The other thread was so ungodly huge that I figured it was time for a new one.

Here's a link to the previous thread:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=552279

to start out this new thread, do you think baltimore is putting too many redevelopment ideas on its plate? I think not, but do you think that it could give false hope to slated neighborhood and cause unwanted speculation?

I haven't had the time to look at any of the Baltimore papers lately to see if this has already been reported, but Carnival Cruise Lines will begin year-round service from the Port of Baltimore in 2009.

to start out this new thread, do you think baltimore is putting too many redevelopment ideas on its plate? I think not, but do you think that it could give false hope to slated neighborhood and cause unwanted speculation?

Nah. Not enough ... check out Spence Lean's list of places that could stand some redevelopment ideas ...

http://baltimorefuture.blogspot.com/2008/06/sit-on-it-part-ii.html

Yeah it is/was bullets. We had to inspect it when we blew up the projects near there. We also had to inspect the Post Office. It's pretty cool inside there. They work 24/7 and we couldn't interrupt them.

An excerpt from an email from a Green Line program director:

Rather than fund final design and construction of both (Red and Green lines) projects from State revenue, MTA has elected apply for funding through Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts program. This means meeting the criteria established by FTA to get up to 50% matching funds. The new starts program is very competitive, with over 200 projects considered each fiscal year.

From its inception, the Green Line identified a station at Madison Square to connect to the MARC Penn Line. This line would link to light rail at Penn Station, and if fully funded according to FTA guidelines, a Red Line Station at Bayview.

We are taking the same care and consideration in the Green Line Planning. This approach was operative for the Red Line as well, and is on-going. It is frustrating and sometimes unnerving, but that is the chosen path and charge led by the State’s elected official. Contrary to the articles published by local recent newspapers, this project is still on track and will soon be considered for further funding by FTA after the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is fully reviewed and made final. So, please stay tuned and join in, if you can.

Yeah it is/was bullets. We had to inspect it when we blew up the projects near there. We also had to inspect the Post Office. It's pretty cool inside there. They work 24/7 and we couldn't interrupt them.

Could be a connection between the Shot Tower's broken windows and its proximity to the post office:

http://tvsothertenpercent.tripod.com/seinfeld.html

Jerry: What do you do for a living, Newman?
Newman: I'm a United States Postal Worker.
Jerry: Aren't those the guys that always go crazy and come back with a gun and shoot everybody?
Newman: Sometimes.
Jerry: Why is that?
Newman: Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming, there's never a let-up. It's relentless. Every day it piles up more and more and more! And you gotta get it out, but the more you get it out the more it keeps coming in. And then the bar code reader breaks and it's Publisher's Clearing House day!

I liked this from the link Jamie Hunt posted:

http://www.archplan.com/writing_parking%20garages.html

"But if you thought that after one garage with a water view, another terminating the view of one of Baltimore’s great boulevards (the Little Italy garage at the corner of Pratt and President Streets), and one cheek to jowl with the Baroque revival style City Hall, we would have learned that parking garages kill historic buildings and deaden urban space, think again. Along comes what might just be the greatest garage debacle of all: A full block garage at the southern downtown gateway of Charles and Light Streets.

Why is a garage in this location so bad?

It ruins the Charles Street gateway: Everybody wants to get the millions of tourists that cling to the water’s edge at the Inner Harbor to visit downtown and spread their dollars around to businesses a bit removed from Harbor Place. The premier northward coordinate to do so is Charles Street, our premier downtown street. To place an enormous parking garage at this all-important gateway to downtown will be like symbolically turning the City’s back to visitors, aggressively discouraging pedestrians who might make the brave attempt to walk up Charles Street from the water’s edge.
It tears down old buildings: People who see downtown Baltimore often observe that much of our architecture is beautiful. One could argue about the historic value of the buildings that have to come down for the garage but they certainly are part of a sliver of old Baltimore sitting quaintly in front of the towers of urban renewal . An above-ground garage is certainly no better alternative, no matter how artfully the façade is done. Crossing driveways and listening to the cars mounting the ramps has never been an attraction for pedestrians!
It sits in the middle of already existing parking garages; in fact, all of Lombard Street appears to be garage and service gates.
It’s a garage in full view. “Good” structured parking is underground like at the Gallery building or wrapped like the new garage on Caroline Street which is faced with townhouses.
Transportation Policy: Visitors who swoon over our architecture often observe that there are no people in the streets and few stores to buy something."


I couldn't agree more with this.

http://bp3.blogger.com/_cY7gYxn3RkA/SEc-D_m3CwI/AAAAAAAAATc/_KBiNVnc9kE/s1600/Pratt%2BSt..jpg
300 east pratt. :)

From this website: http://baltimorefuture.blogspot.com/2008/06/sit-on-it-part-ii.html

Did anybody else go to the opening of the Bromo Seltzer artist studios last night? It was mobbed all night and was really cool. There are some really talented artists there, and the view from the top is probably the best I've ever seen with my own eyes. I climbed out the window onto the balcony just below the clock face. The view of South Baltimore is breathtaking, and even the new Hilton doesn't look so bad from up there. I recommend a trip to you all.

...
http://www.archplan.com/writing_parking%20garages.html ...


Good stuff. For some reason, though, parking garages don't bug me, and I'm fanatical about historic architecture. The way I figure it, in thirty years or less most'll make way for new offices and housing, or they'll be adapted to house the factories of the future ...

http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/06/seeds-of-new-manufacturing-revolution.html

Garages are useful placeholders.

Did anybody else go to the opening of the Bromo Seltzer artist studios last night? It was mobbed all night and was really cool. There are some really talented artists there, and the view from the top is probably the best I've ever seen with my own eyes. I climbed out the window onto the balcony just below the clock face. The view of South Baltimore is breathtaking, and even the new Hilton doesn't look so bad from up there. I recommend a trip to you all.

No pix? :D No camera? :D

Did anybody else go to the opening of the Bromo Seltzer artist studios last night? It was mobbed all night and was really cool. There are some really talented artists there, and the view from the top is probably the best I've ever seen with my own eyes. I climbed out the window onto the balcony just below the clock face. The view of South Baltimore is breathtaking, and even the new Hilton doesn't look so bad from up there. I recommend a trip to you all.

Are artist's spaces large enough to be useful? Are they working there or using it as gallery space? I will have to get there sometime; with nothing real big too close, I imagine that the view must be great. Is the balcony open or did you get out there on-the-sly?

Constellation Energy Group Inc., Baltimore's largest public company, is close to signing a deal for as much as 100,000 square feet of additional office space in the city, according to real estate brokers and others familiar with the deal.

The utility company, based at 750 E. Pratt St. downtown, is scouting space at the Verizon Building at 1 E. Pratt St., the Bank of America Building at 100 S. Charles St. and Montgomery Park at 1800 Washington Blvd., said Manekin LLC broker Matt Haas, who is familiar with Constellation's search. Constellation is outgrowing its offices at 750 E. Pratt and in the Candler Building at 111 Market Place, where the company also is angling for more space.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., said Constellation could sign a deal soon, but he declined to comment on a specific location. Regardless of where Constellation takes more space, the bottom line is the Fortune 500 company is planning to bring more jobs to downtown and boost its presence in Baltimore, Fowler said.

"It's positive that Constellation continues to expand in downtown," he said. "It's reason to celebrate."

Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. is in negotiations to build a 140,000-square-foot warehouse at its Chesapeake Commerce Center for an undisclosed frozen foods distribution firm, according to Baltimore city planning documents.

The deal would generate about 100 truck deliveries a day at the former General Motors Corp. plant on Broening Highway and would be a significant transaction for Duke Realty in a slow but steady market for Greater Baltimore's industrial buildings.

Duke already is constructing a pair of flex buildings at the industrial park, including a 117,000-square-foot building to be partially occupied by Johns Hopkins' Home Care Group and a vacant, 344,167-square foot warehouse.

John Macsherry, vice president of development at leasing for Duke's regional operations, declined to comment on the potential deal.

[QUOTE=MarkR01;21471095]to start out this new thread, do you think baltimore is putting too many redevelopment ideas on its plate? I think not, but do you think that it could give false hope to slated neighborhood and cause unwanted speculation?[/QUOTE

I say the more the better. Hopefully that will increase buzz and the chances of some of those projects actually being completed.

Constellation Energy Group Inc., Baltimore's largest public company, is close to signing a deal for as much as 100,000 square feet of additional office space in the city, according to real estate brokers and others familiar with the deal.

The utility company, based at 750 E. Pratt St. downtown, is scouting space at the Verizon Building at 1 E. Pratt St., the Bank of America Building at 100 S. Charles St. and Montgomery Park at 1800 Washington Blvd., said Manekin LLC broker Matt Haas, who is familiar with Constellation's search. Constellation is outgrowing its offices at 750 E. Pratt and in the Candler Building at 111 Market Place, where the company also is angling for more space.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., said Constellation could sign a deal soon, but he declined to comment on a specific location. Regardless of where Constellation takes more space, the bottom line is the Fortune 500 company is planning to bring more jobs to downtown and boost its presence in Baltimore, Fowler said.

"It's positive that Constellation continues to expand in downtown," he said. "It's reason to celebrate."

Encouraging news, indeed. :)

Mercy Breaks Ground On New Hospital Tower Today
Saturday, June 07, 2008
WBAL Radio as reported by Robert Lang

http://wbal.com/stories/articlefiles/7622-mercyTower.jpg
An artists rendering of the new Mercy Medical Center in-patient tower that is due to open in two years. (Photo courtesy Mercy Health Services)


Mercy Health Services President and CEO Tom Mullen talks about the new hospital tower.


Governor Martin O'Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon and Baltimore Archbishop Edwin O'Brien will help break ground today on a new in-patient hospital for Mercy Medical Center, that will replace the existing Mercy Hospital.

The 18-story, 700,000 square foot facility will have 259 private patient rooms and 15 operating rooms.

Mercy Health Services President and CEO promises the facility on St. Paul Street will be "the most state of the art hospital facility in Maryland, by the time it opens in 2010."

The tower will also border Pleasant, Orleans and Calvert Streets.

The existing hospital building will become an outpatient and administrative building.

Mullen notes that building was designed more than 50-years ago, and needs to be replaced.

Mullen says the new building will be connected by a pedestrian bridge to Mercy's new 1,375-space parking garage which is located off of the Pleasant Street exit of the JFX.

The garage opened last year.

The new hospital will cost $320-million.

The hospital will launch a major fundraising drive to help pay the construction cost next year.

Due to today's groundbreaking, St. Paul Street from Centre to Saratoga will be closed to traffic today from 6 am until 5 pm.

The groundbreaking ceremony is set for 11 am.

Click on this link: http://blogs.mddailyrecord.com/ontherecord/2008/06/06/multimedia-bromo-seltzer-tower/

The muti-media Bromo Seltzer Art Tower piece is pretty cool. :)

Constellation Energy Group Inc., Baltimore's largest public company, is close to signing a deal for as much as 100,000 square feet of additional office space in the city, according to real estate brokers and others familiar with the deal.

The utility company, based at 750 E. Pratt St. downtown, is scouting space at the Verizon Building at 1 E. Pratt St., the Bank of America Building at 100 S. Charles St. and Montgomery Park at 1800 Washington Blvd., said Manekin LLC broker Matt Haas, who is familiar with Constellation's search. Constellation is outgrowing its offices at 750 E. Pratt and in the Candler Building at 111 Market Place, where the company also is angling for more space.

Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., said Constellation could sign a deal soon, but he declined to comment on a specific location. Regardless of where Constellation takes more space, the bottom line is the Fortune 500 company is planning to bring more jobs to downtown and boost its presence in Baltimore, Fowler said.

"It's positive that Constellation continues to expand in downtown," he said. "It's reason to celebrate."

I'm surprised O'Malley hasn't chased them out of town yet.

No pix? :D No camera? :D

Sorry no pics. I left my camera in Miami :(

Are artist's spaces large enough to be useful? Are they working there or using it as gallery space? I will have to get there sometime; with nothing real big too close, I imagine that the view must be great. Is the balcony open or did you get out there on-the-sly?

The spaces aren't big by any measure, but there were definitely signs that artists do their work there. Each floor has two rooms and a bathroom. Many of the bathrooms were obviously work sites, while the other two rooms were used for show space. Artists who only had one room to themselves had their works in progress pushed to the side to make as much show space as possible. Every artist there was either a painter or photographer or made something else that could be hung on the walls. There was no installation art which is fine with me cause I've seen enough manikins placed in pseudo-erotic positions in the middle of the floor down in Miami (Living out your sexual fantasies and frustrations on helpless manikins is all the rage in South Florida). There was even a playwright in one of the rooms who plans to put on readings and rehearsals in her space. It'll be very interesting to see how successful that is. She did not have anything prepared for opening night though. The balcony was not open officially. The tower is 15 floors, but artists only occupy the first 11 or so. I think the balconies are on the twelfth. I went up to see the view and found a group already out on the balcony. I guess as artists fill up those spaces it'll be harder to get out there.

^^ Would be cool if they had a poetry and/or spoken word level. After all, that's an art too. :) Are there any places like that in Baltimore now? I'm sure some jazz clubs probably offer that sort of thing every now and again. Coffee shops as well, probably. :)

..

..

I remember wanting to drop a bottle on a bus, but thought it not to be a good idea at the time.

I had nearly this exact thought approximately .05 seconds after first peering over the ledge. Only in my thoughts, I was dropping a penny. I guess there is something in our nature that makes us want to drop things from high places and watch them splatter on the ground.

Steven, spoken word is pretty popular up here from what I have heard. I think there a few places in Station North and the Patterson Park/Highlandtown area that have spoken word nights.

I'm not sure how frequently the Bromo Seltzer will be open to the public - if it will be open weekly, or just on 1st Thursdays, or everyday. Also, I didn't notice, but I doubt it is air conditioned. It must get stuffy in there on days like today.

..

Bring back the bottle!

http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/bromo.jpg

hat tip: National Trust for Historic Preservation http://blogs.nationaltrust.org

I second that! And the "lighting" day they can have a big party and show off all the artists stuff.

[QUOTE=MarkR01;21471095]to start out this new thread, do you think baltimore is putting too many redevelopment ideas on its plate? I think not, but do you think that it could give false hope to slated neighborhood and cause unwanted speculation?[/QUOTE

I say the more the better. Hopefully that will increase buzz and the chances of some of those projects actually being completed.

In a word..no. Baltimore hasn't been the kind of city that ever seems to go overboard in speculative development. That's a plus and a minus but you don't often see developers putting up office buildings or condos assuming that the market will materialize. I recall hearing a story about 25000 vacant condos in Miami and almost that many more under construction. In Baltimore, we don't seem to build unless buyers are lined up at the door.

Mercy Breaks Ground On New Hospital Tower Today
Saturday, June 07, 2008
WBAL Radio as reported by Robert Lang

http://wbal.com/stories/articlefiles/7622-mercyTower.jpg
An artists rendering of the new Mercy Medical Center in-patient tower that is due to open in two years. (Photo courtesy Mercy Health Services)....

Huh? They've been working on Mercy for months. There's a big hole, footings for columns, trucks coming and going every day. Is this article from a time warp?

I vaguely recall radiators but definately no air-conditioning.

With those huge windows and small square footage, just open some windows and you've got a good draft. Make sure you've got some paper weights on your works. :bash:

Most artist's spaces I have visited lacked air. The old industrial buildings in Hampden and Woodberry are similarly lacking in comfort amenities. In that case, huge volume and high ceilings make them inhabitable in summer, in the Bromo tower, windows and elevation will do the same thing. I guess it's a reminder that for all but the last 40 years of human history, nobody had Air Co. Sweat and water accomplish the same thing.

..

great find, wada!!:okay:

a whoppin' 22-story tower near johns hopkins hospital. i never thought the day would come where i'd see a tower over 20 stories ever proposed. this is big news indeed!!!

http://www.marks-thomas.com/project_imgs/ontheboards/jhu_day.jpg

..

..

http://www.marks-thomas.com/project_imgs/ontheboards/jhu_day.jpg

^^ Awesome building. :yes:

:)
Love to see it built. :)

City envisions retail, office complex in Mount Vernon
Baltimore Business Journal - by Julekha Dash Staff

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/120539-400-0.jpg?rev=2
Trading Spaces: The Baltimore Development Corp. wants to redevelop three parking lots in Mount Vernon.

Baltimore City is seeking proposals to redevelop several more properties on the west side, in a blighted area near Mount Vernon where city officials hope to lure more foot traffic.

The Baltimore Development Corp. wants developers to transform three lots on West Mulberry Street and on the 200 block of West Pleasant Street. The Baltimore Development Corp. envisions a mix of retail, office and residential uses for the city-owned properties, said Kathy Robertson, director of the BDC's west side initiative. Restaurants, retail and other commercial uses on the first floor could attract more pedestrian traffic to the area, she said.

