Development News

The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is opening a community arts center in East Baltimore that will expand its graduate programs and hopefully boost its relationship with the community.

The school is spending $1.2 million to renovate the 24,000-square-foot building at 814 N. Collington Avenue, funding for which came from the Rouse Co. Foundation, the Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation and an anonymous trustee. MICA expects the center, the former St. Wenceslaus School, to open mid-September.

Called MICA Place, the space will host graduate courses in community arts and social design and community meetings. It will also contain art studios, a computer laboratory, exhibition space and graduate apartments.

The center will allow students to use their art in a way that engages the community, says Ray Allen vice president of academic affairs and provost.

For instance, students pursuing a Master's in Community Arts might work with youth in East Baltimore to learn photography and use the art as a medium for reflecting on the issues facing the neighborhood, Allen says.

"I had it in my head that art and design could be put at the service of increasing the quality of life in the community," Allen says. "We can engage the community is a much richer way."

MICA has had a stake in East Baltimore for a decade, as part of a collaboration called the MICA/JHU Design coalition. Johns Hopkins University researchers tap the design expertise of MICA students to create graphics to deliver public health messages.

MICA is leasing the building from nonprofit East Baltimore Development Inc., the nonprofit that oversees the massive biotechnology park and residential development near Johns Hopkins Hospital.

"It's a wonderful building in East Baltimore," Allen says. "It will be a great place where people in the community can brought in."

Having a physical presence in the community will give MICA visibility and credibility, Allen hopes.

"This will give us community trust, that we're not some elitist outside organization visiting," he says.  "At the end of the day, education is our mission. Art is our vehicle for doing it."

Read more of Bmore's education coverage.

Source: Ray Allen, Maryland Institute College of Art
Writer: Julekha Dash
read on…

Charles Street's restaurant offerings will soon include fish tacos and one-and-a-half-pound burritos. Ken Diaz will open Gordito's Café at 336 N. Charles Street, replacing Milton's Grill, by October. A former restaurant consultant who has worked for Edo Sushi, Mari Luna Mexican Grill and Lebanese Taverna, Diaz is spending $250,000 of his own money to start the 85-seat eatery.

Gordito's offerings will include traditional Mexican dishes, including a gordita, a corn cake stuffed with meat, and a torta, a sandwich with thinly sliced steak or chicken. Flour and corn tortillas will be homemade.

Smaller items will cost between $6 and $10 while the king-size burrito that can feed two will cost $14.  Lunch and dinner entrees will average around $15.

Authentic Mexican drinks will be on the menu as well at the 2,500-square-foot restaurant. Those include Mexican Bloody Marys, a Mexican black and tan (beer and brand) and, of course, margaritas.

Using the tagline cocina, cultura, historia for his new concept, Diaz wants to give diners a taste of Mexican culture and history and not just its flavorful spices. Gordito's will feature Mexican bingo and Mariachi bands every week and display photos of Aztec warriors and cinema stars.

Though some restaurants are struggling now in a down economy, Diaz isn't worried. With no other Mexican restaurants in the downtown area, he has little competition and hopes that if you offer good food and service at a reasonable price, the people will come.

In fact, if things go well, Diaz hopes to open five to seven additional locations in Greater Baltimore within a few years.
 
Diaz chose the Downtown area because he admired the neighborhood's eclectic mix of people and historic architecture. His own building includes an entire wall with exposed brick.

"I fell in love with the space," he says.

To read more about downtown, go here.


Source: Ken Diaz, Gordito's
Writer: Julekha Dash

read on…

What does the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have in common with a new lounge in Fells Point called the Get Down? Both relied on Baltimore lighting designer Scott Chmielewski for illumination.

Bryan Burkert opened the Get Down at 701 S. Bond St. this month in the spot that once held Fletcher's. Burkert, who also owns Fells Point music shop the Sound Garden, gutted out the former space to open the 6,000-square-foot nightclub.

