A rep at ARCWheeler said that 10 IH is being "finalized".

Guess that's a good thing.
Anyone have any comments on that?
What it could mean?

I think it means they are ready to move forward. You have to finalize your plans before you can cost out the structure and bid it for construction. Also, they still have to get city approval for the design. This can't be achieved until things are "tentatively finalized" if there is such a thing. I say that because the Design Panel always has changes they want made to every proposal they ever look at.

TOWN THEATER TO BE RENOVATED!

Everyman troupe going to west side:cheers:
By J. Wynn Rousuck and Jamie Smith Hopkins
sun reporters
Originally published November 15, 2006
VERY happy about this. This is great. Yet another downtown cultural offering. Maybe its b/c I skimmed the article, but I didnt see an exact address for this new location. I'd like to goggle it b/c although the article references Eutaw and Fayette, I'm blanking on the actual building. Does any one have the address? Or can anyone provide an additional point of reference? This is really great.

Ok. I've ofund some pictures, but I must be slow this morning. Every publication references this places as being just around the corner from the Hippodrome, but Im just not getting it. I must be slow this morning..lol.

http://www.kilduffs.com/TB4.jpg

http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/neighborhoods/

http://www.livebaltimore.com/nb/

http://www.baltimoremd.com/community/index.html

http://www.bni-maryland.org/

http://www.baltimore.org/visitors/v_bneighborhoods.html (i like THIS website better than the other 4)

:okay:

Ok...Im an idiot. I know exactly where this is. Its on the south side of Fayette between Centerpoint and the new Irish pub at the corner of Fayette and Eutaw.

I was trying to make sense of a building that has a marquee, but the marquee is gone. Good location. Great project. Good for that neighborhood.

Good news about the theatre. I love when old architecture that has fallen by the wayside is renewed with good use. That really is going to be a huge boost to the West side. If only something could happen with the Superblock.....

I think it means they are ready to move forward. You have to finalize your plans before you can cost out the structure and bid it for construction. Also, they still have to get city approval for the design. This can't be achieved until things are "tentatively finalized" if there is such a thing. I say that because the Design Panel always has changes they want made to every proposal they ever look at.
As far as this project starting anytime soon, I hate to say it is still a ways off from getting a shovel into the ground. The Architects timeframe on a project like this to have documents that can be bid out is likely to be almost a year.(9 - 12 months)

Design panel review is simply a look at conceptual drawings and the exterior, which they may be pretty close to. The DD's (design Drawings) are done and reviewed by all parties and then CD's are produced. Cd's are what we bid out to the sub markets in order to establish a GMP. Then a price is presented, contacts worked out and the job is then mobilized.

Some things can start earlier like site work and demo, but as far as going up, I would guess early '08.

That is disappointing news to say the least.

^I dont think its unexpected though.

Some things can start earlier like site work and demo, but as far as going up, I would guess early '08.

Not really unexpected.



Good news on the Town and Everyman, I have thought for some time that this would be the perfect space for the everyman. Its a shame that enterior has lost all its splender.

I do hope that a replacement is found for the N. Charles arts area. That area , for the first time in a while is showing life, I hope that the everyman's move dosn't curb that.

I was looking at something the other day that had the name of the general contractor for 10IH but I can't find it now. I'm not sure if that means things are moving quick if they already have a contractor in place.

WhitingTurner was the contractor

http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/14/magazines/fortune/Bill_miller.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2006111516
Looks like many of the people in charge at Legg are just as in love with Baltimore as we are. Hopefully that means they won't be leaving any time soon.
Also, articles like these help to solidify an image of Baltimore as a large, white-collar, financial center, rather than the misconceived perception of it as an ailing rust belt city. Articles like this= flashy business attracted to Baltimore which = a more well endowed skyline.

As far as this project starting anytime soon, I hate to say it is still a ways off from getting a shovel into the ground. The Architects timeframe on a project like this to have documents that can be bid out is likely to be almost a year.(9 - 12 months)

Design panel review is simply a look at conceptual drawings and the exterior, which they may be pretty close to. The DD's (design Drawings) are done and reviewed by all parties and then CD's are produced. Cd's are what we bid out to the sub markets in order to establish a GMP. Then a price is presented, contacts worked out and the job is then mobilized.

