Move To Baltimore : Development News

The developer behind Milk & Honey Market and the reopening of the Chesapeake restaurant is plotting an 86-unit apartment complex on Lanvale Street next to his new food establishments, which are weeks away from opening.
 
Ernst Valery says he expects to select an architect by July for the market-rate studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Construction on the yet-to-be named building in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District will begin a year from now and wrap up by summer of 2015. Valery says he hasn’t yet determined apartment rates.
 
The apartment building is the latest project in a neighborhood that is attracting more interest among city officials, developers and universities. A developer hired by Amtrak has proposed shops, housing and offices around Penn Station. Johns Hopkins University is moving some of its arts programs to the neighborhood and the Maryland Institute College of Art has purchased two buildings in the area.
 
But the neighborhood could use more housing, Valery says.
 
“Its a step toward making the neighborhood really great and realizing its full potential,” Valery says of his project.
 
Valery says he is now securing financing for the apartments and declined to provide details until the plans are finalized.
 
Station North’s Milk & Honey Market and the new Chesapeake Restaurant will open in two to three weeks, Valery says. It will be the city’s second Milk & Honey. The other one is located in Mount Vernon. Chesapeake, which will focus on regional cuisine, bears the same name as the restaurant that shuttered a quarter century ago. The property has since been vacant.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Ernst Valery

Bel Air developer Stonington Partners is planning 25 new townhomes in a former Natty Boh warehouse in Brewers Hill.
 
Demolition of the warehouse between South Eaton and Fagley streets will begin early next year and construction on Merchant Hill homes will begin shortly thereafter. The Merchant townhomes feature an open-floor plan and industrial look.
 
The homes, with an average of 2,300 square feet and prices starting at $500,000, will be move in ready by late 2014, says ReMax Preferred Realtor Trent Waite, the agent for Merchant Hill. Waite says the development cost has not yet been determined. 
  
Merchant Hill joins two other Stonington residential developments in East Baltimore:
 
•  Merchant Point: The 17 townhomes in the 1700 block of Aliceanna Street in Fells Point will be ready at the end of August. Prices for the 2,600- to 3,200-square-foot homes start at $659,000. All homes have been sold.
 
•  Merchant Square: Work on the eight townhomes in the 100 block of South Ann Street in Fells Point will start late May and will be completed by the end of the year. Four homes are currently under contract. Prices start at $530,000, with an average square footage of 3,250.
 
While high-end rentals have been sprouting up around Fells Point and other downtown neighborhoods, like the $70 million Union Wharf apartments opening in May, buyers are “figuring out they’ve been paying $3,000 in rent when they can have $3,000 in equity,” Waite says.
 
Home prices in Baltimore City rose 26.4 percent in March, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.
 
Waite says Stonington Partners has built a niche in developing custom look homes in urban neighborhoods.
 
Writer: Amy Landsman
Source: Trent Waite, Realtor, ReMax Preferred
 

Preston Gardens, the two-level patch of green space facing Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore, is getting a $3.5 million facelift and expansion to accommodate food vendors, outdoor seating and more events.
 
Once the renovations are complete in 2014, the garden’s upper level will take over the space that is used now as a parking lane on Saint Paul Street. The expansion will make room for a plaza with food kiosks, outdoor seating and garden overlook. The park’s aging wall and stairs will undergo repairs as well, says Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc.
 
The nonprofit, which promotes downtown Baltimore as a place to live and do business, is working with Baltimore City on the park expansion. With an expanding residential base, downtown needs to enhance its parks, Fowler says.
 
“We need as much green space as possible,” Fowler says. “I think it’s one of our more beautiful parks. The walls and stairs are starting to show their age.”
 
The park has hosted more events in the last few years, including a Beer & Bocce Ball and yoga classes.
 
“We’re trying to make it more appealing to residents,” Fowler says.
 
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation will issue a bid for a contractor by the end of the year. Construction will take about a year to complete, Fowler says.
 
Downtown Partnership received $1.7 million matching grant from the state and federal governments for the Preston Gardens expansion. The matching money will come from Downtown Partnership, Baltimore City general obligation bonds and Mercy Medical Center.
 