The LED lighting is a key component of the Get Down's design, Burkert says. "Everything glows and illuminates everything all of the time," he says. "I wanted a funky, cool place."

Burkert will rely on DJs from Washington, D.C., to play funk and soul music. But the biggest challenge will be to reach the right audience for the club. "Our fear is that we'd be pegged as the hottest new club which is not what we are trying to be," he says.

Wait, he doesn't want to be called the hottest new club?

His fear is that with a moniker like that, party-goers will assume that the Get Down plays all pop or all hip hop, as is the case at other nightclubs. Burkert wants to reach a more diverse, wider spectrum of the city.

Burkert sold Fletcher's two years ago, then bought it back. But he didn't feel like opening it as Fletcher's. So he remade the space into a venue where he can hold parties, feature live music or DJs.

The business owner says he likes the area for its mix of eclectic, independent restaurants and retail shops.

The club is open seven nights a week, from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m.

Source: Bryan Burkert, the Get Down
Writer: Julekha Dash
read on…

An artist-run gallery has moved into new space on the city's west side. Current Space opened its doors to the public at 421 N. Howard Street this month after nearly six years at 30 S. Calvert Street.

The new spot is conveniently located near the Light Rail, and restaurants in Mount Vernon, Current Co-director Monique Crabb says. "Downtown closed down at night. It's nice to be in an area where there's an audience around us."

It's also close to the Enoch Pratt Library and the artist warehouse the H&H building, the site of many art shows and music events.

"We're really excited about the location," Crabb says.

Current artists pay just utilities and property taxes —  about $6,000 a year — and is getting the space free of rent from the city. Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. and the Baltimore Development Corporation helped the artists find the new space. The move highlights how the city is encouraging artists to move into areas with vacant buildings with the hopes that it will jumpstart development.

Eventually, the artists will have to move if a developer takes an interest in the area. "It's a win-win situation except we will be asked to leave," Crabb says.

Right now, the artists expect to stay in the space for at least a year and a half.

The gallery displays the work of photographers, printmakers and videographers whose work is not very commercial. Most of the work is not sellable, because the work includes videos and major installations.

"We don't target the audience looking to buy art work," Crabb says. "We wish we sold more stuff and make more money. It's more about including the artists' community but not so much in a commercial way."

Source: Monique Crabb, Current Space
Writer: Julekha Dash

read on…

Love Culture, a growing women's apparel company based in Los Angeles, has put Greater Baltimore on its expansion map. The chain, which offers stylish clothing at affordable prices, opened its 28th store July 14 at Towson Towson Center.

Located on the first floor of the mall near American Eagle Outfitters and Hollister, the 10,000-square foot store is the latest shop to come to the mall. Earlier this month, BmoreMedia reported that Tiffany, Michael Kors and True Religion Brand Jeans are opening shops at the mall this fall.

The retailer targets regional and enclosed shopping malls for new stores. The company chose Towson Towson Center because it has a strong retail mix whose customers will hopefully gravitate to Love Culture, says Bill Fowler, the company's executive vice president of real estate.

Love Culture's fashion concept is similar to Forever 21 and H&M. It's designs appeal to girls and women, aged 15 to 45, Fowler continues.

Each store has a slightly differently layout and look, employing dramatic design accessories, such as pink motorcycles or trees. Other design elements include etched glass and graphics on the windows and ceramic tile floors. 

Founded in 2007, Love Culture plans to open seven new stores this year and another 20 to 30 locations across the U.S.  next year, Fowler says.

Asked whether additional stores will open in Maryland, Fowler says that depends on how sales at the Towson store perform. The real estate team will examine each new prospective site on a case-by-case basis.

Love Culture also has stores in Arizona, Texas, California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, New York and Florida.


Source: Bill Fowler, Love Culture
Writer: Julekha Dash


read on…

The owners of a family farm in Baltimore County have spent $2 million to open a store featuring oven-baked breads, produce, cheeses, meats and flowers as it transitions from the wholesale to the retail market.

