Visit Baltimore : Development News

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Crystal and Denis Ryan got the idea for their latest business came from a personal need.

"I had my first child 10 months ago, and as with many booming families in the neighborhood, my spare room just became my son's room," Crystal recalls. "But when family came to town for a visit, there was not a cozy place in the neighborhood to put them up."

So the Ryans have opened fully furnished guesthouse rentals at 1109 and 1111 S. Hanover Street. The Federal Hill residents dubbed the properties A Home In The Hill in honor of their neighborhood. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom rowhomes are fully furnished and equipped with cable and high-speed Internet access, a washer and dryer, private parking and more.

"They are perfect for traveling professionals and visiting relatives of locals looking for a cheaper alternative to the average hotel stay and for a 'home away from home' atmosphere," Crystal says.

The Ryans make a point if supporting the local economy. Before guests arrive, Crystal sets up each guesthouse with a basket of "wonderfully and naturally fragrant" soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion from Sobotanical and freshly ground coffee from Spoons Coffee Cafe and Coffee Roastery. Both shops are located less than a block away

"So far, a majority of my reservations have come from the Federal Hill Kids mothers network that I belong to," Crystal says. "It really is a great place for visiting families to be able stay, especially for those families with a newborn baby and one less spare room.  The guesthouses allow for them to have their own cozy space in the neighborhood rather than to have to stay in a chain hotel downtown. They have their own kitchen, laundry, living room and are just steps away from family."

Crystal has also had couples rent the guesthouses on a monthly basis while waiting for a new home to be built and doctors from various other states that are doing a monthly rotation at one of the area hospitals.

"I chose Federal Hill because I love the neighborhood," says Crystal, who has lived in Baltimore for the past decade with her Australian husband. "The local residents and shopowners have become our family, and they have all been extremely supportive of our venture and have been very helpful in promoting the business.  This neighborhood has everything you could possibly want, local markets, more than 30 restaurants and bars, quaint shops. The list goes on and on."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Crystal Ryan, A Home In The Hill

After waiting nearly a decade for a new source to feed their love of comic books and graphic novels, Baltimoreans are getting not one but two new options for their fix. We told you last week about the Sept. 2 opening of Alliance Comics in Federal Hill; now we'll fill you in on Graphic Novelty, which is slated to open a week later at 1712 Thames St. in Fells Point.

Co-owners Benjamin Greene and Heiko Spieker call their new labor of love Baltimore's "one-stop geek shop." The shop will offer "anything geeky," Spieker notes, including toys, card games and board games." While shoppers will find mostly new issue comic books and graphic novels at the store, Greene and Spieker will be selling portions of their personal collections and will also allow patrons to sell their own collections on a consignment basis.

Spieker said he and Greene, who owns the Waterfront Hotel and Miss Irene's in Fells Point, had tossed the idea of a comic store around for years. They decided to pounce when the 1712 location was vacated this summer by Fells Point Frame and Design (which moved to a larger location down the street).

"We both have a firm grasp on the realms of geekdom, but there are little subdivisions within our expertise," Spieker notes. "He knows more about Star Trek, while I know more about Star Wars, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But overall I'd say we're about equal."

Spieker says he and Greene designed the shop "to look like comic book in its own way," with yellow and red walls, custom-built black shelving units with plexiglass to allow maximum visibility, and a wrap-around glass counter will display special items. The duo have also set up a gaming room in the back of the store with wireless Internet for patrons to play games.

Interest in the story has already been high, Spieker says.

"We've been keeping the door open as we've been setting up here, and people pop in every day to say their glad we're here." In fact, impromptu visits from parents with their children have persuaded Spieker and Greene to carry kids' book, which wasn't in their original plan.

Spieker chalks up the opening of two comic book stores in Baltimore just one week apart to a case of "great minds thinking alike." He's anticipating the month of October, which will bring with it both the Fells Point Festival and Baltimore Comic-Con � and, hopefully, a lot of foot traffic.

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Heiko Spieker, Graphic Novelty

What do you do when you score the exclusive rights to a major museum's photography collection? You get a bigger store, that's what.

