Visit Baltimore : Development News

Leaders at the National Aquarium in Baltimore are weighing upgrades to its Inner Harbor building, moving its Fells Point animal rescue facility and changes to its dolphin exhibit that will enhance its conservation mission.

The aquarium has hired Studio Gangs Architects and Impacts Research & Development LLC to prepare a report by the spring that will lay out its strategic planning initiative, says Eric Schwaab, the aquarium’s chief conservation officer. 

“A big part of the effort will involve significant outreach to other partners and stakeholders in the community,” Schwaab says. 

In addition to its tourist attraction at the Inner Harbor, the aquarium operates an 11-acre property and former brownfields site located along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. It was set to become a $50 million development with classroom space and a new animal care facility, known as the Center for Aquatic Life and Conservation. Those plans stalled during the economic downturn as fundraising became a challenge. The report will help aquarium staff determine what is the best use of the site going forward.

The aquarium is considering moving its animal rescue facility in Fells Point to a more visible spot near its main Inner Harbor attraction. 

“From a business perspective and logistically, we would love to move it closer" to the main building, Schwaab says. That would make it easier to move animals from the main building to the animal care facility. 

Alternatively, it could move its animal care facility to its South Baltimore property, something it has considered in the past, Schwaab says. 

The aquarium is also evaluating whether to enhance its Dolphin Discovery experience and upgrade the building that houses it. The current exhibit allows visitors to interact with dolphin trainers. “We’ve moved away from shows that are pure entertainment” to ones that focus on research and education, Schwaab says.
 
In August, the aquarium debuted its $12.5 million Blacktip Reef exhibit. It recently closed its D.C. location, but says it is still committed to having a presence again someday in the nation’s capital. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Eric Schwaab, National Aquarium

The Inner Harbor’s Brookshire Suites hotel will feature Baltimore beers and wines in its new lobby lounge when it opens in January.The yet unnamed lounge is part of the Brookshire’s $3 million property-wide renovation.

The 100-seat lounge will likely serve coffee during the day and transition to beer and wine around 4 p.m., says Brookshire General Manager Jason Curtis. He expects to hire four full-time staffers for the lounge.

“Our hotel is going to be very Baltimore specific, we’re trying to provide our guests with a very unique experience in Baltimore,” Curtis says. The hotel hasn’t decided which brands of local beer and wines it will serve.

The 97-suite hotel, at 120 E Lombard St., lost its liquor license three years ago when the property went into receivership. Baltimore City’s liquor board approved its new liquor license Nov. 14. Modus Hotels in Washington, D.C., now owns the property.

Renovations to the club level, meeting room and exercise room have been completed. Work is currently underway on the lobby, registration desk and on the lounge, after which work on the guest rooms will begin.

The Brookshire is positioning itself as an “urban playground” with its renovations. It's the latest Baltimore property attempting to rebrand itself amidst more competition. The Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys is undergoing a $6 million facelift and is soon debuting a new contemporary Italian restaurant Scoozi. The Lord Baltimore Hotel on West Baltimore Street is undergoing a renovation and opening its new Matisse Kitchen and Tavern later this month.

“Our goal is to be fun and creative and do something that no one else in the Inner Harbor is doing,” Curtis says.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Brookshire Suites Hotel
 
 

The National Aquarium may have shuttered its D.C. location last month, but the nonprofit wants to continue its mission of conservation in the nation’s capital.

Though it lacks the funds to construct another facility just like the old one in the Department of Commerce building, the aquarium has hired a Chicago architect and a research firm to determine whether it can build an attraction in D.C. sometime in the future, the aquarium's Senior Vice President Eric Schwaab says.  

“Do we have the capital resources to turn around and build a new aquarium there? In the short term, the answer is no. But we’re committed to a presence in D.C.,” says Schwaab, who is also the aquarium's chief conservation officer, a position that the aquarium created recently as it seeks to emphasize its role in sustaining marine life. 