Seven years in the making, Richardson Farms debuted the 17,000-square-foot food market and garden shop this month at 5828 Ebenezer Rd. in White Marsh.

The farm had operated a 500-square-foot shop that it soon outgrew, says John Richardson, one of the farm's owners.

"We were getting more products from local people and we ran out of room," he says.

Co-owner Les Richardson says the family wanted to transition from the wholesale to the retail business because the prices in the wholesale industry fluctuate a lot more, making it more difficult to predict sales.

"Retailers don't vary their prices as much," he says.

Producers can also make more money by selling items directly to the consumers, rather than to a middleman, Les Richardson says.

"Anything you can raise on the farm and sell yourself you're making a lot more money then sending it out to the wholesale market," he says.

The area is full of neighborhoods dense with housing developments, making it a good spot to attract Baltimore County residents who live in Middle River or Perry Hall, the Richardsons say. The 400-acre farm is also close to Interstate 95, making it a convenient site to attract drive-by traffic.

Designed as an Amish-style barn, the retail facility incorporates several environmentally friendly features, geothermal heating and air conditioning, efficient electric and motion sensor lighting, and a blast freezer for quickly cooling foods.

The garden center is filled with hanging flower baskets and plants which are grown onsite at the farm's five greenhouses.Rabbit meat is among the market's more unusual items.

The market employs about 20 people.


Source: John and Les Richardson, Richardson Farms
Writer: Julekha Dash
read on…

Women's fashion store Coldwater Creek will open its seventh Maryland store in mid-October at the Mall in Columbia. Known for its comfortable, outdoorsy clothes, the chain selects upscale locations that have a strong mix of retailers, says Erin Mullen, the Sandpoint, Idaho chain's catalog marketing manager.

"The center has the look and feel and the caliber of retailers we want to be among," Mullen says of the Mall in Columbia.

Other shops at the mall include Nordstrom, Macy's, H&M, Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware. The 6,000-square-foot store will open on the first floor in the Nordstrom wing of the mall.

One of the wealthiest counties in the nation, Howard County's demographics appealed to the retailer as well, Mullen says. Howard County's median household income of $101,672 ranked third in the country, according to the Howard County Economic Development Authority.

"We consider ourselves an upscale retailer and we thought it was a good fit," Mullen says. "It's a great area that is diverse and central and our customers are there," she says of Columbia.

Coldwater Creek appeals to women over 35 with an average annual household incomes greater than $75,000.

The county's numerous parks and trails also make it a good location for Coldwater Creek.

"It's a brand that is rooted in nature and a comfortable way of approaching fashion," Mullen says.

Coldwater Creek operates 360 stores nationwide and has been expanding. The company plans to open approximately 20 new stores in fiscal 2010, which ends Jan. 31, 2011.

The company pulled in $1.04 billion in annual sales last year.

Source: Erin Mullen, Coldwater Creek
Writer: Julekha Dash

read on…

A 27-year-old Washington, D.C., area tile company is taking its stone, glass and ceramics designs to Baltimore's Canton neighborhood. Architectural Ceramics plans to open a 1,600-square-foot showroom at 3500 Boston St. by mid-August, according to Brooke Laura, an executive assistant at the company.

The firm has had an office in the building known as the Broom Factory for about two years. But the office was quickly growing out of space to store enough tiles to show clients, Laura says.

"Our tiles fills up our office pretty quickly," she says.

The showroom will serve mainly residential clients, though the company's Baltimore area clients also include hotels, designers, architects and other commercial business.

Architectural Ceramics' other showrooms are located in Rockville, Chevy Chase, Alexandria, Va., and Falls Church, Va.

The company settled on the location because it's convenient to Fells Point and downtown, and is visible from the road, Laura says.

"It's a prime location that we really like," Laura says. "We wanted to get it while we could. We've been doing well there for two years. We think it will be a great location."

Though the housing market continues to recover, the company hopes it can  fill a niche in the area as there aren't many tile companies in the area.

