Multicultural : Development News

Construction is underway at Morgan State University's $59 million architecture school, slated to open August 2012.

The Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies will bring Morgan's architecture, city and regional planning, construction management, and landscape architecture schools under one roof.

The center, expected to receive a silver or gold LEED certification, will also house research on green building technology, says MaryAnne Akers, dean of the school of architecture and planning. Researchers at the center will hopefully create and invent technology that help buildings use less energy. Kiosks will inform visitors to the center how much energy the building is saving.

"It will bring us more visibility for the architecture program," Akers says of the center.

The building, which broke ground last year, will be home to the school's civil engineering and transportation programs as well. The 126,000-square-foot school will contain four classrooms, 100 offices, conference rooms, an atrium with skylights, a green roof and 300 parking spaces.

The historically black college offers one of two architecture programs in the state. The other is offered at the University of Maryland College Park.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: MaryAnne Akers, Morgan State

Baltimore will get a new museum devoted to black athletes in the Northwest section of the city that officials hope will jumpstart the area's revitalization.

The Druid Heights Community Development Corp. is building the Negro Baseball Museum and Restaurant at 2101-11 Pennsylvania Ave., the site of the former jazz club that hosted legendary performers Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. The group hopes the museum will bring jobs and visitors to the neglected area.

The CDC will put out a bid in June for a construction firm and expects to begin building the museum later in the summer, says Roscoe Johnson, Druid Heights' director of real estate development. The Black Athletes and Lost Legends Association, a Baltimore nonprofit, will operate the museum and an adjacent caf�.

"Hopefully it will attract other businesses to the area," Johnson says. "It's very important that we do this right and it looks good."

Funding for the $9 million museum comes from the state, State Farm Insurance Cos., federal New Market Tax Credits, and foundations.
Baltimore's urban design panel gave final approval for the museum April 14. Druid Heights won the right to develop the project after the Baltimore Development Corp. sought out proposals to redevelop the former Sphinx Club.

The 14,000-square-foot museum and Negro League Caf� will create as many as 85 jobs, Johnson says.

The museum will focus on black athletes from Baltimore in a variety of sports, including boxing, football, basketball and baseball. It will also highlight black athletes who comprised the Negro League, the black baseball players who had their separate teams before the sport was integrated.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Roscoe Johnson, Druid Heights Community Development Corp.

The hospitality management company recently launched by Michael Haynie is close to purchasing its first hotel, a Maryland property.

The former managing director of Baltimore's Tremont Suite Hotels, Haynie this month created Parkway Hospitality Management LLC. Haynie is leasing space at event firm P.W. Feats, at 3 East Read St. in Mount Vernon for himself and his three employees.

Haynie didn't want to lease his own office just yet as a startup and thought that by taking space in another office could help him keep costs low.

"You don't want to be overwhelmed with debt," he says. "It hurts the company's ability to be successful."

Parkway will initially focus on getting management contracts at distressed hotel properties and taking a partial or full ownership stake in these deals. A lot of banks have taken over financially troubled hotels, but lack the expertise to manage them. Haynie couldn't reveal the Maryland property his company is currently trying to purchase because the deal is not finalized.

Parkway isn't limiting its focus to hotels, however. The company is looking at prospective restaurants and retail shops to offer its consultation services. This includes providing customer service training and performing staff assessments. The company is eye properties along the East Coast, from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michael Haynie, Parkway Hospitality Management

The Maryland Institute College of Art wants residents to ask the question: Is Baltimore a place where they feel like they belong, or do bad public transportation and privatization of public space impede opportunities?

The Bolton Hill college has assembled a group of scholars, artists, and activists to host a series of art installations and lectures April1-May 15. The series, called "Baltimore: Open City," was planned to coincide with National Fair Housing Month. The events include a film series, author readings and an off-the-beaten-path tour of Baltimore.

Tourists, students and some Baltimore residents live in their respective "bubbles," says MICA Art History Professor Daniel D'Oca. He, along with MICA students enrolled in an exhibition development class at the college, organized the events.

Restrictive covenants have made it possible for developers to build walls around certain neighborhoods, D'Oca says. MICA officials hope event attendees walk away with ideas on how to create a more open city.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Daniel D'Oca, MICA

Restaurant owner Alan Suissa wants to take you on a trip to North Africa.
And you won't need your passport.

Suissa and business partner Kenny Mahil opened French-Moroccan restaurant Tangiers Bistro Bar and Martini Lounge earlier this month in the Canton neighborhood.

Born in Casablanca, Suissa wanted to recreate the cuisine of his French Moroccan Jewish heritage. What makes it distinct from traditional Morrocan fare is that that is spicier and relies heavily on cumin and less on dried fruits like apricots and prunes.