Whether that presence is an actual aquarium or more of an ocean conservation center will be determined after the companies that it hired, Studio Gangs Architects and Impacts Research & Development, prepare a report in the spring.

“The sets of questions we’re asking are ‘What kind of facility is most valuable? How does it fit into our mission? And how do we articulate a vision that is compelling enough to garner the resources to make it work?” Schwaab says. 

The aquarium closed its D.C. facility to make way for renovations in the Commerce building. About 1,700 animals were moved from the D.C. aquarium to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, including a giant Pacific octopus. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Eric Schwaab, National Aquarium 

Spike Gjerde, a James Beard-nominated chef and one of Baltimore’s most celebrated restaurateurs, opened his latest venture Oct. 11 in the former Crush space in Belvedere Square. Shoo-Fly Diner is the name of the 5,000-square-foot combination “farmhouse diner” and canning operation.

Former Roy's Restaurant Chef Patrick “Opie” Crooks is the chef de cuisine of the 75-seat restaurant, serving regional comfort foods and classic diner fare. Sourdough pancakes with maple syrup, fried oyster and creamed chipped beef sandwich with toasted butterbread are among the menu items. The menu is divided into various sections: snacks, jars, griddle, eggs, open faced, biscuits and large plates. Menu items cost between $4 and $15 and entrees between $12 and $20. A serpentine-shaped counter that seats 22 is the diner's hallmark.
 
“It’s a diner, but with a heavy dose of Woodberry [Kitchen's] rusticity,” Gjerde says of the new restaurant.
 
The diner is open at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and stay open until 1 a.m. It serves three meals a day on the weekends. 
 
Gjerde says he will also use part of the kitchen to can, preserve, dry, pickle and freeze vegetables for the enormous quantities of produce he goes through at Woodberry Kitchen. The canning and preserving operation at Belvedere Square is the intermediate step until Gjerde gets his own building for this sort of operation when the Food Hub in East Baltimore opens next year.
 
Gjerde also owns Artifact Coffee, which recently added a liquor license. He is also opening a butcher shop with Seawall Development Co.’s new development in Remington. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Spike Gjerde, Woodberry Kitchen and Artifact Coffee 

Baltimore’s Hard Rock Café is ramping up for more live music and a new menu following a multimillion-dollar renovation.

Located in a converted power plant building, the 16-year-old restaurant features a 65-foot-high lighted guitar that has become an iconic symbol of the Inner Harbor’s transformation from an industrial waterfront to an entertainment destination. But as longstanding Baltimore restaurants faced more competition, many have refreshed their properties and reinvented their brands. Morton’s the Steakhouse, the 13^th Floor  and Mt. Washington's Pepe Pizza are among some of the restaurants that have been renovated in the past year.

The 200-seat Hard Rock received a spruced up patio, new terrazzo and wood floors, rock memorabilia and sound system as part of its makeover.

“It has more of a sleek, contemporary look to it with a lot of lights hanging down at different levels,” says David Miller, director of operations for Hard Rock International. “It’s got a lot of life to it with a lot of vibrant colors that pop and make a great statement.”

The remodeled stage is also now the focal point of the café, featuring a red wall lined with speakers and the Hard Rock Cafe logo in the middle.

“The intent is to have ongoing live music,” both inside the restaurant and on the pier, Miller says.

The Hard Rock Café celebrated its new look Oct. 1 with a private concert featuring Las Vegas indie rock band Imagine Dragons. The band smashed 16 guitars, representing each year that the Hard Rock has been open.

Kitchen managers and corporate chefs at the Orlando, Fla., chain's headquarters are in the process of tweaking its menu and will unveil its new offerings in February.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: David Miller, Hard Rock 

Baltimore residents will soon have a place to learn how to paint while sipping a glass of chardonnay once the Painted Palette paint-and-sip opens its new studio in Mt. Washington Village mid-September.
 
Co-owner Becca Hauser says she and her partner Brooke Snyder signed a lease for an 1,800-square-foot space near the Mt. Washington Tavern and Baltimore Clayworks.

