Downtown : Development News

Developers in Baltimore came together last Thursday to celebrate their own. The Baltimore District Council of The Urban Land Institute  hosted the first annual WaveMaker Awards event at the Legg Mason Tower in Inner Harbor East. The awards were given to developers whose local projects are unique, innovative, and visionary; the seven WaveMaker recipients were honored alongside the national ULI's Heritage Award Winner, Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Earlier this year, ULI Headquarters honored Baltimore's Inner Harbor with its prestigious Heritage Award. The award is bestowed periodically on developments that have demonstrated industry excellence and made substantial contributions to their community's well-being for at least 25 years. Only eight developments have been selected to recieve the prestigious award in the past 35 years.

"Through the redevelopment of 192 acres of dilapidated and abandoned waterfront property, the Baltimore Inner Harbor catalyzed reinvestment in Baltimore -- supporting more than 50,000 new jobs, generating $60 million in new tax revenue, and generating a $4 billion tourism industry that was previously non-existent. The harbor now stands as the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world," states the national selection

The ULI Baltimore also recognized the seven recent local projects that demonstrate industry excellence with the WaveMaker Award.

These projects are respectful of their surrounding neighborhood, economy, history, geography, and local government, and provide strong economic returns to stakeholders. The WaveMakers  were able to stretch the boundaries of what was considered possible and accelerate sustainable, prosperous development in Baltimore.

"ULI Baltimore is excited to build on the Heritage Award presented to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The WaveMaker Award is an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the developers and projects that are shaping Baltimore's skyline," notes ULI Baltimore Chair, Caroline G. Moore.

The 2009 WaveMakers are:

Miller's Court, 2601 N. Howard St., Seawall Development Company

Silo Point, 1200 Steuart St., Turner Development Group

Legg Mason Tower, 100 International Dr., H&S Properties Development Corp.

Fairfield Inn by Marriott, 101 S. President St., Summit Associates LLC/A&R Development Corp.

Towns at Orchard Ridge, 4020 Maple Ridge Dr., Pennrose Properties/Doracon Development LLC

Baltimore Medical System's Highlandtown Healthy Living Center, 3700 Fleet Street, Highlandtown Development, LLC

American Brewery, 1701 N. Gay Street, Humanim

The Center Club, located on the 15th and 16th floors of 100 Light Street formerly the Legg Mason headquarters, reopened this month after undergoing a $2.7 million renovation. 

Established in 1962, the private dining club now offers an open harbor-view dining room, a wine room, and bar area, as well as a dance floor.

Source: The Center Club
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Esquire Pub will be open next week at the new Quality Inn at 110 St. Paul St. The pub, which will offer light pub fare in a casual atmosphere will came about thanks in part to several legal orgs, including the Baltimore Bar Association.

"Originally when we finished the hotel, we wanted to lease out [the restaurant]. But many area attorneys said they needed a lounge where they could get together. We have at least five local businesses, a lot of them professional attorneys, that book for Happy Hour," says La Dinh Tran, manager of the Quality Inn.

The interest by local legal eagles also impacted the naming of the pub, he says. "Three different groups, including the Baltimore Bar Association, came to us."

The pub will feature live jazz and other music.It will also be available for private parties.

Source La Dinh Tran, Quality Inn
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Whether you're a business owner, community organization or just a neighborhood regular, if you have a business opening or that has recently opened tell us about. You could find your new business featured in our development news section.

Baltimore's VIPs and wannabes welcomed a new club last weekend. Mist took over the Power Plant Live location vacated by the Iguana Cantina in July. Club owners are aiming to bring a bit of the glamor commonly associated with clubs in Miami, Las Vegas or Los Angeles to Baltimore.

"We are the largest upscale club in the area," says Bobby Dylan, owner Good Life Productions and Jetset Mafia.
 
The new upscale club caters to Baltimore's sporting elite and other area people-you-know and people-you-should-know. According to Dylan, Michael Phelps along with a few other sports notables attended the club's grand opening Saturday.

The club's decor, in shades of turquoise and blue, is meant to evoke a sense of water, leather ottomans make it easy to customize seating arrangements, while a giant 30-foot video screen and plasma TVs keep the party going showing videos as DJs spin tunes from dance, pop and hip-hop. Two "huge" bars also fill the space.

"We do mostly bottle service to tables. But we also have nearly every vodka made," Dylan says.

Only half of the club is currentlyopen, the other half, featuring a lounge, will open by New Years.

"We're open from 10 pm to 2 am, Friday and Saturday. Right now, we're just doing two nights a week, but later on we'll open on Thursday, but for now we're concentrating on Friday and Saturday," says Dylan.