Some things can start earlier like site work and demo, but as far as going up, I would guess early '08.

Great insight, Construction! Thanks. :yes:
You should post more often. :)


In other news:

Centerpoint development hailed as latest piece of west side revitalization
Baltimore Business Journal - 2:40 PM EST Wednesday

After several years and $1 billion in completed projects, one of the biggest pieces of downtown Baltimore's west side revitalization is complete.

Construction on Centerpoint, the $85 million mixed-use development considered the largest residential and retail complex included in the west side refurbishment, is done, officials said Wednesday.


And, in a move civic leaders say will further the return of Eutaw Street to its historic focus as a live theater district, Bank of America said it will renovate the once-famous and long-vacant Town Theater and donate the building to Everyman Theatre, a regional theater group.

Officials were expected to expected to give tours of Centerpoint, and unveil the Town Theater deal, in a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

The $62 million renovation of the Hippodrome was finished in 2004 and set into a motion a wave of development that has seen several new retail and restaurant concepts opening doors in recent months in the area bordered by Howard, Baltimore, Eutaw and Fayette streets, including a Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX).

Centerpoint includes a newly constructed 18-story tower, two new mid-rise buildings, nine restored historic structures. Almost 400 luxury apartments, 33,000 square feet of retail space and a 410-space parking garage have been built.

Bank of America, Dawson Company and WestSide Renaissance Inc. have led the development.

The Baltimore Business Journal reported in May that Bank of America, which financed Centerpoint, planned to revive the Town Theatre and were in talks with Everyman Theatre and other groups about occupying the restored Beaux Arts-style building.

Everyman Theatre officials were on the hunt for a larger venue to expand its seating capacity.

"As a leader in community development in Baltimore and across the country, Bank of America understands the critical role dynamic urban neighborhoods play in creating a high quality of life in our cities," said Laura Gamble, president of Bank of America Maryland, in a statement. "Centerpoint provides vibrant proof that our historic downtown neighborhoods are places people want to live, work and enjoy themselves."

Thanks for posting the article on the TOWN THEATER, wada guy! :yes:

:D Very cool. :yes:

As far as this project starting anytime soon, I hate to say it is still a ways off from getting a shovel into the ground. The Architects timeframe on a project like this to have documents that can be bid out is likely to be almost a year.(9 - 12 months)

Design panel review is simply a look at conceptual drawings and the exterior, which they may be pretty close to. The DD's (design Drawings) are done and reviewed by all parties and then CD's are produced. Cd's are what we bid out to the sub markets in order to establish a GMP. Then a price is presented, contacts worked out and the job is then mobilized.

Some things can start earlier like site work and demo, but as far as going up, I would guess early '08.

Huh? I didn't mean to imply that they were going to put a shovel in the ground next week, as much as I would like them to. Perhaps I should have been more explicit. It SEEMS AS THOUGH THEY ARE STICKING TO THE SCHEDULE THAT WAS POSTED HERE. That schedule came from an Arc Wheeler e-mail and outlined their plans. I believe "finalization" is the next step in the process after "concept". So that to me = proceeding!

So they are indeed progressing. It means they now know how much of the project will be hotel, what flag it will carry, how many units of housing it will have, what type they will be, how much retail it will have, and how much office space will be in the project. Drawings and design approval is next. So the fact they are "finalizing" can be nothing but good news. Don't you think so? It also allows them to proceed with arranging construction and permanent project financing AND it allows them to proceed with design approval.

http://i.cnn.net/money/2006/11/14/magazines/fortune/Bill_miller.fortune/bill_miller.03.jpg
Wonk at work: Miller on the Baltimore waterfront. His idea factory, Legg Mason, is in the background.



Whats wrong with this picture?

http://i.cnn.net/money/2006/11/14/magazines/fortune/Bill_miller.fortune/bill_miller.03.jpg
Wonk at work: Miller on the Baltimore waterfront. His idea factory, Legg Mason, is in the background.



Whats wrong with this picture?

Perhaps he works for T. Rowe Price now! Or could it be T.Rowe Price is the next company Legg Mason will buy?

Wada,

Your new building is looking great btw. I saw the interior pictures you uploaded....Love the hardwood and the kitchen cabinets.

Perhaps he works for T. Rowe Price now! Or could it be T.Rowe Price is the next company Legg Mason will buy?
...or the writer thinks Legg Mason is still located at 200 E. Pratt Street, where they once were housed.