"There is tremendous opportunity for development in that corridor," Robertson said.

Proposals are due Sept. 22, and the city will select a developer January 2009.

^^ very good news. i hope something big comes out of it. also, i thought that area was still considered downtown.

Huh? They've been working on Mercy for months. There's a big hole, footings for columns, trucks coming and going every day. Is this article from a time warp?

The ground breaking ceremony is to celebrate the fact that they have finally dug to China. All the VIP's will be popping out of a hole in Beijing, just like Bugs Bunny, and handing out Berger's cookies.

~~~~~

I didn't find the Johns Hopkins graduate housing picture. New former mkroopn did. I simply posted the picture. Personally, I'd like to see a tower at the Hopkins complex with a dome on top of it to play off of the original hospital building. Something like this which can be found at the World Financial Center in New York.

Of course the dome could be a bit higher like the one on the original Hopkins building.

http://members.aol.com/Schoonmaker2000/BlogPix/WFC-tops.jpg

http://baltimore-maryland.org/history/johnshopkinshospital.jpg

Harboring success
A documentary explores how the redevelopment of Baltimore's waterfront became a marvel, then a model for cities across the globe

Baltimore Sun | Edward Gunts | Architecture
June 9, 2008

For Baltimoreans accustomed to seeing their hometown depicted in less than glowing terms on television series such as The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street, a new production takes a rosier point of view.

Global Harbors: A Waterfront Renaissance is an hourlong documentary about Baltimore's revitalized waterfront and how it has become a model for ports around the world. It airs at 10 p.m. tomorrow on Maryland Public Television (Channels 22 and 67).

Instead of fictional drug dealers and city officials with questionable ethics, viewers will meet Susan Leviton, an urban homesteader who paid $1 for a house that she renovated in Otterbein, even though her grandmother cautioned that she spent "50 cents too much." They'll also meet Sandy Hillman, a public relations executive who feared she was moving to the "armpit of the world" when her husband announced the family was relocating to Baltimore, but who ended up promoting it to others by organizing city fairs and ethnic festivals.

Instead of exploring the city's underbelly, viewers will be treated to picture-postcard views of the downtown skyline, tourist attractions filled with smiling vacationers and neighborhoods that have improved over time.

In many ways, Global Harbors is the Un-Wire. It doesn't deny the existence of crime and poverty and dysfunction in the city, but it starts with the premise that the glass is half-full. It shows Baltimore as a place where good things can happen when people put their minds to it. It dares to suggest that 50 years of rebuilding may be paying off.

"It's great for Baltimore," said M. Jay Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp. and one of the civic leaders who was interviewed for the program. He saw a preview last week. "It will be a terrific marketing piece. Different folks will have different views of who did what when. But it's a fascinating study."

Global Harbors was produced by journalists Cari Stein and Kim Skeen of Ivy Media and narrated by Baltimore-born actor and director Charles Dutton. It examines how the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor transformed a blighted stretch of waterfront into a cultural and entertainment destination that became a model for the rejuvenation of other harbor cities around the world.

Much of the information came from Martin Millspaugh, a Baltimore native who, as a journalist, public official, private developer and planning consultant, has devoted much of his life to the city's revitalization.

In the 1950s, Millspaugh covered urban affairs and city government for The Evening Sun. From 1960 to 1985, he managed nonprofit organizations that oversaw the redevelopment of Charles Center and the Inner Harbor. He later joined with developer James Rouse to show leaders of other cities how to learn from what Baltimore did and improve their own waterfronts.

Over the years, Millspaugh compiled a slide show that chronicled the city's growth and showed it to groups that came to Baltimore to learn about its transformation. He worked with Stein and Skeen to turn that raw material into a high-definition documentary that combines archival films and photos with new footage, including dozens of interviews with civic leaders instrumental in turning around Baltimore and other cities.

During the second half of the 20th century, many waterfront cities around the world began to decline as a result of suburban sprawl, changes to the shipping industry and other factors. Baltimore was one of the port cities where once-prosperous harbor frontage was abandoned by shipping interests and became rotting, rat-infested piers. The documentary shows how Baltimore's leaders took action to rebuild the core.

"You get one chance to redevelop your hometown," Millspaugh says in the program. "Failure was not an option."

The first half-hour outlines the steps the city took to pull itself out of its doldrums. It touches on many of the stories that have become urban legend in Baltimore - how visionary planners fought plans for an interstate highway that would have cut the city off from its waterfront; how then-Mayor William Donald Schaefer's dip in the National Aquarium in Baltimore's seal pool drew worldwide attention; how hundreds of thousands of people ventured downtown to see eight tall ships that visited the harbor for the nation's bicentennial, suggesting that Baltimore could attract tourists.

The second half of the program focuses on a development that even many Baltimoreans may not be aware of - the extent to which Baltimore's rejuvenated waterfront became a template for other cities seeking to revitalize their own harbors.

According to Millspaugh, 90 to 100 cities on five continents have been influenced in one way or another by Baltimore's rebuilding efforts.

If that fact were simply related by local civic leaders, it might come off as so much bragging. What makes the documentary particularly impressive is that the producers traveled to other cities and got their leaders on film explaining how they used Baltimore's harbor as a model.

The documentary focuses on five cities: Sydney, Australia; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Norfolk, Va.; and Long Beach, Calif.

Particularly striking is the similarity between the Inner Harbor and Sydney's Darling Harbour, where Rouse worked with Millspaugh and an Australian developer to build a festival marketplace that was clearly inspired by Baltimore's Harborplace pavilions, down to the green metal roofs and red-brick promenade along the water's edge.

While Global Harbors presents this phenomenon as a positive trend, there is a worrisome aspect to the cloning. When one city copies another too closely, it results in a homogenization of urban waterfronts that potentially weakens both.

If Darling Harbour comes across as an interesting variation on Baltimore's Inner Harbor, some elements of Norfolk's refurbished waterfront look a little too much like a rip-off of Baltimore's.

The answer, Millspaugh says, is not for other cities to clone Baltimore's waterfront but to draw inspiration from Baltimore and come up with attractions and amenities that suit their own culture and topography.

For Baltimore, there is a different sort of danger. By the early 1980s, the city was considered a leader in waterfront revitalization, with its successful pairing of a festival marketplace and a public aquarium. But within a few years, other cities not only copied what Baltimore did but surpassed it in some respects. That left Baltimore needing to play catch-up to keep the crowds coming back - in part by adding more to the mix.

"The idea was every year to add something that would continue to excite, energize and influence public behavior," Hillman says.

And yet if it adds too much, Baltimore becomes in danger of destroying the characteristics that made its waterfront so appealing in the first place. There is a constant need for stewards to keep watch and protect what has been created, so it isn't diminished by latecomers with bad ideas or bad taste.

Part of the achievement of Baltimore's transformation since 1954 is that it has been a marathon, not a sprint. It has taken place under (so far) 10 mayors, each of who had to commit to the rebuilding effort.

In addition, "every time a hurdle would come up or something became difficult or we were in a new territory," Millspaugh says, "it seems like the right person would come out and solve the problem and move it on." The documentary doesn't always name names, but one thinks of Stanton Eckstut and John Paterakis for Harbor East; or Eli Jacobs, Larry Lucchino and Janet Marie Smith for Oriole Park; or Hope Quackenbush for breathing life into a struggling Mechanic Theatre.

Global Harbors makes it clear that waterfront rejuvenation can't solve all of a city's ills. The documentary shows that there are boarded-up rowhouses blocks from the harbor. But it also notes that physical improvements can pay off in ways that cities might not expect.

If the improvements did nothing else, Millspaugh says, they changed how the city was perceived by natives and visitors alike, and that gives people hope that other issues can be addressed.

"Improving the image of the city," he says, "equips people to respond to other problems."

In conjunction with tomorrow's broadcast, a Web site, globalharbors.org, has been launched to provide more information about the subject. Starting in August, a DVD of the program will be available for sale through mpt.org or the Global Harbors site. Millspaugh hopes to complete a book about Baltimore's renaissance. And he continues to meet with groups that want information about its still-evolving harbor.

"There have been half a dozen cities within the last few months," he said. "We try to point them in the right direction."

~~~~~

Influenced by Baltimore

Sydney, Australia: The city's Darling Harbour area was redeveloped with a convention center, aquarium, science museum, promenade and festival marketplace.

Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Downtown was extended across the Maas River with a new office, housing and tourism development built around a revitalized cruise-ship terminal with a festival market in a converted Customs House.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: James Rouse's Enterprise Development Co. worked with Irish developers to win the rights to the Laganside project, which includes a municipal auditorium, pedestrian promenade, Hilton hotel and the Irish headquarters of British Telecom.

Osaka, Japan: The city was transformed by a waterfront development that includes an aquarium, a cruise-ship terminal and the Tempozan Marketplace.

Barcelona, Spain: Enterprise was retained by the national port authority of Spain to prepare the master plan for the development of Port Vell, the old port of Barcelona, and then worked with a developer to create Mare Magnum, a popular tourist destination.

Norfolk, Va.: The downtown revival was started by The Waterside, a festival market patterned after Harborplace. A convention center, World Trade Center, Marriott hotel, nautical science museum and cruise-ship terminal followed.

Long Beach, Calif.: In a shoreline mud flat between downtown and the deep-sea harbor, the city developed Queensway Bay with a waterfront market and the SS Queen Mary, which has been converted to a docked hotel. Architect Stanton Eckstut calls Queensway Bay "the Baltimore of the West Coast."

1. You could pick crabs before you could walk.

2. From snow to hurricanes to heat waves, you've seen every kind of weather imaginable.

3. 695 gets you everywhere.

4. You stress the 'Oh' in the U.S. National Anthem.

5. It's 'DC', not 'Washington'; 'Hopkins', not 'Johns Hopkins', and 'goin' downa' ocean' means you're off to Ocean City, Bethany, or Rehoboth.

6. You've had relatives imprisoned at Ft. McHenry.

7. Half your high school graduating class went to College Park.

8. The opening of a Wegman's was the greatest thing to happen to your city in ten years.

9. You put Old Bay on everything.

10. You hate the Yankees, the Steelers, and especially the Colts.

11. The murder rate is higher than the graduation rate.

12. You can go 1 inch beyond the city line and know that you're out of the city.

13. You don't wash your clothes, you 'warsh' them.

14. You can pronounce 'Havre de Grace.' (Not the French way, the Baltimore way.)

15. You've gotten lost and ended up in the projects.

16. You know that The Power Plant is not for the production of electricity.

17. You're pissed off that we have to share our only airport with DC (I mean, don't they already have 2?)

18. You remember when the Orioles were good.

19. You say 'wuder', not 'water'.

20. On September 11, when you heard terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, you thought they meant the tower by the Harbor.

21. You know where to get the best crabs, crab cakes, and crab soup.

22. You eat snowballs, not throw them.

23. Cal Ripken was your childhood hero.

24. You're considered a Southerner when visiting New England, and you're a Yankee when visiting the South.

25. Distance is measured in minutes.

26. You know when to avoid the Bay Bridge.

27. Every one of your parents' childhood memories revolves around a Colts game.

28. A Berger is not something you grill.

29. Your Senator's website features a recipe for crabcakes.

30. You can spot a Baltimore accent immediately.

31. You watch a John Waters or Barry Levinson movie and recognize someone.

32. Artscape is the event of the season.

33. Five homicides is a good day for your town.

34. Lacrosse ain't no city in Wisconsin.

35. School is out when there's an inch of snow, but when you can't get out of your driveway you somehow have to go.

36. You know what Natty Boh is.

37. The idea of crabs without Old Bay makes you sick.

38. You think living 45 minutes from the nation's capital, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia, and 3.5 hours from New York City is the greatest thing in the world.

39. You think HBO's 'The Wire' isn't violent enough.

40. Your car has a bumper sticker that says 'BLIEVE HON'

41. The Washington Monument in your city is not a white obelisk.

42. You go to The Fudgery at The Harborplace just to hear singing.

43. You didn't realize that horses race at Preakness.

44. You leave the U.S. and people ask you where you're from, you reply 'near Washington' to avoid confusion.

45. You love your city and share this group with all your friends from Baltimore.

Omg...These are soo true...lol:lol:

Harboring success
A documentary explores how the redevelopment of Baltimore's waterfront became a marvel, then a model for cities across the globe


Will definitely be watching this!

Awesome banner today!

...
44. You leave the U.S. and people ask you where you're from, you reply 'near Washington' to avoid confusion. ...


Huh. Thought the reply was " 'Merica, hon!"

...
Influenced by Baltimore

... Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Downtown was extended across the Maas River with a new office, housing and tourism development built around a revitalized cruise-ship terminal with a festival market in a converted Customs House. ...

I can see Baltimore's "next" Inner Harbor being oriented around the Locust Point cruise ship terminal, with a redeveloped Port Covington to the west, Ft. McHenry to the east, and I-95 to the north.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Port+Covington,+Baltimore,+MD,+USA&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title

Which would kinda look like the Inner Harbor as originally proposed:

http://www.roadstothefuture.com/EW_Expwy_Harbor_Route.jpg
hat tip: roadstothefuture.com http://www.roadstothefuture.com/EW_Expwy_Harbor_Route.html

^^My god I'm glad that plan never happenend.:ohno:

Where did you find the picture; Is there an article with this? :)

Found this website:

http://www.marks-thomas.com/portfolio.cfm?projectID=17&subcatid=6&catid=3

Well I got downtown today for the first time in a loooooong time. (Warning rant :mad2:Took a long lunch to get O's tickets at the box office, TM wanted $4.25 a ticket to process for a $15 ticket, WTF??, buying 6 tickets is an extra $27 and thats for will call. i work in HV so it was worth it to take leisurely ride down on the Lt. Rail and buy at the box office for no extra charge, my little rant that no one cares about is over :down:) )

Anyway, got my first up close look at the new Hilton, which they have a sign up saying it is opening in August. In person I don't think that the metal sides of the building look that bad, not by any means good, but not terrible. I was disappointed with what looks to me to be a complete disregard of the street level. The street level is either blank walls or service uses. Blah.

I noticed thare is quite a bit of construction occuring at UMD medical. I thought that the project on Pratt had been delayed?

Harboring success
A documentary explores how the redevelopment of Baltimore's waterfront became a marvel, then a model for cities across the globe


Sydney, Australia: The city's Darling Harbour area was redeveloped with a convention center, aquarium, science museum, promenade and festival marketplace.

Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Downtown was extended across the Maas River with a new office, housing and tourism development built around a revitalized cruise-ship terminal with a festival market in a converted Customs House.

Belfast, Northern Ireland: James Rouse's Enterprise Development Co. worked with Irish developers to win the rights to the Laganside project, which includes a municipal auditorium, pedestrian promenade, Hilton hotel and the Irish headquarters of British Telecom.

Osaka, Japan: The city was transformed by a waterfront development that includes an aquarium, a cruise-ship terminal and the Tempozan Marketplace.

Barcelona, Spain: Enterprise was retained by the national port authority of Spain to prepare the master plan for the development of Port Vell, the old port of Barcelona, and then worked with a developer to create Mare Magnum, a popular tourist destination.

Norfolk, Va.: The downtown revival was started by The Waterside, a festival market patterned after Harborplace. A convention center, World Trade Center, Marriott hotel, nautical science museum and cruise-ship terminal followed.

Long Beach, Calif.: In a shoreline mud flat between downtown and the deep-sea harbor, the city developed Queensway Bay with a waterfront market and the SS Queen Mary, which has been converted to a docked hotel. Architect Stanton Eckstut calls Queensway Bay "the Baltimore of the West Coast."

I would add Jacksonville, Fl to that list. The Landing and Riverwalk has been a big success
for the city.

^^ How about Chattanooga too? Well,its not so apparent elsewhere in the city, but they built an aquarium that looks a lot like the one here and they've done a lot with their waterfront

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2483965255_5a3ee73abf_b.jpg
http://flickr.com/photos/rhoward454/2483965255/

My SIL won a bunch of awards for her work in Barcelona


http://www.asla.org/awards/2005/05winners/entry_492.html


I don't know why we couldn't do something world class with Baltimore's waterfront.

^^My god I'm glad that plan never happenend.:ohno:
yeah, there would've never been a federal hill, or probably a key hwy for that matter....

Does anyone know where McHenry Row is located? This map, http://www.mchenryrow.com/pdf/siteMap.pdf, has Key highway and Woodal street parrallel to each other with McHenry Row in between. But when I tried finding it today, I'm fairly certain Woodall street intersected with Key highway. On the other hand, directly across from the Southside shopping center in Locust Point is a huge plot of vacant land that is fenced off. Is that the area designated for McHenry Row?

yeah, there would've never been a federal hill, or probably a key hwy for that matter....

Great, fewer Nimbys and DBMVs (dont block my view) to deal with :nuts:

Please no one bitch about the view.. its a joke.. for the most part..

