community : Development News

Dan Brothers Shoes at 1032 S. Charles Street was until recently the last word in shoe repair. But that changed four weeks ago, when Bill Graves, the man with the magic touch, left the shoe store and moved his expertise down the street.

"It's a win-win situation," explains Graves, who says Dan Brothers has freed up its shoe repair area for extra inventory, and Graves, who's now located at 1022 S. Charles Street in Federal Hill, gets his own space to do what he loves. By contract, Dan Brothers will stop shoe repair work entirely and send all its customers to the newly minted Bill Graves Shoe Repair.

Graves will continue to offer the same array of high-quality services, including new soles and heels, shoe dying and covering, orthopedic work, handbag and belt repair, and a leather cleaning service for leather garments. He also offers a wide selection of findings and retail supplies such as polishes, dyes, sprays, oils, laces and cleaners.

Best of all, the shop will replace your heels or soles while you wait. Graves, who brought his two part-time craftsmen with him from Dan Brothers, has created a comfortable reception area in the store and encourages customers to bring their lunch in and eat or watch TV while they wait. Come later in the day, and his daughter will be running the front desk, eager to welcome you.

A native of Baltimore, Graves learned the shoe repair trade at Carver Vocational Technical High School, where a nine-week courses in shoe repair, automobile repair and carpentry were compulsory. He prides himself on his meticulousness and his state-of-the-art equipment, and says that, with his 45 years of experience, even high-end, designer merchandise is safe in his hands.

Bill Graves Shoe Repair is open Mon.-Thur. from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday-Sat. from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

When the doors of the "temporary" East Baltimore Community School (EBCS) open for the first time on Aug. 31, students in the brand-new, brightly colored classrooms will learn about reading, arithmetic, and how to keep a promise.

That's because the school itself is a promise, one that East Baltimore Development Inc. made to the residents of its 80-acre site six years ago when it undertook the largest redevelopment project in Baltimore's history. At the time, some 70 percent of the homes in the EBDI site lay vacant and, without the requisite student- and tax-base, the local Elmer G. Henderson School was closed. Remarkably, EBDI promised those residents who remained in the area not only a new school, but a temporary one while the permanent school was being built.

That temporary pre-K through 8th grade school, EBCS, is now a reality. According to EBDI Communications Director Sheila Young, EBCS is a "contract" rather than a "charter" school, which allows EBDI to reserve 70 percent of its enrollment spots for kids from the immediate neighborhood as well as the children of former residents who have been relocated because of development activities (EBDI will also provide free transportation). The single-story, modular building, located at the corner of Wolf and East Chase Street between, is comprised of several trailers that have been brought in and bolted together.

"On the outside it's utilitarian, but we're doing things to make the area inside and around the school more welcoming and nurturing to the children," Young says.

The trailers came painted in colors chosen by Principal Cathleen Miles, and boast colorful murals, whiteboards, storage areas, wet sinks -- even little cubbies and "a tiny potty" for the kindergartners. Philadelphia-based, multinational food services giant ARAMARK sent 150 volunteers to create an outdoor classroom with a stage, benches, and podium, Young says.

The 19,300 square-foot, $1.6 million school, which EBDI undertook with partners such as Johns Hopkins University, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the City of Baltimore, will open this year to roughly 140 kindergartners, first-graders and fifth-graders. Two new grades will be incorporated each subsequent year with the addition of new trailers to accommodate them. The school will be operational for at least three or four years until the permanent school is completed, which Young says requires first the acquisition and demolition of homes in a four-block area bordered to the south by Ashland Avenue, the east by Patterson Park Drive the north by the Amtrak lines and the West by Chester Street. A design for the permanent school will be selected later this year.

Source: Sheila Young, EBDI
Writer: Lucy Ament

Baltimore-based A&R Development has just put on the sales block the first residential new construction to be sold on the 80-acre campus being redeveloped by East Baltimore Development Inc. The five row houses constitute the first of 49 that will be built under the Townes at Eagar banner.

A&R bills the homes as having "timeless architectural lines with a contemporary urban flair" and is promoting their proximity to the Science and Technology Park, the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, just two blocks away.

The exteriors feature brick fa�ade, bay windows, contemporary designs, built-in garages, professional landscaping, balconies and white, reflective TPO roofing, while the interiors boast two-to-three bedrooms, 2.5-to-3.5 baths, open floor plans, walk-in closets, high ceilings, designer light fixtures and a choice of more than 20 shades of Mohawk carpet. Buyers may also choose form more than a dozen upgrade features, including hardwood floors, modern granite countertops, stainless steel GE appliances, crown- and chair moulding, an intercom system and wireless security systems.

What makes these homes so unusual, according to A&R's Feras Qumseya is their size vis-�-vis the typical city residence. They run from 1,765 to 2,638 square feet and include attached garages.

"These are humongous units that you really don't find, even brand new, in the Baltimore area," Qumseya says. "We are using urban and modern styles to really accommodate the young and professional lifestyle."

Prices start in the low 200's. A&R's marketing center for the Townes at Eagar is located at 855 N. Wolfe, and additional information is available at the Web site.

Source: Feras Qumseya, A&R Development
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

Got a vacant lot of a certain size in your neighborhood? Then the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation may have designs on it. The organization, through its Swing for the Future project, plans to build multi-purpose, low maintenance Youth Development Parks in the city. The project, estimated at $6 million, will build state-of-the-art ballparks sporting artificial turf with a track and exercise stations, in five low-income neighborhoods throughout the city.

The first park will transform the unused property on the former Memorial Stadium site on 33rd Street. Foundation officials have joined with partners within the community to raise the $1.5 million needed to repurpose the vacant field. The Y of Central Maryland has teamed with the CRSF on the Stadium Place field. The Y will run the park which has been designed as a kid-scale replica of Memorial Stadium.

"The purpose is to give kids a safe and healthy place to interact and play. After we raise the mix of private and public funding, we will give the facility to a local community partner. We are using Baltimore as a model so we can take it to other cities and help kids all across country," says John Maroon, CRSF spokesman.

Early planning has already begun for a $1 million project in Park Heights near Pimlico Race Course. The partnership between CRSF, the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Baltimore and the city's Department of Recreation will be completed in 2011.

Three other sites will be selected in East Baltimore, West Baltimore and one as-of-yet undecided location in the city. Community groups will operate the parks offering neighborhood kids the chance to play baseball, football and other sports as well as the CRSF's baseball-centric character development programs.

Depending on the organizations ability raise the needed funding for the parks, the goal is to open one park a year. So far, donations have raised roughly 50 percent of the $1.5 million needed to build and fund programming for the Stadium Place park.

Source: John Maroon, CRSF
Writer: Walaika Haskins