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Baltimore Development News 20

511K views 5K replies 128 participants last post by  jamie_hunt 
#1 ·
#3,925 · (Edited)
Zenith

I want to get back to this building with a question. How do think the views will be from the the building? The Hilton is mammoth, and will not permit any vistas around it. I don't believe anyone can see the Camden Yard complex unless you are at the very top. Perhaps there will be decent views north and east, but the most desireable views are of the Yard and the Harbor.
 
#3,933 ·
I want to get back to [the Zenith] with a question. How do think the views will be from the the building? The Hilton is mammoth, and will not permit any vistas around it. I don't believe anyone can see the Camden Yard complex unless you are at the very top. Perhaps there will be decent views north and east, but the most desireable views are of the Yard and the Harbor.
Was wondering the same thing. Took a long look the other night at the O's game. Think the views should generally be pretty good. Probably will be able to see the harbor to the southeast, and Camden Yards is pretty much unobstructed for most residents, since the main mass of the Hilton is along the north side of its lot, running parallel with Pratt Street.

P.S. Eerik -- yeah, the "Scranton Bypass" 83-81-84 is a good day ride. At night on a holiday (Mem. Day), just not sure whether those gas stations on the PA side of the Delaware River will be open. If they aren't, there's a lot 'o off-highway trekking to find one.
 
#3,929 ·
This may explain a little:

Condo market hit with supply glut

(Chris Ammann/Examiner)
Customers and pedestrian traffic surround the shops of the Village Lofts, built by Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, the same group who will build The Olmsted development across the street. BALTIMORE (Map, News) - A slowed housing market and excess inventory of condominiums is causing several Baltimore-area developers to rethink their development plans.

“The market is changing, and there is a glut of unsold real estate on the market,” said real estate agent Robin Green of Long & Foster. “Properties are staying on the market longer, and developers are drastically reducing prices and offering incentives to get rid of their inventory. The condo market is taking a big hit right now.”


Recently, developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse was forced by depressed market conditions to redesign its plans for luxury condos in the Charles Village area and instead convert the project to smaller, market-rate apartments.

The $83 million project on the 3200 block of St. Paul Street called The Olmsted was to include more than 100 condominiums, 12 floors of residential space, and 15,000 square feet of retail and parking on the lower level. The condos would have cost up to $700,000.


The Icon Tower building, a project planned for Canton, was voted down by Baltimore City Council members due to community concerns about the height of the building and that excess inventory of condos on the market would reduce property values for existing residents.

RWN Development Group has put on hold its plans for twin tower condo buildings in downtown due to the market, and other developers are making similar changes in response to the market.

“The pipeline of buyers has become truncated by regulatory changes in how buyers are qualified for loans,” said Anirban Basu, chief executive officer of the Sage Policy Group. “Many people who would have qualified four years ago no longer qualify, and it is affecting the market, which leaves more product on the market, and developers see that.”

Basu said high-interest adjustable rates and the virtual shutdown of the subprime market have limited the number of lenders for borrowers with checkered credit histories or no history at all. And proposed changes in the lending industry will make homeownership for many Americans a thing of the past.

“It is no longer a buyer’s market, because more stringent lending guidelines are cutting their numbers,” said Ashidda Khalil, director of the Baltimore office of the Neighborhood Assistance Coalition of America. “Developers will no longer find a steady stream of buyers to hawk their inventory to.”

rchappelle@baltimoreexaminer.com
 
#3,931 · (Edited)
I don't generally like to post negative articles here. Also, I think it is in bad taste for a reporter who has taken a buyout to write such a negative column like this as his last one.

Lastly, I don't agree with the final sentence because there is no place on earth where that statement will be true for EVERYONE, and there are many people now who come from Baltimore's distressed areas who can say "the city has been good to me". Having said that, I would like to see more of them as I think everyone would.