Re: The Town Theatre...

Much of the original interior is still intact; the main retrofitting between 1960 and 1980 did alter the interior space configuration quite a bit, but for the most part, allot of it is still salvageable.

I'd love to see the interior spaces restored, but the reported budget for this project prohibits it from happening. Besides, we can't have The Town out stage the Hipp, can we?

Please help me, as I am confused!! if you visit this web site below it says 10 I.H.
is to be 60 floors and 1.6 million s.f.
What happened to 59 floors and 1.3 million s.f.
http://www2.arcproperties.com/graphics/pdf/October2006_Baltimore.pdf

Good news about the theatre. I love when old architecture that has fallen by the wayside is renewed with good use. That really is going to be a huge boost to the West side. If only something could happen with the Superblock.....

I'm really glad to see this happening. I wish something similar could have happened before so many other theaters in the area were demolished. In the Hippodrome there are pictures of about a dozen ornate vaudeville theaters in the vicinity of the Westside back about a hundred years ago, but most of them are long gone. The old Town theater a few blocks up Howard is still there but I think the roof collapsed years ago and there is on old theater on Park Ave just above Lexington that has been a store for years. I wish those could be recycled too. I hope that something good happens to the current Everyman building on Charles so we don't start some sort of theatrical game of musical chairs. 4 or 5 theaters in the Westside would be great.

Any chance Legg Mason decides to build themselves a new tower in Baltimore that rises higher than the current one?

Only if the vacancy rate tightens up a bit, I think. Because if they did, they'd flood the market with space from the huge current Legg Mason building.

Nate

Any chance Legg Mason decides to build themselves a new tower in Baltimore that rises higher than the current one?

Them or T Rowe are your best bet for a tower that waasn't purely speculative. Although both of them have large campuses in Owings Mills so its unlikely.

With the Everyman moving to the Westside, it looks like that area is finally getting over that hump that it has had so much trouble with before. Good news. Here are a few more projects that we should be expecting to see in that area soon. I got these off the BDC website:

Baltimore, MD (November 1, 2006) – In response to a recently issued Request for Proposals (RFP) for several Westside scattered sites, the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), on behalf of the City of Baltimore, today announced it has awarded the redevelopment rights for three properties (313 West Franklin Street, 612 North Howard Street and 324-326 Park Avenue) to three development teams. BDC will enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Privilege (ENP) with each of the developers.



Redniwa, Inc. (Ann Winder, Baltimore, MD)) was awarded 313 West Franklin Street. Ms. Winder, the owner of the Place Lounge, a bar/lounge on the first level of 315 West Franklin Street, proposes to acquire the property at 313 West Franklin Street for an expansion of her business and for an apartment on the second floor. Other members of the development team include: K. Lechleiter Architect, LLC (architect); J.M. Murphy Enterprises and DAW Contracting (construction management); and Savage Realty (realtor).



602 N. Howard Street, LLC/Landex Corporation (Peter Siegel, Linthicum, MD) was selected for 612 North Howard Street. This team intends to include the property in a larger redevelopment plan for the west side of the 600 block of North Howard Street, including residential, parking and commercial space. Members of this development team include: Parameter, Inc. (architect); Doracon Contracting (general contractor); Gower Thompson, Inc. (civil engineer); Skarda & Associates (structural engineer); Schlenger Pitz (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer); and Bacon First Choice (marketing and sales).



Okoro Development Company (Chukuemeka Okoro, Baltimore, MD) was awarded 324-326 Park Avenue. Plans for this site call for the creation of a mixed-use commercial office/residential project with office space on the first floor and residential use on the second and third floors. Project team members include: Harris-Kupfer Architects, Inc. (architect); U.K. Construction & Management, LLC (general contractor); QPS, Inc. (structural engineer); DDG Engineering, Inc. (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer); and Miles and Associates (leasing agent).



“The development of these Westside properties provide a special opportunity for each developer to participate in one of downtown Baltimore’s most significant revitalization efforts,” said BDC President M.J. “Jay” Brodie. “These projects will remove blight, continue private investment in the area and add to the vitality of the Westside.”



In July, BDC received 11 proposals in response to its RFP for several Westside properties. Proposals for 121 North Greene Street and 200 West Saratoga Street are still under review.

