Baltimore Development News

[30 Floors Up]

No problem. God knows I've posted things on here that I later wished I hadn't. I just couldn't figure out your position.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by BlueSock

... The more I think about it, the more I think that Baltimore and other cities were caught over-reacting to natural demographic and economic trends. In the mid-20th century, suburban land near the city core was cheap, suburbuan houses were new, there were a ton of young families, and suddenly everyone had a car. These factors caused a lot of people to move out of the cities to the nearby suburbs. As a result, property values in cities went down, the balance of urban residents shifted towards poor people, and city finances became strained. In retrospect, there really is not much the cities could have done to stop it, but they sure tried, by raising taxes and pursuing redevelopment projects. ...

Interesting points.

The hardest thing to do is to do nothing, even when nothing is what should be done.

Especially when you're an elected official and everyone is screaming at you to do something.

At any rate, the city's growth in the run-up to and for the duration of WWII was steroidal and it was largely people from rural areas who weren't interested in spending their lives in the city. They just wanted to be here long enough to make the leap to middle class. Which many of them did.

Even today, there are a lot of people who long for the rural lifestyle. But once they get there, they want a Target not too far away.

[DemolitionDave]

Here is my annual rant.

"Tear down the JFX!" ...........and I am not the only one saying it right about now!

[pfd103]

Big property...I wonder what will happen to it.


3 employers warn state of layoffs that could affect 700 workers
Employees at Saks Fifth Avenue, Hostess Brands and University Specialty Hospital affected
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bre...0,422089.story

Three Maryland employers have warned state labor officials of layoffs that could affect more than 700 workers.

Saks Fifth Avenue said it would terminate a third of its workforce, or 223 workers, at its Aberdeen store starting in late May, the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said Tuesday.

University Specialty Hospital, which is part of the University of Maryland Medical System, is relocating its chronic care programs, which are now based at its Charles Street facility. The move, to occur in mid-July, is expected to affect about 350 employees. However, hospital officials told the state that a majority of workers are likely to find positions at hospitals affiliated with the medical system or at other health care facilities.


Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, told state officials that it would end operations at its Waldorf location if the company could not emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. An end to operations would affect 158 workers.

[micrip]

Originally Posted by 30 Floors Up

The Federal government just dropped $50 million to renovate the Garmatz building less than two years ago. It isn't going anyplace.

The Sun Life building would make great apartments or condos because each floor has a balcony that surrounds it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the bastardization of the street grid is what has created the traffic nightmare downtown. Very few streets are through streets anymore. Blocked streets such as Holiday (in front of City Hall), Redwood and Hanover (Charles Center), Lexington, and many of the streets in Mt. Vernon (Cut off by the JFX) leave few options when one of the few through main streets is blocked.

I'm still trying to figure out the logic for blocking off Holiday Street. City Hall has active through streets less than 10 feet from the walls of the building on three sides of it, including where the Mayor's office is. Yet the city thinks that Holiday Street can't be opened to through traffic due to Homeland Security reasons. Duh?

....oops...I meant the Fallon Building, as Eerik pointed out. You know, that "punch card" monstrosity on the south side of Hopkins Plaza.

[k25150]

Originally Posted by CrazyDre26

Well, for the record, I am white and a student at Morgan State. I would rather forget my ignorant rant from a couple months ago. It's probably the lowest I've ever sunk and I apologize profusely.

I'm not trying to stir anything up, just posting an observation from when I worked across the street and witnessed what happened on an almost nightly basis at the Velvet Rope (now Dubai) nightclub. Yes, I pointed out that most of the nightclub's patrons were black, that some of them did cause a ruckus. But no race baiting or stirring things up intended. Sorry if you interpreted that way.

I think most thought you were black. As a black guy, saying what you said was just fine and very factual. But now that everyone knows you're white and not PC, you better run for your life because the over-sensitive racial lightweights on here are ready to pounce!

[GrayMatter]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

it really is a nice-lookin' building. For a minute, i was under the impression that it might've been a church at some point.

should be a wonderful addition to that area....

image hosted on flickr

If this becomes a reality it will do wonders for the core of downtown. I mean just think of all of the foot traffic that will be downtown once the Mechanic development is complete and many of the older office buildings get converted to residential (10 light st, Tremont hotel, etc). Once this happens we will quickly see the smaller vacant buildings get re-purposed for retail, residential and commercial.

Any thoughts on the impact that all of this influx of residents could have on Baltimore St and the Block?

Speaking of... i look out my office window at the old United States Fidelity and Guaranty building that is on Calvert street and it looks completely vacant. Has anyone ever put together a proposal for this historic high rise?