I find that 8,063 people murdered since 1977 to be simply astounding. There were about 55,000 Americans killed in the Viet Nam war.


30 years later, city renewal is still a promise unfulfilled
Eric Siegel -- Urban Chronicles
Originally published May 31, 2007

Two Sundays ago, The New York Times ran a travel story calling Baltimore the "forgotten middle child among attention-getting Eastern cities" but noting that a "civic revival ... has given out-of-towners reason to visit."

Two days later, seven people perished and six others were injured in a fire in a rowhouse crammed with people in one of many city neighborhoods untouched by renewal.

The former was the kind of coverage Baltimore didn't get when I moved to the city to work for The Sun in 1977 -- before Harborplace and the National Aquarium; Meyerhoff Symphony Hall; the renovated Hippodrome Theatre; and a host of other projects, big and small, too numerous to mention here.

The latter, sadly, is the kind of tragic event that has occurred too often between now and then. Thirty years is a long time -- in the life of a person and a city.

During the time that I've been in the city, a virtual generation of civic and political leaders has passed away -- Clarence Du Burns, Walter Sondheim Jr., Howard "Pete" Rawlings, Walter Orlinsky, Clarence Blount and, this week, Parren Mitchell.

The city also had its first black mayor in Burns; its first elected black mayor in Kurt Schmoke; and, now, its first woman mayor in Sheila Dixon.

And by electing Martin O'Malley mayor in 1999 and helping him become governor last year, the city defied two pieces of prevailing wisdom: that after William Donald Schaefer became governor in 1986, the city would never have a white mayor; and that no future mayor of the city, white or black, could become governor.

When I came to Baltimore, the city's population, which had already been declining, was an estimated 830,000; today, it is about 640,000.

The year I came to Baltimore was the last one in which the number of homicides in the city -- 171 -- was below 175. Since 1977, 8,063 people have been killed in the city, including 124 slain this year through midday yesterday. Thirty years ago, the city's homicide rate was 20.6 for every 100,000 residents; last year, it was more than twice that, at 42.9 per 100,000 residents.

Other signs are more positive.

Three decades have been time enough to witness the deterioration of the public housing high-rises -- and their subsequent demolition and rebirth as mixed-income rowhouse communities. It has been time enough to see the last gasp of the city's Howard Street retail corridor -- and its nascent revival as part of the west-side renaissance. It has been time enough to see the departure of one NFL team and the arrival of another -- and the tearing down of a stadium and the building of two others. And it has been time enough to watch the collapse of the neighborhoods north of the Johns Hopkins medical complex -- and the near-completion of the first buildings for a planned new community that will cover dozens of acres.

The last 30 years have seen the emergence of several nonprofit groups -- the Abell, Casey, Goldseker and Weinberg foundations -- that have come to play a significant role in the city's efforts at revitalization by funding programs, projects and studies.

A report by one of those groups, the Goldseker Foundation, issued in 1987, produced one of the most enduring descriptions of the city during the time I've been here: "There is rot beneath the glitter."

Two decades later, there is substantially more glitter -- across the Inner Harbor in Locust Point; eastward along the waterfront in Harbor East and Canton and in parts of downtown. And there are projects such as Frankford Estates in Northeast and Clipper Mill in North Baltimore, plus individual rehabs in neighborhoods across the city, which, while not glitzy, are substantial and important. That is no small feat, and it should not be minimized.

But there is still far too much rot. City planners classify nearly a fifth of the city's residential areas as distressed, based on such factors as sales prices and vacancy rates.

The city's poverty rate has been little changed from the late 1970s to today, with nearly one in five families living below the poverty level.

On crime, the city seems to be forever searching for the right strategy, let alone the right results; on education, more time seems to be spent debating who will control the schools than discussing how to improve what goes on in the classroom.

Over 30 years, we seem to have slowly come to the realization that drugs are a medical as well as a criminal problem. But the city hasn't been able to marshal the resources -- for expanded treatment, training, education and housing -- needed to give addicts the help they need and to help ensure we don't get another generation of drug abusers.