Any chance Legg Mason decides to build themselves a new tower in Baltimore that rises higher than the current one?

from my "birdie" at legg mason, there is ZERO chance of a tower from them. it really sounds like their downtone operation will be folded into a remote campus in owings mills, with the rest going to NYC. with NYC being high profile and baltimore being service based, they don't need to impress clients in the baltimore area.

sadly, it sounds like they are close to deciding to leave in the next 5 years.

not a good thing.

Does anyone know how sales at the VUE are going?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the world's largest soup kitchen!

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/photogallery/02%20Baltimore%20Buildings/10%20Fells%20Point%20And%20East/Soup%20Kitchen%2001.jpg

Which sits right next to the world's oldest prison.

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/photogallery/02%20Baltimore%20Buildings/10%20Fells%20Point%20And%20East/Jail%2002.jpg

from my "birdie" at legg mason, there is ZERO chance of a tower from them. it really sounds like their downtone operation will be folded into a remote campus in owings mills, with the rest going to NYC. with NYC being high profile and baltimore being service based, they don't need to impress clients in the baltimore area.

sadly, it sounds like they are close to deciding to leave in the next 5 years.

not a good thing.

Really hope this doesn't turn out to be true. That would be a massive blow to downtown.

Legg Mason

I have a difficult time believing that LM would pull up stakes afer being in the Baltimore area for 150 years. I would especially think that a move to NY would be very costly. Also given that a lot of their employees have ties to the Baltimore area, children in schools, relatives etc., this would factor into any decision to move the company. I am sure that if they ever did decide to move both the city of Baltimore and state of Maryland would offer them incentives to stay, whereas NY would never do this. Since 9/11 a lot of the financial services businesses have been moving out of NY, even if it's only to Jersey. LM is a large company and I am sure that the rumour mill there might have them moving to Mars in the not too distant future too, but I don't think that's going to happen either.

The problem with Legg Mason, and for that matter any company/organization where there's management turnover, you're susceptible for change: be it merger/acquisition, restructuring, or major operational shifts.

Chip Mason has had a vested interest in seeing his company grow and prosper. Even though he has Virginia roots, he's been very dedicated to Baltimore. Chip represents a dying breed of businessmen: those who value making money, yet respect tradition.

Once Baldwin left Mercantile, it was within what...three years that Mercantile was sold to PNC? I wouldn't be surprised to see Legg Mason sold in the next couple of years. I'd hate to see it, but that's business.

When more than thirty years ago Mason merged his company with Legg, he assumed ownership of not only Legg, Inc. but a Baltimore company with a long tradition. Mason valued that, and Legg Mason prospered in Baltimore.

Today, shareholder profit (as it should be) is priority-uno. Shareholders come in many different flavors, and types. They're no regional, but global. An investor in Kuwait has no idea where Legg Mason is located, and doesn't care...only about their return. Likewise increasingly "a company" no longer really caters to the local/regional crowd, since they diminishingly represent the bottom line.

But in the meantime, we need to support and also get as much as we can out Legg Mason while we have them! They are a sort of crown jewel in Baltimore's crown; there are many ways we can leverage that to our benefit.

^I do not think shareholder profit shouuld be priority #1. This pushes companies to make decisions that may be detremental to themselves in the longrun or detremental to society (sometimes illegally) at any time. It forces a mentality of profits above. Even if business is doing well, the company may place itself into a position to make more money at the expense of what made the company profitable in the first place. Shareholders are their own worst enemy. People buy into mutual funds and then complain why so many companies have a cut-throat "corporate" mentality when conducting business. But it's the law.

I don't like it though.:bash:

LM leaving would be decidedly "uncool".

Nate

Testing.......


A peek into the city's open secret
Development board ushers in open meetings with light agenda, nary a member of the general public
By Jill Rosen
Sun reporter
Originally published November 17, 2006

Baltimore Development Corp. board Chairman Arnold L. Williams steps out of the elevator, strides over to his agency's glass entryway and pulls on one of the doors. It doesn't budge.

"See?" he says with a wink. "It's a closed meeting."





Not really. Not anymore.

It's seven-something in the morning, most of Baltimore is too sleepy to realize or care, but for the first time, the door to BDC's normally shuttered boardroom has swung wide open.