..

Check the Roads to the Future link Jamie supplied above for all you ever wanted to know about I-170.

I thought that they should of built the section of I-70 that connected 95 to the old I-170. The part of I-70 that ran through Leakin Park was DOA after the late '60's since the feds decided that they would not fund any highway that ran though a park. Since aprroved highways got 90% fed funding, The state would of had to pay for it entirely on its own.

17. You're pissed off that we have to share our only airport with DC (I mean, don't they already have 2?)


LOL that's always irked me.

I just flew to San Francisco last week on Southwest and their in flight magazine says that BWI services the Washington DC area. No mention of Baltimore outside of the name of the airport (which they can't avoid but probably would if they could).

I was disappointed with what looks to me to be a complete disregard of the street level. The street level is either blank walls or service uses.

Totally agree with you. This is my biggest problem with the new Hilton too (Despite the whole thing being unworthy of that prime location. That location deserves world class architecture that "wows", but it seems Baltimore is just not into the whole "world class thing". Sigh.) The street level is completely disregarded. How has this project contributed to the idea of Pratt Street being a promenade? Pedestrians will be walking by big red brick walls, not shops, not cafes with outdoor seating, etc...

I don't know why we couldn't do something world class with Baltimore's waterfront.

Because Baltimore is stuck with a mediocre, second-tier city mentality.

Sorry for these rants guys. It's 5 in the morning. That's my excuse. LOL I do actually love Baltimore, I just wish Baltimore would pull out of it's inferiority complex and grow some balls and do something daring.

I'll find some only positive comments to contribute at a better time in the day. :)

My SIL won a bunch of awards for her work in Barcelona


http://www.asla.org/awards/2005/05winners/entry_492.html


I don't know why we couldn't do something world class with Baltimore's waterfront.
Huh? Doesn't the fact that "According to Millspaugh, 90 to 100 cities on five continents have been influenced in one way or another by Baltimore's rebuilding efforts", make our waterfront world class? If it doesn't, just what does?

Obviously, Barcelona (or your SIL), were "inspired" by it. The last time I looked, Barcelona, and the other 90 to 100 cities are in the world, and if they are copying us, then we must have done something correct.

The only improvement I would have made to our harbor is that I would have built the BSO Concert Hall facing outward at Harbor Point. It would have looked like a large ship's smoke stack sitting there on the water. But that would be copying Sydney wouldn't it?

Just what is your idea of "world class"? Sometimes you confuse me DD! :nuts:

Because Baltimore is stuck with a mediocre, second-tier city mentality.
sad, but true.:ohno:

But we are a 2nd tier US city. Some would argue we are a 3rd tier one. Our goal is to be the best 2nd tier city in the country. We will never be a New York, Chicago, or LA duing any of our lives.

Certainly San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and others provide us with some stiff competition.

It is ludicrous to think of Baltimore as a 1st tier American city. It's like saying a Mustang is better than a Porsche. Still, we can improve and be a great place to live, work, and play. We can have world class attractions like Hopkins and the Inner Harbor.

Trust me, we are way better off than many other American cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, El Paso, Phoenix, Jacksonville, and Memphis just to name just a few. The only reason some Baltimoreans have an inferiority complex is because many of us do not travel much. If the average Baltimorean spent two weeks downtown in any of the cities cited in this paragraph, they would return thinking Baltimore is the best place on earth.

I'm a realist. I've been to a lot of American cities, but I choose to live here and recognize Baltimore for what Baltimore is.

... I just wish Baltimore would pull out of it's inferiority complex and grow some balls and do something daring. ...

Depends what you mean by "daring." As a young'n, I was one of the nameless minions who walked around my neighborhood handing out brochures encouraging people to vote for the bond issue for the aquarium. That project was considered pretty daring at the time (late 70s), and its architecture has held up pretty well through the years (and through numerous additions). It ain't the Sydney Opera House, but then again it didn't go way the heck over budget like that edifice did.

Does anyone know where McHenry Row is located? This map, http://www.mchenryrow.com/pdf/siteMap.pdf, has Key highway and Woodal street parrallel to each other with McHenry Row in between. But when I tried finding it today, I'm fairly certain Woodall street intersected with Key highway. On the other hand, directly across from the Southside shopping center in Locust Point is a huge plot of vacant land that is fenced off. Is that the area designated for McHenry Row?

It located off of E. Fort and Key Highway. If you are on e. fort, its just behind the new fire house. From Key Highway as you get out from under 95, you can see the parking garage under construction that is the development site as well.

But we are a 2nd tier US city. Some would argue we are a 3rd tier one. Our goal is to be the best 2nd tier city in the country. We will never be a New York, Chicago, or LA duing any of our lives. And certainly San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and others provide us with some stiff competition.

It is ludicrous to think of us as a 1st tier American city. It's like saying a Mustang is better than a Porsche. Still, we can improve and be a great place to live, work and play. We can have world class attractions, like Hopkins and the Inner Harbor. And I think we are way better than many other American cities such as Cleveland, Detroit, El Paso, Phoenix, Jacksonville, and Memphis to name a few. I'm a realist.

This argument doesn't fly with me. It's not the first time I've heard it. I understand what Baltimore IS, but I don't think that should relegate us to choosing mediocre projects! We might be 3rd tier or whatever, but can't we aspire to be more? I'm sure cities have switched tiers before over history. I'm sure some 1st tiers used to be 2nd or some 2nd used to be 3rd. In fact, Baltimore is a good example of a "tier switcher". It was tier one (at the the turn of the 20th century)!

That's the exact thinking Baltimore suffers from that I was talking about. Most people I guess agree with you, therefore we choose projects that are "safe" and keep us in "our place" which is not in the big leagues. Blah!

... therefore we choose projects that are "safe" and keep us in "our place" which is not in the big leagues. Blah!

Projects that "keep us in 'our place'"? Can you provide an example (or two) of these types of projects?

I'm with Wada on this one. I've been to a lot of other downtowns and, acre for acre, Baltimore's stands up pretty well.

Now, I'll grant you, Harbor East/Harbor Point will never be confused with London's Canary Wharf (http://www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp), but, given the space available, it'll be quite a destination when it's done and (unlike Canary Wharf) you'll be able to easily walk to it from the old heart of downtown.

This argument doesn't fly with me. It's not the first time I've heard it. I understand what Baltimore IS, but I don't think that should relegate us to choosing mediocre projects! We might be 3rd tier or whatever, but can't we aspire to be more? I'm sure cities have switched tiers before over history. I'm sure some 1st tiers used to be 2nd or some 2nd used to be 3rd. In fact, Baltimore is a good example of a "tier switcher". It was tier one (at the the turn of the 20th century)!

That's the exact thinking Baltimore suffers from that I was talking about. Most people I guess agree with you, therefore we choose projects that are "safe" and keep us in "our place" which is not in the big leagues. Blah!

the fact of the matter is, when you look at the east coast "magapolis", Baltimore is just forgotten. You're competing with Boston, NYC, Philly and DC. I personally like being the forgotten one, because everyone i've ever known that has come to baltimore for the first time can't believe the "charm" of this place. all the big city sights, things to do and amenities, but small enough to feel like a neighborhood. they all leave really impressed. i've even known people to move here from bigger cities because of it.

i think instead of trying to be a 1st tier city, we should just focus on what is best for baltimore and what we want. then let everyone else discover it...oh wait...i mean "get in on it" :nuts:

This argument doesn't fly with me. It's not the first time I've heard it. I understand what Baltimore IS, but I don't think that should relegate us to choosing mediocre projects! We might be 3rd tier or whatever, but can't we aspire to be more? I'm sure cities have switched tiers before over history. I'm sure some 1st tiers used to be 2nd or some 2nd used to be 3rd. In fact, Baltimore is a good example of a "tier switcher". It was tier one (at the the turn of the 20th century)!

That's the exact thinking Baltimore suffers from that I was talking about. Most people I guess agree with you, therefore we choose projects that are "safe" and keep us in "our place" which is not in the big leagues. Blah!

No place in my post did I advocate "choosing mediocre projects". In fact, I advocate just the opposite. My comments about the apartment complex at Mulberry and Eutaw Streets are an example of that. Look at post 4570 in the previous Baltimore Development thread. I wrote "The days of being happy that someone builds ANYTHING donwtown have long past." I wrote that advocating that the city insist on good design.

No place in my post did I say we shouldn't "aspire to be more". I simply recognized our current standing in the pantheon of American cities; no more, no less. To pretend you are Zeus, when you are really Bacchus, is ludicrous.

Part of the inferiority complex is to constantly defend your city, right or wrong. There is a former on SSC who defends Detroit every time someone writes ANYTHING negative about it. But the fact is, what is written about Detroit is usually correct and the former comes off as having just that, an inferiority complex.

Baltimore has a ton of problems, we are not best in everything, but we are the best in some things (Harbor, Medicine and Crab Cakes come to mind). I take the bad with the good and I fully recognize what Baltimore is in relationship to other urban areas in this country.

^^ How about Chattanooga too? Well,its not so apparent elsewhere in the city, but they built an aquarium that looks a lot like the one here and they've done a lot with their waterfront

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2483965255_5a3ee73abf_b.jpg
http://flickr.com/photos/rhoward454/2483965255/

The Inner Harbor is aging and needs a redesign, particularly the pavilion buildings.

My SIL won a bunch of awards for her work in Barcelona


http://www.asla.org/awards/2005/05winners/entry_492.html


I don't know why we couldn't do something world class with Baltimore's waterfront.

I don't really like it, what are those steel sculptures for? Looks like a non-functional rollercoaster. Doesn't look like a well organized green space overall IMO.

But we are a 2nd tier US city. Some would argue we are a 3rd tier one. Our goal is to be the best 2nd tier city in the country. We will never be a New York, Chicago, or LA duing any of our lives.

Certainly San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and others provide us with some stiff competition.

It is ludicrous to think of Baltimore as a 1st tier American city. It's like saying a Mustang is better than a Porsche. Still, we can improve and be a great place to live, work, and play. We can have world class attractions like Hopkins and the Inner Harbor.

Trust me, we are way better off than many other American cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, El Paso, Phoenix, Jacksonville, and Memphis just to name just a few. The only reason some Baltimoreans have an inferiority complex is because many of us do not travel much. If the average Baltimorean spent two weeks downtown in any of the cities cited in this paragraph, they would return thinking Baltimore is the best place on earth.

I'm a realist. I've been to a lot of American cities, but I choose to live here and recognize Baltimore for what Baltimore is.

Agreed for the most part, Baltimore can hold it's own, you have the power of water here on a great scale and many people take that for granted. I've been to many of those cities and there's nothing like home even if I wasn't from here I would say the same thing. Somehting about Maryland overall has the potential to be the best but our politicians and inferiority complex holds us back.

Also Baltimore has the most dramatic introduction to a city skyline I've ever seen, as you head north on I-95.

the fact of the matter is, when you look at the east coast "magapolis", Baltimore is just forgotten. You're competing with Boston, NYC, Philly and DC. I personally like being the forgotten one, because everyone i've ever known that has come to baltimore for the first time can't believe the "charm" of this place. all the big city sights, things to do and amenities, but small enough to feel like a neighborhood. they all leave really impressed. i've even known people to move here from bigger cities because of it.

i think instead of trying to be a 1st tier city, we should just focus on what is best for baltimore and what we want. then let everyone else discover it...oh wait...i mean "get in on it" :nuts:

I don't like being the forgotten uncompetitve one and I'm tired of the negative publicity that comes with it.

My SIL won a bunch of awards for her work in Barcelona
http://www.asla.org/awards/2005/05winners/entry_492.html
I don't know why we couldn't do something world class with Baltimore's waterfront.

Way off topic, but one cool thing about this project (and Mediterrean cities generally) is that they look good when seen from above. It's not reasonable to expect Baltimore to start retrofitting buildings with tile roofs, but more "green roofs" would be pretty nice. (Should note here that the Aquarium landscaping looks good from above).

Anyway, DD, pretty good looking project. Props to your SIL. The "new" Rash Field won't be quite the same as the Barcelona project, but it will help tie Federal Hill and the harbor together. Effectively, within a few years, we'll have a park that stretches from Fed Hill-Rash Field-West Shore-Aquarium-Harbor Point. Space for a lot of activities.

Projects that "keep us in 'our place'"? Can you provide an example (or two) of these types of projects?

I'm with Wada on this one. I've been to a lot of other downtowns and, acre for acre, Baltimore's stands up pretty well.

Now, I'll grant you, Harbor East/Harbor Point will never be confused with London's Canary Wharf (http://www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp), but, given the space available, it'll be quite a destination when it's done and (unlike Canary Wharf) you'll be able to easily walk to it from the old heart of downtown.

I guess what I'm talking about are the so called "prestige projects". I don't know, like for example Milwaukee (which is on a much lesser tier than us in my opinion) has that art museum designed by Santiago Calatrava that looks like a bird taking flight on the waterfront. Or Bilbao, Spain (which is no first tier city either) has the Guggenheim by Frank Gehry and those cool subway entrances by Sir Norman Foster. Even Demolition Dave's Barcelona park. It's inventive with the interesting sculptures and water features. Baltimore would put down some sod, and a few benches and lighting and call it a day. "There's your park folks" lol Ok, now some of this is a little tongue in cheek and I'm just having a little fun, but you catch my drift. Like compare Baltimore's new park between the Science Center and the Visitor Center to Chicago's Grant Park with that crazy mirrored metal bean sculpture and the awesome looking outdoor performance space. Wow! Why can't we do wild stuff like that?

Another thing that comes to mind when thinking of this subject is this dumb idea that everything has to fit a certain look or theme. I'm tired of all these brick boxes! I mean, even our really nice stuff like the Ritz Carlton and all the waterfront condo projects are just brick boxes with lots of balconies. I mean yeah they might have granite countertops in the kitchens with stainless steel refrigerators, but from the outside they're just more of the same. With that said, yes something positive :), thank God for the all glass Four Seasons!! :banana: We need more of that! More glass and metal. Nice project.

Do you think Paris would put that Baltimore Hilton hotel next to the Eiffel Tower? Would New York put it at Ground Zero? Why would we put that thing next to our pride and joy, Camden Yards, on one of the most prime locations in the city? Hope that explains my thinking on this topic a little better.

I know it's "pie in the sky" thinking but I would like to see something similiar to the Barcelona project built in the wasteland south of the stadiums. They had to reclaim contaminated wetlands in Barcelona.

Do you think Paris would put that Baltimore Hilton hotel next to the Eiffel Tower? Would New York put it at Ground Zero? Why would we put that thing next to our pride and joy, Camden Yards, on one of the most prime locations in the city? Hope that explains my thinking on this topic a little better.

truer words have never been uttered. I like whoever's idea it was to break out the ivy on that bohemeth...

The day Gehry builds a pile of shit in Baltimore, is the day I leave. I HATE EVERYTHING OF HIS. His buildings have a plethora of maintenance problems, they don't function well, and they are down right UGLY. A toddler could do better.

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/32/72032-004.jpg

http://www.hohpe.com/Gregor/Travel/2002/Seattle/emp.jpg

Next to these two examples, the Hilton looks great! Go RTKL. La beauté est dans l'oeil de celui qui regarde.

The day Gehry builds a pile of shit in Baltimore, is the day I leave. I HATE EVERYTHING OF HIS. His buildings have a plethora of maintenance problems, they don't function well, and they are down right UGLY. A toddler could do better.

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/32/72032-004.jpg

http://www.hohpe.com/Gregor/Travel/2002/Seattle/emp.jpg

Next to these two examples, the Hilton looks great! Go RTKL. La beauté est dans l'oeil de celui qui regarde.

I the Rouse Co. HQ Building in columbia. Its one of his earlier works, but I like the way I feel in that buiding. Its like I am outside in the building.

^^ Must be an early work - before he went through his "crumpled" phase. Since I don't go to Columbia, that one doesn't bother me.

Who would want something like the above standing in downtown Baltimore? Christ, most people can't even handle the fact that the Mechanic Theater is still standing. That building, too, was a "prestige project" and "inovative" when it was built. Now ya'll want to tear it down less than 40 years after it opened. The same will hold true for Gehry's blots on the landscape!

... Wow! Why can't we do wild stuff like that?...

Yeah, the "Bean" in Chicago's Millennium Park (and the park as a whole) is pretty cool. A history of the development of that park (http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkhistory/) shows it resulted from a combination of available space (train yard next to an existing well-loved park), a longstanding visionary planning tradition (Burnham, et al), political will (the Daley machine), and financial wherewithal (really wealthy locals).

And it was about a hundred years in the making.

I know it's "pie in the sky" thinking but I would like to see something similiar to the Barcelona project built in the wasteland south of the stadiums. They had to reclaim contaminated wetlands in Barcelona.

Agreed.