Personally, the city has been good to me. But that's partly -- check that, largely -- because I've had the money and good luck to live in a safe and stable neighborhood, where house values have appreciated six-fold over 30 years and where the corners are the locales for telephone pole postings for yard sales, not the province of drug dealers.

Only when people in those distressed areas can make a similar statement -- that the city has been good to them -- can Baltimore be said to have achieved true civic renewal.
 
#3,932 · (Edited)
:eek:kay: GODD NEWS!

According to last week's BBJ, Ye Olde Peanut Shoppe will be moving from their Mechanic theater location to Charles Plaza. They need to be gone from thier current site by the end of the year.

I remember when this store was located at either Liberty or Park and Lexington Street. Then it moved to the Mechanic Theater site near the subway entrance. Now, Charles Plaza where its neighbors will be the new Super Fresh, Wine Store, and Starbucks.

This store is a Baltimore institution. I have no doubt that George Washington and the Calverts once purchased their nuts from them!
 
#3,934 · (Edited)
Ooh, Ooh, Ooh - Hot Off The Press - From this week's BBJ

PLANNED SKYSCRAPER BOOSTS OFFICE SPACE AFTER HOUSING SLOWS


Baltimore Business Journal - June 1, 2007 by Daniel J. SernovitzStaff


The planned tower will be built on the former McCormick factory site.

The Philadelphia-based company developing the former McCormick spice factory in downtown Baltimore now hopes to carve out as much as 500,000 square feet of prime office space to land a signature corporate tenant in the proposed 59-story building at Light and Conway streets.

John Voneiff, director of southeast operations for ARC Wheeler LLC, said a softening in the residential market prompted his company to shave the planned residential units in the building to between 150 and 200, down from earlier plans for as many as 285 condominiums. He is now in talks with two major Baltimore-area companies, and has been contacted by a third considering becoming the building's signature tenant.
 
#3,936 ·
John Voneiff, director of southeast operations for ARC Wheeler LLC, said a softening in the residential market prompted his company to shave the planned residential units in the building to between 150 and 200, down from earlier plans for as many as 285 condominiums. He is now in talks with two major Baltimore-area companies, and has been contacted by a third considering becoming the building's signature tenant.
Office tenant: bird in hand. Would be interesting to know how they calculate the market for condos three-four years out.
 
#3,937 ·
^^ Perhaps they are clairvoyant? LOL If this thing contains 500,000 square feet of offices, a hotel, 175 condos, parking, and retail, it is going to be one mother of a building. The current Legg Mason tower is just a bit over 500,000 sq. feet.

I noticed that they said "Baltimore Area" companies. I wonder if a suburban firm is thinking about moving downtown? I do know there are law firms on the prowl for new space.
 
#3,946 ·
^^ Wow. Great find, Silver Springer. Those towers are faaaaantastic! I'm very excited about Canton Crossing now.

Also, if you go to the Lessard website and hit the Zoom button on the upper right hand corner of the picture, it'll zoom out and you can see the pedestal upon which the front two towers sit.
 
#3,949 ·
#3,948 ·
I like 414 Water St. It's a little bit unique. I bet 100 years from now preservations will be trying to preserve it as the last skyscraper built in Baltimore's "quirky era." It's not iconic, but in the long run, I bet it'll stand out more than when whatever we get for 10IH, 300EP, etc. are surpassed in height.
 
#3,955 ·
^^ Yeah, but think of the views from the west side of the 24th floor: Ft. McHenry and Canton below, vista stretching up the NW branch of the Patapsco toward the downtown skyline and beyond to the wooded expanse of Patapsco State Park. I'd take that even if the exterior were clad in discarded auto parts.
 
#3,960 · (Edited)
I never seen these pics before. They look kinda cool. (Edit: I just looked at the RWN Development site and saw that these renderings are one of the proposed architectural designs. I guess this is the one they liked.)