The small plates, or mezze, dishes include fried spicy eggplant, grilled lamb and beef sausage and salmon tagine. The dishes cost between $5 and $11. Suissa's grandmother, who was born in Tangiers, is the inspiration for the food, along with his mom and aunt who work in the kitchen.

Suissa and Mahil spent about $100,000 to renovate the 200-seat Canton spot at 845 S. Montford Ave.  Suissa declined to say how much the partners paid for the property, formerly Red Fish restaurant. The 5,000-square-foot building is valued at about $474,000, according to state property records.

Having worked for the World Bank and the Washington Post Co.'s food and beverage divisions, Suissa is now making his first foray into the Baltimore market.

He liked the heavily trafficked location, facing Boston Street and in between Fells Point and Canton Square. He also likes the waterfront location.

"I fell in love with the building and location," Suissa says. "I heard from many people that the area is up and coming."

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Alan Suissa, Tangier's

When native Baltimorean Rosalind Holsey made the decision to open her salon at 525 E. Fort St., she dusted off notes, gathered over the span of her career, in order to create her version of the perfect hairstyling studio. The result? Salon 7.

"I have a Baptist background, and the number seven in the Bible means 'complete,'" Holsey says. "I've been a stylist for 25 years, and I'm mature now and I have a whole vision. I wanted to put all my business experience into this salon and make it complete."

This is the fourth consecutive salon for Holsey, who is a Paul Mitchell color and national educator. Her fan base knows her from her previous locations: A Stylist Dream, The Next Phase, and Studio Transition. But with Salon 7, Holsey has created a smaller, more intimate setting, albeit with an "industrial" feeling. The 500 square-foot space boasts hardwood floors, a tin ceiling, recessed lighting, two eight-foot window displays, and soothing tones of orange and sage green.

The salon, which carries a full array of Paul Mitchell products, features three styling stations and four "bars": a wet bar for shampooing; a tool bar where patrons can educate themselves about product; a texture bar with an array of relaxer and permanent services, and a color bar. Known as the "Color Cafe," the color station offers a menu of candy-themed color treatments such as pineapple, banana, strawberry, blueberry and lemon-lime. The wet bar features a range of sensory experiences, such as a brown sugar scalp scrub and a rinse with sparkling water.

Holsey attended Walbrook Senior High School (now Walbrook High School) in West Baltimore, where she specialized in barber services, and studied massage therapy at the Community College of Baltimore County and hairstyling with Paul Mitchell.

"What I like about Baltimore is that you can make your own destination," Holsey says. "It's all about how you perceive the way you want to live. I grew up with some humble beginnings, but with faith and perseverance, you can start a business here and have a good chance."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Rosalind Holsey, Salon 7

Melessa Denee's business card, which identifies her as a "weavologist extraordinaire," extends a pretty enticing invitation: "Come and be blessed by hands truly blessed by the best."

The veteran stylist, who's owned salons in Delaware for more than 20 years and has specialized almost exclusively in weave for more than a decade, believes that her God-given talent obliges her to make beauty accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or their means. It's the reason she's opened Melessa's Weave Palace and Multicultural Hair Salon at 1047 S. Charles St. in Federal Hill, where she prides herself on catering to clients of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations.

While the new salon, calming in shades of chocolate, cream and gold, is equipped for four stylists and two nail techs, Melessa can invariably found in the private weave room that affords her clients privacy during their visit. She offers a wide range of procedures, including custom-made lace front and full lacewigs, toupees, and partial and full weaves.

"I've had a gift since I was a child," Denee says. "My mom has shown me the dolls whose hair I cut off, dying it green or blue. In high school I did everyone's hair in the community. I went to college and majored in fashion, but I came back to hair. A needle in my hand is like a pencil or a pen in the hand of a writer. It seems to be so easy for me."

While roughly 75% of Denee's clients are women of color, she says she sees a number of white women suffering from hair loss, Asian women who are eager to try experimental styles, and men who want to fight balding. She mentions a recent Honduran client who had not been home to see his family in a decade and wanted her to cover up the bald patch that had materialized during his years in the States.

Denee has a loyal client base across the country. She routinely travels to see customers in Georgia, Florida, California, and Arizona, and advertises in those areas a week or two in advance of her trip to additional clients. It was while coming to Baltimore frequently to visit her fianc� that Denee, who operates salons in Wilmington and Middletown, DE, gained a client base in the city through advertisements and decided to set up a physical location.

Denee, who also sells hair product lines that are hard to find on the East coast, speaks most enthusiastically about her work for cancer patients and individuals whose hair or scalps have been permanently damaged by accidents or surgeries. She has recently been certified to make wigs for people whose hair replacement products are covered by insurance, and she says she looks forward to gaining clients who are being treated at Johns Hopkins.

In those instances, she says, "I know what I do is priceless."


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Melessa Denee, Melessa's Weave Palace and Multicultural Hair Salon