Yesterday's monthly meeting was the agency's first since Maryland's highest court declared the BDC, the city's famously secretive economic development arm, a public body that must open its books and meetings.

Though the agenda was light and the discussion less than scintillating - with topics too mundane for the board to even bother breaking into a closed session - the morning offered a glimpse into how BDC has operated since its inception in 1991. It was a peep at the decision-makers who behind closed doors have been doling out lucrative tax breaks, deciding who builds what and where, and generally shaping what Baltimore becomes.

Thinking earlier this week about what this new era of openness might reveal about the BDC, board member Clarence T. Bishop, who is also Mayor Martin O'Malley's chief of staff, said, "I think that folks are going to end up bored to death."

Since not a single member of the public showed up yesterday, Bishop had no chance to be proven right.

But reporters - they showed up en masse, representing at least four print organizations and two television stations. They filled seats along a windowed wall that offered spectacular views of the morning traffic thickening below on Charles Street. Board members and BDC staff chose seats at the long, long conference table.

Even if all 13 BDC board members showed up - which didn't happen - they would all have to be terribly hungry to polish off the dozens of bagels and muffins, not to mention the fruit tray.

The meeting started with the traditional calling of order, the approving of minutes and the rehashing of pleasantries since everyone last convened.

Indulging their "guests," board members took time to introduce themselves.

The most revelatory moments came as BDC President M.J. "Jay" Brodie recapped the agency's failed negotiations with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation over the six-block west-side redevelopment known as "the superblock."

One BDC executive said afterward that he's heard the story so often that when it comes up he usually excuses himself. Brodie compellingly described the soured partnership.

He told of the courtship, of how Weinberg executives were so enamoured with a BDC deal that they flew a trustee all the way in from Hawaii to hear about it, of a "lovely lunch" at the Center Club where Brodie sat next to Baltimore developer David Cordish, of representatives from both sides walking the west side "for two hours on a beautiful day."

And then Brodie told of it all falling apart, of the regretful letters O'Malley sent to Weinberg executives, of BDC's move to seize the foundation's superblock properties and even of the brief resurrection of hope that, despite everything, the two sides could still pull off a deal.

"We're not naive people in the business," Brodie said, "and at least twice in these negotiations we thought we were in total agreement and each time [Weinberg's president and chief executive Shale D.] Stiller would come back with five or six new ideas that had never been discussed before."

Meanwhile, Brodie added, Chera Feil Goldman Group, the New York team BDC chose to develop the superblock, has asked for an extension to their negotiating term with Baltimore, which expires Dec. 31.

Moving on, the group heard about companies the agency is working to keep in town - no shockers on the list - and then discussed a funeral home that got a small-business loan and some winning bidders to develop city property.

Though land awards are just the sort of BDC decisions that some in the city have long wanted to hear more about, these were smallish deals - one involving a potential Red Roof Inn for downtown and another deciding the fate of what board member Deborah Hunt Devan repeatedly described as "a little nubbin of land."

Since the little nubbin sits in the middle of the H&S Properties and Struever Brothers' sprawling Harbor East development, they got it.

When things adjourned after about an hour, Bishop declared the session "regular." BDC Executive Vice President Andrew Frank jokingly introduced a member of the staff as "the director of shredding."

Bishop promised that the sessions won't always be so light. There will be controversy, tough decisions and meaningful deals, he said.

Of course, since Brodie has said that most of BDC's doings are likely exempt from the state's open meetings law, that's probably when the big paneled doors will shut once again.

jill.rosen@baltsun.com

^^ Yeah, very interesting to know "what" all has gone on. :yes:

Walked by the Zenith this morning, looks like they have siding up on about half of the building so it is coming along nicely. Didn't see anything rising out of the Hilton site so I guess they are still building the foundation.

^^ Yeah, the Hilton will be awhile.

wada guy, anything new to report? :D

How is this? News flash..... I just heard on the news in DC today that "it will take an act of god" for Willie Don not to run for Mayor in the next election. Those were Willie D's words. So, unless he is dead, he will be a candidate. This should be interesting indeed.

^^ interesting.

So now we got the Speaker of the House, the House Minority Leader and ranking female Senator ALL FROM MARYLAND. If we can't get some pork federal spending for Baltimore I would be shocked. We need some money for mass transit.