It's the enviable position Kory Mitchell and Jennifer Moore, owners of Fells Point Frame and Design found themselves in this spring when they won the sole commercial right to fulfillment, distribution and publication of the Baltimore Museum of Industry's BG&E photographic collection, which spans the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. The gig requies considerable more room for printing processes, so the duo increased their space by roughly 40% last month by moving from the 1700 block of Thames Street to 1622 Thames, a building previously occupied by the running store 5K.

The BG&E collection is a Baltimorephile's dream. Among the more than 2,500 pictures are electric images of the city on fire in 1904, a 1944 skyline with Goodyear blimp above it, and the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower when it was still crowned by a giant bottle. It also contains charming regional shots of the Chesapeake Bay, crabbers, Pimlico during the running of the Preakness, and old industrial shots. Mitchell and Moore are able to reproduce any photo in the collection in various sizes and on various media, including canvas.

Fells Point Frame and Design continues to carry hundreds of posters (running the gamut of themes, from music to movies to fine art prints to celebrities), as well as an impressive collection of old world maps and vintage photography. It will enlarge customer's personal photographs, and it sells Moore's "Board Baltimore" line of wood-and-glass signs bearing clever sayings. It has also expanded its inventory to include the Space Craft clothing line and is running a diploma-framing special to beat any in town, Mitchell says.

"We pride ourselves on being Baltimore's most affordable custom framer," Mitchell says. "We make it easy to get stuff frame if you can't afford higher end materials. We fill that niche."

Mitchell, who opened his shop nearly ten year's ago in Canton's Broom Factory, is a Delaware native who made Baltimore home after attending Towson University. He says he's excited about the renaissance in the city.

"I'm a big believer," he says. "I'm seeing things get better. And we're excited to do the new things we're doing because we think they're going to be our engines of growth."


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Kory Mitchell, Fells Point Frame and Design

As if Baltimore Comic-Con weren't enough to look forward to, comic book and graphic novel fans can now anticipate the arrival of Alliance Comics, the first comic store to operate in downtown Baltimore in roughly a decade.

Amy and Gerard McNeal Sept. 2 will open the doors of their shop, which is being relocated from Bowie, in what used to be Theodore's Cleaners at 904 Light Street in Federal Hill. The couple will sell new issue comic books and graphic novels ("silver" and "golden" age materials and back issues are available only at the couple's Silver Spring store), as well as toys, tee-shirts, card games, and merchandise related to video games (but not the games themselves).

Amy says the store will carrying "stuff for the littlest reader, stuff for grownups, and stuff in between."

"Comics in general are a great thing for established readers and new readers alike," Amy says. "There are so many different types, from action adventure to super heros, to science fiction. There's a lot more than people generally think there is."

Shoppers at Alliance Comics, which will host a grand opening on Oct.10 during the weekend of Comic-Con, should expect a visual feast, Amy notes. The couple painted the store in a silver-grey tone and used mostly black shelving.

"We were going for a monochromatic background with a clean, modern feeling because our product is so colorful," Amy says. "The comics have such vibrant covers they need no enhancement or competition."

The McNeals started their comic store business 13 years ago, harnessing Amy's retail knowledge with Gerard's passion for comics. "I knew virtually nothing about comics!" Amy says. "I did a lot of reading to learn about them so I can help explain them to people and help them fit their needs."

The couple, both originally from Baltimore, have been itching to get back to the city for awhile.

"In the last five to ten years, Baltimore has really changed and grown as a city from what we knew growing up," Amy says. "It had a lot of problems back in the day that have become less of an issue now. We're fond of it; it's a fun place."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Amy McNeal, Alliance Comics

Baltimore City Entertainment Group has said it will prepare by next month revised plans to build a 3,750-machine gaming facility that will include two restaurants and a bar and employ more than 900 people.

Preliminary plans for "Celebration Casino," which would be built south of M&T Bank Stadium on the site of the demolished Maryland Chemical Co. on Russell Street, were presented by BCEG to a state regulatory panel on Aug. 26. The facility is more ambitious than the one initially proposed by BCEG in February, which entailed a 500-maching facility two blocks away from the newly proposed site. The revised bid would require an additional $19.5 million license fee.

State officials are working to identify recipients of slots licenses at five locations in Maryland and have slated their announcement for November. BCEG was reportedly the only bidder for the Baltimore license.

