Sustainability : Development News

An eco-friendly home goods retailer has chosen Baltimore over several other cities as its corporate headquarters.

Bambeco moved its staff to the Brooklyn neighborhood in South Baltimore, to what is known as the old Lucky's Warehouse. The building is located at 3432 2nd St.

The one-year-old company sells furniture, rugs, pillows, and kitchen and entertaining supplies made from recycled materials.

CEO Susan Aplin says she selected Baltimore over Philadelphia, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. Baltimore has an "underrated" work force that can aid the retail, technology, and marketing industries. By next year the company will have 24 employees and will add another 25 in 2012.

Since some of Bambeco's products come from overseas, Aplin likes being in a port city.

Aplin is also moving Bambeco's warehouse from West Virginia and is on the hunt for 10,000 square feet of space. The headquarters is 5,900 square feet.

Qualified for a LEED Gold rating, the renovated Lucky's building contains solar panels and a geothermal heat pump that heats the water when solar power isn't available. That seems fitting for a company that sells recycled products. Aplin also liked the fact that the building is close to Interstates 895, 695, and 95. It is also close to the Federal Hill neighborhood, where staff can get lunch.

Most of the products Bambeco sells are made by the company itself. As of now, everything is sold on its Web site, Bambeco.com. Next year, it will begin selling in department and specialty stores, says Aplin, who declined to name the stores.  

Aplin declined to disclose sales.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Susan Aplin, Bambeco

Another fast food chain is headed to Baltimore � but don't expect fries with your sandwich.

Freshii, a franchise that sells made-to-order salads, wraps, soups and yogurt, will open a store at the Inner Harbor the first quarter of next year. Another Maryland store will open Dec. 1 at National Harbor in Prince George's County.

In total, franchise company Goel Management wants to open 20 Freshii stores in Maryland in the next three to four years, CEO Sumeet Goel says. So far, Goel has signed a letter of intent to open stores in Annapolis, Columbia and College Park. He plans to open two stores in Columbia and one in Ellicott City.

Started five years ago in Toronto, Freshii has been likened to Starbucks for its ambitious growth plans and Whole Foods for its eco-friendly practices. The company expects to have 52 locations open by the end of the year and 300 by 2015. Freshii relies on biodegradable materials. Customers can even bring in their own bowls.

The restaurant touts its healthful menu and offers three types of meals: high protein, low fat, and "balanced," with essential fats and slow-burning carbs. Meals cost, on average, $8 to $9.

Stores range from 200-square-foot kiosks to 2,000 square feet. The downtown Baltimore store will be about 1,500 square feet.
Each store costs between $50,000 and $200,000 to open.

Goel chose the Inner Harbor because the store will attract nearby office workers and tourists.

A Maryland native who lives in Pasadena, Goel also owns all of the Baja Fresh franchises in Baltimore. He says he believes the Baltimore market has attracted a more health conscious crowd.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Sumeet Goel, Freshii

Two Baltimore architectural firms are designing new labs and research buildings for a Laurel wildlife refuge funded by the federal government.

The expansion, to cost between $40 million and $60 million, is funded by federal stimulus money.

Gant Brunnett Architects Inc. and Floura Teeter Landscape Architects Inc. are designing the new space for the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Construction on the project will begin June 2011, says John Brunnett, president of lead architectural firm Gant Brunnett.

The project will include designing a 64,000-square-foot addition to a building that houses research on migratory birds. Plans also call for a renovation of the existing 52,000-square-foot building.

Gant Burnett and Floura Teeter are also designing a new 14,000-square-foot facility where researchers will examine the effects of environmental contaminants on endangered species. They'll research things like how does the pesticide DDT affect the bald eagle population? Another 10,000-square-foot building will be use to breed whooping cranes.



Floura Teeeter has performed an analysis of the site and is getting ready to design it according to LEED criteria, says Aaron Teeter, owner of Floura Teeter. Architects hope to obtain at least a silver LEED certification, Brunnett says. 

One green aspect they're considering is filling the landscape with plants that don't need as much irrigation and are more resistant to drought.