DD, you'd probably know this: if the LNG terminal goes in at Sparrows Point (I know: big if), would the Spring Gardens tanks still be necessary? 'Cause that area, combined with the SouthStadium Wasteland, would make a great park. I'd downsize the Maryland Zoo (lions, tigers, bears, ravens, orioles) and move it there. It'd be like a smaller version of the lakefront Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

There are only 3 mid-sized white tanks left at Spring Gardens. The large telescoping tanks were demolished years ago. I would think the white ones would be required since they are owned by BG&E and not AES. The Sparrows Point gas is destined to go to Pennsylvania via an 85 mile long pipeline through Baltimore and Harford counties, scheduled to be built at the same time as the LNG facility.

But we are a 2nd tier US city. Some would argue we are a 3rd tier one. Our goal is to be the best 2nd tier city in the country. We will never be a New York, Chicago, or LA duing any of our lives.

Certainly San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and others provide us with some stiff competition.

It is ludicrous to think of Baltimore as a 1st tier American city. It's like saying a Mustang is better than a Porsche. Still, we can improve and be a great place to live, work, and play. We can have world class attractions like Hopkins and the Inner Harbor.

Trust me, we are way better off than many other American cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville, St. Louis, El Paso, Phoenix, Jacksonville, and Memphis just to name just a few. The only reason some Baltimoreans have an inferiority complex is because many of us do not travel much. If the average Baltimorean spent two weeks downtown in any of the cities cited in this paragraph, they would return thinking Baltimore is the best place on earth.

I'm a realist. I've been to a lot of American cities, but I choose to live here and recognize Baltimore for what Baltimore is.


We may never be a New York, Chicago, or LA, but that doesn't mean that, in time, we can't be a first tier city. Completion of all the currently planned projects+red line, green line, and trolley+moderate population growth+continued progress on crime=first tier city.

Harbor View ammendedment passed last night at the council.

We may never be a New York, Chicago, or LA, but that doesn't mean that, in time, we can't be a first tier city. Completion of all the currently planned projects+red line, green line, and trolley+moderate population growth+continued progress on crime=first tier city.

I suppose we could, but you and I will both be dead by the time that ever happens. BTW, we would have to get a hundred or more large corporations to re-locate here. And many of the supporting business that service them, such as IT, law firms, accounting firms, and advertising companies, etc., would have to open local offices.

It is not just population and transit that make a city first tier. Long Island has population and transit and it is as far from New York as Washington is from us. It is high paying corporate jobs, great shopping, tourist attractions, history, education, and culture.

But IMHO, headquarters offices and jobs are the key. That is because of economies of scale. If an ad agency has 2 or 3 large corporate accounts in a city, they open an office. Then more ad agencies open offices when they get accounts from different companies located here. Then business open offices to service the ad agencies' needs. And the ad agencies form a trade group and take office space. And so it goes. That is why you can find ANYTHING in New York and not in Baltimore. For example, you can't have a successful business in Baltimore that sells just various types of paper like you can in New York. There isn't enough demand for the product due to economies of scale.

And don't forget, we have the 800 pound gorilla 40 miles down the Parkway sucking the life out of us daily. By that I mean, why open a Baltimore office when the area can be serviced from our DC office? That mentality, which is prevalent in corporate culture in this area, costs Baltimore a lot of new office construction, jobs, and prestige.

This is what you get in a top tier city: http://www.thechicagospire.com/building/panoramas/140/
As you can see, we have a way to go. (If you squint, you can see Baltimore on the horizon - sort of like the Bay Bridge from the last thread) All the wealth, which allows a project like this to be constructed, comes through economies of scale. A project like this could only be constructed in a top tier city, and it is obvious to me that we are not one of them. (BTW, This is the best single project development web site I've ever seen. Go to the image gallery and click on the picture. Go full screen and enjoy the slide show.)

Just my opinions. Not trying to convert anyone. I'm done for the day (and tomorrow too). Nuf said. I'll shut up now. :goodnight

I suppose we could, but you and I will both be dead by the time that ever happens. BTW, we would have to get a hundred or more large corporations to re-locate here. And many of the supporting business that service them, such as IT and advertising companies, etc., would have to open local offices.

It is not just population and transit that make a city first tier. Long Island has population and transit and it is as far from New York as Washington is from us. It is high paying corporate jobs, great shopping, tourist attractions, history, education, and culture.

But IMHO, headquarters offices and jobs are the key. That is because of economies of scale. If an ad agency has 2 or 3 large corporate accounts in a city, they open an office. Then more ad agencies open offices when they get accounts from different companies located here. Then business open offices to service the ad agencies' needs. And the ad agencies form a trade group and take office space. And so it goes. That is why you can find ANYTHING in New York and not in Baltimore. For example, you can't have a successful business in Baltimore that sells just various types of paper like you can in New York. There isn't enough demand for the product due to economies of scale.

And don't forget, we have the 800 pound gorilla 40 miles down the Parkway sucking the life out of us. By that I mean, why open a Baltimore office when the area can be serviced from our DC office? That mentality, which is prevalent in corporate culture in this area, costs Baltimore a lot of new office construction, jobs, and prestige.

Just my opinions. Not trying to convert anyone. I'm done for the day. Nuf said. I'll shut up now. ;)

I think we probably just disagree on semantics -- I would apply "first tier" more loosely. If "first tier" is limited to the top five or six cities in the country, then I agree with your assesment; if "first tier" encompasses, say, somewhere between the top 10-15 cities in the country, then I do think it's realistic Baltimore can be in that category.
can be in that category.

I thought is was only like 4 tier 1 cities in the U.S. I dont know about yall but I always wanted downtown Baltimore in south baltimore peninsula it seems like the height would have gotten up a lot faster and it would have been surronded by water on three sides plus I-95 go through the area so it would have very attractive to fortune 500 companies. But is still like where its at

There are only 3 mid-sized white tanks left at Spring Gardens. The large telescoping tanks were demolished years ago. I would think the white ones would be required since they are owned by BG&E and not AES. The Sparrows Point gas is destined to go to Pennsylvania via an 85 mile long pipeline through Baltimore and Harford counties, scheduled to be built at the same time as the LNG facility.

Thanks, Wada. Good info.

I suppose we could, but you and I will both be dead by the time that ever happens. BTW, we would have to get a hundred or more large corporations to re-locate here. And many of the supporting business that service them, such as IT and advertising companies, etc., would have to open local offices.

It is not just population and transit that make a city first tier. Long Island has population and transit and it is as far from New York as Washington is from us. It is high paying corporate jobs, great shopping, tourist attractions, history, education, and culture.

But IMHO, headquarters offices and jobs are the key. That is because of economies of scale. If an ad agency has 2 or 3 large corporate accounts in a city, they open an office. Then more ad agencies open offices when they get accounts from different companies located here. Then business open offices to service the ad agencies' needs. And the ad agencies form a trade group and take office space. And so it goes. That is why you can find ANYTHING in New York and not in Baltimore. For example, you can't have a successful business in Baltimore that sells just various types of paper like you can in New York. There isn't enough demand for the product due to economies of scale.

And don't forget, we have the 800 pound gorilla 40 miles down the Parkway sucking the life out of us. By that I mean, why open a Baltimore office when the area can be serviced from our DC office? That mentality, which is prevalent in corporate culture in this area, costs Baltimore a lot of new office construction, jobs, and prestige.

Just my opinions. Not trying to convert anyone. I'm done for the day (and tomorrow too). Nuf said. I'll shut up now. :goodnight

FWIW....I'm with you, Wada.

... I always wanted downtown Baltimore in south baltimore peninsula it seems like the height would have gotten up a lot faster and it would have been surronded by water on three sides plus I-95 go through the area so it would have very attractive to fortune 500 companies. ...

Blame John Moale:

"... In 1724, just six years before Baltimore Town was founded on the North Branch of the Patapsco River, landowners in the area approached the legislature with plans for a town at Spring Gardens, near where the Gwynns Falls empties into the Patapsco's Middle Branch in what is now known as South Baltimore. Their efforts were blocked by John Moale, who owned the land and preferred to mine for iron there--which he did until he died in 1740--so a first settlement was chosen instead on the North Branch. Thus, if not for Moale's self-interest, Middle Branch would be Baltimore's Inner Harbor today. Instead, it's Baltimore's other, overlooked waterfront. ..."

hat tip: City Paper

full article: http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3316

I suppose we could, but you and I will both be dead by the time that ever happens. BTW, we would have to get a hundred or more large corporations to re-locate here. And many of the supporting business that service them, such as IT, law firms, accounting firms, and advertising companies, etc., would have to open local offices.

It is not just population and transit that make a city first tier. Long Island has population and transit and it is as far from New York as Washington is from us. It is high paying corporate jobs, great shopping, tourist attractions, history, education, and culture.

But IMHO, headquarters offices and jobs are the key. That is because of economies of scale. If an ad agency has 2 or 3 large corporate accounts in a city, they open an office. Then more ad agencies open offices when they get accounts from different companies located here. Then business open offices to service the ad agencies' needs. And the ad agencies form a trade group and take office space. And so it goes. That is why you can find ANYTHING in New York and not in Baltimore. For example, you can't have a successful business in Baltimore that sells just various types of paper like you can in New York. There isn't enough demand for the product due to economies of scale.

And don't forget, we have the 800 pound gorilla 40 miles down the Parkway sucking the life out of us daily. By that I mean, why open a Baltimore office when the area can be serviced from our DC office? That mentality, which is prevalent in corporate culture in this area, costs Baltimore a lot of new office construction, jobs, and prestige.

This is what you get in a top tier city: http://www.thechicagospire.com/building/panoramas/140/
As you can see, we have a way to go. (If you squint, you can see Baltimore on the horizon - sort of like the Bay Bridge from the last thread) All the wealth, which allows a project like this to be constructed, comes through economies of scale. A project like this could only be constructed in a top tier city, and it is obvious to me that we are not one of them. (BTW, This is the best development web site I've ever seen. Go to the image gallery and click on the picture. Go full screen and enjoy the slide show.)

Just my opinions. Not trying to convert anyone. I'm done for the day (and tomorrow too). Nuf said. I'll shut up now. :goodnight

Drop the corporate income tax to between 4%-5% from 8.25% for the city of Baltimore. Eligible only to those sizable firms that have met certain goals.

The state doesn't want it bad enough.

... This is what you get in a top tier city: http://www.thechicagospire.com/building/panoramas/140/
...

Reminds me of a drill bit or a baguette, but point taken.

We may never be a New York, Chicago, or LA, but that doesn't mean that, in time, we can't be a first tier city. Completion of all the currently planned projects+red line, green line, and trolley+moderate population growth+continued progress on crime=first tier city.

I dont think we can ever become a first tier city, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to be. Baltimore has a problem, as we all know, its too close minded. The city does not want its self to improve itself, people complain loss of character of a neighborhood, while, its inevitable that every neighborhood changes. The ICON project was defeated because a bunch of politicians were pissed off by the developers and a bunch of NIMBY BANANAheads were mad that they were going to see a building in one direction of their house, while they can see much more and larger buildings in another direction. Come on, same thing with the LNG terminal, it seems like they want one thing (jobs) but they dont want to make them. In a time where jobs are shrinking, they want to go in the opposite direction? In China specifically, builders don't have to go through all this regulation/neighborhood BS and look at them, tons of buildings, originality, attractive buildings. It is this political/nimby airheadedness is holding back our great city and though we'll probably never be a first tier city, but that doesnt mean that we should stop trying to improve our city in everyway within our means and some outside them

Sorry for my rant, Baltimore gets too damn hot in the summer

Blame John Moale:

"... In 1724, just six years before Baltimore Town was founded on the North Branch of the Patapsco River, landowners in the area approached the legislature with plans for a town at Spring Gardens, near where the Gwynns Falls empties into the Patapsco's Middle Branch in what is now known as South Baltimore. Their efforts were blocked by John Moale, who owned the land and preferred to mine for iron there--which he did until he died in 1740--so a first settlement was chosen instead on the North Branch. Thus, if not for Moale's self-interest, Middle Branch would be Baltimore's Inner Harbor today. Instead, it's Baltimore's other, overlooked waterfront. ..."

hat tip: City Paper

full article: http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3316

Damn you John Moale!

Harbor View ammendedment passed last night at the council.

Hey Jeff, thanks for the DEVELOPMENT NEWS.

Those gasholder sites are usually pretty heavily contaminated and future use as a park would be fantastic. I have demolished 5 of them in the US and 2 in the UK. They are really interesting structures. They were all designed and built by a Baltimore company named Bartlett Hayward. One of the last ones in existence is on Cold Spring and the JFX.
They weren't used so much for storage as they were to regulate the pressure. Modern day technology has reduced a structure of that size down to a structure the size of a minivan.

There is a really good book about Bartlett Hayward entitled "Iron Men and Their Dogs" written by Ferdinand Claiborne Latobe

Bartlett Hayward was also responsible for designing many of the cast iron facade buildings that Baltimore is known for. The only one that is left that I can think of is the old Wilkens Robins Building located at 308-312 Pratt Street.

Hey Jeff, thanks for the DEVELOPMENT NEWS.

AGREED.

did they present any new plans or renderings?

this is going to be interesting to say the least. if he gets those approved, he should build them ASAP before they change their mind or are challenged. i don't mind the towers, as long as they animate key highway with retail and the facades are done well.

i still say the harborview tower is one of the nicest pieces of architecture in the city. it has a clear "design inspiration" and blends materials and forms nicely.

Are skyline would have been bigger if it was in south baltimore. height would have been easy we could of compared easly with downtown boston. now one of the best looking land areas is just getting built up (barley but atleast it is). Baltimores population could have been up way higher than it is. I dont wont you guys to bite my head off but I wish south baltimore was the seperated from baltimore as in back when there were plans for a city to build a city there it would have been called baltimore and the other areas were called north baltimore or what ever you wanted to call it I wish it was like that because the density would be very high. its hard to explain ill put it in simpler words

south baltimore was not in baltimore city limits anymore, all the areas surronding south baltimore were just out skirts or even the inner harbor could still be built up. is that better. just ask if it sounds bad because I can try to reword it agian. :lol: :bash: :ohno: :nuts::)

FWIW....I'm with you, Wada.
That makes two of us.

Sorry ya'll. My posts have never been well received on this Baltimore forum. Heaven forbid I want something bigger for Baltimore. Just giving my opinion. Like I said I love Baltimore and was raised and been here for 30 years. I'd just like us to crawl out of our "The Wire" image and go up a tier or two. Excuse me.

It seems people on here resent very infrequent posters like myself coming from seemingly nowhere and out of the blue criticizing Baltimore's development. Is that it? Did I hit it on the head? You want me to follow the "if you don't have anything nice to say" credo?

I guess what I'm talking about are the so called "prestige projects". I don't know, like for example Milwaukee (which is on a much lesser tier than us in my opinion) has that art museum designed by Santiago Calatrava that looks like a bird taking flight on the waterfront. Or Bilbao, Spain (which is no first tier city either) has the Guggenheim by Frank Gehry and those cool subway entrances by Sir Norman Foster. Even Demolition Dave's Barcelona park. It's inventive with the interesting sculptures and water features. Baltimore would put down some sod, and a few benches and lighting and call it a day. "There's your park folks" lol Ok, now some of this is a little tongue in cheek and I'm just having a little fun, but you catch my drift. Like compare Baltimore's new park between the Science Center and the Visitor Center to Chicago's Grant Park with that crazy mirrored metal bean sculpture and the awesome looking outdoor performance space. Wow! Why can't we do wild stuff like that?

Another thing that comes to mind when thinking of this subject is this dumb idea that everything has to fit a certain look or theme. I'm tired of all these brick boxes! I mean, even our really nice stuff like the Ritz Carlton and all the waterfront condo projects are just brick boxes with lots of balconies. I mean yeah they might have granite countertops in the kitchens with stainless steel refrigerators, but from the outside they're just more of the same. With that said, yes something positive :), thank God for the all glass Four Seasons!! :banana: We need more of that! More glass and metal. Nice project.

Do you think Paris would put that Baltimore Hilton hotel next to the Eiffel Tower? Would New York put it at Ground Zero? Why would we put that thing next to our pride and joy, Camden Yards, on one of the most prime locations in the city? Hope that explains my thinking on this topic a little better.

I agree 100%. With your earlier post too. Between baltimores lo self esteem self degrading underachievers and its NIMBYs, I dont know what to do. I wish theyd all move to havre de grace.

Great news about the Harbor View. :)
Thanks, Jeff. :yes:

:)

I agree 100%. With your earlier post too.

Nice to hear it. I don't hear that much here. I usually either get ignored or attacked. :)

Sorry ya'll. My posts have never been well received on this Baltimore forum. Heaven forbid I want something bigger for Baltimore. Just giving my opinion. Like I said I love Baltimore and was raised and been here for 30 years. I'd just like us to crawl out of our "The Wire" image and go up a tier or two. Excuse me.