Hauser says they chose this location because Mt.  Washington is a close-knit community that supports local businesses and the arts. It is also accessible by both city and count residents and also by light rail. 

The paint-and-sip shop trend combines wine drinking with a painting workshop. The two-hour classes will cost $35 and students can bring their favorite bottle of wine.  

The entrepreneurs have been taking paint supplies and bottles of wine to birthday parties, corporate events and ladies’ nights for the past year. But they decided to lease a studio before their company's one-year anniversary.
 
“We feel that our client base has grown in such a way that it can support studio classes and I think it’s the right time to take things to the next level,” Hauser says.
 
The Painted Palette will likely host classes Thursday-Sunday, all of which will be open to the public.  And the duo will continue to host private parties and corporate events as they come up. 

Writer: Daryl Hale
Source: Becca Hauser

The new owners of the Grand Historic Venue in downtown Baltimore is giving the ornate property a $500,000 facelift and adding new menus to modernize the event space in the next six months.
 
“We want to kick it up a few notches,” says Amy O’Connell director of sales and marketing.
 
The owners will start the renovations to the Grand in about 90 days and wrap up in six months, O’Connell says. The space will get new lighting and furniture so it looks more chic and modern. The Grand also has a new Food and Beverage Director, Cecil Rajendra, who will update the catering menu within the next 30 days to offer more farm-to-table, local and international fare, O’Connell says. The Grand hosts banquets, weddings, conferences and other events. The former Masonic Lodge debuted in 2006 after a $27 million renovation. 
 
The facelift comes after Garrison Investment Group and Chartres Lodging purchased the event space and attached hotel, which it renamed the Embassy Suites Downtown Baltimore. Formerly called the Tremont Plaza Hotel, the hotel officially became the Embassy Suites June 17. The Hilton brand property received a $14 million renovation, including new rooms, an updated lobby and lounge areas and new amenities so it looks more contemporary. It also got a new restaurant, B’more Bistro, which specializes in Chesapeake Bay cuisine.
 
The goal of the rebranding, O’Connell says, is to appeal to the “Hilton traveller,” someone who expects a certain level of quality from the Hilton brand. 

Writer: Daryl Hale
Source: Amy O'Connell, Embassy Suites

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company hosted a groundbreaking ceremony July 9 to celebrate the start of construction on its new downtown Baltimore space, after raising about $4 million for its capital campaign. 

The nonprofit group’s Board of Trustees made the decision to begin construction after reviewing the fundraising project’s financial progress, as well as the duration of construction and the challenges that the project may entail. The theater troupe has received money from a variety of sources, including the state and the Abell Foundation.

In late 2014, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company plans to open the doors to its new theatre, housed within the Mercantile Trust building at Calvert and Redwood streets, according to spokeswoman Jean Thompson. The theater  company will continue to hold shows at a variety of venues in Howard County. 

The construction plans for the new 250-seat theatre will incorporate existing aspects of the Mercantile Trust building’s architecture.

“Our vision for the theater is a modern Globe, based on the design of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, with an intimacy putting the audience as close to the actors as possible,” Thompson says.

The new home is two blocks from the Inner Harbor and has been the home of several nightclubs. Baltimore architectural firm Cho Benn Holback + Associates Inc. has designed the 14,000-square-foot, circa 1885 building. See pictures of the Mercantile building here in our recent slideshow. 

Writer: Daryl Hale
Source: Jean Thompson, Chesapeake Shakespeare

Two employees of a music promotion firm want to revive the space that held Bourbon Street and Hammerjacks nightclubs for a new live entertainment venue in downtown Baltimore.

Evan Weinstein and Elliot Lidard have applied for an arena liquor license under the name Area 316 LLC at 316-318 Guilford Ave. The application says Area 316 plans to offer live performances, alcohol and food though one of the applicants, Evan Weinstein, says there are no plans to serve food. The deadline for public comment on the application is May 30. The Baltimore City liquor board says the hearing will be scheduled sometime after then.