Source: John Brunnett, Gant Brunnett; Aaron Teeter, Floura Teeter
Writer: Julekha Dash

The owners of Padonia Village Shopping Center have spent $600,000 with the aim of attracting new tenants and keeping existing ones.

Located at the intersection of York and Padonia Roads, the 110,000 square foot shopping center contains 24 office and retail tenants, including Mars Supermarket, Rite-Aid and Padonia Station Bar & Grille.

The improvements include new sidewalks with stamped concrete, fa�ade upgrades, new signs, lighting and paint. Two new rain gardens  featuring black-eyed susans and ornamental grasses were installed. The center also features new benches, bicycle racks and recycling bins.

Owner Continental Realty Corp. hopes the makeover will help it attract two new restaurant tenants, says David Donato, vice president of Continental Realty's commercial division. The two vacant spots face the courtyard and total nearly 5,000 square feet.

The owners are actively seeking Mexican, seafood and Asian restaurants to complement the center's existing food offerings, which include sushi and pizza.

"We want to keep the center fresh for existing tenants and catch the attention of new ones," Donato says. "We'd love to see some restaurants now that we have outdoor seating."

Continental Realty also wanted to keep up with newer shopping centers in the area and older ones that that have undergone extensive renovations. These include Timonium Square Shopping Center, across from the Timonium Fairgrounds. Owner Kimco Realty Corp. renovated the fa�ade, and installed new signs and canopies last year.

"A lot of York Road is fresher and newer looking," Donato says.

Donato describes the Timonium area as a "retail mecca," with huge traffic counts, population density and income.

More than 56,000 consumers reside within a three-mile radius of Padonia Village with an average household income of more than $93,000. More than 40,000 vehicles pass the project on a daily basis along York Road, according to the state's transportation department.

Continental Realty hired Holland Construction Co. as the general contractor and Arium Inc. as the architect. Davey Commercial Grounds Management handled landscape design.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: David Donato, Continental Realty

A senior housing community has taken the first step toward building a $125 million continuing care retirement facility in Harford County.

The Presbyterian Home of Maryland Inc. received approval from the Maryland Dept. of Aging to determine the feasibility of constructing 183 independent living units, 10 assisted living beds and 10 comprehensive care beds in Aberdeen.

If the plan goes through, the 138-acre site will break ground in 2011 and the facility will open by late 2013. The Village at Carsins Run will be adjacent to Ripken Stadium. The site will include wetlands, tree buffers and nature trail.

The feasibility study indicates that a reasonable financial plan has been submitted for development and operation of the project, and that there appears to be a market for a continuing care retirement community in Harford County.

The Village at Carsins Run will employ about 80 full-time workers once it opens. Approximately 200 construction jobs will be available once actual work on the project begins.

Construction will be funded with seed capital from the Presbyterian Home of Maryland, a faith-based Towson nonprofit and municipal bonds.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Presbyterian Home of Maryland

Dana Valery often wished she could pick up organic fruit, milk and eggs every few days from her neighborhood corner grocer the way Europeans do, rather than make the massive trip to the supermarket every couple of weeks. So she and her husband Ernst Valery are making that wish a reality with the opening of Milk and Honey Market. The Mount Vernon shop at 816 S. Cathedral Street will open Oct. 1.

The 1,700-square-foot store is an offshoot of West Philadelphia's Milk and Honey Market, owned by friends of the Baltimore husband-and-wife team. Philly owners Annie Baum-Stein and Mauro Daigle consulted on the design and concept of the Baltimore store.

The store will sell a mix of fresh produce, meats, breads and honey and feature a caf� serving espresso, lattes and fresh-fruit smoothies. Breads will come from Stone Mill Bakery in Lutherville. The couple is talking with a number of local farmers who will supply the produce and cheeses. Valery declined to name them because they are still in the discussion stage.

"We're shooting for high quality products that are fresh and local," Valery says.

The couple chose the neighborhood because it has a nice mix of businesses, residents and students who will hopefully want to shop at a store like theirs. It also lacks a Whole Foods Market or other competing store and is easy to walk around.