It seems people on here resent very infrequent posters like myself coming from seemingly nowhere and out of the blue criticizing Baltimore's development. Is that it? Did I hit it on the head? You want me to follow the "if you don't have anything nice to say" credo?
if you ask me, it's not WHAT you've said, but HOW you've said it.

Great news about the Harbor View. :)
Thanks, Jeff. :yes:

:)

yeah, great news indeed. the sooner it starts, the better.

Daryl,
You can't have thin skin around here. Not everybody thinks the same way and that's what makes this a good forum.

if you ask me, it's not WHAT you've said, but HOW you've said it.

I think there's that problem of written word being interpreted by the reader in a way that was not intended by the writer. I'm very sarcastic, but I'm a really nice guy I promise! Sorry for any offense taken. I didn't mean it. Just wanted to vent some frustration I had with Baltimore not thinking big with other Baltimore lovers that's all. I never expect the chilly response I inevitably get on here.

Here's the Examiner article on the passage of the Harborview bill...

http://www.examiner.com/x-284-Baltimore-Politics-Examiner

Also, did anyone take notice to the article in the Examiner about Baltimore dropping to 3rd in terms of most violent city? Here's the whole article, but I wanted to point out a little snippet that had me a little perturbed.

Only Detroit, with 19,683 violent crimes in a population of 861,000, and Memphis, Tenn., which racked up 13,052 violent crimes in a city with 669,000 people, had a higher rate of violent crime than Baltimore, which tracked 10,182 crimes of violence in a population of 624,000.

This is the lowest number I've ever seen! I sincerely hope it's a mistake!

http://www.examiner.com/a-1433516~FBI__Baltimore_drops_to_third_most_violent_big_city.html

I think there's that problem of written word being interpreted by the reader in a way that was not intended by the writer. I'm very sarcastic, but I'm a really nice guy I promise! Sorry for any offense taken. I didn't mean it. Just wanted to vent some frustration I had with Baltimore not thinking big with other Baltimore lovers that's all. I never expect the chilly response I inevitably get on here.

Relax man. It's just a forum. There are some on here who think they are anointed and how dare anyone disagree with them. They are wide open for attack. But you made good points as did everyone else regarding the city's image problem.

By the way, I don't recall if anyone mentioned this before, but emporis now has the Four Seasons listed as under construction.

Just a reminder: The documentary on the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor starts in less than 10 mins!

I agree 100%. With your earlier post too. Between baltimores lo self esteem self degrading underachievers and its NIMBYs, I dont know what to do. I wish theyd all move to havre de grace.

Fortunately some of those NIMBY's prevented the state's highway construction thru the middle of the harbor which would have made this whole site moot.

What with all the bad press NIMBYs get around here, you'd think it was a disease or moral failing. They are among the people who care enough about a place to express an opinion. I don't understand the bile.

Great news about the Harbor View. :)
Thanks, Jeff. :yes:

:)

Good news for the developer

..

Couldn't respond to earlier posts because of work. Anyway, Baltimore may or may NOT be always regarded as second or third tier with regard to cities. Completely irrelevant. If you believe that the Hilton (in it's location) with a lack of street level activity (contrary to what the CITY ITSELF DEEMED IMPORTANT) is appropriate and/ or acceptable, please leave Baltimore now so that second rate, small minded sheep can find a new place to flock.


Doesn't matter Baltimore's "status" in the thought of things, there's NO excuse to use tax payer's money to achieve mediocrity. Even those that believe Baltimore's place IS mediocrity (shame on you) there's no reason to lay back and accept that that is OK. There's a reason that Cincinnati (POS) is still courting exemplary architecture.... and it's not because they think they live in the 'upper echelon' of experience, it's because they understand that the citizens deserve better than garbage.

After 23 years in Charm City, I moved to Seattle (for work) and I read everyone's accolades for what they see here. I've got news for you.... this town is LIGHT years behind Baltimore, the only difference is, no one here accepts mediocrity as the norm. Period. For those people who will (inevitably) ask me for varification of Seattle OR Cincinnati with regard to my reasoning, heres my opinion: if you don't know ALREADY, lose the short sighted opinion you already have.

Take it or leave it; I'm not here to argue, just to shed a little truth.

What with all the bad press NIMBYs get around here, you'd think it was a disease or moral failing. They are among the people who care enough about a place to express an opinion. I don't understand the bile.

As with most things the status of nimby's depends on the context of whatever they are perturbed about. I would never silence someone of there opinion but some people whine just to hear themselves whine.

I actually agreed with the Nimby's about the Icon. While I thought the building was beautiful, it didn't really fit into the area and would of made traffic go from from bad to worse.

OTOH, Look what Nimby's got with a harbor view, a long flat wall and no view instead of slim towers and a view.

Or look at the proposed LNG port. In this case the closest NIMBY's are over 2 miles away! The former shipyard is a perfect site and will bring in good jobs. The land is already very compromised from the beth steel days, its not like they are building on pristine wetlands. Additionally there is a LNG plant in Calvert Co that has been operating without incident since the 70's (albiet with a log period of mothball in there).

"OTOH, Look what Nimby's got with a harbor view, a long flat wall and no view instead of slim towers and a view."

^^ Great point. If it would have been the other way around both the people and the developer would have won. If they would have thought "outside the box" then they wouldn't be trapped "inside the box" now.

I actually agreed with the Nimby's about the Icon. While I thought the building was beautiful, it didn't really fit into the area and would of made traffic go from from bad to worse.
the ICON was just one single tower. hale's current proposal includes an entire outdoor strip of retail and not one tower, but three that i believe are actually taller than the ICON.

http://www.hohpe.com/Gregor/Travel/2002/Seattle/emp.jpg

:lol:THIS building looks like a combination of someone's ass and a roller coaster.....lol. i can't believe seattle would stoop so low and let Gehry build this pile of crap.

THRILL, In what way is Seattle light years behind Baltimore?

Hey Jeff, thanks for the DEVELOPMENT NEWS.

Ha! As one who specializes in "development olds," point taken.

Did anyone watch the World Harbors show last night? I thought it was really good. Great historic photos and clips. I also enjoyed learning about how other cities have used and continue to use (Belfast) Baltimore as a template for their own urban waterfront renewal.

^^ Unfortunately, neither New Hampshire nor Vermont Public Television aired "Global Harbors." They had some "special" featuring "The Best of Kenny Rogers" or some such nonsense. No money for you, PBS affiliates!

And speaking of development news, here's an interesting blog-like Web site for State Center.

http://www.statecenter.org/statecenter

If someone's already posted this link, mea culpa.

Was an interesting show. Not too many views of the Ritz rabbit boxes fortunately. I wonder how we will be viewed 5 and 10 years from now. Where are the visionary folks that started the process.


Did anyone watch the World Harbors show last night? I thought it was really good. Great historic photos and clips. I also enjoyed learning about how other cities have used and continue to use (Belfast) Baltimore as a template for their own urban waterfront renewal.

I shake my head everytime I walk past that wall of shame. Stupid stupid stupid!!! Agreed about the shipyard. If we succeed on converting all the working waterfront to walls we will tank the economy. LNG is going to become much more valuable and having a port here is a good ecomomic and strategic move.



OTOH, Look what Nimby's got with a harbor view, a long flat wall and no view instead of slim towers and a view.

Or look at the proposed LNG port. In this case the closest NIMBY's are over 2 miles away! The former shipyard is a perfect site and will bring in good jobs. The land is already very compromised from the beth steel days, its not like they are building on pristine wetlands. Additionally there is a LNG plant in Calvert Co that has been operating without incident since the 70's (albiet with a log period of mothball in there).

Was an interesting show. Not too many views of the Ritz rabbit boxes fortunately. I wonder how we will be viewed 5 and 10 years from now. Where are the visionary folks that started the process.


Did you notice how a couple of them actually got emotional talking about the work they did? That's really putting your heart into it!

... Not too many views of the Ritz rabbit boxes fortunately. I wonder how we will be viewed 5 and 10 years from now. Where are the visionary folks that started the process.

Positively. The Ritz buildings will age well, unlike, say, the Anchorage in Canton.

I understand the complaints about the place, but I'd just as soon not look east from the top of Federal Hill directly into someone's living room.

Global Harbors premiered last night on MPT, but will run nationally on August 28. It says to check your local listings.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/maryland/142898-do-people-maryland-consider-themselves-north-4.html

the ICON was just one single tower. hale's current proposal includes an entire outdoor strip of retail and not one tower, but three that i believe are actually taller than the ICON.

But it is in a different location and has more access points. I would of liked to of seen the Icon developed on Hale's property rather than the bland looking structures we have seen proposed so far.


As an admendment to my previous post, there was an explosion at the Lusby LNG plant in the 70's due to vaporization. LNG itself is very stable.

TAXES

Does anyone else think that the taxes in Baltimore City hinder its development?

The Global Harbors Documentary last night on MPT kick a**! I didn't realize that the Baltimore waterfront was so revolutionary. It made me proud.

I agree!

At the end it said you could purchase the dvd but I don't see it anywhere.

2R Second Reader
Land Use and TransportationPlanned Unit Development - Designation - Guilford/Holliday Towers
FOR the purpose of approving the application of RWN Development Group, LLC,
its affiliates and assigns, who are either the developer, contract purchaser, potential
owner, or owner of certain properties known as 211 East Pleasant Street (a/k/a 320
Guilford Avenue), 310-318 Guilford Avenue, 222 East Saratoga Street, 407 East
Saratoga Street, 231-233 Holliday Street, 235-239 Holliday Street, and 154, 158,
160, 162, and 164 North Gay Street (collectively referred to as “the Property”), to
have the Property designated a Business Planned Unit Development; and approving
the Development Plan submitted by the applicant.
08-0110Sponsors:
William H. Cole, IV REPORTED FAVORABLE WITH AMENDMENT

June 16th is the next meeting with the city council. Let's hope to hear something shortly after that!!!

I heard mention today that Camden Station is going to be undergoing an expansion soon. Anybody else heard this?

Hola K25150 and everyone else, I say Seattle is light years behind Baltimore in the sense that the overwhelming majority of Seattle natives (emphasis on 'natives') absolutely deplore the cities 'status' as a cosmopolitan place. To hear it from them, Seattle was happily a 'sleepy northwestern town' and to this day that's what they want. They absolutely hate all of the tall, sleek, beautiful buildings that dominate the skyline (which we would kill for in Baltimore) and up until about 6 months ago, there was a height restriction on towers because everyone here resented the Columbia Tower (the tallest building west of Chicago). Everyone here resents Microsoft for bringing people and jobs to their happily sleepy town. Seriously. Obviously there are exceptions, as there are everywhere, but the overwhelming opinion is that Seattle would be better off WITHOUT all of the business, attention, etc. I'm not making this up. Different strokes for different folks, but it seems surreal coming from Baltimore.

I'll put it this way, Seattlelites have the "problems" that we would LOVE to have in Baltimore... 'damn! Another corporate giant is moving into town!', 'Damn! There's another 40 story condo tower sold out before it opens!' and on and on it goes.

Hope that answers the question.

Did anyone watch the World Harbors show last night? I thought it was really good. Great historic photos and clips. I also enjoyed learning about how other cities have used and continue to use (Belfast) Baltimore as a template for their own urban waterfront renewal.

I thought the show was well done. I was there for the tall ships at the Inner Harbor ( I was 9) and the opening of Harbor Place. It brought back memories for me. I look forward to visiting those other cities in the show. My Dad told us stories of the harbor when it was a slum, told to him by my great grandfather who was a Baltimore City Police Officer in the late 1800s to 1910 and his beat was the Harbor. It apparently was of ruff area for a long time. I am proud to say I am born and raised here. Hopefully we can find some more visionaries to fix the rest of the city.

so, in other words, thrill, it sounds like you're saying that seattle is light years behind in the mind of the people, but the city itself is no where near behind us.

correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't seattle have the monorail trains for their transportation system? monorail systems are generally promoted as futuristic technology. we'd die to have something like that.

Oh yea, you're absolutely right... light years behind in the minds, NOT the city itself. Actually, as someone who enjoys forward thinking, I love the things they do here (for the most part). Keep in mind, the monorails are a source of major contempt here too. That being said, their rail systems are very well thought out, connecting population centers, business parks, traversing downtown, it's really quite impressive, but there's a ton of resistance.

I'm not critisizing the natives by any means, but it really is weird to here so much complaining about moving forward before you have to do things out of NECCESSITY.

Oh, and while tyou're sweltering in a good old fashioned heatwave, we're "enjoying" 50 degree HIGH temparatures and rain. You really wouldn't believe how much it rains here... and the crab cakes suck.

... and oops, I DO know that 'hear' is the proper way to spell the version I accidentally spelled 'here'. As you were.

THRILL,

OK makes sense but every city, even transient cities like Seattle have their local yokals. I thought the height restriction was because of downtown's proximity to Boeing Field? Love that place but hate the weather. It's a clean and bustling low crime big city with a great skyline.

Seattle is up there all alone so they dominate the NW US. They aren't sandwiched like we are here and don't have to compete with the world capital 40 miles away.

Thoughts on Baltimore's new Ritz Carleton . . .

Many on the board here seem critical of the new Ritz Carleton. Here's my take: In isolation, the building (to an untrained eye, such as myself) strikes me as classy and one-of-a-kind. Indeed, I think that, as long as the rest of Key Highway is developed (that is, the stretch directly south of Harborview) with a mostly tall and sleek structures, it will add to Key Highway's appeal by injecting variety into the street. Conversely, if the rest of Key Highway continues to go undeveloped, I agree with those who believe that Baltimore will have missed a great opportunity by having chosen to develop the Ritz the way it did.

Those gasholder sites are usually pretty heavily contaminated and future use as a park would be fantastic. I have demolished 5 of them in the US and 2 in the UK. They are really interesting structures. They were all designed and built by a Baltimore company named Bartlett Hayward. One of the last ones in existence is on Cold Spring and the JFX.
They weren't used so much for storage as they were to regulate the pressure. Modern day technology has reduced a structure of that size down to a structure the size of a minivan.

There is a really good book about Bartlett Hayward entitled "Iron Men and Their Dogs" written by Ferdinand Claiborne Latobe

Bartlett Hayward was also responsible for designing many of the cast iron facade buildings that Baltimore is known for. The only one that is left that I can think of is the old Wilkens Robins Building located at 308-312 Pratt Street.

I still miss the gasholders a little bit, as they were there most of my life...they were really quite massive structures. Traveling thru South Baltimore during the '50's and '60's, along Hanover St., one could quite often catch a slight whiff of gas, especially during the summer. I thought I read somewhere that they were the largest in the world. Just 1 of those small white tanks holds something like 60 times the gas of one of those giant holders.

Sorry ya'll. My posts have never been well received on this Baltimore forum. Heaven forbid I want something bigger for Baltimore. Just giving my opinion. Like I said I love Baltimore and was raised and been here for 30 years. I'd just like us to crawl out of our "The Wire" image and go up a tier or two. Excuse me.

It seems people on here resent very infrequent posters like myself coming from seemingly nowhere and out of the blue criticizing Baltimore's development. Is that it? Did I hit it on the head? You want me to follow the "if you don't have anything nice to say" credo?

I'm sorry you had a bad day. I'll try and make it better. How about this. I say "Baltimore is a top tier city in a 3rd world country".

Lighten up. No one cares how frequently or infrequently someone posts here. And by the way, I'd like us to crawl out of our "The Wire" image too. Now we agree. :cheers:

The other brother,
Darrell

the ICON was just one single tower. hale's current proposal includes an entire outdoor strip of retail and not one tower, but three that i believe are actually taller than the ICON.

Yes, but Hale's doesn't block a very dense residential neighborhood. There is mostly industry behind behind his project and they don't care so much about vistas.