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Kirby Fowler, Downtown Partnership 

The developer of the $70 million Union Wharf apartments is hoping to attract tenants with the Fells Point building’s “South Beach” vibe when it opens next month.

The Bozzuto Group's 320,000-square-foot building at 915 S. Wolfe St. features 281 apartments and 12,000 square feet of common space, with a fitness center, bar, screening room, infinity pool and three courtyards. Union Wharf will also include a 4,400 square feet of retail space at the corner of Thames and Wolfe streets, which Bozzuto expects to lease to a restaurant.

 “We’ve modeled it close to the amenity spaces that surround a courtyard and the pool on resorts that we’ve seen in places like South Beach,” says Jeff Kayce, vice president of Bozzuto Development.

The market-rate apartments are a mix of studios, one, and two-bedroom units, starting at $1,610 for a studio and topping out at $3,125 for a two-bedroom and a den. About 40 apartments have been leased so far.

Bozzuto is targeting potential renters who are looking for “something unique in Fells Point, who like that neighborhood feel,” says Union Wharf Property Manager Blake Nicholson.

Demand for rentals in downtown neighborhoods remains very high. A 2012 report from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. notes that occupancy remains “very strong,” at more than 96 percent. The Downtown Partnership’s Outlook 2017 report predicts that downtown could easily add nearly 6,000 new residential units over the next five years.

Union Wharf is just a few blocks east of Harbor Point, where nearly 2 million square feet of office, retail, restaurants, and hotels are being developed. The office space includes the future home of energy giant Exelon Corp.

Bozzuto expects Union Wharf will be certified LEED silver as it has Energy Star appliances, energy efficient windows, and 90 percent of the construction waste was recycled.

 “It is really an amenity for the neighborhood and an anchor for that corner of the building there,” says Kayce.

The space is being marketed by H&R Retail, with no confirmed tenant as of yet.

The site is redevelopment of a former industrial property, at various times it was a concrete plant, an oyster packing facility, and an ice house.

“It’s a trophy location, it’s on the water, it’ on a cobblestone street in the heart of Fells Point, so it has wonderful historical context,” Kayce says. “That’s obviously why we’re attracted to it.”
 
 
Writer: Amy Landsman; [email protected]
Sources: Jeff Kayce, Bozzuto Development vice president, and Blake Nicholson, Union Wharf property manager 

Construction of the first two residential and retail buildings for massive Baltimore County development Metro Centre at Owings Mills will wrap up by next month. The first will open in May and the second will open at the end of June.

The buildings, called Metro Crossing, are both five-stories high, with retail on the ground floor and rental apartments on the upper floors. The buildings are mirror images of each other. The two buildings split evenly a total of 56,000 square feet of retail space and 232 one- and two-bedroom apartments. 

A number of retail leases are in final negotiations, says Lynn Abeshouse, managing principal of real estate brokerage firm Abeshouse Partners. Until contracts are signed, Abeshouse declined to give specific names but says possible tenants include fast-casual and white-table restaurants, clothing stores, liquor stores and health clubs. 
 
One-bedroom apartments average 770 square feet; two-bedroom apartments, which all have two full bathrooms, run from 873 square feet to 1,245 square feet. Prices for one bedrooms run from $1,580 to $1,695 per month; for two bedrooms, $1,855 to $2,490 per month. Abeshouse declined to say how many apartments have been leased so far. 
 
The two buildings are located on Grand Central Avenue, off Painters Mill Road, near the Owings Mills Metro Subway Station and across from the County Campus at Metro Centre at Owings Mills. The six-story combination Baltimore County Public Library and the Community College of Baltimore County building is scheduled to open this week. A free parking garage next to the building is already open.
 
The two residential and retail buildings, the library/community college building and an office building now under construction compose the first phase of the Metro Centre at Owings Mills. That's about one-fourth of the total development. The four-story, 200,000-square-foot office building on Grand Central Avenue is expected to open this fall.
 
The state-designated transit-oriented development will eventually have over 1.2 million square feet of office space; 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; 1,700 residential units; and, a 250-room hotel. Maryland and Baltimore County have spent more than $57 million on infrastructure at Metro Centre at Owings Mills to date. The rest is privately funded.
 