Valery says she's catering to folks like herself who often go away on the weekends and can't make it to the local farmers' market on the weekends.

Nancy Hooff and Jim Campbell, a Washington, D.C., couple who own a development company, are also part-owners in the business. 


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

Source: Dana Valery, Milk and Honey Market
Writer: Julekha Dash

Owning your own winery involves more than sipping whites and reds all day. It's farming, after all, and thus, a lot of manual labor, says John Wilkerson, who, with his wife, Denise McCloskey, started DeJon Vineyards.
 
"It's hands on in the vineyard, pruning and pulling leaves," Wilkerson says.

The couple started planting grapes three years ago after spending $400,000 to convert their cattle and hay farm. The couple has converted the barn into a 2,400-square-foot tasting room.

DeJon currently bottles five wines, two whites and three reds that sell for between $14 and $20. The varietals include a merlot, chardonnay and a chambourcin.  The vintners are selling the wines at their winery at 5300 Hydes Rd., the Valley Wine Shop in Baldwyn, and at festivals.

But Wilkerson says the hard work is worth it because he enjoys talking to people about wine. DeJon joins Maryland's expanding list of wineries. The Free State currently has 41 wineries that sold $15.4 million in wine last year, according to the Maryland Wineries Association. The wineries sold 1.4 million bottles last year, a 3 percent increase over 2008.

The couple have bottled 540 cases of wine since April 3 and are promoting their grapes at wine festivals such as Howard County's Wine in the Woods and Great Grapes at Oregon Ridge.

The 45-acre Hydes winery will open to the public June 23 with a Wednesday night event, Wine Up Wednesday, that includes wine tasting, music and food from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Though it's back-breaking work, being in the wine business has its perks, Wilkerson says. He enjoys talking to fellow wine enthusiasts about his grapes and his property's location, next to a horse farm and the site of a wetland conservation area.

"We have one of the nicest views in Baltimore County. It's very nice to enjoy the scenery and bring a picnic lunch."

Source: John Wilkerson, DeJohn Vineyards
Writer: Julekha Dash

Kristopher Auer first started racing bikes 23 years ago. Now, he has turned his passion into a business in Hampden. Twenty20 Cycling Co. opened this month at 725 W. 36th Street. Auer and his two business partners, Norman Brach and Johnny May, invested $250,000 to transform a dilapidated garage into a full-service bike retail and repair shop.

Auer, who lives in nearby Remington, likes Hampden's Avenue because of it's always full of activity. "The Avenue has a lot of vibrancy," he says. "The unique shops make it a very Baltimore experience. It's the heart of the city in a certain sense. It's not downtown but not the county."

He also thought it was appropriate to open the shop in a part of town where it's easy to ride bikes. "It's a very bikeable part of town. The more people riding is better for the city. It's better for everyone."

Entry-level bikes run about $300, while a high-end custom bike can cost up to $10,000. "It's kind of like a car or stereo. If it's something you're into, why not ride the best."

Auer met his business partners through a cycling team that he runs. Auer also knew May from working at the Mt. Washington Bike Shop. Brach was a cycling client that Auer was training. "Serendipitously, everything came together."

Some of the costs of opening the 3,000-square-foot store was offset by a biking company called Specialized. The company helped the business owners design and lay out the store.  Twenty20 sells other bike brands as well.

Read about other efforts to green Baltimore here.


Source: Kristopher Auer, Tewenty20 Cycling Co.
Writer: Julekha Dash

A four-year-old energy company that supplies wind and solar power has expanded to Baltimore County's Catonsville. Clean Currents LLC opened an office at 813 Frederick Road this month. 

Company execs chose Catonsville after holding a town hall meeting on green energy at the Catonsville library in 2007, Clean Currents President Gary Skulnik says. More than 300 households signed up for Clean Currents. Catonsville is a "green-minded community," Skulnik says. "It's great to be there. We have so much energy on that side."

After that meeting, Clean Currents started a residential program. "I thought, maybe we are onto something here," Skulnik says.  Today, it has 6,000 residential customers.

