Baltimore Development News

[Eerik]

Unfortunately, Baltimore fits into that class of city that has become decentralized with the loss of jobs and residents.

While fifty years ago suburban along with city residents ventured downtown to shop for goods and services, today they don't. Likewise, those goods and services no longer exist downtown.

Until downtown grows in terms of labor market and/or residents, don't expect more pharmacies, supermarkets, furniture stores, etc. to open anytime soon.

These economic limitations do not solely affect Baltimore or downtowns: in today's world slim profit margins are ever narrower and take their toll in the booming suburbs too.

Running a business is not complex: income must always be equal to or greater than your expense. Consider the number of sofas, sandwiches, or whatever...that one would have to sell per hour to cover the direct cost of material/resources as well as the overhead cost of labor/rent?

Even in the suburbs I'm always amazed to still see a Dunkin Donuts in existence: I often wonder how many donuts do these guys sell per hour at fifty-cents to cover costs?!?

Now consider downtown Baltimore: open a new modest-sized furniture store. Consider how many sofas that store needs to sell each day to cover cost. I don't know about you, but I don't buy a new sofa each year! And unless you establish a clientele from the suburbs, what kind of market do you have in proximity? And why dedicate showroom space where square footage is most expensive -- in downtown? (There's a reason why in general large floor space warehouses, car dealerships, etc. aren't located in central cities...)

I'm not suggesting Baltimore can't have specialty retail...just that at the moment we don't have the base to support it. We're not really growing; it's hard enough to maintain profitability with what we have.

Harbor East is "booming" but at downtown's sake; while Harbor Point will see a new high-rise constructed, 750 East Pratt Street and significant chunk of space at the adjoining Candler Building will go vacant. We're not growing. All we keep playing is musical chairs.

As for residential conversions, a couple thousand new downtown residents isn't going to cut-it; year-over-year we need thousands of new residents in downtown and the immediate surrounding area. Then we'll see new options open...

Originally Posted by marcszar

I wish we still had this kind of emergent process for urban growth and adaptive reuse. A while back in this thread (at least I think it was this one) there was an interesting discussion on how certain stretches of old Baltimore (parts of Charles Street, parts of Fells, etc.) originated as exclusively-residential "street walls" and gradually transitioned into commercial street walls as more and more rowhouses saw their first floors converted into shopfronts. Even the big commercial buildings and early skyscrapers from the prewar era often made sure to incorporate retail niches (it seemed to be second nature).

Unfortunately we gradually forgot (and in some cases outlawed) this organic process of adaptive reuse, so now B'more's stuck with a backlog of blank-walled postwar office blocks that deaden the street. Since many of these buildings were built as "superblocks" in a top-down manner, B'more is pretty much stuck with a strategy of dissolving these superblocks in a top-down manner to accommodate some retail. I don't see the top-down process changing unless there are various zoning and economic reforms (hard to know where to begin there, really).

One way or another, these single-use, blank street walls will need to be repaired. Hopefully B'more's new zoning code will discourage any more of this disastrous, single-use, "edge city" kind of development.

As an aside, I'd love to see more "normal" retail in downtown B'more. You know, the kind of retail that was there half a century ago:

Looks like Manhattan! There's nothing inherently wrong with specialty malls, tourist-centric shops, and high-end restaurants, but how about more stuff that's geared to the growing number of downtown residents?

A common complaint you hear from some downtown residents is that they still have to travel outside the downtown for many daily needs, but what if they could meet all those needs in walkable downtown stores? There could be more pharmacies, supermarkets, grocery stores, furniture stores, lunch counters, barbershops, and all the other normal stuff you find in the average suburban strip mall (dry cleaners and laundromats, camera and music shops, bookstores, hardware and appliance stores, computer stores, repair shops, clothiers, etc.) Judging by the complaints from downtown residents, there clearly is demand for this.

So why isn't this kind of retail emerging on an as-needed basis? Before WWII it used to! Are unrealistic (tourist-centric) city policies discouraging the emergence of normal retail in favor of retail for visitors? Is there not enough space to accommodate this retail (because too many mixed-use prewar buildings were replaced with blank-walled, single use office blocks)? Are most of the shopfronts (like the Superblock on Howard) locked away behind spurious lawsuits + an overscaled megablock style of redevelopment that moves far too slowly? Is it inflexible zoning codes and parking minimums?

[New_Balto]

Originally Posted by scando

It looks like the 1960's, and there wasn't much parking down there then, so, many of them would have gotten there on the MTA. It's hard to imagine now that people with incomes would have ridden buses, but since then the use of the MTA has declined seriously. Not many people lived around there back then, so the area must have been a destination.

Streetcars ceased existence by November 1963 and were replaced by Baltimore's first air-conditioned buses known as 'New Looks' or 'fishbowls' due to the large front windows.