Source: Lynn Abeshouse, Abeshouse Partners
Writer: Barbara Pash
 

Developer Patrick Grace is building an apartment complex with 11 units in a former condominium and office building in Mount Vernon.
 
Construction on the $1.5 million market-rate apartments at 505 Park Ave. will begin in the spring and wrap up in the fall, says AB Associates’ Nate Pretl, a land use consultant working in conjunction with Grace’s Trademark Properties. The developer handles commercial and multi-family properties in the mid-Atlantic. Baltimore’s Harbor Development LLC is the project's general contractor.
 
The building is just down the street from one of the biggest apartment projects currently under development. The Time Group of Owings Mills is building 171 market-rate apartments at 520 Park Ave., to be completed spring 2014. The neighborhood is attracting more interest from retailers and developers with the expansions of the University of Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
 
Apartments at 505 Park will rent for between $900 and $2,000 a month for one, two and three-bedroom units. The apartments will be between 550 to 1,150 square feet, Pretl says.
 
The east side of the property contains a four-story carriage house, which the developer will renovate and subdivide as a separate unit, Pretl says. The carriage house will at some point go on sale as a single-family residence. 
 
The apartments will be marketed to graduate students and young professionals who want to be close to neighboring universities, the central business district and the cultural attractions in Mount Vernon, Pretl says. 

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Nate Pretl, AB Associates

Construction will begin this summer on a $25 million building with market-rate apartments, a 247-car garage and retail.

Developer Chesapeake Realty Partners expects the project to be completed in the spring of 2014. The Owings Mills company also spearheaded the apartment complex across the street at 1901 Patapsco St.

Plans for the as-yet unnamed project at 2 East Wells St. call for 153 apartments, including 96 efficiencies and 57 one-and-two bedroom units. Renters can expect to pay, on average, about $1,800 per month. 

Currently, there are warehouses and offices on the lot, which also includes 1800 and 1802 Patapsco Streets. Mayers says he believes this is an opportunity to “create a new version of an existing neighborhood,” with good walkability and easy highway access.

The project also calls for 6,000 square feet of retail, says Chesapeake Realty President Jonathan Mayers. Facing East Wells Street, future retail tenants will serve the local community, and could include a bagel and coffee shop, nail salon, or a small local grocery, Mayers says.

“There’s really few commercial or industrial buildings left, and everything else in the neighborhood is more or less rowhomes or new apartment buildings,” Mayer says.

Demand for apartments remains strong throughout the city as many apartment complexes report nearly 100 percent occupancy rates. 

“We feel there’s a dearth of housing options in the south Baltimore market,” says Josh Fidler, Chesapeake’s chief operating officer. He says the area holds a number of assets, including Riverside Park, the headquarters for the National Federation of the Blind and the former Pabst brewery that is set to reopen this summer.

Mayers says the garage will be large enough to offer secure parking for tenants and visitors, with additional spaces available for lease. Plans also call for widening the alleys around the new building, making parking and access easier for the existing rowhomes on South Charles, Barney and Patapsco Streets.
 
Sources: Jonathan Mayers and Josh Fidler; Chesapeake Realty Partners
Writer: Amy Landsman
 
 
 
 
 

Prudential Homesale YWGC Realty is adding a new office in Fells Point and expanding its Timonium office in a new location by Jan. 1. It’s hiring dozens of agents to staff both locations as the housing market slowly recovers.
 
About a third of the Timonium space’s 5,900-square feet will become the Real Estate Education Center of Maryland, where Prudential will teach continuing education and realty licensing classes. Prudential Broker and General Manager Scott Lederer says it expects to gain state approval for the school within 30 days.
 
“As the real estate market improves, we’re poised to take full advantage of it,” Lederer says.
 
The real estate firm is closing its existing Timonium office at 108 West Timonium Road and moving around the corner, to the old Hobby Shop location in the Fairgrounds Plaza at 53 West Aylesbury Road.
 