"We'll be filling a void in the Baltimore area," Laura says. "That's our hopes anyway. "

Source: Brooke Laura, Architectural Ceramics
Writer: Julekha Dash
read on…

A Florida golf store chain has taken its first swing in Maryland, opening two new retail businesses in Silver Spring and Columbia this month.

Edwin Watts Golf Shops opened the new outlets at the Mall in Columbia, at 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy., and the White Oak Shopping Center at 11255 New Hampshire Ave.

Roughly 3,000 square feet, the two stores are the first two Edwin Watts Golf Shops to open in the mid-Atlantic region. Located within a Sears, they are two of a dozen new shops opening within the department store. The other stores will open in Texas, Utah, New York, Virginia, New Jersey and Florida.

The Fort Walton Beach, Fla., chain struck the partnership with Sears hoping to get foot traffic from a major department store chain that it wouldn't otherwise get, says Robert Anthony, Edwin Watts' vice president of marketing. The golf shop will be close to Sears items that attract the male shopper, including tools, electronics and automotive supplies.

If the partnership goes well, the company hopes to open in more Sears locations throughout the country, Anthony says. With 90 locations, Edwin Watts' biggest presence is in the Southeast. But the company's future plans could include more stores in the Northeast, including Maryland, where it gets a lot of business from catalog and online sales, Anthony says. The company is eyeing Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland for possible new sites.

The company chose the Maryland spots because the state is home to many golf enthusiasts, Anthony says. He describes the Mall of Columbia as a great "upscale" mall property that is close to several golf courses, including Fairway Hills Golf Club and Hobbit's Glen Golf Club.

Anthony declined to say how much the company is spending to open the new stores. Edwin Watts employs 700.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Robert Anthony, Edwin Watts
read on…

Outdoor enthusiasts in Howard County will get more choices for camping and climbing equipment in early November, when REI will open its fourth Maryland store at Columbia Crossing.

And more stores could be on the way as the company scouts other locations in the Northeast.

The 24,000-square-foot Columbia shop will also sell ski equipment, cycling, hiking and fitness gear. The store will employ about 50.

Recreational Equipment Inc. chose the location because the area is full of biking and hiking trails, says Angie Perez, REI's district outreach and events administrator.

The Seattle-based company also has 38,000 members in Greater Baltimore, though it has just one store in the area. REI's Maryland stores are located in Timonium, Silver Spring and College Park.

"Generating 38,000 from one store is huge," Perez says.

The Columbia store is also close to Ellicott City's Patapsco Valley State Park. That means more people in the county could be interested in the store's outdoor recreational classes on hiking, biking and other sports.

With 112 stores, REI sees its biggest opportunity for growth in the Northeast, between Washington, D.C., and New York, Perez says.

"When the right opportunity comes up we'll go for it," she says.

Other stores at Columbia Crossing include Old Navy, Borders Books & Music and Target. The site is close to Interstate 95 and MD 175, making it easily accessible, Perez says.

REI members pay a one-time $20 fee and receive a share of the company's profits, based on how much they purchase. The company generated $1.5 billion in sales last year and nearly $30 million in net income. The company counts nearly 4 million members, who receive discounts on gear rentals, classes and trips.

REI has granted more than $90,000 to 11 outdoor and conservation nonprofits in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, including the Alice Ferguson Foundation, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts. The company plans to expand upon these efforts with the opening of the new store.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Angie Perez, REI

read on…

More luxury brand names are coming to Towson Town Center, including one of the most iconic high-end shops — Tiffany & Co. Known for its trademarked turquoise boxes, the jeweler will open the 3,500-square-foot store Sept. 3.

"It's a wonderful magnet tenant that we hope will attract other tenants and many more shoppers," says Towson Town Center General Manager Chuck Crerand. It will be Tiffany's second Maryland store. The other is located in Chevy Chase. 

Michael Kors and True Religion Jeans will join Tiffany in Towson Town Center's luxury wing in September.  