Personally, I'm glad the Icon was defeated. I don't want to see a solid wall of highrises along the waterfront. Every highrise built along the water takes potential buyers away from the downtown highrise housing market. I'd rather see the highrises downtown (blocking my view), then an Ocean City like wall of waterfront highrises along our shoreline. I suppose that mekes me an IMBY - In My Back Yard.

~~~~~

The Mercy crane grew by 3 sections after a several week stall. I suspect they will be installing the rest of it this weekend. Right now, just the shaft sections are up.

In today's Sun:

Asked for the two or three largest changes the council made to Dixon's budget, Rawlings-Blake pointed to a $2 million transfer of bond money that was expected to be spent on the development of a parking garage under Rash Field in the Inner Harbor. It will instead be used for recreation centers.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.spend11jun11,0,5563983.story

And from "B":

Dixon’s budget is 10.4 percent larger than last year’s budget. Despite that, last night the council committee made no cuts. One-tenth of one percent of the funds were redirected to other services: $2 million allocated for a parking garage under Inner Harbor’s Rash Field will now be used for recreation centers, $500,000 will now go to the Healthy Neighborhoods program, and $2 million is being redirected toward youth programs (but not the hunger-striking Peer-to-Peer kids).

http://www.bthesite.com/archives/2008/06/city-council-lets-budget-slide/

Oops. Make that yesterday's Sun and "B".

need for rec centers > than rash field redo and parking garage

need for rec centers > than rash field redo and parking garage

I hear what you're saying, but both could be used to reach the same end. I agree though, Baltimore's recreation centers are absurdly underfunded.

The garage underneath Rash Field will be funded by parking revenue bonds, no? Was the $2 million intended for the amenities (field, volleyball, dog run, etc.) on top?

The garage underneath Rash Field will be funded by parking revenue bonds, no? Was the $2 million intended for the amenities (field, volleyball, dog run, etc.) on top?

Yeah, it will cost WAY more than $2 million for an underground parking garage.

Im VERY pissed off with Ritz-Carlton, they are hq right in Maryland but we dont have any of there damn hotels, Atlanta is working on there 3rd or 4th hotel. I know the harbor can support a ritz and not just a ritz residents. With four seasons coming up they should be planning to locate a hotel around the inner harbor somewhere. I think we deserve at least 3 ritz-carlton hotels just because its hq in chevy chase, md. When are we going to get upscale department stores, upscale retail I would like to see at least a Tiffany, Nordstrom(we can really can support one),and Nemian Marcus, we have enough $$$. they can overlook over the demographics. I know that we have the Rodeo Drive of the east but cant we still get the stores into our main city?

who said something that damn dumb to say that a underground garage will cost 2 million. unless its a very small one. lol

Man! Talk about an extreme NIMBYism!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.estimates12jun12,0,7277197.story

If they bitch about this blocking views, don't ever expect IHE to push eastward.

Yeah, it will cost WAY more than $2 million for an underground parking garage.

Thanks, Scott. If the two mil are just for amenities, may be possible for the Waterfront Partnership to raise that privately and keep this project on track.

Man! Talk about an extreme NIMBYism!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.estimates12jun12,0,7277197.story

If they bitch about this blocking views, don't ever expect IHE to push eastward.

Eh. Everybody in Fells Point has strong views about something.

Man! Talk about an extreme NIMBYism!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.estimates12jun12,0,7277197.story

If they bitch about this blocking views, don't ever expect IHE to push eastward.

i think they have a point. why block the view of the water from thames street? the boat is a movable object. it can dock over at brown's wharf or somewhere else close by where it won't have the visual impact.

Isnt there a water park underconstruction some where in either arunel county, howard county or did those plans fall through?

Isnt there a water park underconstruction some where in either arunel county, howard county or did those plans fall through?


Not thay I know of.

From BaltimoreGrows Blog (www.baltimoregrows.com):

Sweeping Renovations to Baltimore Broom Factory
The old Baltimore Broom Factory, which sits at a highly visible location on the corner of Boston and Conkling Streets in Southeast Baltimore’s Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, will be undergoing a redevelopment over the summer months. The building, which really was a broom factory at one point, previously contained low rent studio space for artists, fabric suppliers, and the like. Rumor has it that the newly renovated building will be home to a new 300 seat restaurant. The Broom Factory project will complement other developments in the area including the Brewers Hill Project by SBER across Conkling St. and Ed Hale’s Canton Crossing projet across Boston St. Over the next four years, this area of Southeast Baltimore stands to gain over 1000 housing units and thousands of feet of retail space.
http://www.baltimoregrows.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/baltimore-broom-factory.jpg

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

I went to the Charles Street Trolley meeting today at Church of the Incarnation in Charles Village. I got there right at 5:30 when it started and there were at least 30-40 people already there, so it was a big turn out. There wasn't a whole lot of new information, save for the fact that they determined that it is feasible and they will proceed with it.

Couple of other points of interest:

1. It will be fixed rail. The rubber tire option is no more.

2. The modern style tram seems to have beaten out the classic trolley look. This isn't official, but there was only one photo of the classic trolley rendering in the entire place.

3. The benefits zone tax that the media has made a big issue out of is apparently not at all as the newspapers describe it. The way it will work is that it will be $00.013 (not $0.02 as the Sun or Examiner stated) for every $100 of assessed property value, and it will not apply to owner occupied residential units, which according to their chart only accounts for 11% of the total property value within 1/2 mile of the corridor anyway.

4. The overall atmosphere in the room was that the community was in favor of the trolley. What I learned from talking to the meeting organizers and neighbors who had been to planning events before is that the "opposition" that the Baltimore media is constantly talking to and reporting on consists of exactly, and no more than, four people. I was told that they are infamous at planning meetings for their opposition to new taxes, and as such their complaints about the merits of the trolley were being given little weight.

Anyhow, it was interesting to see the presentation. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the next step entails.

I heard from one of the sales guys that Walgreens is going to take a big slug of space in the Broom Factory.

Thats nice South Baltimore has seen a good boom

this is the waterpark-resort I was talking about I think it is cancelled because there website is gone

http://themeparks.about.com/od/findindoorwaterparks1/p/GrandIsleWP.htm

this is the closest thing I could find to it :nuts:

From BaltimoreGrows Blog (www.baltimoregrows.com):

Couple of other points of interest:

1. It will be fixed rail. The rubber tire option is no more.

2. The modern style tram seems to have beaten out the classic trolley look. This isn't official, but there was only one photo of the classic trolley rendering in the entire place.

3. The benefits zone tax that the media has made a big issue out of is apparently not at all as the newspapers describe it. The way it will work is that it will be $00.013 (not $0.02 as the Sun or Examiner stated) for every $100 of assessed property value, and it will not apply to owner occupied residential units, which according to their chart only accounts for 11% of the total property value within 1/2 mile of the corridor anyway.

4. The overall atmosphere in the room was that the community was in favor of the trolley. What I learned from talking to the meeting organizers and neighbors who had been to planning events before is that the "opposition" that the Baltimore media is constantly talking to and reporting on consists of exactly, and no more than, four people. I was told that they are infamous at planning meetings for their opposition to new taxes, and as such their complaints about the merits of the trolley were being given little weight.

Anyhow, it was interesting to see the presentation. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the next step entails.

It seems ironic that this would come up just at the point where the city is doing new pavement and streetscaping on Charles St in Mt Vernon. In time to tear it up again for rails?

Man! Talk about an extreme NIMBYism!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.estimates12jun12,0,7277197.story

If they bitch about this blocking views, don't ever expect IHE to push eastward.

I didn't think anybody lived out there where that dock that thing. It is dumb, a river boat on the bay, but it's usually parked out at the end of the pier. In regard to IHE, I don't thinks it's supposed to go any further east than the condos at Lancaster and Caroline anyway. The bottom line, from the article seems to be "Of the paddlewheel boat, he said: "We just don't like it there." It must have been a slow day for news.

Does anyone know what the status is of the fountain that is planned for the West Harbor Park (not sure if I got the park's name right; it's the new one right by the visitor center at the Inner Harbor)?

Also, does anyone know why the fountains at the new center plaza park are off?

Thanks.

Man! Talk about an extreme NIMBYism!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.estimates12jun12,0,7277197.story

If they bitch about this blocking views, don't ever expect IHE to push eastward.
They're complaining about a boat? Are they serious? Some people truly have no life. I mean that.

This is a good question, Mkroopn. I've been wondering what the status was on this fountain. It would definitely be a great asset to the West Shore Park.

PPL in Baltimore are seriously weird sometimes. Control freaks to say the least. The way I hear about "views" it seems like everyone is unemployed and picks a plot of land to sit on and just stare in one direction for the next 50 years only getting up to reproduce, hoping that one day their grandkids can sit on that spot and see the same exact thing they saw 50 years ago.

I now see why everyone says Baltimore is a slow city. I guess they'll only be happy if the boat looks like its from the 17th and 18th centuries back when Baltimore was the hip ship building city so we can relive the glory days.. and to that i say.. is it any wonder our skyline is filled with brick boxes??

http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/images/schooner.jpg

http://www.all-hotels.com/images/hotels/pegasus/images_DI_08218_08218_b1.jpg

Columbia gets new Headquarters Company:

Satellite provider Integral Systems Inc. said today that it is moving its 230-employee headquarters from Prince George's County to Columbia in Howard County.

The company, which will officially announce the move at an event on Monday, plans to use 131,000 square feet of space at 6721 Columbia Gateway Drive near Interstate 95. It said the building is under construction and expects to move in February or March of next year.

Integral Systems provides satellite and related systems to satellite operators worldwide as well as software for equipment monitoring. It said it needs space for continued growth.

The company has weathered several management shake-ups, first in 2006 when CEO Steven R. Chamberlain left after being charged with sexual misconduct and then last year as his successor and the chief financial officer resigned to take executive vice president posts.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-integral0612,0,6101668.story

A good link: http://www.arcwheeler.com/news/ARCWheelerForeverYoung.pdf

Read the article. At the end there is an interesting tidbit of info on 10 Inner Harbor that may interest you all. :)

WTF they will build in the "burbs" but not one of the best damn harbors in the usa. for us they would like to propose to get our hopes up high then postpon it. In the philly burbs they will build as fast as they can.

From the article Steven W. linked.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Let’s talk specifically about your plans for ARCWheeler. With Baby Boomers your focus, what sort of properties are you looking to develop?

We have two primary projects. We have 10 Rittenhouse, which is our first venture into this particular business. It, again, follows the demographics. We think housing for people in the 50-plus age range is going to be very much in demand, short of a terrible economy, which, obviously, is happening right now. But we think it’s cyclical. We see this as a 15-year horizon. We’re also about ready to announce a project in Baltimore, in the Inner Harbor, which will be mixed use like 10 Rittenhouse, but it will have more of an office component to it. We feel comfortable with that. Obviously, in today’s age, you have to be very careful because there’s a thermometer
out there that goes beyond demographics. It’s economic in nature. There’s going to be a period of observation before we do a lot of new stuff.

Both of the projects are tied together by the “10” brand, which seems to be an effort to align all ARCWheeler projects in a single long-term vision. Could you tell me about the concept?

We thought long and hard about 10 Rittenhouse. What do we call this thing? It became clear to us that the best thing that you could do when you have a great property is basically call it what it is. It denotes a very high-end, luxury product. And that’s really what we do. So, we’ve taken that show on the road to Baltimore with 10 Inner Harbor. Now, we’re looking at taking it further. We’re looking at doing a hotel brand called “10 Hotel.” That’s still in it’s infancy, and we haven’t done one yet. But we’re hoping to next year. Again, it will denote a very high-end, very high-quality situation. •

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Still seems tentative to me, but Wada's speculation that Aegon could be the tenant is supported by this:

"My favorite conservative stock for 2008 is Aegon (NYSE: AEG), a large diversified life insurance and pension services company headquartered in the Netherlands," says Sy Harding, editor of Street Smart Investing.

"Aegon conducts 73% of its business in the Americas, 14% in the United Kingdom, and 11% in the Netherlands. Value Line estimates the company's revenue will grow by 10% in 2007, with earnings per share rising 8%.

"The company has been on an impressive growth track since 2005, and its goal is to double the level of its 2005 business by the year 2010. With 2007 revenues running 48% higher than 2005, the company seems well on its way to achieving that goal.

Full piece at http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/22/best-stocks-for-2008-aegon-aeg-looks-to-insure-taiwan/

MacKenzie Commercial tapped to fill Baltimore's World Trade CenterBaltimore Business Journal - by Daniel J. Sernovitz Staff

MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC has been picked to help fill up the World Trade Center Baltimore, the iconic waterfront office building that the state decided last year not to sell to private owners.

Florida-based Meridian Management Corp., which manages the 30-floor, 300,000-square-foot building at 401 E. Pratt St. for the Maryland Port Administration, has awarded a subcontract to Lutherville-based MacKenzie to handle leasing and rent collection, Meridian said in a news release Tuesday.

"The new partnership with Meridian and MacKenzie will allow both organizations to combine coordinated efforts to return the World Trade Center to full occupancy," James J. White, executive director of the port administration, said in a statement.

In February 2007, Gov. Martin O'Malley officially called off the state's efforts to sell the building, citing issues including an occupancy rate that had fallen to about 52 percent.

At the time, acting Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said the state believed it was important to lease up the trade center's vacant space before resuming efforts to sell the building.

"We should only be interested in selling it if we're absolutely convinced that we're getting maximum value for the building, and I'm not convinced of that," Porcari told the Business Journal in February 2007.

The state has made some strides since then, including signing its Department of Business and Economic Development to about 77,000 square feet.

The building's current occupancy rate was not disclosed in the release, and representatives from the Port Administration and MacKenzie Commercial could not be reached for immediate comment.

There are two anchor tenants in the building. Schulman, Treem, Kaminkow, Gilden and Ravenell has a full floor in the building, and a second law firm, McKennon Shelton & Henn LLP is expanding its space to take up a full floor as well, the release said.

Does anybody know what is going in the place of the old Cold Storage Building across the street from the MD Pen.?

they are ripping out all of the old concrete sidewalks around the verizon building and are installing new brick/pavers (i think).

that should be a nice addition to the corner. i've heard that there is no funding in sight for the pratt street redesign, so i think our only hope is that individual property owners redo the streetscape in fron of their buildings.

it's hot out there today. i was trying to imagine pratt street replanted with new trees to replace the ones on the berms.....it's going to be eternally hot out there for years.

also, to follow up on the shoddy work of operation orange cone---riverside avenue had a giant watermain break underneath the roadway this morning. it had ripped through the street and was flooding out the 1000 block. hopefully this will make them go back and pave the street correctly!

Everytime I walk past the building I want to build my apartment in it. Can't beat the location.

MacKenzie Commercial tapped to fill Baltimore's World Trade CenterBaltimore Business Journal - by Daniel J. Sernovitz Staff

MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC has been picked to help fill up the World Trade Center Baltimore, the iconic waterfront office building that the state decided last year not to sell to private owners.

Does anybody know what is going in the place of the old Cold Storage Building across the street from the MD Pen.?

Pretty sure this is it (page 15) ... room to hold the young'ns and the dames.

http://www.dbm.maryland.gov/dbm_publishing/public_content/dbm_search/budget/tocfy2006_2010capimproveplan/pubsafecorr.pdf

DIVISION OF PRETRIAL DETENTION AND SERVICES
BALTIMORE CITY DETENTION CENTER (Baltimore City)
Budget Code: QPOOOI
Property Acquisition and Demolition FY 2006 Total $4,940
Acquire and demolish existing buildings on properties adjacent to the existing Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). This will provide land on which to construct new facilities for young detainees and for women. These new facilities are needed to provide improved conditions for these populations, and forestall threatened legal action by the U. S. Department of Justice. The FY 2006 budget includes funds to remove hazardous materials
and demolish buildings on the acquired property.

Everytime I walk past the [World Trade Center] I want to build my apartment in it. Can't beat the location.

Yeah. It'd make a great hotel. And, presumably, replacing the "WTC" moniker would make the jihadis less anxious to bomb it. (If they ever were.) That "stand-off" wire around the harbor perimeter is f-ugly and should be removed.

From the article Steven W. linked.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Let’s talk specifically about your plans for ARCWheeler. With Baby Boomers your focus, what sort of properties are you looking to develop?

We have two primary projects. We have 10 Rittenhouse, which is our first venture into this particular business. It, again, follows the demographics. We think housing for people in the 50-plus age range is going to be very much in demand, short of a terrible economy, which, obviously, is happening right now. But we think it’s cyclical. We see this as a 15-year horizon. We’re also about ready to announce a project in Baltimore, in the Inner Harbor, which will be mixed use like 10 Rittenhouse, but it will have more of an office component to it. We feel comfortable with that. Obviously, in today’s age, you have to be very careful because there’s a thermometer
out there that goes beyond demographics. It’s economic in nature. There’s going to be a period of observation before we do a lot of new stuff.

Both of the projects are tied together by the “10” brand, which seems to be an effort to align all ARCWheeler projects in a single long-term vision. Could you tell me about the concept?

We thought long and hard about 10 Rittenhouse. What do we call this thing? It became clear to us that the best thing that you could do when you have a great property is basically call it what it is. It denotes a very high-end, luxury product. And that’s really what we do. So, we’ve taken that show on the road to Baltimore with 10 Inner Harbor. Now, we’re looking at taking it further. We’re looking at doing a hotel brand called “10 Hotel.” That’s still in it’s infancy, and we haven’t done one yet. But we’re hoping to next year. Again, it will denote a very high-end, very high-quality situation. •

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Still seems tentative to me, but Wada's speculation that Aegon could be the tenant is supported by this:

"My favorite conservative stock for 2008 is Aegon (NYSE: AEG), a large diversified life insurance and pension services company headquartered in the Netherlands," says Sy Harding, editor of Street Smart Investing.

"Aegon conducts 73% of its business in the Americas, 14% in the United Kingdom, and 11% in the Netherlands. Value Line estimates the company's revenue will grow by 10% in 2007, with earnings per share rising 8%.

"The company has been on an impressive growth track since 2005, and its goal is to double the level of its 2005 business by the year 2010. With 2007 revenues running 48% higher than 2005, the company seems well on its way to achieving that goal.

Full piece at http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/22/best-stocks-for-2008-aegon-aeg-looks-to-insure-taiwan/

Those are the exact points I was very interested in and thought you guys would be too. :)

Provident Bank, Baltimore's largest independently owned bank, has reached a deal to relocate about 125 workers to a downtown office tower.

The bank has leased about 30,500 square feet at 225 N. Calvert St. as part of the consolidation of its credit administration division.

The employees will be moving into the 18-story building in October from two other downtown offices and another in Woodlawn in Baltimore County, said Cliff Webster, managing director of the division.

The credit administration workers are responsible for supporting the bank's commercial and consumer loan operations, bank spokeswoman Nancy Alperstein said.

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Continued Master Plan Review – Tide Point
Tide Point PUD/Locust Point
Developer: SBER
Architect: Design Collective
4

things but they usually happen. Let's hope for good news soon.




From the article Steven W. linked.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Let’s talk specifically about your plans for ARCWheeler. With Baby Boomers your focus, what sort of properties are you looking to develop?

We have two primary projects. We have 10 Rittenhouse, which is our first venture into this particular business. It, again, follows the demographics. We think housing for people in the 50-plus age range is going to be very much in demand, short of a terrible economy, which, obviously, is happening right now. But we think it’s cyclical. We see this as a 15-year horizon. We’re also about ready to announce a project in Baltimore, in the Inner Harbor, which will be mixed use like 10 Rittenhouse, but it will have more of an office component to it. We feel comfortable with that. Obviously, in today’s age, you have to be very careful because there’s a thermometer
out there that goes beyond demographics. It’s economic in nature. There’s going to be a period of observation before we do a lot of new stuff.

Both of the projects are tied together by the “10” brand, which seems to be an effort to align all ARCWheeler projects in a single long-term vision. Could you tell me about the concept?

We thought long and hard about 10 Rittenhouse. What do we call this thing? It became clear to us that the best thing that you could do when you have a great property is basically call it what it is. It denotes a very high-end, luxury product. And that’s really what we do. So, we’ve taken that show on the road to Baltimore with 10 Inner Harbor. Now, we’re looking at taking it further. We’re looking at doing a hotel brand called “10 Hotel.” That’s still in it’s infancy, and we haven’t done one yet. But we’re hoping to next year. Again, it will denote a very high-end, very high-quality situation. •

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Still seems tentative to me, but Wada's speculation that Aegon could be the tenant is supported by this:

"My favorite conservative stock for 2008 is Aegon (NYSE: AEG), a large diversified life insurance and pension services company headquartered in the Netherlands," says Sy Harding, editor of Street Smart Investing.

"Aegon conducts 73% of its business in the Americas, 14% in the United Kingdom, and 11% in the Netherlands. Value Line estimates the company's revenue will grow by 10% in 2007, with earnings per share rising 8%.

"The company has been on an impressive growth track since 2005, and its goal is to double the level of its 2005 business by the year 2010. With 2007 revenues running 48% higher than 2005, the company seems well on its way to achieving that goal.

Full piece at http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/22/best-stocks-for-2008-aegon-aeg-looks-to-insure-taiwan/

Arc Wheeler sounds like they're going to whip up something big for us. Go Baltimore! WOOHOO!!

:( Sad news...... :cry:

Red line hits a wall
Transit plan costs and proposals clash with city ideas, federal guidelines
By Michael Dresser | Sun Reporter
June 14, 2008