The 24 agents who currently work in Timonium will all make the move to the new Fairgrounds Center location, says Prudential Broker and General Manager Scott Lederer. Prudential is hiring as 10 new agents in Timonium and could hire as many as another 10 additional down the road.
 
The 3,250-square-foot office at 1500 Thames St. will open mid-December and is the former site of Pad Furniture. Pad is now housed within the Su Casa Furniture location in Ellicott City.
 
A dozen current Prudential agents are ready to move in when the office opens and six to 10 new hires will join thereafter, Lederer says.
 
When fully staffed, the Fells Point office will accommodate up to 50 agents, which Lederer expects will happen within three months.
 
Prudential Homesale YWGC was created in February, when Yerman, Witman, Gaines and Conklin Realty merged with the Homesale Services Group out of Pennsylvania. Homesale YCGC is affiliated with Prudential Realty.
 
 
Source: Scott Lederer, Broker, General Manager, Prudential Homesale YWGC Realty.       
Writer: Amy Landsman, [email protected]
 

A Montgomery County developer has submitted plans this month to the Howard County Planning Board to build up to 180 single-family homes in Ellicott City.

The upscale custom homes at the Estates at Patapsco Park would be located just next to Route 29 and Old Frederick Road. Homes would range between 2,500 and 6,000 square feet.

Simon Rosenberg, a partner with Silver Spring developer Patapsco Park Associates, says he expects that it will take at least a year to 18 months to go through the county approval process. He says he doesn’t have a timeframe for when construction would begin if and when the county approves the plan.

The new homes are an extension of the developer’s first venture in the Mount Hebron neighborhood, Patapsco Park Estates. Properties in the existing 144-home community cost between $500,000 and $1 million.

Rosenberg says he doesn’t yet know how much the new homes would cost. It depends on what the market demands.

“The baby hasn’t been born and everyone has a lot of questions,” Rosenberg says.

Residents who attended a recent Mount Hebron/Orchards Community Association meeting expressed concerns that additional homes would exacerbate traffic woes along Old Frederick Road. Rosenberg says his firm is now undertaking a traffic study to determine the homes' impact.

Though the housing market is currently in the doldrums, Rosenberg says he believes there will be a demand for new homes in the future.

“Housing is not going to stop. It’s just a mater of how fast you can sell.”

Writer: Julekha Dash; [email protected]
Source: Simon Rosenberg, Patapsco Park Associates 

Seeking to fill a demand for housing in Baltimore, apartment developers hope to offer luxury apartments to professionals who want to live in Mount Vernon or downtown. 
 
Working on behalf of a group of private investors, high-end residential developer  Zahlco Properties plans to renovate up to six apartment buildings with 100 total units in Mount Vernon and downtown by next summer, says Yonah Zahler, CEO of Pikesville's Zahlco Properties. 
 
The company hopes to create a new venture, Urban Living by Zahlco, to cater to young professionals who work and want to live downtown. 
 
The first building, a 10,000-square-foot double row house at 16 E. Biddle St. in Mount Vernon, is slated to open for lease in October. The funding group behind the venture has invested $1.3 million to renovate the home and has several million set aside to develop additional properties, Zahler says. He wouldn't specify where the other buildings are located and exactly how much he will spend on them. 

Zahler believes there is a demand for high-end housing in Mount Vernon and that the area has always attracted residents.
 
"Mount Vernon has a unique style of living. It has a Manhattan type of feel that will only grow by the population and workers increasing. Retail will follow," Zahler says.

Maybe it's not New York, but apartment rental rates in Baltimore are keeping up with bigger cities. Baltimore renters paid an average of $1,684 last month, a 12 percent increase compared with July 2011, according to housing market research firm Zillow Inc. 

Zahler's apartments will be one to two bedrooms costing no more than $1,400 and $2,000 a month, respectively.

 
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]
Source: Yonah Zahler, CEO of Zahlco Properties.
 

A local development company plans to demolish existing warehouse space and build a new approximately $15 million, 57-unit apartment complex in Canton.
 
Plans for the four-story apartment with a sub-level parking garage at 1202 and 1220 S. East Ave. will go before the city's zoning appeals board June 26 for approval.
 
