvement in numerous city development projects. Doracon President Ronald Lipscomb did not return phone calls yesterday.

God, I hope we don't get more "World Class" architecture! I would be nice to see a tall building in this city that actually looks good for once. The old MNB building is still the gold standard of Architecture in Baltimore in my opinion.

I had a feeling that it was going to be tall. WOW. 50+floors. Holy Sh it. It should be taller than the Legg Mason. It should be at least 550 feet tall depending on what kind of roofline it has.

I'm guessing 600+ft. Whatever goes there should tower over The Gallery Tower, and World Trade Center. I'm hoping for a elegant glass/steel tower with a nice crown :) .

^^ Yeah, it will most likely be at least 550 ft. tall. They said it is the "BEST" site on the East coast for development. That should mean a very high quality project that has a great design AND height to it. :)
the crazy part in all this is that we were ONLY expecting 34 floors at best from the 300 east pratt street site, and now THIS????? wow, 50 floors!!! this is like a dream for us. this is fantastic!!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2006-07/24496362.gif

This is a great year for Baltimore development! :) I'm so glad! :)

Baltimore will now have a skyline to match most any other city in the county minus New York, Chicago and LA of course. I thnk this is just the beginning of super talls for Baltimore especially some 500+ footers are built on the water in westport. I believe Baltimore will add 10 new 500+ foot tall building by 2015.
Baltimore's top 10 2012 Remember this is only my speculation
Naign Tower 1 70 floors 850 feet tall
Naign Tower 2 60 Floors 775 feet tall
10 Inner Habor 59 floors 717 feet tall
300 East Pratt 50 floors 600 feet tall
West Port Condos I 50 floors 555
West POrt Condos II 50 Floors 555
West Port Condo's III 50 floors 555
Willy Don Schaefer Tower 37 fllor 592 including 99 foot spire
Legg Mason 40 Floors 548 Feet Tall
Baltimore of America 34 floors 509 feet tall

Let's hope. Maybe Westport could turn into a south baltimore destination.

Baltimore will now have a skyline to match most any other city in the county minus New York, Chicago and LA of course. I thnk this is just the beginning of super talls for Baltimore especially some 500+ footers are built on the water in westport. I believe Baltimore will add 10 new 500+ foot tall building by 2015.
Baltimore's top 10 2012 Remember this is only my speculation
Naign Tower 1 70 floors 850 feet tall
Naign Tower 2 60 Floors 775 feet tall
10 Inner Habor 59 floors 717 feet tall
300 East Pratt 50 floors 600 feet tall
West Port Condos I 50 floors 555
West POrt Condos II 50 Floors 555
West Port Condo's III 50 floors 555
Willy Don Schaefer Tower 37 fllor 592 including 99 foot spire
Legg Mason 40 Floors 548 Feet Tall
Baltimore of America 34 floors 509 feet tall

Better cross your fingers for results like this. :) I am more of a pessimist and think Naing's towers will barely crack 50 if they are ever approved.

Great news for Baltimore!

Housing crunch to hit Baltimore. With new employment growth in the area, Baltimore city is ripe for population increase and to go upward. With 200,000 new jobs in the baltimore area in the next 24 years, the suburbs are filling up and baltimore city has plenty of land for towers throughout the city. I think Baltimore will become a highrise haven. I do think the Naign Towers will go up and be atleast 60 stories tall. I wouldn't be suprised if downtown get 10,000 new housing units in the next 10 years. Thats just downtown, I thnk more highrises will be built in and around desirable neighborhoods. This could wind up being 30 story plus bulding in downtown. I would wager that Baltimore City will have over 800,000 people in 2030.

Housing crunch to hit Baltimore. With new employment growth in the area, Baltimore city is ripe for population increase and to go upward. With 200,000 new jobs in the baltimore area in the next 24 years, the suburbs are filling up and baltimore city has plenty of land for towers throughout the city. I think Baltimore will become a highrise haven. I do think the Naign Towers will go up and be atleast 60 stories tall. I wouldn't be suprised if downtown get 10,000 new housing units in the next 10 years. Thats just downtown, I thnk more highrises will be built in and around desirable neighborhoods. This could wind up being 30 story plus bulding in downtown. I would wager that Baltimore City will have over 800,000 people in 2030.

You're definately right to some degree, the pop. will def. increase, but I don't think quite as much as you predict. As for the Naing towers, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. A rapidly booming city, for sure.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2006-07/24496362.gif :)
Did anyone notice that according to this graphic, it is 5 MILES from Calvert Street to Holiday Street? WOW.

lol....thats the shortest 5 miles Ive ever walked in my life.

Did anyone notice that according to this graphic, it is 5 MILES from Calvert Street to Holiday Street? WOW.

That's hilarious.

LOL! :laugh: :D ^^

^^That can't be...LOL :hilarious