The liquor license application names Weinstein as Area 316’s president and Elliot Lidard as its secretary. Weinstein is in charge of marketing and promotions and Lidard of production for Steez Promo, which promotes music acts and shows in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston. Steez Promo is promoting the Moonrise Festival, which will be held June 8-9 at Port Covington. 

Weinstein says Area 316 will own and operate the business. He declined to comment further until the details are worked out. Lidard could not be reached for comment. 

Bourbon Street opened in 2008. One of its rooms held 1,300 people and 500 fit into another, according to reverbnation.com. Bands and DJs played rap, rock and dance music. A man was stabbed to death there April 2, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported. It closed six months later.

In 2000, the two-story building became the new home of Hammerjacks, whose original space was demolished for Ravens stadium parking. The club closed in 2006. Competition had increased two years earlier with the start of Rams Head Live several blocks away in Power Plant Live. 

Writer: Wayne Countryman
Sources: Baltimore City liquor board, Evan Weinstein. 

Maybe you've tried bar-hopping, but what about restaurant-hopping? Dishcrawl, which launches in Baltimore this month, dubs itself as a “gastronomic adventure” and encourages guests to try a variety of foods in selected neighborhoods.

Baltimore’s first Dishcrawl will be held in Canton April 17, taking diners to four “secret” restaurants. Founder Tracy Lee says the company will expand the culinary social experience to Fells Point, Federal Hill, Charles Village and Hampden, though no events have been scheduled yet. If Baltimore City crawls are successful, Lee says she will consider expanding Dishcrawl to Baltimore County.  

Lee launched Dishcrawl in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010 as a way to share her favorite restaurants. Though it's now up and running in New York, Montreal, Ottawa, San Jose, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., it wasn’t an instant success.

“In the beginning, it was really hard to figure out how to get the word out,” Lee says. “I would spend 20 hours promoting to get 20 people to an event.”

Lee turned to social media to help promote the crawls. She and her team, which includes ambassadors in each city, use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outlets to spread the word.

“I love Baltimore and the diverse food scene,” Lee says. “The community and coming together as a group of foodies is what makes Dishcrawl successful in cities.”

Curious as to which Canton restaurants will be included in the inaugural crawl? Keep an eye on Twitter, where the team will drop hints at @dishcrawlbal. Ticket holders will receive an email with the meeting location 48 hours prior to the crawl.   

The first three restaurants will feature one dish each and the the fourth will serve dessert. Chefs and restaurateurs will share stories, as well. Tickets cost $45, excluding alcohol.


Writer: Renee Libby Beck
Source: Tracy Lee, Dishcrawl 

A new restaurant featuring food from the Chesapeake Bay is scheduled for a June opening at the Embassy Suites Hotel Baltimore Downtown. That means a food-and-drink menu showcasing crab-cake sliders, rockfish risotto, and Old Bay Bloody Marys. No word yet on the chef.

The 4,000-square-foot B’more Bistro and Lounge will seat more than 200 on the hotel’s second floor, according to April Deocariza, of Emanate Public Relations.The New York firm represents Hilton’s Embassy Suites.

The completely remodeled restaurant space replaces Tugs Restaurant and Bar, and will employ at least 20.

The new restaurant is geared primarily toward the hotel guests, but will hopefully be a however, gathering place for area residents and office workers, Deocariza says.

The 37-story, 300-room hotel will become the Embassy Suites Baltimore Downtown in May. Located at 222 St. Paul St., it's now the Tremont Suites Hotel & Grand Historic Venue. 

Part of the Hilton brand, Embassy Suites is known for two-room suites, free cooked-to-order-breakfasts and evening receptions.

The hotel property includes the Tremont Grand Historic Venue, which features 45,000 square feet of meeting space with 19 banquet rooms. The Tremont Grand banquet hall underwent a $27 million renovation in 2006.

The property is owned by Garrison Investment Group and Chartres Lodging, with Kokua Hospitality LLC as the manager.