Ellicott City's Canton East LLC, based anticipates the start of demolition of the existing vacant buildings before the end of June and for construction to begin before the end of September. The apartment complex would then open March 2014, says manager of Canton East LLC, Ross Taylor.
 
The 56,000-square-foot building would include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments for rent. Square-footage on each apartment runs from 600 square-feet to 1,200 square-feet. Taylor says apartment prices have  yet to be determined, but the rents will be competitively priced with other rental buildings in the area.

Taylor says that rents for the apartments will be comparable to complexes like The Eden and Spinnaker Bay Apartments. The average price for a studio at these locations is $1,730 per month, the average price for a one-bedroom is $2,100 per month, and two-bedroom apartments average $2,800 per month. 

Taylor grew up in Baltimore and has lived in the Canton area for the past five years.  While on walks with his dog, he kept seeing the industrial buildings in the heart of a residential community and decided they were out of place and that he would redevelop the location. 
 
The units will wrap around a central courtyard that will include patio space with a grill, outdoor seating, and a dog run. Other amenities include a fitness and business center that will have a conference room, computer kiosk, coffee bar and kitchenette.
 
Taylor hopes to take advantage of the continued development in Canton including the upcoming Canton Crossing and the already popular Canton Square. He hopes to attract people who want to live in the area including employees at Johns Hopkins and those who work downtown.
 
This project will be Canton East LLC's first large project in Baltimore as the company works primarily out of Howard County. Taylor describes Canton East LLC as a family real estate company that develops commercial and residential properties.
 
 
Source: Ross Taylor, manager, Canton East LLC
Writer: Alexandra Wilding, [email protected]

A local developer plans to spend $1.2 million to open a three-story, 12-unit apartment building in Hampden by the end of the year.
 
Eric Dashner, owner of Finer Remodeling in Roland Park, will renovate a 3,000 square-foot property in Hampden that dates back to the 1880s. He hopes to construct an 8,000-square-foot addition, pending approval from the city's zoning board. Dashner expects to break ground within four to five months on the property, located just blocks from The Rotunda. 
 
The developer says he hopes that the apartments will appeal to young, single professionals who want to live in a neighborhood that offers great restaurants and live music in a friendly, tight-knit community. The apartment market is one of the few bright spots in real estate these days as some former homeowners who can't get loans are renting instead of buying.
 
Dashner says he plans to restore the facade of the building at 3849 Roland Ave. and anticipates renovating the remaining shell of the building to create one and two-bedroom apartments. The rental prices of the market-rate apartments are expected to run from $900 to $1100 per month, Dashner says. The plans also call for 14 off-street parking spaces.
 
The developer says he left the plans "loose" so as not to be pigeonholed into a single idea, and will meet Tuesday evening with the Hampden Community Council for their input.
 
Dashner has renovated two other rental-housing units in Hampden, one at 3649 Keswick Rd. and another on Dellwood Avenue.

Source: Eric Dashner, owner of Finer Remodeling, Inc.
Writer: Alexandra Wilding

A Massachusetts firm has acquired the rights to develop the retail and apartment component of Marketplace at Fells Point, a $40 million project that is now slated to break ground April 1.

Drew Dolben, senior vice president for the Dolben Co. Inc., says he has acquired the rights for the massive urban redevelopment plan from South Broadway Properties LLC's Dave Holmes. The Dolben Co. has a regional office in Odenton. 

Holmes says he is still involved with the project and is leading a $5 million renovation of the Broadway Market. The recession made financing more complicated and the company realized it needed a partner to see the project get built, he says. With a partner leading the retail and apartment building, South Broadway Properties can focus on the restoration of the market.

The developers of the Marketplace at Fells Point plan to transform the 600 block of South Broadway Street into a "vibrant gateway to historic Fells Point." The transformation will include shops, restaurants and a pedestrian plaza. Streetscape improvements will be a public-private partnership with the city spearheading the design and planning of a pedestrian space called the Square at Fells Point. Planning for that space is currently underway with construction expected to start later this year, Holmes says. 

The extensive project, in the works for several years, also received some federal stimulus funding. But construction on the project, initially slated for January 2011, has been delayed. The group revised it's original plans that included office space and a parking garage after the recession to simply retail and residential space. These changes lowered the total cost of the project.