New cost projections for a proposed east-west transit line across Baltimore show that the most widely favored alternatives are too expensive to qualify for federal funding, while the only clearly affordable choices are ones already rejected by City Hall.

Cost-effectiveness figures released this week by the Maryland Transit Administration for the proposed Red Line show alternatives that involve tunneling to put portions of the line underground exceed the federal standard for consideration of 50 percent funding of the project.

The Red Line, a top priority of city elected officials and business leaders, was originally envisioned as a connection between the Woodlawn area - site of Social Security headquarters and other major federal installations - and Canton.

The O'Malley administration decided to expand the scope of the project to take in the Johns Hopkins Bayview medical complex, an important employment center in East Baltimore.



Of the alternatives the MTA considered for the Red Line, three light rail options and four involving "rapid" buses in dedicated lanes would have taken portions of the line underground.

All of them exceeded the figure of $24 per hour of user benefit that Federal Transit Administration uses as its cut-off line for judging the cost-effectiveness of competing transit proposals.

The two proposals involving the most tunneling - and the least potential disruption to neighborhoods - came in so far over the mark that MTA officials said it is practically impossible to fund them.

"They're pretty far away," said Henry Kay, deputy MTA administrator for planning, at a meeting of the Red Line Citizens Advisory Council on Thursday night.

Those alternatives would have run the line underground down Cooks Lane and Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore and through downtown and Fells Point.

MTA officials said several alternatives involving less extensive tunneling came close enough to the federal cutoff line that they might be able to "tweak" them to the point that they could qualify for federal funding - through such measures as eliminating stations or building the line in segments rather than at its full 14.5-mile length.

But while those alternatives might preserve tunneling through downtown, Fells Point and Cooks Lane, they would require the MTA to run the line on the surface along Edmondson Avenue - a prospect that is anathema to many West Baltimore residents.

The state has already filed a draft environmental impact statement with the federal transit agency.

The MTA expects to hold public hearings on the plans in late summer and to make a final choice of route and whether to build a bus route or a rail line this winter.

The MTA figures for cost-effectiveness - a formula that weighs projected ridership, construction costs and other factors - show that all-surface bus rapid transit and light rail would qualify with figures of $18 and $22 respectively, compared with almost $64 for the most expensive alternative of rapid bus with extensive tunneling.

But Baltimore Transportation Director Alfred H. Foxx Jr. told the citizens council that the city would not support a surface route through downtown because of the impact on traffic.

State Sen. Verna Jones, a Baltimore Democrat, said she believes that the MTA has a good chance of devising an alternative plan that would fall under the $24 barrier.

"I believe we need to do more tweaking with the different alternatives, and we'll come up with a project that makes sense," she said. "I don't think there are any deal breakers. I think everything can be worked out."

For some residents of communities along the proposed path, the deal has already been broken.

Denise Bouknight, a board member of the West Hills Community Association, said she flatly opposes the project.

Even if the MTA tunnels under Cooks Lane, a largely residential street that connects U.S. 40 with Security Boulevard, the Red Line could "destroy" her neighborhood, she said.

Bouknight told MTA officials that they don't appear to care about the residents.

"We did not ask you to come into our community," she said.

But others said they would keep looking for a way to build the system without harming the communities it passes through.

"There's no option. We need this system," said Warren Smith, a West Hills resident who serves on the advisory council. "It's just the process of us getting there does not value the community."



Lost in the discussion of bus rapid transit and light rail cost projections were proposals for a traditional heavy-rail subway system. MTA officials said a less formal study of a subway alternative showed costs roughly similar to the most expensive light rail and bus option.

But Ed Cohen, president of the Transit Riders Action Council and a member of the advisory panel, said the MTA's numbers showed that most of the cost of building heavy rail would come from underground construction on the west side.

He said a mostly elevated heavy rail line - running from the existing Johns Hopkins Metro station to the Baltimore Travel Plaza on the east side - would be an affordable and faster alternative to light rail or bus.

He suggested a subway line could be extended to the west side in phases.

Cohen said local opposition to any plans that involve a surface line through neighborhoods could doom the Red Line as it vies with other transit projects for limited federal funds.

"It's hard to see how we'd win in the competition even if we qualify," he said.

michael.dresser@baltsun.com

:(

Invest in future of rail transit!
June 14, 2008

With gas prices around $4 a gallon in Baltimore and higher in other parts of the country, it is apparent that a tipping point has indeed been reached ("Getting on Board," June 8).

As a student at the Johns Hopkins University, I often rely on public transportation to get to the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. However, one of my favorite places, Washington, remains out of reach to me by public transportation because the MARC train doesn't run on weekends and I am often too busy to head to Washington on weekdays.

Yes, Amtrak trains do run on the weekends. But with their high cost and constant delays, they're not worth the effort.

One of the transportation proposals that excited me in recent years was the Baltimore-Washington maglev project, a high-speed magnetic levitation train that could provide an alternative to the congestion of MARC and the delays of Amtrak. But the project continues to be stalled by political setbacks.



Clearly, the federal government has to spend taxpayers' money more wisely and invest in remodeling our transportation systems and enhancing the public transit infrastructure.

If commuters see railways as the future, funding for them must be readily available - especially for cleaner alternatives such as the maglev project.

Adam Goebel

Baltimore

Red Line news is a bummer. The main problem seems to be the shrinking federal support for transit and localities have to fight over the crumbs. In the old days the feds would pony up 80 percent.Considering the cost of the RedLine would be a few days of what's spent in Iraq it really bugs me.

:( Sad news...... :cry:

Red line hits a wall
Transit plan costs and proposals clash with city ideas, federal guidelines
By Michael Dresser | Sun Reporter
June 14, 2008

:(

Yeah, I just saw this as well. It's not as bad as the headline makes it sound, but it's not great news nonetheless. At least there are still some good alignments in the running, and it appears from the tone of the article, at least, that the light rail alternative with tunneling in downtown, Cooks Lane, and Fells Point looks like the favored option.

The good news is that MTA wants to make a final determination as to the mode and route by the end of the summer. If the final selection doesn't do too much to piss off the Fells Point junta (if that is even possible), this might be a nice turning point in the project. I think it is the uncertainty of just what the Red Line is going to entail that scares a lot of the community organizations and ad hoc opposition groups.

The Inner Harbor is aging and needs a redesign, particularly the pavilion buildings.

http://flickr.com/photos/rhoward454/2483965255/

this photo is great. i feel like this could be a view of the hanover street bridge from westport at some point.

that's really going to be great over there once its all done....though it's going to take forever. i think it could be like vancouver on the middle branch. keep the water's edge soft and park like, with trails and boardwalks. let taller, slender development rise above to take advantage of views. baltimore's waterfront rec park

:( Sad news...... :cry:

Red line hits a wall
Transit plan costs and proposals clash with city ideas, federal guidelines
By Michael Dresser | Sun Reporter
June 14, 2008
New cost projections for a proposed east-west transit line across Baltimore show that the most widely favored alternatives are too expensive to qualify for federal funding, while the only clearly affordable choices are ones already rejected by City Hall.

Cost-effectiveness figures released this week by the Maryland Transit Administration for the proposed Red Line show alternatives that involve tunneling to put portions of the line underground exceed the federal standard for consideration of 50 percent funding of the project.

The Red Line, a top priority of city elected officials and business leaders, was originally envisioned as a connection between the Woodlawn area - site of Social Security headquarters and other major federal installations - and Canton.

The O'Malley administration decided to expand the scope of the project to take in the Johns Hopkins Bayview medical complex, an important employment center in East Baltimore.



Of the alternatives the MTA considered for the Red Line, three light rail options and four involving "rapid" buses in dedicated lanes would have taken portions of the line underground.

All of them exceeded the figure of $24 per hour of user benefit that Federal Transit Administration uses as its cut-off line for judging the cost-effectiveness of competing transit proposals.

The two proposals involving the most tunneling - and the least potential disruption to neighborhoods - came in so far over the mark that MTA officials said it is practically impossible to fund them.

"They're pretty far away," said Henry Kay, deputy MTA administrator for planning, at a meeting of the Red Line Citizens Advisory Council on Thursday night.

Those alternatives would have run the line underground down Cooks Lane and Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore and through downtown and Fells Point.

MTA officials said several alternatives involving less extensive tunneling came close enough to the federal cutoff line that they might be able to "tweak" them to the point that they could qualify for federal funding - through such measures as eliminating stations or building the line in segments rather than at its full 14.5-mile length.

But while those alternatives might preserve tunneling through downtown, Fells Point and Cooks Lane, they would require the MTA to run the line on the surface along Edmondson Avenue - a prospect that is anathema to many West Baltimore residents.

The state has already filed a draft environmental impact statement with the federal transit agency.

The MTA expects to hold public hearings on the plans in late summer and to make a final choice of route and whether to build a bus route or a rail line this winter.

The MTA figures for cost-effectiveness - a formula that weighs projected ridership, construction costs and other factors - show that all-surface bus rapid transit and light rail would qualify with figures of $18 and $22 respectively, compared with almost $64 for the most expensive alternative of rapid bus with extensive tunneling.

But Baltimore Transportation Director Alfred H. Foxx Jr. told the citizens council that the city would not support a surface route through downtown because of the impact on traffic.

State Sen. Verna Jones, a Baltimore Democrat, said she believes that the MTA has a good chance of devising an alternative plan that would fall under the $24 barrier.

"I believe we need to do more tweaking with the different alternatives, and we'll come up with a project that makes sense," she said. "I don't think there are any deal breakers. I think everything can be worked out."

For some residents of communities along the proposed path, the deal has already been broken.

Denise Bouknight, a board member of the West Hills Community Association, said she flatly opposes the project.

Even if the MTA tunnels under Cooks Lane, a largely residential street that connects U.S. 40 with Security Boulevard, the Red Line could "destroy" her neighborhood, she said.

Bouknight told MTA officials that they don't appear to care about the residents.

"We did not ask you to come into our community," she said.

But others said they would keep looking for a way to build the system without harming the communities it passes through.

"There's no option. We need this system," said Warren Smith, a West Hills resident who serves on the advisory council. "It's just the process of us getting there does not value the community."



Lost in the discussion of bus rapid transit and light rail cost projections were proposals for a traditional heavy-rail subway system. MTA officials said a less formal study of a subway alternative showed costs roughly similar to the most expensive light rail and bus option.

But Ed Cohen, president of the Transit Riders Action Council and a member of the advisory panel, said the MTA's numbers showed that most of the cost of building heavy rail would come from underground construction on the west side.

He said a mostly elevated heavy rail line - running from the existing Johns Hopkins Metro station to the Baltimore Travel Plaza on the east side - would be an affordable and faster alternative to light rail or bus.

He suggested a subway line could be extended to the west side in phases.

Cohen said local opposition to any plans that involve a surface line through neighborhoods could doom the Red Line as it vies with other transit projects for limited federal funds.

"It's hard to see how we'd win in the competition even if we qualify," he said.

michael.dresser@baltsun.com

:(

Why does Edmondson Ave need an underground right of way?

http://flickr.com/photos/rhoward454/2483965255/

this photo is great. i feel like this could be a view of the hanover street bridge from westport at some point.

that's really going to be great over there once its all done....though it's going to take forever. i think it could be like vancouver on the middle branch. keep the water's edge soft and park like, with trails and boardwalks. let taller, slender development rise above to take advantage of views. baltimore's waterfront rec park

Hmm, can't see the image.

Invest in future of rail transit!
June 14, 2008

With gas prices around $4 a gallon in Baltimore and higher in other parts of the country, it is apparent that a tipping point has indeed been reached ("Getting on Board," June 8).

As a student at the Johns Hopkins University, I often rely on public transportation to get to the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. However, one of my favorite places, Washington, remains out of reach to me by public transportation because the MARC train doesn't run on weekends and I am often too busy to head to Washington on weekdays.

Yes, Amtrak trains do run on the weekends. But with their high cost and constant delays, they're not worth the effort.


One of the transportation proposals that excited me in recent years was the Baltimore-Washington maglev project, a high-speed magnetic levitation train that could provide an alternative to the congestion of MARC and the delays of Amtrak. But the project continues to be stalled by political setbacks.



Clearly, the federal government has to spend taxpayers' money more wisely and invest in remodeling our transportation systems and enhancing the public transit infrastructure.

If commuters see railways as the future, funding for them must be readily available - especially for cleaner alternatives such as the maglev project.

Adam Goebel

Baltimore

The maglev is definitely a good start if its ever manifested. First start with Bmore to DC, then connect the whole Northeast corridor. Eventually hookup with Richmond and connect with the Southeast corridor down to Atlanta. Can only dream.

But before that, since you trying to get to DC on the weekends, the closest think is taking the light rail to BWI, waiting for a bus to get you to Greenbelt Metro. I've done that during rush hour, it took 3 hours to get to my destination, but I assume it'll probably be faster on the weekends.

For future proposals, the Green Line extension from Greenbelt to BWI is just what the doctor ordered.

They absolutely hate all of the tall, sleek, beautiful buildings that dominate the skyline (which we would kill for in Baltimore) and up until about 6 months ago, there was a height restriction on towers because everyone here resented the Columbia Tower (the tallest building west of Chicago).


Just to make a quick correction -- as much as the Columbis tower is IMHO a beautiful tower, the US Bank tower in LA is the tallest west of Chicago at 1,018'

..

I hope they got their money up front. Provident Bank shares have gone from $34 to $7

..

..

Cinncinatti is getting a 650' er. They break ground in 2 weeks.

Why does Edmondson Ave need an underground right of way?

So it can continue to accommodate the auto traffic (that I-70 through Leakin Park was proposed to carry) and much needed on-street parking for residents.

..

..

Cincinatti's Carew Tower is awesome. And they have more than just ten towers there. It's nice and dense and building a nice new big waterfront area next to the stadiums as well as this new tower DD is talking about. Plus, I think the tower will the tallest in the city when built, but I can't remember what the actual height will be when finished. It seems like I read somewhere that it would rise over 574 ft. :?

[QUOTE=Nameless in Balto;21730095]
Do they have something we don't have? I hope it's not as FucUgly as the rest of Ohio QUOTE]

cincinnati is a cool town and it has quite abit in common with baltimore. i don't think you'd like to hear an ohioan's opinion of baltimore, as i'd suspect it's not very good.

i say good for cincy on getting a new tower!

we should be rooting for all cities to get towers and big investments. as people become more comfortable with reinvesting in downtown, we'll get more development... ultimately in baltimore.

land in maryland is a finite resource and with rising fuel costs, baltimore city is once again becoming the future. development in other cities is only going to strengthen that.

Almost

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0140.jpg



http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0143.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0145.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0144.jpg

Legg Mason finally rises out of the ground!!!!!!!!

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0146.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0148.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0149.jpg

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http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0154.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0155.jpg

Here are some pictures from the cummunity GREEN LINE MEETING!!!!!

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0136-1.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0137.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0138.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q81/BigBalto1/850A0139.jpg

Awesome update pix!!!!

..

Red Line news is a bummer. The main problem seems to be the shrinking federal support for transit and localities have to fight over the crumbs. In the old days the feds would pony up 80 percent.Considering the cost of the RedLine would be a few days of what's spent in Iraq it really bugs me.

I've never been very optimistic about the Red Line because of this. I don't understand why Americans are not a lot more pissed about the squandering of our wealth. The Feds have cut the subsidy level, they are not entertaining new subway proposals and the State's Transportation Trust Fund is severely stressed. The Red Line needs to be built right through a dense sector of the city so it's going to be expensive. None of this adds up to good news. I'm curious to see what the final outcome will be but I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to start.

Almost



Legg Mason finally rises out of the ground!!!!!!!!


Great pix BigBalto1! Just the other day I thought I noticed the Legg tower starting to poke above the wall. now I know it's true!:)

For some residents of communities along the proposed path, the deal has already been broken.

Denise Bouknight, a board member of the West Hills Community Association, said she flatly opposes the project.

Even if the MTA tunnels under Cooks Lane, a largely residential street that connects U.S. 40 with Security Boulevard, the Red Line could "destroy" her neighborhood, she said.

Bouknight told MTA officials that they don't appear to care about the residents.

:(

If it is underground how is it destroying your neighborhood? The metro goes through some very expaensive areas on the Wisconson ave line. While there was some intial community opposition, you would have no idea a metro line was beneath it,

Harbor holds key to new city slogan
June 15, 2008
The headline on Edward Gunts' column "Harboring success" (June 9) reminded me of when the city was selecting a new slogan and came up with the generic, unimpressive, forgettable, commercial-sounding "Get In On It."

My sister (a retired English teacher) was visiting from out of state, and came up with a much better city slogan: "Baltimore: Harboring a Great City."

Marge Mitchell

Baltimore

Va. real estate investor to sell downtown office tower
Baltimore Business Journal - by Daniel J. Sernovitz Staff

Wachovia Corp. is one of the largest tenants at 7 Saint Paul St.

Harbor Group International LLC wants to sell the Wachovia Tower, an office tower in downtown Baltimore it bought for $50 million in January 2003.

The timing could be difficult for Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group, given the economy and a tightening in the credit markets. But real estate experts say the 24-story building at 7 Saint Paul St. could still fetch a fair price and has already attracted interest from a handful of out-of-state investment firms.

Representatives from Harbor Group could not be reached for comment.

The building's sale would mark Harbor Group's exit from the city's office market. The investment trust sold two other buildings, the Mercantile Bank & Trust building at 2 Hopkins Plaza and the W.R. Grace building at 10 E. Baltimore St., for $78.9 million in spring 2007.

Wonder how long that Cincy building has been on the drawing board or how long it's been delayed if at all.

..

Cormony Development, developer of Gateway South, finally has their website up with new renderings of Gateway South: http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/projects-gateway-south.html

Phenomenal development, I think.

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-3-lg.jpg

More renderings on the site, but this is the only one I could post here.

Cormony Development, developer of Gateway South, finally has their website up with new renderings of Gateway South: http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/projects-gateway-south.html

Phenomenal development, I think.

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-3-lg.jpg

More renderings on the site, but this is the only one I could post here.

beautiful... finally

Thanks, Peter!! :yes: Again you have shown us the way! :)
A great development indeed!! :)

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-1-ov.jpg
http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-2-ov.jpg

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-2-lg.jpg

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-1-lg.jpg

It looks great!!! :yes:

Reminds me of the Constellation building... but I like it.

...and assuming that Gateway South actually gets moving, does anyone else think that the Lacrosse HQ would make more sense located in the general area? Even their rough rendering for HP would look right at home.

..

..

..

Reminds me of the Constellation building... but I like it.

i agree.

i'm actually a big fan of the constellation building. it's got a lot of nice details and would have worked well as a much larger tower.

the top of this building looks interesting....is it going to have a glow to it?

Those Gateway South renders look amazing. Let's hope they get on it quick.

I think the arena would be another ideal fit, but the city said it was important that it be located near public transportation. The Gateway South article mentions that it's about a 10 minute walk from the Camden Yards light rail station, it's nowhere near the subway and the only other thing I can see is that the Greyhound Terminal would be close... but somehow, I don't think Greyhound is what they were talking about.

The only problem I've got with it is that it's going to displace some solid warehouse businesses. If the whole area grows into a pedestrian friendly retail/sport destination it's going to force the relocation and possible loss of a lot of businesses/jobs.

That Gateway South looks real sweet...much nicer than some of the original plans. I ran across the Website for the Global Harbors MPT show here if anyone is interested...http://www.globalharbors.org/index.html

Silo Point is set to "open" for September, Have any of you guys heard about the prices ? I think they will be disclosed once the project is finished , right ?. Well, there is this site that states units will be starting from 399,000. To me , that sounds about right, around the same price as the townhouses around it.

Cormony Development, developer of Gateway South, finally has their website up with new renderings of Gateway South: http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/projects-gateway-south.html

Phenomenal development, I think.

http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-3-lg.jpg

More renderings on the site, but this is the only one I could post here.

That one wall looks too much like the despised Hilton hotel, though. Why not all glass, like the other side?

That Gateway South looks real sweet...much nicer than some of the original plans. I ran across the Website for the Global Harbors MPT show here if anyone is interested...http://www.globalharbors.org/index.html

cool site. cool video of baltimore harbor. :yes:
thanks for posting the link. :yes:

:)

Part of the red line transit problem deals with the amount of riders per hour vs. the cost to build the line. That is why it makes no sense to build the damn gondolas. It canablizes the red line ridership thus making the line less competitive in the national competition for funding.