These buses were owned by the Baltimore Transit Company, a privately owned company. The 'Old Looks' began the '60s as yellow and white, then all mint green with a dark green stripe, and finally mint green with a white top and a dark green side stripe.

The 'New Look' air-conditioned buses were mint-green with a white top and dark green side stripe. They were never yellow and white.






The MTA is a state agency that took over the BTCo in 1970 and purchased it buses. Those buses were white and blue with a greenish-yellow stripe separated from the blue strip by a white MTA "T".





The MTA started as the Metropolitan Transit Authority then changed its name to the Mass Transit Administration and is now known as the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Companies absorbed by the MTA include the BTCo, Dundalk Bus Lines and the McMahon Bus co., among others.

Sources: http://www.btco.net/Vehicles/; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_MTA_Maryland; http://www.btco.net/Roadeo/Roadeo.html

[MDguy]

Baltimore looking to sell, lease landmarks

By Jean Marbella and — The Baltimore Sun, Published: March 24

It is the clearest sign of the direction historic preservation may be going: Even a building called Government House, a 19th-century mansion in Baltimore’s Midtown neighborhood, is now in private hands.

While some history buffs were horrified to learn last week that cash-strapped Baltimore is considering the sale or lease of 15 historic properties — prompting fears that “For Sale By Owner” signs would sprout on such icons as the Shot Tower and the War Memorial Building — preservationists say that, increasingly, this is what must be done to save them.

“It’s good for the city to go in and try to understand what the needs are and find the best steward for these properties,” said Nell Ziehl, area field officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “And it may not be the city.”

Most commonly, preservationists said, local and state governments retain ownership of the sites and buildings, making lease arrangements with nonprofit organizations or private companies to operate them as attractions.

Sometimes, historic properties transfer to private ownership, which can limit public access.

In other cases, the transition can bring new life to a landmark that had been decaying or vacant. Baltimore is filled with examples of recycled structures, including the American Brewery building, now home to Humanim, a nonprofit organization that offers social and vocational services, and the Bromo Seltzer Tower, which is leased as studio space for artists.

Properties identified for possible sale or lease include the mansion at Cylburn Arboretum, President Street Station and the Old Town Friends’ Meeting House, which dates to 1781 and is the city’s oldest religious structure. Some properties, such as the Upton Mansion and Clifton Park Valve House, have fallen into disrepair; city agencies are still using others.

Planning director Thomas J. Stosur said the city is open to considering any new uses for the properties.

He said the city wanted to get a “fresh set of eyes” by hiring an appraisal company, Westholm & Associates of Annapolis, to assess the market value of the properties and possible future uses — even commercial ones.

“Adaptive reuse — that’s the current buzzword,” said Terry Davis, president of the American Association of State and Local History. “We get calls all the time: ‘We’ve got this fantastic old house. We think we’ll start a museum.’ But just having a wonderful building doesn’t constitute a need for a museum. It constitutes a need for saving the structure.”

Across America, churches have been turned into nightclubs, factories into apartments. With the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, what used to be called insane asylums have found new life. The west campus of St. Elizabeths in the District is being redeveloped for the Department of Homeland Security.

Not every historic property, though, can be repurposed for modern or profit-making use, said Johns Hopkins, executive director of Baltimore Heritage, a nonprofit group. “The Shot Tower: What commercial use is there? We’re not making lead shot for muskets anymore.”

— The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Sun reporter Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.

[hpal3]

In other news, we have a new area code effective this weekend for Central Maryland. The new number is 667. With the addition 0f 667, Verizon can expand an additional 8 million numbers.

[hpal3]

Nice B'more bio done up by METRO JACKSONVILLE. They have went to great lenghts to learn about our successful development on the harbor.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/art...nism-baltimore

[Nino_B]

Originally Posted by hpal3

Nice B'more bio done up by METRO JACKSONVILLE. They have went to great lenghts to learn about our successful development on the harbor.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/art...nism-baltimore

Nice article on our fair city.

Two odd things I noticed were:

no mention of the Harbor East neighborhood/development although there were several photos showing parts of the area.

didn't realize the downtown ambassadors were charged with escorting the homeless out of the area. always wondered why this has been less of an issue in recent years. maybe this is why?

[PeterSmith]

Originally Posted by Nino_B

...

didn't realize the downtown ambassadors were charged with escorting the homeless out of the area. always wondered why this has been less of an issue in recent years. maybe this is why?

I've noticed this over the past few weeks on my morning walk down Howard Street. Around 6am, the Downtown Partnership folks are waking up the regular homeless people and waiting while they pack up their things and leave.