The Baltimore-based Parks & People Foundation, is offering up to $1,000 for groups interested in greening their neighborhood. The monies, part of a partnership with the Baltimore Community Foundation and the Cleaner Greener Baltimore Initiative, provides up to $1,000 in Neighborhood Greening Grants for those planning projects that will plant trees, create community gardens, clean up and restore vacant lots, clean up neighborhoods, create green schoolyards, improve water quality improve and provide environmental education activities. Grant funds may also be used for tools, plant material, equipment and other needed supplies.

Baltimore's Hollywood Diner, made famous as the setting of Barry Levinson's 1982 film "Diner," will get another chance to serve some grub.

Built in 1954, Levinson purchased the diner and moved it from its location in Long Island to Baltimore. The Chesapeake Center for Youth Development, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, ran the restaurant serving meatloaf and other traditional diner fare while providing real world experience for teens participating in its youth culinary training program from 1991 to June 2008.

The diner's new chance at fame comes from the Baltimore-based Crema Coffee Co. which will handle the daily operations and continue the youth culinary training program.

Located at 400 E. Saratoga Street, the new menu will include a selection of sandwiches, soups, burgers, salads and shakes made primarily with locally grown produce.
 
In addition to the food, the diner will also be the meeting place for University of Maryland School of Law students and their clients. The prospective lawyers will provide lowcost legal consultations to low income Baltimore City residents, focusing on a different area of the law each day of the week.


Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Creme Coffee, Co.

The Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC) hopes to spur commercial interest in five contiguous properties in the city's Pigtown neighborhood left orphaned after the original developer had to abandon its plans for the properties early this year.

BDC is seeking proposals from qualified developers "for a high-quality, mixed-use development that enhances and anchors the Pigtown/Washington Village Business District and achieves a positive impact for the city," most notably through the creation of jobs, increased tax revenues, community stabilization and opportunities for business run by minorities and women. The agency is looking specifically for proposals to create restaurants and cafes, coffee shops, small scale grocery stores, bookstores, bakeries, family video stores, pharmacies, upscale convenience stores, florists, ice cream shops, hardware stores, art-related stores, camera shops, lodging facilities, yoga studios, and art galleries.

The five properties concerned are 925 Washington Boulevard (a former two-story tavern of approximately 1,656 square feet); 927 Washington Boulevard (an approximately 1,438 square foot, two-story residential structure); and 929, 931, and 937 Washington Boulevard (a site comprised of three adjoining lots totaling roughly 4,525 square feet and a three-level building shell). BDC says it will give priority to projects that "preserve the historic fabric of the community" and involve rehabbing to the greatest extent possible.

The properties were first offered by BDC in 2006, however the developer selected, Historic Pigtown Development LLC, told the agency in January that it could not afford to proceed.

The agency would not comment on the number or nature of the proposals it has received until Nov. 1, when it will issue a press release, says the BDC's Mica Fetz.

Source: Mica Fetz, Baltimore Development Corp.
Writer: Lucy Ament

Wanna see a photo of two dragonflies mating?

Wait � don't answer that. Just head over to Gallery 788, a new artists' space at 788 Washington Boulevard in Pigtown, where provocative works from a dozen Baltimore artists whose mediums range from photography, painting, and sculpture, to illustration, filmmaking, singing and songwriting, poetry, performance art and various other media.

The new gallery, which hosted a "soft launch" for about 250 people on July 30, gives artists the opportunity to show their work and gain visibility without the expense and networking hurdles of breaking into the private gallery scene. According to photographer Terry Smith, who snapped the dragonfly dalliance and other nature-themed photographs currently on display, the building has been opened up to artists by owners Mark and Patrice Smith (no relation), who run Baltimore-based Magnum Construction. Artists who pass an informal jury pay just $50 to display their work for a month and help operate the gallery four days a week. In exchange, they receive full price for their pieces; the gallery does not charge a commission.

The first exhibit will run two months, and subsequent exhibits will rotate monthly. Smith, a supervisor for Magnum Construction, calls the two-story space with nine-foot high ceilings "clean, crisp, brand new and wide open," which, coupled with the great foot traffic at the corner of Washington and Scott Streets, make it the ideal space for displaying art.

"I think it's a good fit with the plans Mark has for Washington Boulevard," Smith says, alluding to  work being done in the area by Magnum. "He's making it a destination point and this gallery would add to that. As restaurants and businesses come in, people will visit the gallery."

Gallery 788 is open Thur. 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.; Fri. noon � 8 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. � 8 p.m.; and
Sun. noon � 6 p.m. For more information, contact Eduardo Rodriguez at [email protected].

Source: Terry Smith, Magnum Construction
Writer: Lucy Ament

Don't let "Dancing With The Stars" fool you: formal dance instruction is not just for B-List celebrities and retired professional athletes, and it's certainly better to do than experience from the padded passivity of your couch.

