Development News

A two-story restaurant and event center offering live music, dinner theatre, and comedy shows is slated to open in late February in Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood.

Angels Event Center aims to provide a place for local talent to be showcased in a community that doesn't have many dining and entertainment options, Owner Julie Mosteller says.

"If you provide something, people will come,” Mosteller says. “Everyone has an opportunity to change. I want to be part of that positive change.”

The downstairs of the building will be a restaurant – whose menu is still being developed -- and the upstairs will hold entertainment. Mosteller says two jazz groups are lined up to perform and that she plans to provide an intimate and authentic dinner theatre experience.

Mosteller, a Baltimore native, graduated from Western High School and spent five years working as a Baltimore police officer. She also served in the military and is using some of her veteran’s benefits to start the business. Mosteller declined to disclose the amount she's invested in the event center, but the project is her first restaurant. 

Additionally, Mosteller hopes to empower people in the community by offering events at the center such as financial literacy workshops.

Angels Event Center is located at 1810 Cherry Hill Rd. in Baltimore.

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: Julie Mosteller

A nonprofit developer has purchased a vacant building on North Avenue that it hopes to transform into restaurants, galleries, artists studios and theater space within three years.

Jubilee Baltimore is talking to Joe Squared’s Joe Edwardsen about the possibility of his opening a Mexican restaurant at the 10 E. North Ave. property, Edwardsen and Jubilee President Charlie Duff say. The developer is also in talks with Single Carrot Theatre, which has been scouting for a space with more seating capacity.

Jubilee Baltimore Inc. bought 10 E. North Ave. from Greater Grace Church at a public city auction this month for $93,000.  The state estimates the land and 67,000-square-foot building is worth more than $2 million, public records show.

The eventual transformation of the three-story building will require a major rehab, Duff says. He doesn’t yet have a cost estimate as to what the renovation will cost.

“North Avenue needs cool things happening,” Duff says. “There isn’t enough space in Station North – that’s why we bought this building. We want to make it one of the key arts and entertainment building in Baltimore.”

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Charlie Duff, Jubilee Baltimore; Joe Edwardsen, Joe Squared

Garden Deli, specializing in healthy sandwiches and salads, will open in the Columbia Corporate Park in early February.

The 1,709-square-foot restaurant will hold seven tables, says Owner Sang Yoo, who will run the deli with his wife, Yoon.

Columbia Corporate Park is located near the intersection of Snowden River Parkway and Route 175 in Columbia near the University of Phoenix complex. Other nearby restaurants include the Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille, Royal Taj and Cheeburger Cheeburger.

Yoo is currently developing the menu, but expects to sell sandwiches from $5 to $6.29.

The Yoos live in Columbia and decided to open the deli because they love the area. The Garden Deli is the couple’s only business.

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: Sang Yoo, Garden Deli

Coppin State University plans to ask the state for $46 million in the 2012 General Assembly session for the design and construction of its planned Science and Technology Center.

If approved, the university in West Baltimore hopes to break ground on the $80 million center this fall, says Maqbool Patel, Coppin's associate vice president for administration and finance. The center will house the departments of natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science.

The university is currently in the process of buying more than 200 row houses in the neighborhood to make room for the center. The university has acquired 158 properties thus far, and should have all properties purchased by June, Patel says.

The historically black college wants to modernize its facilities to be able to compete with schools around the nation, says Patel, who describes Coppin's current science facilities to be "pretty poor, at best."

Patel believes that the new science and technology center will also improve Coppin's ability to recruit students, as well as help improve the school's graduation rate.

The planned building will include green technologies such as rainwater collection for irrigation and will be designed to minimize energy use.

If the project is approved in its final phase, the construction will employ up to 250. Coppin plans to encourage the participation of minority-owned businesses involved in Maryland's minority business enterprise for its construction.

Additionally, Coppin hopes to provide community access to a computer lab in the center.

Other recent constructions on Coppin’s campus include a physical education center and a health and human services building.

Coppin has 3,813 enrolled undergraduates, of which 381 are science majors. The school wants to grow enrollment 30 percent by 2019. One of the university's priorities is to increase the number of science and technology majors, research initiatives and grants.   

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: Maqbool Patel, Coppin State

The Maryland Biotechnology Development Center is accepting applications at their website for grant awards of up to $200,000 through Feb. 15th. These awards are available in two categories, biotechnology commercialization and translational research.

Biotechnology commercialization is focused on supporting projects that are in late-stage development and are poised to enter the market and begin generating revenue within three years. The translational research category is designed to help start ups that are bridging the gap between research institutions and private companies in Maryland, with the goal of taking promising research down a commercial path.

This is the third year for these awards, which have provided nearly $3.1 million in funding to 13 life sciences companies and three university research projects in Maryland.

Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Maryland Biotechnology Development Center

Beer lovers and fashionistas may start spending more time in Federal Hill.

Brightside Boutique and Art Studio and the Brewer’s Cask bar and restaurant both opened this month.