Notably, the new bus shelters that MTA installed on Howard Street have attracted new homeless people. The bus benches have the dividers that are designed to prevent sleeping on the benches, but they seem low enough that laying a thick comforter over top of them is sufficient to allow you to stretch out on the bench. Accordingly, people have been doing this, and the Downtown Partnership has responded by sending a team up Howard Street every morning to kick them out.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Senate committee OKs Baltimore arena design funds
Baltimore Business Journal by Jack Lambert, Researcher/Reporter
Date: Friday, March 23, 2012, 11:36am EDT


The Senate Budget and Taxation capital budget subcommittee approved Thursday $2.5 million in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s 2013 capital budget for the design of a new downtown arena, with a caveat.

The Senate approved the grant on the condition that the funds would be frozen until the state Department of Budget and Management, Baltimore City and developer Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. entered into a memorandum of understanding on how the project would be financed. The three parties will also have to agree on the management of organizational structure of the proposed $500 million, 18,500-seat arena along with the $400 million expansion of the Baltimore City Convention Center .

The state’s Department of Legislative Services recommended against allocating $2.5 million in design money March 13, with subcommittee chairman Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr. saying he wanted to see a firmer commitment from the city .

In response, Kim Washington, a senior advisor to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for government and community affairs, wrote a letter to Senator DeGrange saying “the city is committing to the same split that currently exists, the State providing 2/3 and the City providing 1/3 of the cost.” Washington also wrote “we cannot be sure of the cost and how much the private sector will be willing to provide in this partnership.”

The House of Delegates will now vote whether to approve the design money and if it should come with the preconditions recommended by the Senate subcommittee Thursday.

In a phone message Thursday afternoon, DeGrange, D-Anne Arundel, said, “I think this project is going to be included in the capital budget.”

Donald C. Fry, the chairman of the Greater Baltimore Committee , said he is hopeful the project will be included in the capital budget as well. But Fry, whose organization has helped lead the fund raising efforts for the project, said it could come down to the wire as the House and Senate try to work out a funding plan for the convention center project.

“We’re not going to know for sure until the last couple of days of session, even the last day of session, where the funding stands,” Fry said.

[hpal3]

I hope we get atleast a 350' tower or taller...

[BlueSock]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

In response, Kim Washington, a senior advisor to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for government and community affairs, wrote a letter to Senator DeGrange saying “the city is committing to the same split that currently exists, the State providing 2/3 and the City providing 1/3 of the cost.”

That works out to a cost of about $770 per household for people living in the city, $140 per household in the counties. Of course those are numbers for the average household. To get a sense of where you stand, the average home value in Baltimore is about $90,000, and median household income is about $40,000 / year.

[micrip]

I won't repost the bus pics, as they are not far below, but what a blast from the past! One shot that took me by surprise was that one of the "old look" buses had the later "new look" livery with the white top and blue front with blue side stripe. I don't remember ever seeing one of those...most of those buses were gone by that point, I thought.

I have probably ridden on every one of those styles at one point or another, except those very oldest ones from the '40's...I'm not THAT ancient!

Thanks for posting them.

[30 Floors Up]

Originally Posted by sdeclue

A little disappointed about the Under Armour sign. It basically is the exact same thing as the Tide Point sign. I was hoping the Tide Point sign would be kept, with a big Under Armour logo sign rising higher into the sky possibly in another spot on the complex.

"Keep an eye out next to see if Under Armour places a giant illuminated sign with its logo on top of the complex. A rendering of its plans indicate they will."

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...oint-sign.html

[KLynch]

I saw site work was going on at Harbor Point today from the water as boat with a crane on it was doing stuff.

[30 Floors Up]

They have been dredging the inner harbor for the past 3 months to get rid of silt which has washed down from the Jones Falls. This is in preparation for all the tall ships and navy ships which will be coming this summer. They are now working down near Harbor Point.

[Mirage52]

All this talk about Pratt Street -- what about Howard Street???

[KLynch]

Originally Posted by Mirage52

All this talk about Pratt Street -- what about Howard Street???

Looks like the Super Block is starting soon. That should be a good start!

[30 Floors Up]

Charlotte loves Evergreen.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/201...baltimore.html

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by KLynch

Looks like the Super Block is starting soon. That should be a good start!

the superblock has been "looking" like its gonna' start since......like.......forever.

i won't be satisfied until we all see a shovel physically go into the ground...

[StevenW]

Originally Posted by hpal3

I hope we get atleast a 350' tower or taller...

From that rendering, it looks like to me to be around 400'. Would be nice,indeed.

[KLynch]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

the superblock has been "looking" like its gonna' start since......like.......forever.

i won't be satisfied until we all see a shovel physically go into the ground...

Yeah, but they said they are starting to tear stuff down I think this week or next. Plus the Mayor just kicked the Methadone clinics out of westside, so I know they are trying like crazy to get it going over there. The Hollins Market people aren't too happy about it though!