Expressions in Motion, a new dance studio opening in Pigtown later this month, is making it possible for aspiring dancers to learn some moves -- whether they are 3 or 93. Kids are taught creative movement and ballet and tap basics, while teens and adults can pick from a host of classes in jazz, ballet, modern, tap, hip hop, and contemporary dance.

Owner Martha Reyner, a Baltimore native who studied dance at Columbia College in Chicago before returning to the area to run a dance studio with her childhood mentor, says the studio will resemble a gym in that adults can pop into whatever daily classes they wish. Reyner has assembled a team of a half-dozen dance instructors to teach the classes, which will cost about $7-15 depending on the package members buy. They can pay for classes individually, purchase a full ten-week session, or choose a full 30-week year.

Best of all, students get several chances a year to show their stuff. Reyner plans to host several "Open Marley Nights" (a riff on "open-mic nights" that alludes to the special flooring on a dance floor) where students will be able to perform for one another and perhaps students from other studios. She also pans to organize two large, formal performances for her students, one in December and one in June, at a local performance hall or school.

The two-story studio Reyner chose at 756 Washington Blvd., formerly a furniture store, has three studio spaces, a parents' waiting room, and a kids' lounge. Reyner, who says the grand opening is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 29, chose the area because she was impressed at how readily Pigtown is realizing its potential.

"Baltimore is my home, and even after living in Chicago a long time I wanted to come back," she says. "I chose Pigtown because I feel like it's a visibly growing neighborhood and it's kind of fun to be a part of something that has a lot of positive energy. People want to make it beautiful and nice and safe and I want to help facilitate that."

Source: Martha Reyner, Expressions in Motion
Writer: Lucy Ament

What does a $65 million renovation look like? Stroll down to 2 South Charles Street and take a peek at the Hotel Monaco, a new "lifestyle" hotel that's poised to attract not just business travelers but those seeking to explore a new city and experience the lux life.

The 202-room luxury boutique hotel, which occupies the circa 1906 Beaux Arts building, formerly the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad headquarters, boasts "Mediterranean Suites" with soaking tubs for two, 37-inch flat-screen TVs, and 500-thread-count Italian linens; "Tall Rooms" with extra-long mattresses and giraffe print robes; "Pet Parlor Rooms" for travelers with feline or canine companions, and a living room where guests can mingle during a daily wine hour.

It also showcases Tiffany stained-glass windows, marble floors, and imposing staircases. Best of all, it offers accommodation with a conscience: the lighting is energy-saving incandescent, showerheads are water savers, and the thermostats and HVAC systems are computer-controlled for optimal efficiency.

The Monaco represents the first Baltimore-based venture for San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, which specializes in super sumptuous accommodation. It is expected to help revitalize Charles and Baltimore Streets. It's also bolstering the workforce: the hotel and its restaurant have 135 to 140 employees. The first Friday and Saturday after opening were sold out, and management expects an occupancy rate of 50-60% for the duration of the year.

A big draw to the area will be the B&O American Brasserie, on the hotel's first level, with its exhibition kitchen, pizza oven and generous counter seating. Chef E. Michael Reidt, named one of the country's Best New Chefs in 2001 by Food & Wine, promises "approachable yet refined" fare, ranging from small plates, charcuterie, cheeses and flatbreads to fisherman's stew and pot roast using only sustainable seafood and local farmers' products. Cocktails are handmade with farm fresh ingredients and, with $3 glasses of wine and Champagne on top of lower-priced bar food specials, happy hour is don't miss.

Source: Dorothy Fuchs, Sandy Hillman Communications
Writer: Lucy Ament

Low-income families in Baltimore will get some help keeping their heating bills low this winter thanks to federal legislation that provides $15.7 million for a citywide weatherization initiative.

Mayor Shelia Dixon announced in June that some 700 families over the next 3 years will receive assistance keeping the elements out of their homes and, consequently, their energy bills down. The process of weatherization has been shown to reduce energy consumption by as much as one-third.

Funding for the weatherization project comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February by President Obama. The law is designed to provide assistance and relief the communities and families that are struggling financially and to bolster investment in initiatives that create jobs and promote the stability of the economy.

"Today is the beginning of a movement to make the entire city greener and more sustainable," Dixon says. "The weatherization initiatives will ensure that energy efficiency and 'greening' programs are active in every neighborhood in Baltimore."

The initiative is also expected to have a positive impact on the city's workforce, as city employees working on the initiative will earn certification by the Department of Energy to conduct weatherization, according to Dixon. This certification process should add skills to the Baltimore-based workforce and local contractors that meet new federal certification standards.

The city will coordinate the weatherization project with the health department's "Healthy Homes" and lead abatement initiatives, as well as housing rehabilitation programs from the Department of Housing and Community Development and energy efficiency programs under the Empower Maryland program.

Funds coming through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be monitored in quarterly reports by the Baltimore Economic Recovery Team. Reports are available at http://recovery.baltimorecity.gov.