Based in Rockville, Clean Currents employs 20. It is starting out small at the Catonsville office, with just two workers and less than 1,000 square feet of space, but the company has ambitious goals. If all goes well, the business could add as many as 30 employees in the next 18 months as it adds more customers in Pennsylvania, Skulnik says. The firm wants to become the dominant green energy company in the mid-Atlantic region.

He says the company also chose Catonsville because because the downtown area contains numerous restaurants and services. It's also convenient to Interstate 95 and 695 and minutes from downtown Baltimore.

Skulnik declined to say how much the company spent on the move.

Source: Gary Skulnik, Clean Currents
Writer: Julekha Dash

In a move to help promote local sustainability, Anne Arunde County Executive John R. Leopold and Annapolis Mayor Joshua J. Cohen have teamed up to certify and recognize green restaurants that are using locally grown products, improving energy efficiency, conserving water and providing environmental education.
 

Leaders at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine are seeking greener pastures.

School officials are pursuing a silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for four medical research buildings. Its facilities management office and computer teaching lab, located at 2024 E. Monument St., have already received a Silver LEED certification for commercial interiors. The renovated building is the first office in all of Johns Hopkins' campuses to achieve LEED status. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

"It shows the institution is serious about the environment and reducing our carbon footprint," says Jack Grinnalds, senior director of facilities management at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
 
In its application to the U.S. Green Building Council, Hopkins officials had to show that the school has plenty of parking and is close to public transportation, Grinnalds says.

Is other green initiatives that helped it achieve LEED status include:
• Reducing water consumption by 40 percent;
• Relying on regionally manufactured materials for nearly one-third of the materials used in its renovation. That reduces the need to transport materials and saves on energy costs; and,
• Relying on sensors so lights are turned off when the offices are not in use.

"It's quite a thrill and an honor," says Grinnalds of receiving the Silver LEED certification. "We've been working on this stuff for years and its finally getting to the point where we can get some publicity on it."

The school will know later this month whether its four research buildings will receive LEED certification.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Jack Grinnalds, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

• Narrow-neck plastic bottles and jugs with a number from 1 to 7 in a recycling symbol
• Wide-mouth plastic containers (such as butter and yogurt containers)
• Rigid plastics (such as buckets, drinking cups, and flower pots)
• Empty aerosol cans
• Aluminum foil and pie pans
• Milk and juice cartons/boxes

The county will pick-up recyclables in a number of containers, including:

• Recycling containers up to 34-gallon capacity
• Trash containers up to 34-gallon capacity for recycling use only, marked with a large "X" or "Recycle"
• Small cardboard boxes (boxes collected with contents)

Plastic bags, however, of any type or color will no longer be accepted for curbside collection. Nor will residents who choose to bring their recyclables to one of the County's three trash and recycling drop-off centers be able to place plastic bags of any type or color in the recycling containers at these drop-off centers.

In order for residents to clearly designate their recycling containers, Baltimore County has also made stickers available that may be affixed to containers that are being used exclusively for recycling. The stickers, however, are not required to participate in the single stream recycling program. Stickers for recycling containers are available free of charge at the following locations: Baltimore County senior centers, Baltimore County public libraries, and the County's three trash and recycling drop-off centers in White Marsh, Cockeysville, and Halethorpe.

County residents who have not received an updated collection calendar can view, save, and/or print their collection schedules and program guide. Or, for more information about the transition to single stream recycling collection, residents may visit www.bcrecycles.com or call the Bureau of Solid Waste Management at 410-887-2000.

Source: Baltimore County
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Mahan Rykiel Associates (MRA), a Baltimore based landscape architectural, urban design and planning firm, is the 2009 recipient of a Merit Award from the Maryland and Potomac Chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the renovation of Baltimore's Charles Center Plaza. 

"It is always rewarding as a landscape architect to take a space which has been neglected for years and transform it into a vibrant, space that revitalizes the surrounding businesses and neighborhood and this project has really done just that," says Scott Rykiel, FASLA, LEED AP, the principal in charge of the project.