The company is waiting on the city to issue building permits for the project at 600 S. Broadway and expects the development to take between 18 to 20 months to complete.
 
The project is expected to include 159 apartment units and over 27,000 square-feet of retail space. The company is working with CBRE Group, Inc. to attract food outlets and boutique retailers to lease space.
 
The apartments will be a mixture of one and two bedroom units, and the rents will be consistent with other prices in the area, Dolben says.
 
"We think the Fells Point neighborhood is one of the best residential addresses in Baltimore and a very vibrant area," Dolben says.
 
By acquiring the Marketplace at Fell's Point project, the company wanted to expand its portfolio in the Washington-Baltimore corridor.
 
The company currently has two projects in construction in Maryland, the Village at Odenton Station and the View at Mill Run in Owings Mills. Between developments in Virginia, Maryland and the New England area, the company maintains 11,000 apartment units, Dolben says.
 
Writer: Allie Wilding
Sources: Drew Dolben, Dolben Co. Inc.; Dave Holmes, South Broadway Properties LLC 

South Baltimore could see a new townhouse development if an area developer's plans get approval from Baltimore's zoning board.
 
A planning consulting firm is working with a local developer who plans to build townhouses near Key Highway in Riverside. The townhouses are expected to carry price tags around $400,000.

Baltimore's AB Associates submitted plans for zoning approval from the city for 14 three-story townhouses with rooftop decks, and most with two-car garages at the intersection of Harvey and Lawrence Streets bordering Locust Point. The site is one block from the Baltimore Museum of Industry. 
 
The plans will go before the city's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals Feb. 7.
 
If approved, construction could begin on the townhouses this year, and hit the market early next year, says Al Berry, principal of AB Associates. Berry says he's working on behalf of developer Ray Jackson, who owns the property.
 
Berry believes the location near the proposed townhouses just off Key Highway and close to the exit for I-95 will appeal to many homebuyers. Additionally, Berry expects the price point to suit buyers looking to move into the city.
 
"The neighborhood has always been strong for development and housing value," Barry says. He says he doesn't yet know the development cost. 
 
The land where the proposed townhouses sit belonged to the late Vincent Rallo, owner of Rallo's Restaurant. The planned site served as a parking lot for Rallo's Restaurant.
 
The homes will be designed modern industrial style and will all face onto an extensively landscaped interior court, says Berry.
 
Architectural work for the proposed project is being handled by SETO Architects LLC in Mt. Vernon, Berry sats.
 
Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: Al Berry, principal of AB Associates
 

A $3 million renovation is planned for the Waverly Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, though it still needs approval from Baltimore’s Urban Design and Architecture Review panel.
 
The panel heard renovation plans for the 41-year-old Waverly Library this month from Margaret Martin, chief of design and construction for Baltimore's department of general services, and Stephanie Schaefer, regional manager at Buchart Horn, Inc.
 
The panel was disappointed by the plans and recommended several changes to the architects including the creation of a grand reading room with lots of natural light.
 
Martin and Schaefer were asked by the city's design panel to make changes to their renovation plans before returning to the panel.
 
But despite the panel’s feedback, the Waverly library remains on track for renovations, library spokeswoman Roswell Encina says.
 
She says the library is reviewing comments from the community and the design panel on its plans and will release more details on the renovation soon.
 
The library sits at the intersection of 33rd and Barclay Streets in a neighborhood that the city is targeting for urban renewal projects.
 
The proposed floor plan calls for a multipurpose room, a reading room, and separate adult and child's reading areas. Planned green spaces around the library are intended to encourage the community to plant gardens, Martin say.
 
"We want to get the community to take ownership of the library like with the Waverly Farmer's Market," he says.
 
The Waverly library was last renovated in 1986. Other branches of the Enoch Pratt Free Library that have recently been renovated include Edmondson Avenue, Orleans Street, and the Southeast Anchor Library. The Canton branch is the next to be updated, and is currently closed for renovations. 

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Sources, Roswell Encina, Waverly Library; Margaret Martin, Baltimore City