The 1,700-square-foot store will be sportswear apparel firm Michael Kors' first standalone Maryland shop. It is also True Religion's first foray into Maryland, with its 1,500-square-foot store. The closest True Religion standalone store is in Washington, D.C.'s tony Georgetown neighborhood. The Los Angeles-based designer jean company 's denim can set you back about $200.

Though retailers have curtailed their expansions during the last couple of years due to the recession, Crerand is now seeing more interest in new store openings.

"I think it's starting to come back," Crerand says. "I think more retailers are interested in expanding again."

The mall expanded nearly two years ago, with an additional 110,000 square feet. The expansion included a luxury wing whose shops include Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, Bose and Lush. After analyzing the area's demographics, mall management decided that the area could support high-end stores.

The average household income within a three-mile radius of Towson is $93,000, according to the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development. The area contains nearly 93,000 residents, about half of whom hold a college degree.

"It's exciting cachet for that mall," says David S. Iannucci, executive director of the Baltimore County Office of Economic Development, of the Tiffany store.

"The Greater Towson area has a strong buying public that would make national retailers identify the site for stores," Iannucci says. Towson residents have a "great appreciation for the finer things in life."

Tiffany's new store is one of 16 stores the company is opening this year.  The company pulled in $2.7 billion in sales in its most recent fiscal year.


Source: Chuck Crerand, Towson Town Center
Writer: Julekha Dashread on…

Greg Brown has always been into eating healthful foods and working out. He eventually became a vegetarian, cooking meatless meals that became part of the catering company he formed in 2004.

Now, Brown and fhis iancé Naijha Wright are taking the soy rib tips, collard greens seasoned with smoked tofu and soy curry chicken to a new restaurant called Land of Kush. The 1,200-square-foot business will open at 840 N. Eutaw Street Aug. 1.

The pair spent about $55,000 to start the 20-seat restaurant.

Brown began selling vegetarian food when a friend was searching for a caterer to serve meatless meals at Jazzy Summer Nights, the downtown music event formerly held on the first Thursday of each month.

Though it ended last year, the event gave Brown a small but loyal following of fans. He says he would often sell out of food there and at another summer event, Artscape.

Land of Kush will serve a mix of Southern soul-style cooking and ethnic foods, the tofu and soy mimicking Vietnamese, Indian and West Indian flavors. "I have friends from different cultural backgrounds and that's the kind of restaurant I want to open," Brown says. 

He chose the Mount Vernon neighborhood for his new restaurant because the area's diverse mix of residents."I like just walking in that area," Brown says.

The neighborhood is also home to Maryland General Hospital and various state office buildings, whose workers will hopefully patronize the Land of Kush, he says.

Brown expects area residents and students from the University of Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art to become customers, given the restaurant's low prices. Sandwiches will cost around $5 while dinner entrees will cost about $10.

Read more about what's happening in Mt. Vernon.


Source: Greg Brown, Land of Kush
Writer: Julekha Dashread on…

Following their retirement, business partners Irene Baum and Kathy Fleming got the itch to start a new venture, but they didn't want to get into something too time consuming or demanding.

So the pair came up with the perfect business: ice cream.

Baum and Fleming opened Screwballs Frozen Delights in Locust Point over Memorial Day weekend. The spot at 1400 Towson St. sells 30 flavors of snowballs and 13 flavors of hand-dipped ultra-premium ice cream, or ice cream with at least 17 percent milkfat.

The ice cream, which is free of growth hormones, comes from Moorenko's Ice Cream Café in Silver Spring. Their flavors include salted caramel with pralines, orange chocolate chip, cotton candy gummy bear and cookie dough.

Screwballs, outfitted like a 1950s-style ice cream parlor, also sells milk shakes, floats and banana splits. Baum could not say how much the partners spent to open the business, located on the first floor of a 1,220-square-foot rowhouse.
 
"We found a lovely spot in Locust Point that's perfect or an ice cream parlor," says Baum, a former division manager of a tobacco company.

The shop owners were not interested in, say, starting a full-service restaurant that would require around-the-clock hours and supervising a number of employees.