[baltimoreisbest]

Originally Posted by GrayMatter

If this becomes a reality it will do wonders for the core of downtown. I mean just think of all of the foot traffic that will be downtown once the Mechanic development is complete and many of the older office buildings get converted to residential (10 light st, Tremont hotel, etc). Once this happens we will quickly see the smaller vacant buildings get re-purposed for retail, residential and commercial.

Any thoughts on the impact that all of this influx of residents could have on Baltimore St and the Block?

Speaking of... i look out my office window at the old United States Fidelity and Guaranty building that is on Calvert street and it looks completely vacant. Has anyone ever put together a proposal for this historic high rise?

I think that the old USF&G building was intended to be part of CityScape. Another successful BDC venture...

[Nino_B]

Originally Posted by GrayMatter

Speaking of... i look out my office window at the old United States Fidelity and Guaranty building that is on Calvert street and it looks completely vacant. Has anyone ever put together a proposal for this historic high rise?

I believe that the original 1906 USF&G HQ building at Calvert and Redwood is now the Hampton Inn. The tall slender building just to the south of there with the heavy ornate stone facade is the old USF&G annex (1920?). It has been abandoned for years. It may have been part of the original Cityscape plans as baltimoreisbest mentions.

I really like the look of it and hope that they at least find a way to keep the facade. Having such an extremely long and narrow floor plan might make it hard to find a buyer.

[Eerik]

Careful! By using "punch card" you exhibit your age!

For what it's worth, when planned, the federal building was supposed to be located on Charles Street. It took an act of god to move it where it is today...

Originally Posted by micrip

....oops...I meant the Fallon Building, as Eerik pointed out. You know, that "punch card" monstrosity on the south side of Hopkins Plaza.

[GrayMatter]

Originally Posted by Nino_B

I believe that the original 1906 USF&G HQ building at Calvert and Redwood is now the Hampton Inn. The tall slender building just to the south of there with the heavy ornate stone facade is the old USF&G annex (1920?). It has been abandoned for years. It may have been part of the original Cityscape plans as baltimoreisbest mentions.

I really like the look of it and hope that they at least find a way to keep the facade. Having such an extremely long and narrow floor plan might make it hard to find a buyer.

It could be awesome for luxury apartments... just saying

[Eerik]

Hmn. I would have never cited "pro retail" for Charles Center. I would use words such as order, light and air.

Of course first and foremost its aim was to stabilize and reverse a declining tax base by offering the same modern amenities found in newer suburban buildings. While the tower-in-the-park was universal everywhere in those days, in Baltimore I always interpreted the "park" as being one of the chief aims beyond the economics of Charles Center: to provide space in what back then was a cramped cityscape. Aside from Federal Hill, Preston Gardens, and further out -- Mount Vernon, most of downtown was dense and packed. So what we see today -- three significant plazas with plenty of towers in the park only seems to make sense considering the origin of plan.

I know the skywalks are now loathed, but even when they were planned, it made sense: downtown really was the center of the metropolitan area and many more people were downtown on any given weekday than today. Who knew downtown would decline in regional importance to the point it has today? So when I hear comments that somehow the skywalks "drained" life from downtown Baltimore streets, I really have to chuckle. So perhaps movement would be the fourth goal I would add to Charles Center -- since it was designed (intended, at least) to accommodate mobility: to bridge a pretty steep incline from Lombard Street all the way up to Saratoga Street (geographically) as well as provide vast underground parking (which was in horrible shortage) along with other ideals such as the transportation hub and concourses.

But as to retail, I always equate Charles Center as wiping out the Lexington Street commercial strip between Liberty and Charles Streets, the loss of retail along the east side of Liberty, west side of Charles along with other institutions such as you cite: Miller Bros.

I totally forgot about Miller Bros. in the Hilton. I never visited once they opened in the new place. In some ways I wish I did, in some ways I'm glad I didn't...

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

Agreed. For the most part.

The planners were very pro-retail, but the design turned out not to be. It was clever to put Hamburger's over Fayette Street, but it made it hard to access from the street. The Cafe des Artistes under the Mechanic was a fine restaurant, but it was hidden and pretty dead when there were no plays. Miller Bros. restaurant got a new home in the former Hilton, but it wasn't the same legendary place it was pre-demo. The funk was gone and the rent was higher.

And so on.

[micrip]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Careful! By using "punch card" you exhibit your age!

For what it's worth, when planned, the federal building was supposed to be located on Charles Street. It took an act of god to move it where it is today...

Well, seein's how I witnessed it being built, along with the rest of Charles Center, and I already had my driver's licence...yes!

[jeffrey.james.walker]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,3778150.story

baltimoresun.com

Large Port Covington parcel going to auction block

Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse property went into foreclosure

By Steve Kilar, The Baltimore Sun

8:44 PM EDT, May 8, 2012

A large chunk of waterfront property in Port Covington is set to go on the auction block in June after its previous owner, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, defaulted on a multimillion-dollar mortgage.