~~~~~

What's up with the Mercy tower crane?

Put 3 sections up.
Wait 3 weeks.
put 3 sections up.
Wait 2 weeks......

~~~~~

It "pays" to have friends in high places. For 50 years there was free unlimited parking on the Calvert Street bridge which goes over the JFX. Many people who take MARC park there.

The owner of Doracon construction, the developer of the Parcel Post building (and good friend of the mayor), sues Amtrak because they thought they would be able to park cars under the Parcel Post building, even though Amtrak has the original air rights agreement executed in 1947 which states that the land is Amtrak's to use.

Amtrak sues Doracon to stop them.

The end result? Doracon gets 2 hour parking posted on the Calvert Street bridge on both sides. The signs went up this weekend. Coincidence? I think not. Transit riders be damned, it is all about profit and campaign contributions.

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=5636&type=UTTM
~~~~~

I am glad that the folks in Fells Point, Mt. Vernon, and South Baltimore are as active and vocal as they are. Being involved in your neighborhood is a good thing. Neighborhoods populated by people who aren't involved generally are the ones which are in decline.

QUESTION: What to you get when you cross the Brookshire Hotel with the Hilton Hotel?

ANSWER:


http://www.cormonydevelopment.com/images/projects/gateway/image-3-lg.jpg

More renderings on the site, but this is the only one I could post here.

Looks like a casino to me.

What's to be housed in that building?

The only problem I've got with it is that it's going to displace some solid warehouse businesses. If the whole area grows into a pedestrian friendly retail/sport destination it's going to force the relocation and possible loss of a lot of businesses/jobs.

Plenty of room for them in Fairfield, which is where Maryland Chemical Co. is heading. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4183/is_20050929/ai_n15649414

I think the arena would be another ideal fit, but the city said it was important that it be located near public transportation. The Gateway South article mentions that it's about a 10 minute walk from the Camden Yards light rail station, it's nowhere near the subway and the only other thing I can see is that the Greyhound Terminal would be close... but somehow, I don't think Greyhound is what they were talking about.

Guess it depends on what the meaning of "important" is. The Hamburg Street Light Rail Stop, which serves M&T Bank Stadium, is way underused now, but would get a lot more use if Gateway and a new arena were built.

I've never been very optimistic about the Red Line because of this. I don't understand why Americans are not a lot more pissed about the squandering of our wealth. The Feds have cut the subsidy level, they are not entertaining new subway proposals and the State's Transportation Trust Fund is severely stressed. The Red Line needs to be built right through a dense sector of the city so it's going to be expensive. None of this adds up to good news. I'm curious to see what the final outcome will be but I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to start.

I believe that the days of underfunded mass transit are over. There was a great surge in mass-transit funding after the last gas crises in the 70's and I think it will happen again. Additionally people today are more 'eco-minded'. Mass transit is simply more energy efficient. Baltimore needs to be on the ball to get at the front of the surge of these funds.

Mass transit often falls victim to NIMBY's (talking rail here). However I think people should take a glance at the DC metro. At many stops formally wasteland area such as the Shaw st. stop have changed dramatically and housing values have shot up.

... Mass transit often falls victim to NIMBY's (talking rail here). However I think people should take a glance at the DC metro. At many stops formally wasteland area such as the Shaw st. stop have changed dramatically and housing values have shot up.


"NIMBY" is tossed around a lot on this forum, as if somehow someone who lives on Fleet Street in Fells Point or Edmondson Avenue in west Baltimore doesn't have the right to speak up if they feel their property values are going to be lowered or their lives inconvenienced by a project (as currently proposed) that will mostly benefit people from outside their neighborhood.

It's not at all clear that a largely surface rail project like the Red Line will have anywhere near the benefit that DC's metro had on property values.

Boom time in Baltimore
By Mike Quane
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sunday, June 8th 2008, 4:00 AM

Baltimore used to have a rep as the kind of place you couldn't leave fast enough. Today, it's a destination - and then some. Now it's a vibrant city with many things to do - just figuring out your priorities can be tiring.

In the old days, Baltimore was a spot you merely passed through on the way to Washington, D.C., or points south. Back then, its now-pulsating Inner Harbor area was a shabby eyesore. But a lot of creative thinking, in both the government and private sectors, has given Baltimore an "extreme makeover," and it's become one of the most tourism-oriented cities in the country.

For a tour of the highlights, start at the centerpiece of "new Baltimore," the Inner Harbor, where the modern resurgence began. The downtown waterfront has boat rides, restaurants, clubs, trendy shops, historic ships, museums and more. The most popular attraction here is the National Aquarium, with more than 11,000 marine animals and a stunning exhibit on Australia's wildlife, called "Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes."

Nearby is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the first of today's "luxury ballparks," worth seeing even for those who aren't baseball fans. Daily tours of the park are available. Across from Camden Yards is Geppi's Entertainment Museum, a surprising collection of American pop culture artifacts from many eras, including toys, posters, souvenirs and other collectibles. It's worth a visit for the comic book collection alone.

Also in the same complex is Sports Legends at Camden Yards, with exhibits devoted to the Baltimore Orioles, the Baltimore Ravens and the former Baltimore Colts, including Johnny Unitas, arguably football's greatest quarterback. Nearby is the Babe Ruth Museum, devoted exclusively to the legendary "Sultan of Swat."

One of the key factors in Baltimore's renewal has been its embrace of the arts. A stop at the American Visionary Art Museum shows why it's been voted one of the best in the country. The museum has sometimes funny, sometimes startling works by folk or "untrained" artists, in addition to more conventional sculptures and paintings.

Baltimore also has plenty of sites that make it a magnet for history buffs as well. Most famous is the Fort McHenry National Monument - you can see where the "Star-Spangled Banner" continued to wave after a British attack during the War of 1812. At the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, there's a "living history" museum that chronicles the first African-American-operated shipyard in the United States.

For a fun activity, take one of the Fells Point Ghost Tours to learn about haunted houses, pirates, sailors, barkeeps and ladies of the evening who lived in Baltimore's old seafaring neighborhood - and some say still do. You also can visit the St. Jude Shrine, a modest but moving pilgrimage site dedicated to the "saint of hopeless causes," or see the final resting place of the "poet of the macabre," Edgar Allan Poe.

All the sightseeing might make you hungry. Baltimore is home to a number of great restaurants, including the Brass Elephant, which re-creates the dining experience of the gilded Victorian era, and Pazo, which offers a Spanish tapas-style menu in a stunningly refurbished factory building.

One comforting thing about Baltimore in the midst of today's depressing gas price situation is that it's easily accessible by rail, with frequent daily service on Amtrak. Since most attractions are in a compact area near the harbor, and there's a good city bus system to other neighborhoods, it's not necessary to take a car to get around.

The only bad news here is that there's too much to see in Baltimore with just one weekend trip. But the good news is, you get to go back.

For additional information on attractions in Baltimore, contact the Baltimore Tourism Web site, www.baltimore.org.

Wow, nice article. Always good to see Baltimore being spoken of positively in other parts of the country rather than the drugs, crime, murder, and urban decay that Hollywood feeds the rest of our country about us. :)

Great article!!! Glad we are getting some national exposure. It's little things like this article, that over time that start to change peoples impression of our city.

Yeah guys, I thought it was a good article too. Unfortunately, one of the 3 people who commented on it didn't.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/travel/2008/06/08/2008-06-08_boom_time_in_baltimore.html

RDB Jun 8, 2008 11:41:43 AM Report Offensive Post
Don't be fooled, BronxBomberII...There are no real spectacular improvements in Baltimore. I should know. I live in this ridiculous piece of s***.

Ha!

Hard to get worked up over the comments of one agitated on-line dweeb, though.

Keswick to buy Baltimore Country Club land for $12.5M

Baltimore Business Journal - by Ryan Sharrow Staff

The Baltimore Country Club has agreed to sell a highly coveted piece of land in Roland Park to Keswick Multi-Care Center Inc. for $12.5 million, according to a document obtained by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Keswick will use the land off Falls Road to build a high-end senior living multi-care facility, according to a letter distributed to members of the Baltimore Country Club. The facility will house both independent-living and assisted-living units.

The property, behind the Baltimore Country Club's Roland Park clubhouse, has drawn the attention of developers and neighboring private schools in the past several years.

The land, a portion of which sits along Falls Road, was formerly home to a tennis complex that was relocated to the Baltimore Country Club's Five Farms in Timonium last year. The exact size of the Roland Park land is unclear. The Five Farms operation also includes a swimming complex, two golf courses and dining rooms. The Roland Park location is strictly a dining facility that is home to banquets and receptions.

As part of the agreement, the Baltimore Country Club has the right "to approve the scope, scheme, location and exterior appearance of the development, with a substantial portion of the area to be preserved as open green space," the letter said.

Although club leaders have entered into a contract with Keswick, the deal must be approved by the membership. A two-thirds majority is required. A special meeting is slated for July 15 for that vote.

Officials at Keswick declined to comment on Monday through their public relations agency, Devaney and Associates. Keswick, a long-term care and rehabilitation facility, operates a campus not far from Roland Park at 830 W. 40th St. The group serves about 350 seniors in the region with assisted living and rehabilitation, adult day-care services and in-home care services.

Keswick CEO Libby Bowerman told the BBJ in January the group was looking to develop a 200- to 400-unit continuing care retirement community. She declined to disclose what locations were being considered for the new project.

In 2007, Keswick opened a 44-bed center to serve patients with memory disorders like dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

I am going to vote against it. I think it would have been better to sell the land to Friends School for use as an athletic field.