BCEG's plan for the casino includes 9,000 square feet of gaming space, a 400-seat buffet, a 120-seat chop house, a 100-seat bar with live entertainment, and a 2,500-space parking garage. BCEG has told state regulators that it could have the facility operational by mid-2011 and generate about $500 million during the first year of business, about $333 million of which would be retained by the state. It added that, by 2015, gross revenue should rise to more than $650 million, of which the state would retain nearly $430 million and the city, $19.5 million. The construction is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs over roughly 18 months.


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Baltimore City Entertainment Group

The Baltimore Development Corporation has received two proposals for the development of a site in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District that includes the former Parkway Theater, a city cinema gem with a storied if erratic history. The three properties, 1820 North Charles Street, 1 West North Avenue and 3 West North Avenue (the former Parkway Theatre), were offered for development by the city in May.

One proposal, submitted by Cormony Development and Seawall Development Corp., both of Baltimore, calls for a single phase, mixed-use project in which The Parkway Theatre would be renovated to become a multi-faceted theatre hosting a variety of entertainment. The other two properties would be incorporated into the project through a mix of demolition, renovation and new construction. The proposal lists Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. as general contractor and Ziger/Snead and Cho Benn Holback + Associates as architects.

The competing proposal suggests restoring the Parkway Theater to its original conditions and architecture and razing 1 West North Avenue to allow for a two-floor plus mezzanine, three-story glass structure matching the current roofline and housing the Station North Steak House restaurant. 1820 North Charles Street would be renovated and converted to student housing. This proposal was submitted by Alexandria, Va.-based TK Services, Incand lists Brown Craig Turner as architect and Branko Maximilian Bijelic as general contractor.

Designed by Oliver B. Wright, The Parkway Theatre was patterned in the Louis XIV style after the West End Theatre near Leicester Square in London and envisioned as a Vaudeville performance house with about 1100 seats. It was acquired and remodeled in 1926 by the Loews organization and later, in 1952, acquired and closed by the Morris Mechanic organization. It reopened in 1956 as the Five West Art Theatre and remained under that operation until the mid-1970s, when it again closed. It was reopened in the early 1990s in an attempt to make commercial office space in the rear orchestra level, but it closed and has remained vacant since 1998.

Source: Baltimore Development Corp.
Writer: Lucy Ament

After delighting patrons of Zodiac restaurant in Station North with her culinary creations for eight years, Christina DiAngelo decided she wanted to pursue a few simple, low-stress goals: to create a quiet, comfortable spot in the neighborhood where she could brew great coffee, bake delectable pastries, and watch as people savor them and relax.

That's the genesis of The Bohemian Coffee House, which opened this summer at 1821 N. Charles Street. Two things put this place on the map: the delicious, specialty treats and a funky atmosphere.

In addition to specialty coffee drinks, DiAngelo offers sandwiches and salads and freshly baked pastries each day, keeping a few standards like brownies and biscotti always on hand and rotating in seasonal delights such as peach and coffee cakes. She also always has vegan options on the menu, including milkshakes made with soy milk, soy ice cream and vegan flavorings, soy desserts (such as blueberry cobbler), and a savory vegan item or two.

"Vegans that have gotten them have said they're really good," says DiAngelo, who studied at Baltimore's International Culinary College. "Because of the artsy element, Zodiac attracted vegetarians and vegans, so a third of my menu there was vegan. I had never cooked vegan before working there, but once I started experimenting I thought I it was really cool. It's a challenge to make foods without refined sugars or dairy products."

Also setting the Bohemian apart is its funky interior, which DiAngelo attributes to the interior design acumen of building owner Joy Martin. Martin selected muted blues to play up the beautiful hard woods of the interior, and found an large WWII era mural depicting musicians, artists, glass blowers, winemakers, and other craftsmen.

"That mural is where the name comes from," DiAngelo says. "When she put it up I said, that's so bohemian. And that was it!"

DiAngelo says business has been a bit slow since she opened, but she expects things to pick up when the school year starts and students return to the area.

"I want people to come in and relax and feel comfortable," DiAngelo says. "I like Baltimore because it's not pretentious. It's a very simple, laid back town. People are not walking around thinking they're better than everyone else. It's no D.C."

Source: Christina DiAngelo,The Bohemian Coffee House
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