...And what a good business move on behalf of ArcWheeler. They promised a dominant structure and is pulling at all costs to make it reality. Making the office component larger was something that skipped my mind. Mark my words, "1OIH will be Baltimore's signature tower."
 
#3,963 ·
more rumors about port covington... I went to Sam's Club down there today and asked the cashier if its true that their building was bought out... her response was that they were rental properties, and Sam's will not be re-newing their lease beyond January 2008... then she said something about hearing that condo's were going up in its place. Not sure how much this supports the rumor that trump was buying that land... but I think its enough to keep us salivating.... :)
 
#3,969 ·
I love these towers. Really, it's four towers and not just two. If built, surely, as these designs indicate, these two two towers would be the tallest in the city. I'm not sure if Pat Turner's 65 story tower would be taller. Maybe, but if so, not by much. From the renderings, it looks like these towers are well over 800 ft. tall. Might even be right at 900 ft. Just imagine if these two huge projects get built. Talk about changing a skyline.
 
#3,975 ·
[snip] Just imagine if these two huge projects get built. Talk about changing a skyline.
Amen. What's also interesting is that RWN would be investing in a neighborhood (if you can even call it that) that, on the face of it, doesn't have a lot going for it ... for the last several decades, it's largely been home to a few city offices, back-office bank operations, storage facilities, parking lots, and the southern terminus of the JFX. The scale of what's proposed wouldn't just change the skyline, it would change the "facts on the ground" in the neighborhood: there would be a thousand or so folks living where there were none before.

Not to raise the hackles of the transportation-minded folks (nate, where ya been?), but the neighborhood would be a little more appealing if the JFX were a landscaped, at-grade boulevard there, and the surface parking lot at Guilford and Saratoga were a community park -- designed to still be able to accommodate the weekly farmers market.
 
#3,968 ·
Tax break meant to keep Legg Mason
City Council to weigh $33 million subsidy for Harbor East project

By John Fritze and Jill Rosen
Sun reporters
Originally published June 2, 2007

A leading Baltimore developer would receive more than $33 million in city tax breaks to build a landmark headquarters for Legg Mason at an exclusive waterfront address, officials close to the proposed deal confirmed yesterday.

Under the terms of bill to be introduced in the City Council on Monday, H&S Properties Development Corp., owned by bakery magnate John Paterakis, would get the incentives to subsidize the cost of its $550 million Harbor East project, the officials said. The development includes another tower housing a Four Seasons hotel and condominiums.

M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., which negotiated the deal, said the tax break - among the largest granted by the city - will retain 600 jobs at Legg Mason, a leading money management firm, and bring 500 more into one of the fastest-growing development corridors along the Inner Harbor.

"We believe, but for these additional pieces of assistance, the project would not be built," he said. "The message of having a new Legg Mason ... is a terrific message that we are expanding Baltimore's base of financial services."

The use of the tax abatement drew immediate criticism from a political opponent of Mayor Sheila Dixon - whose administration supports the measure - and from leaders of watchdog groups who question the city's use of tax breaks, especially in strong neighborhoods.

"It just doesn't pass the smell test," said City Councilman and mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. "Is there really a need for [it] in that area?"

As Paterakis developed Harbor East over the past decade, he benefited from tax breaks on nearly every phase of the project. The development transformed what was once an industrial no man's land to one of Baltimore's trendiest areas, with a Whole Foods market, expensive boutiques and exclusive apartments and condos.

Just a year ago, the city awarded the developer a $3.5 million tax break for the $201 million project rising at 800 Aliceanna St. Officials said H&S needed the subsidy to lower rents for its anchor office tenant, Laureate Education Inc., which had threatened to leave town.

In 2004, the city approved a $13.6 million break for Harbor East's Spinnaker Bay apartments. And years ago, the developer won $20 million in subsidies to build the Marriott Waterfront hotel.