The now-defunct developer owed BB&T Bank more than $10.7 million for the roughly 10-acre parcel in South Baltimore off East Cromwell Street. A trustee-ordered sale is scheduled June 14.

The foreclosure sale brings new hope to an area filled with weedy lots — an area where developers have struggled for decades to get a foothold. But even if the sale is successful, it may be years before construction begins, developers say.

Four years ago, Struever Bros. presented a proposal for a 2 million-square-foot complex on the site. More than 2,000 residential units were planned in three towers — one 38 stories tall — as well as a 400-slip marina built on reconstructed piers.

"We developed a very early master plan and then the world started falling apart," said Tim Pula, the senior development director for Struever Bros. when the design was proposed.

Pula said the site still has great potential but vacancy levels in residential and office units in Baltimore mean development at Port Covington is still a few years away.

"I don't think anyone can tell you how long that is," he said.

The Port Covington site contains 5.2 acres of land and about five additional acres on two piers that jut into Winan's Cove, said Glen McDonald, managing director of business development at Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., the New Jersey-based firm handling the sale.

"We've already received a number of calls and inquiries," McDonald said.

Although zoned for industrial use, the site also could be used for a mix of residential and commercial uses, according to the auctioneers. The property is within the city's new Enterprise Zone, qualifying it for property and employment tax credits.

Developer Patrick Turner, whose Turner Development Group is developing the Westport waterfront across the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, said the sale price of the Port Covington site is difficult to predict.

"It's a tough piece of property," he said of the land, which is sandwiched between Port Covington Shopping Center and the Tidewater Yacht Service Center and also presents a challenge because environmental concerns must be reviewed by regulators. "It's a head scratcher."

Bob Brandon, owner of the yacht center, is not planning to make an offer even though he bought part of the tract from Struever Bros. in 2006.

"Maybe we'd be interested in a different economy, but right now we're not," Brandon said.

The auctioneer plans to hold property previews on the last two Thursdays in May. All bidders must pre-register and be prepared to make a deposit of 10 percent of the contract price on auction day.

steve.kilar@baltsun.com

twitter.com/stevekilar

Copyright © 2012, The Baltimore Sun

[SoBo]

Originally Posted by GrayMatter

It could be awesome for luxury apartments... just saying

I agree - it would make great condos as well if it were still possible to sell condos in this town.

[30 Floors Up]

Originally Posted by micrip

....oops...I meant the Fallon Building, as Eerik pointed out. You know, that "punch card" monstrosity on the south side of Hopkins Plaza.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...=core&_cview=1

Unfortunately, we are still out of luck. They did a $33,000,000 rehab on that building recently too. It started in 2005 and ended in 2007. We are stuck with it. For what it is worth, the IRS and VA administration occupy most of it.

Both agencies bring people from all over the country for training on a regular basis. Many of them stay at the hotels on Redwood Street, and then they eat and drink at my old watering hole, Peter's Pub on Water Street, after work. It is great for the hotel business in Baltimore. We are lucky to have training facilites like that here. They add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the economy.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Hmn. I would have never cited "pro retail" for Charles Center. I would use words such as order, light and air. ...

Yeah. I have a four-inch pile of articles from when Charles Center was built (buried since moving back from NH) and there was a strong push for a lot of retail. And for replacing the two lost theaters, the Century and Valencia. I think the new theater was called the Town. It's now the supermarket.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by 30 Floors Up

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...=core&_cview=1

Unfortunately, we are still out of luck. They did a $33,000,000 rehab on that building recently too. It started in 2005 and ended in 2007. We are stuck with it. For what it is worth, the IRS and VA administration occupy most of it. ...

Until 2020 or so, when they'll need upgrades again. At that point, maybe they'll consolidate the federal offices and court in a new complex where the ever-shrinking Sunpapers staff now makes its home. There's a lot of unused real estate there.

[30 Floors Up]

I was able to go into the USF&G annex building (Cityscape) a few years ago and walk all the way up to the roof. It is completely gutted inside. Each floor is one large open space with two stair wells. The stair wells are oval in shape, marble, and have ornate ironwork holding up the rails. The view from the roof is great. There is about a foot of pigeon droppings in places because so many birds now call it home.

I would rather this building be saved and the Brookshire demolished for Cityscape. Of course, there would be no views at all if that were to happen because you would be looking at Cityscape walls 20 feet away. So any apartments or condos would be very dark inside and would receive very little natural light. Light would only come from the east and west, which are the smallest walls of the building.

[KLynch]

Originally Posted by jeffrey.james.walker

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,3778150.story

I hope somebody invests in the plot of land. The shopping center is owned by Kodiak and they are just waiting... I also heard that Under Armour has plans again for the Port Covington Area, I don't have many details yet, but heard fields and really cleaning up the streetscape.