Baltimore Development News

[k25150]

Steuever has been hurting for awhile. Their 1209 Charles St project is not sold out and they couldn't pay vendors back in the spring. The main investor was Magic Johnson's group and they weren't paying Struever.

[PeterSmith]

It's a shame because Struever has its hand in so many projects throughout the city. I have to imagine Charles Village is going to see a hole in its middle for quite a while. The Olmstead never seemed like Struever's top priority.

[NorthaBmore]

Originally Posted by k25150

Steuever has been hurting for awhile. Their 1209 Charles St project is not sold out and they couldn't pay vendors back in the spring. The main investor was Magic Johnson's group and they weren't paying Struever.

I drive by 1209 Charles a lot and i've been wondering why they can't fill up the first floor retail. They have a Starbuck's and there is a new Sun Trust ATM, but about three quarters of it is still empty.

[StevenW]

No arena renderings/details yet......

[Dr. Remington]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

It's a shame because Struever has its hand in so many projects throughout the city. I have to imagine Charles Village is going to see a hole in its middle for quite a while. The Olmstead never seemed like Struever's top priority.

I think they should scrap those plans for the olmstead anyways. charles village needs something really tall right there, whenever the market is ready. and by the way, whats up with that tiny-ass barnes and noble next door to it? half of that store is hopkins sweatshirts!

[scando]

Originally Posted by Dr. Remington

I think they should scrap those plans for the olmstead anyways. charles village needs something really tall right there, whenever the market is ready. and by the way, whats up with that tiny-ass barnes and noble next door to it? half of that store is hopkins sweatshirts!

That BN is quite disappointing. It was originally promoted as some sort of superstore, but with half of the space filled with textbooks and half of what's left being mugs, sweatshirts and toothbrushes, the non-text book section is pretty pissy. I doubt that there will be anything very tall on the Olmstead site. There was a fight about the height of the original condo building and another fight when Streuver wanted to make it only slightly taller and change to rentals. When or if times improve, I don't think there will be anything much taller than the other buildings on that corner.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by Dr. Remington

and by the way, whats up with that tiny-ass barnes and noble next door to it? half of that store is hopkins sweatshirts!

i've always thought that also....lol.

[pepperjack]

barnes and noble owns most of the on-campus college bookstores around the country, so it sounds like that is basically what this one is.

[PeterSmith]

Yeah, it's first and foremost a college bookstore, which is appropriate since much of the neighborhood is JHU students. It would be nice to see a large bookstore spring up maybe a little south of Charles Village so it could serve CV, Station North and the surrounding areas. Something like Powell's in Portland or Books & Books here in Miami.

[Xander21]

Are there still plans to build a Barnes and Noble downtown on the Westside for UM?

[PeterSmith]

I want to say that a recent article made mention of the UM bookstore that was still in the cards, but I don't recall if the specifically mentioned B&N. UMB has a few developments o the westside that have gone silent since they were first announced.

[Hood]

Carl W. “Bill” Struever and Kenneth R. Banks, two men behind some of Baltimore’s biggest developments, urged the business community Tuesday to help advance a plan for the Red Line as the $1.6 billion transportation project nears consideration for federal funding.

They said it would mean 17,000 jobs for the region once construction begins and could help foster as much as $3.5 billion in economic development. Both spoke at a rally held by the Greater Baltimore Committee, a regional business advocacy group.

Community support for the Red Line is key for landing federal dollars that are needed to help pay for the project. Public hearings seeking community feedback on potential Red Line routes concluded last month, enabling a final decision on a layout and a request for federal funds to happen early next year.

The Red Line is slated to go from Woodlawn east to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, going through downtown, Harbor East, Fells Point and Canton. The GBC-backed Red Line plan would cost $1.6 billion and includes two tunnels — one under Cooks Lane in western Baltimore and another from downtown to Fells Point.

Advocates hope the system can offer mass transit across an east-west axis of the city to complement its existing systems, the Light Rail and Metro subway systems. Project engineering is slated to begin in the spring and several years of construction is scheduled to start in 2013.

Banks, president of Banks Contracting Co., compared the city to transit hubs like New York, where public transportation has fueled the economy since the early 1900s.

“We’re way behind,” he said.

He also emphasized the thousands of construction jobs the Red Line would create over the several years of construction. If that many jobs were on the horizon in another industry, the city would be clamoring for the influx, he said. Banks’ company helped build the Hilton Convention Center hotel and is also working on the Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins development in East Baltimore.

Struever, CEO of Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc., said he supports the Red Line route because it reflects where development is happening and people are concentrated. That’s in contrast to the Light Rail, he said, which was completed in 1992 and brings many suburban workers to the city but doesn’t go through some of Baltimore’s largest neighborhoods. Struever’s developments include the Can Company in Canton and the Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point, both of which would fall on the Red Line route.

Struever also said the Red Line would help bring together a more connected transit system that could also include a downtown shuttle slated for 2009, a proposed trolley along the Charles Street corridor and beefed-up commuter water taxi service.

The GBC is urging the business community to continue providing feedback to the Maryland Transit Administration on the different Red Line options. Public comments will be accepted until January 5, after which Gov. Martin O’Malley will choose a plan to forward on to the federal government.

[StevenW]

Well, it sounds good.

[DemolitionDave]

Nice day. New camera.

[DrzBrooklynChulo90]

Does anybody know how many floors are they up to in the Legg Mason Tower??How about the Four Seasons?So construction is still continued with the Four Seasons Tower? What the hell is going on out there and who's right and who's wrong?

[Infoman]

The legg, and 4s are still u/c currently. The legg is looking very nice from that pic...

[PCM]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

I have to imagine Charles Village is going to see a hole in its middle for quite a while. The Olmstead never seemed like Struever's top priority.

This has been quite a heated topic around here. Between this and the approval and recent use of the UM helipad, CV residents are feeling quite beaten down.

Honestly, they should make it a nice park with plenty of trees. NOTHING is going to be built there for at least 10 years.

[NorthaBmore]

Originally Posted by Hood

“We’re way behind,” he said.

No kidding! The red line would definitely be a positive in several ways if they ever built it. The problem lies with the "if they ever build it"

[rockin'.baltimorean]

great pics, dave! looks like silo point is coming along pretty well.

[NorthaBmore]

I agree. IMHO, Silo Point is beautiful! A great addition to the skyline and it looks great in South Baltimore.