The city did refuse tax breaks for a building that houses the Whole Foods and a Courtyard by Marriott.

For the Legg Mason tower, documents obtained by The Sun show that the City Council will consider a two-part tax break. One lasts 25 years and applies to a 1,200-space, below-ground parking garage to be shared by both towers. The other, running concurrently, will last 15 years and applies to the company's office space.

While the tax break is in effect, the developer would pay the full tax on the land, but only 5 percent of the tax it would normally pay on the buildings.

The developers are entitled to a separate state tax break for building in an enterprise zone. Brodie could not say yesterday how much that would be worth.

After H&S requested incentives late last year, Brodie said the BDC board met for three months - largely behind closed doors - to consider the request.

Even with the $33 million tax abatement, Brodie said, the twin towers would bring in $162.3 million in taxes - including income and property taxes.

The legislation will be introduced in the City Council Monday night and assigned to the taxation and finance committee, where it is likely to receive a hearing. City Councilwoman Helen L. Holton, who chairs that committee, said she hopes Legg Mason will consider giving back to the community - including by offering summer jobs to city youths.

"Sometimes, you have to look at the bigger picture of what it means. Is it worth losing a major employer by not offering the break?" she said. "An employer like this can make contributions - whether it's upgrading a computer in the school or having their employees volunteer some time."

Legg Mason announced in Feburary that it planned to leave its signature skyscraper at 100 Light St., the tallest building in the city, for the new Harbor East digs. Legg expects to move nearly all of its Baltimore-area employees to the new building by 2009, creating a significant vacancy in its former home in downtown's core.

Carolyn Boitnott, who leads the Waterfront Coalition, an organization that fought earlier Harbor East tax breaks, wonders about the city's rationale for continuing to subsidize the same developer.

She also worries that the city is encouraging a development that's hurting the traditional downtown.
"Giving them tax breaks and then moving businesses from downtown to the waterfront when downtown is still struggling is something I find personally discouraging," Boitnott said.




"It's one thing to give a tax break to get something started," she said. "Once you have a very successful development and you continue to do that, I would think it would be difficult for other developers who can't seem to get the same benefits. It's an equity issue and perhaps not a very good use of our money."

Philip Mattera, research director for Washington-based Good Jobs First, estimated the total value of annual state and local subsidies to businesses and corporations nationwide at $50 billion.

The nonprofit group, which promotes accountability in economic development policy, believes governments should offer subsidies only to make possible projects that otherwise might not happen.

"We think there are a lot of bad subsidy deals, but there are times when subsidies are justified," such as providing high-paying jobs, Mattera said. "A lot of local governments seem to think subsidies have to automatically be given to any project that might seem worthy."

Michael Sarbanes, who's running for City Council president, advised the city in drafting legislation that would require developers of residential projects that get subsidies to provide units for low-income people.

But with a commercial or an office project, Sarbanes said, using tax breaks could be a valuable tool for the city.

"You're looking at what is this doing overall in terms of the tax revenue for the city," he said. "If you have something that is going to generate more income, you can make an argument for it as an investment."

Councilman James B. Kraft, whose district includes Harbor East, said the towers will not only bolster the city's tax base but could lure other firms to Baltimore. For those reasons, he thinks the tax breaks are worth it:

"If this is what we have to do to make it work, I say let's do it. We're not going to lose money on this project."



john.fritze@baltsun.com jill.rosen@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Lorraine Mirabella contributed to this article.
 
#3,972 ·
Wow I love those towers!! That would be amazing. Just seeing those renderings shows me these guys are serious, even if the project has been put on hold. I was getting down on some of the buildings, especially with a lot of the cranes beginning to leave the skyline.

With 4 Seasons/Legg Mason just starting up and 10IH, 300 E Pratt and RWN hopefully closer to happening, we may have some things to look forward to after all.
 
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