This is Embassy’s third Maryland property, joining the Embassy Suites Baltimore in Hunt Valley and Embassy Suites Baltimore at BWI Airport.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: April Deocariza, Emantate Public Relations

The Maryland Jockey Club has submitted a preliminary 10-year plan to give Baltimore's aging Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park a major facelift, including new stalls for horses and housing for the grooms who take care of them. Money from Maryland's slots revenue would partially fund the construction, which would cost $30 million to start. 

The plan needs approval from the Maryland Racing Commission and its Director Michael Hopkins could not say when it would give its OK. Hopkins says he expects that a capital improvement plan for the facilities will be approved.

Part of the funding for the proposed project would come from the Racetrack Facility Redevelopment Account, a portion of Maryland’s slots revenue the thoroughbred horse racing facilities receive by law. The Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the two facilities, will receive $8 million per year from slots starting in 2014. The Maryland Jockey Club is responsible for the rest of the funding.

Signed by Maryland Jockey Club President Thomas Chuckas Jr. the plan at Pimlico calls for a “major overhaul” to the facility, particularly in the "backstretch" area where the horses and grooms are located. Concept work for Phase 1 is underway and permit drawings will be done this year. Phase 1 would cost $15.5 million and include construction of a 130-unit grooms’ quarter building and six barns housing 216 stalls for horses. 

Phase 2 would include construction of two, 260-unit grooms’ quarter buildings, a canteen building for the backstretch staff and 12 barns housing 432 stalls. Phase 3 would focus on improvements to the "patron" area of clubhouse and grandstand buildings and parking lot. The Maryland Jockey Club is evaluating costs for these two phases. Concept plans for them will be ready in 2014. 
 
At Laurel, Phase 1 would include construction of at least 150 stalls; Phase 2, an additional 150 stalls. There would also be infrastructure improvements like storm water, sewage and roads. Phase 3 proposals include a new clubhouse and a mixed-use development and hotel building.  
 
Hopkins calls the preliminary plan “open-ended.” He says it does not contain a specific timeframe for design and construction "although they probably want the stalls sooner than later.”
 
“This is a proposal, a snapshot of how they’d like to proceed with capital construction.”
 
The Maryland Jockey Club was required by law to submit a preliminary capital improvement plan for its thoroughbred racing facilities. The 2012 Maryland General Assembly required that such a plan be submitted in accordance with the Racing Facility Redevelopment Fund criteria.
 
The Pimlico capital improvement plan needs to be submitted to Baltimore City. In 2004, the city approved a plan unit development the Maryland Jockey Club submitted. That plan details road improvements, construction of parking garages and construction of housing and other amenities for Pimlico staffers. 

Depending on how different Maryland Jockey Club's capital improvement plan is from the city plan, it would go to either the city planning commission or the City Council for approval, says Sara Paranilam, a senior capital planning analyst in the Baltimore City Department of Planning.
 
So far, though, no Pimlico capital improvement plan has been submitted to the city, Paranilam says.
 
Sources: Michael Hopkins, Maryland Racing Commission; Sara Paranilam, Baltimore City planning department
Writer: Barbara Pash; [email protected]
 
 
 
 

A Baltimore company is developing a customer service training program for hopeful workers who want a shot at one of the 1,700 anticipated casino jobs when the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opens next year.
 
Parkway Hospitality Management CEO Michael Haynie says he also plans to lease a 5,000-square-foot office in South Baltimore near the casino site once the state approves the Maryland Academy of Hospitality Training program. State approval should come any day and the business will be up and running May 1, Haynie says.
 
The former managing director of Baltimore’s Tremont hotels, Haynie says he discussed with Visit Baltimore and Baltimore City officials about the lack of soft skills among local residents who will be applying for casino and other tourism jobs. Haynie says his long-term goal is to take the training program to other casinos in the state and develop more “hard skills” technical training in bartending and gaming. Horseshoe Casino General Manager Chad Barnhill says he has had discussions with Haynie and Baltimore City about how to find qualified casino employees, but he hasn't made any decisions.
 