Charles Center Plaza was the keystone of Baltimore's Inner Harbor revitalization effort of the 1960's. Recent decades however, brought significant deterioration. Baltimore City and the Downtown Partnership launched a national design competition to identify new solutions that could respond to the current needs of this important urban space.

As part of the winning team, Mahan Rykiel Associates' goal was to create a successful destination space that would recapture the vitality and energy of the original Charles Center vision, but would also introduce new elements to accommodate the changing downtown experience. The designers incorporated well-known characteristics of successful public spaces, characteristics that did not exist in the original plaza, which include: a walkable environment with engaging retail and programmed spaces; flexibility of spaces to support a variety of events, day and night; high quality detailing, including accessible green space; create places to which people are naturally drawn, individually or in groups; with convenient access to parking, restrooms; security.

The $7.5 million plaza renovation took six years to complete, moving from design to construction and has become the catalyst for other development and capital improvements in the area.

Source: Scott Rykiel, MRA
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Mayor Sheila Dixon, Col. David E. Anderson, Commander and District Engineer from the Unites States Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District and David Scott, Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) held a dedication ceremony for the $1.6 million restoration of approximately one-half mile of Maidens Choice Run. The Run is a tributary in the Gwynns Falls watershed.

"This restoration of Maidens Choice has created a more stable and clean environment for not only this community, but everyone who enjoys the Gwynns Falls watershed," says Mayor Dixon. "I want to give special thanks to our entire Congressional Delegation for their commitment to the people and environment of Baltimore."

The project site is located near Beechfield Elementary and Middle School. The upstream drainage area is 2.9 square miles and the length of stream restoration is 2,700 feet. The project included wetland restoration and the planting of 140 trees and thousands of plants native to the Baltimore region. A portion of storm drain was removed to recreate and stabilize the natural stream.

In 1992, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) requested that the City of Baltimore participate in the Baltimore Metropolitan Water Resources Gwynns Falls Watershed Study. A Draft Feasibility Report and Integrated Environmental Assessment presented recommendations for the ACOE to implement aquatic ecosystem restoration projects in the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore City.

A detailed study focusing on Dead Run and Maidens Choice Run determined that two were the most environmentally degraded sub-watersheds of the Gwynns Falls. A major finding of the investigation was that degradation of the aquatic habitat in Dead Run and Maidens Choice Run was directly related to the highly deteriorated condition of the sewer system infrastructure and uncontrolled stormwater runoff.

A watershed-based ecosystem approach was utilized to identify and select ecosystem restoration projects in the Gwynns Falls watershed. The plan focused on evaluating a combination of measures that could prevent or reduce the exchange of flow between the stream system/groundwater and sewer system; control stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces into the aquatic ecosystem; restore wetlands habitat; and restore instream habitat.

Source: Department of Public Works
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Interior and Environment appropriations bill for FY 2010 recently passed by the Senate contains $2 million for the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Dorchester County. The Refuge is currently separated into two sections by an area of unprotected land that could potentially be the site of future development and deforestation. The funding would be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help acquire additional land in the refuge, protecting it from future land conversion.

"The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is one of Maryland's treasures. It supports more than 300 species of birds, fish, and wildlife and provides an engaging environment to residents and visitors," said Senator Mikulski, a member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee that funds this program. "I will continue to fight for funds to preserve and protect the Chesapeake Bay and its fragile habitat."

"The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is a national treasure that encompasses some of the most important marshlands in North America and it is vital to the health of migratory birds," said Senator Cardin, chairman of the Water and Wildlife Subcommittee of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. "We have a duty to protect this very important wildlife area for the future."

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. It is widely though of as a  showplace because of its abundant and diverse wildlife and its critical wetland habitat. More than 300 species of birds, fish and other wildlife call the refuge home, including the largest nesting population of bald eagles north of Florida on the Atlantic Coast, the largest extant population of Delmarva fox squirrels in the world, and some extremely rare aquatic plants.

Blackwater NWR also is a major tourist attraction for Dorchester County and the Eastern Shore. Some 250,000 visitors come to Blackwater each year, bringing an estimated $4 million annually to support the local economy.

Source: Sen. Barbara Mikulski
Writer: Walaika Haskins