"We wanted something that just the two of us could handle on our own," Baum says. "It gives us flexibility on time, " says Baum, who plans to close the shop three months during winter.

Though Baum lives in Anne Arundel County's Glen Burnie, she decided Locust Point would be the best fit for the business.

"It's a very close-knit community with lots of kids and families," Baum says. "We've gotten great feedback and support from the neighbors. I grew up in the city and this reminds me of the city I grew up in where everyone knew everyone else."

And how did the business owners come up with the name? It's a joke between Baum and Fleming.
"We used to call each other screwballs. We're just two goofy people," Baum says.

To read more about Locust Point, click here.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source; Irene Baum, Screwballs
read on…

The smell of fresh tomatoes and mozzarella will soon be wafting in the building that once held popular neighborhood Eastern Avenue bar Kelly's.

Richard Pugh and business partners Steve Ball will open Johnny Rad's Pizzeria Tavern at 2108 Eastern Ave. within the next month. And at the request of community members, Pugh promises that the Upper Fells Point restaurant will feature karaoke just as Kelly's did.

The 2,000-square-foot restaurant will serve Neapolitan-style pizza with fresh, crushed tomatoes and herbs. Pugh has put his own twist to the Neapolitan crust — pizza with a thin center but with thick edges.

In addition to vegetarian options, pizza toppings will include cured meats such as prosciutto, sopressata, and, hopefully, Italian sausage from Di Pasquale's Italian Marketplace in Highlandtown.

The business partners spent more than $60,000 to renovate the 60-seat restaurant.

How did they come up with the name? Johnny Rad's is the name of a lounge singer in the 1987 movie "The Search for Animal Chin." As you might have guessed, the owners are big skateboarding fans and their love for the recreation will be reflected in the décor, with skateboarding murals.

In addition to pizza, the restaurant will serve entrée salads, burgers and unusual bar bites, including edamame with sea salt, hush puppies and black bean hummus.

Pizzas will cost between $8 and $20, depending on the toppings.

Pugh says he chose the neighborhood because it has been lacking a pizza joint and the location is in between the two bustling neighborhoods of Fells Point and Canton.

Victor Corbin, president of the Fells Prospect Community Association, agrees that the area could use a pizza place.

"We're looking forward to him opening up," Corbin says. "It's added activity in that section of the community."

For more information on Fells Point, click here.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Richard Pugh, Johnny Rad's


read on…

Getting designer duds at a discount will be easier for Annapolis residents next year.

Seattle-based Nordstrom is opening a Nordstrom Rack store at Annapolis Harbour Center spring 2011, with plans to hire about 70 to man the store.

The 32,230-square-foot store will be Nordstrom's second shop in Anne Arundel County. It has had a regular department store at Westfield Annapolis since 1994. A second Maryland store will open in Friendship Heights, just outside of Washington, D.C., next spring.

"We wanted to grow our Rack presence in the Greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas," Nordstrom spokesman Colin Johnson says.

The opening of a discount store is not fueled by the sputtering economy, Johnson says. Rather, company leaders talked about growing its Rack presence in markets where Nordstrom has a lot of customers prior to the recession.

The shop will carry adult and shoes clothes, accessories, shoes, bed and bath products and home accents.

The company chose Annapolis Harbor Center because it liked the retail mix at the shopping center, Johnson says. The shops include an Old Navy, Office Depot and Barnes & Noble.

Nordstrom also likes to put its Rack stores close to its full-service department stores and the customers who shop there, Johnson says.

There are currently 76 Nordstrom Racks and 114 full-line Nordstrom stores throughout the country. Rack store merchandise are sold at a discount of between 20 and 70 percent.

"Our customers are anyone who loves fashion and we want to better serve them," Johnson says.

Nordstrom does not break out how much it spends to open each store. Last year, the company invested $360 million to open new stores, remodel existing ones and make technology improvements.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Colin Johnson, Nordstrom


read on…