Haynie says he hopes the academy will train 900 people a year to work either at the Caesars Entertainment casino in Baltimore or in other hospitality jobs in area restaurants and hotels. Classes will hold 30 to 40 people. Prospective trainees will be interviewed to make sure they possess the right personality for the industry and then go through a five-week program. Trainers will help them identify appropriate jobs in the casino, hotels and restaurants once they graduate.
 
State programs specifically earmarked for job training will hopefully help offset the $1,000 cost for the five-week training, Haynie says. He hopes to convince restaurant and hotel associations and their members to chip in as well. Students taking the class will pay $20 to $25 per week.
 
The two-story casino near M&T Bank Stadium will feature slot machines and table games. Three full-service restaurants and six locally owned eateries are also in the works. Environmentalists and area residents filed a lawsuit against the casino last month to delay construction, but a judge threw out the motion. 

Haynie says he isn't concerned about these type of setbacks. 

"Caesars is a very credible organization. Chad Barnhill is an experienced business person."

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michael Haynie, Parkway Hospitality  

South Baltimore’s gambling parlor will hold a steakhouse, two other full-service restaurants and a Baltimore food “marketplace” that represents Charm City’s local flavors.
 
That’s according to Chad Barnhill, general manager of the $400 million Horseshoe Casino Baltimore that will open at 525 Russell St. in the summer of 2014. CBAC Gaming LLC, a consortium led by Caesar’s Entertainment Corp. and Rock Gaming LLC, is spearheading the development of the 140,000-square-foot casino. 
 
CBAC Gaming will own the steakhouse and will partner with two restaurateurs for the other two eateries, one of who will be a celebrity chef, Barnhill says.
 
“We’re having great discussions with a celebrity chef,” says Barnhill, who declined to name the chef since the deal has not yet been finalized.
 
The Baltimore marketplace will feature six smaller food outlets with a common seating area as part of a 20,000-square-foot food hall showcasing some of the city’s most popular crab cakes, pizza and burgers.
 
“We want to really lease out the spots to Baltimore’s best. We’re working hard to be Baltimore’s casino by the offerings.”
 
The casino will break ground over the next several weeks, once it receives all of the permits, Barnhill says.

The two-story casino near M&T Bank Stadium will feature slot machines and table games and employ 1,700. Of those workers, 500 will work at the table games. The casino is also going for LEED certification. 

In November, Maryland voters approved the controversial measure to include table games at the state's casinos. The Hollywood Casino Perryville began featuring table games this month and Maryland Live casino at Arundel Mills will debut table games April 11. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Chad Barnhill, Horseshoe Casino 

The Northeast Market in East Baltimore began it first significant renovation in decades, a $2 million facelift that will take about  six months to complete.

The 36,000-square-foot market near Johns Hopkins Hospital will get new doors, facade, entrance, more seating and better lighting. A candy and flower stall in the front of the market that will hopefully create a more upscale look that is more inviting for visitors, says Casper Genco, executive director of the Baltimore Public Markets Corp. Genco says he'll relocate five tenants in order to make room for additional seating and new tenants.

The nonprofit oversees Baltimore’s public markets while the city owns the property. The Baltimore Public Markets Corp. is putting $750,000 toward the renovation. Another $300,000 is coming from Johns Hopkins University and Health System. It's also getting grant money from the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition Inc.
 
Modernizing the facility will hopefully appeal to Johns Hopkins Hospital staff and visitors. Genco says he will also look for opportunities to expand the market’s healthful food offerings and hopes that new menu boards will help visitors locate vendors who sell healthier fare.
 
The Avenue Market on Pennsylvania Avenue reopened in the fall with about $500,000 worth of renovations and seven new stalls. The Baltimore Public Markets Corp. also oversees Cross Street Market in Federal Hill and Broadway Market in Fells Point. 

“Each of these public markets is a focal point of the community,” Genco says.

Check out BmoreMedia's 2011 feature on Northeast Market and the companion audio piece. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Casper Genco, Baltimore Public Markets Corp.