They are the latest businesses to debut in Federal Hill as neighborhood promoters work to fill vacancies. Cheese Galore and More and Republic Noodle opened in the fall.

After several years in New York working for Diane von Furstenberg and Nanette Lepore, Towson University graduate Christie Griffiths wanted to return to Baltimore. Located at 1136 S. Charles St., Brightside sells floral tops, vintage clothing, jewelry, handbags and shoes.

Mindful of the economy, Griffiths says she is selling pieces that cost less than $100.

“I love the neighborhood,” Griffiths says. “There’s tons of bars but not a lot of shopping.”

And speaking of bars, the Brewer’s Cask pours 20 draft beers on tap and houses 50 bottles.

Jason Stevens and partner Ajay Singh are keeping their day jobs in IT, and taking turns working nights at the 100-seat brewpub, Stevens says.

The 2,500-square-foot pub was formerly Muggsy’s and opened Jan. 5, just hours after the business received its liquor license, Stevens says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Christie Griffiths, Brightside; Jason Stevens, Brewer's Cask

Two theater managers are scouting the west side and the Station North Arts and Entertainment District for a performance space that can hold its new arts organization.

J. Buck Jabaily and Philip Arnoult have launched Baltimore Open Theatre with the goal of reaching younger audiences through the use of social media. (See related story). The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation has committed $50,000 in seed money and a $150,000 challenge grant for the venture.

Jabaily, one of the founders of Single Carrot Theatre, says he needs a 7,500-square-foot space that can seat 160. Other requirements include tall ceilings -- at least 16-feet high -- and no pillars that would obstruct the view. Since Baltimore Open Theatre will host plays, dance and other performances, they need a spot that is flexible and can be adapted for different uses.

“We’re open to non-traditional spaces,” Jabaily says. The space doesn’t have to be a theater currently, though it should be easily converted into one without a huge capital investment.

“We don’t have the finances to gut something,” he says. Arnoult, who founded the Theatre Project 40 years ago, says he hopes to commit to a space in the next month.

Writer; Julekha Dash
Sources: Buck Jabaily and Philip Arnoult, Baltimore Open Theatre.

The Maryland Institute College of Art is renovating a building for graduate programs that anchors North Avenue in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

Scheduled to be completed fall of 2012, the renovations to Studio Center will include a new main lobby and gallery area, café, photography studio and lecture hall. MICA has hired Whiting Turner as the general contractor and Cho Benn Holback+Associates as its architect for the 120,000-square-foot building.

Some renovations began in the summer with new glass windows and landscaping to the building’s front entrance, which faces North Avenue.

Sprucing up the building will show that there’s “more life going on in North Avenue,” says Ben Stone, executive director of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. “Whenever one person invests in an area, other people take notice."

Recent renovations to the Load of Fun gallery and Joe Squared pizza’s addition of outdoor seating, combined with the MICA renovations, ought to breathe more life into that section of North Avenue, Stone says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Ben Stone, Station North; MICA

The Y of Central Maryland has opened a new childhood development center in downtown Towson, replacing a 20-year-facility.

The Y is leasing the 6,100-square-foot space at 301 W. Chesapeake Ave., which was renovated by Timonium’s Obrecht Properties LLC. The new space houses six classrooms and can serve 80 children, ages two to five.

It is one of more 20 early childhood sites the Y operates, including Head Start programs, that serve more than 1,500 children. The move is one of several Y initiatives to expand resources for families throughout Central Maryland.

“We continuously look for ways to improve our curriculum and help young kids be better prepared to enter kindergarten,” Y Chief Marketing Officer Sara Milstein says.

Last year, the Y expanded its Carroll County facility and opened a new one in Parkville.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Sara Milstein, Y of Central Maryland

The owners of Waterfront Kitchen in Fells Point hope to expand their “mission-driven” business with a new catering operation next year.

Waterfront Co-owner Charles Nabit says that in January he will begin hunting for a space for the new venture. He is looking for a spot that is approximately 1,500 square feet.

The catering firm may rely on ingredients from the Living Classrooms Foundation’s Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) program, which serves inner-city kids. The 175-seat Waterfront Kitchen sources its ingredients from BUGS. It also hired several employees from Living Classrooms’ Project Serve, which provides job training to at-risk men and women.

Nabit says he is not sure how many the catering operation will employ because it is still in the planning stages. He and partner Michael Klein spent $1.5 million to open Waterfront Kitchen in the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park. Patrick Sutton Interior Design outfitted the space.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Charles Nabit

Friday and Saturday night karaoke at Hampden’s Clipper Mill Inn will return in February after being shut down by the city in May for lack of an entertainment license.

Employees say they anticipate its return as the singing had boosted the bar business by nearly 70 percent. The karaoke night drew a young crowd of college students as well as locals, featuring songs from the 1960s to current popular music, and had been a neighborhood fixture for more than 10 years.

The bar received preliminary approval for a live entertainment license Dec. 8 from Baltimore City’s liquor board. The license is conditional upon inspections by various city agencies including the city’s health and fire departments.

The license also contains conditions that were agreed upon between the bar owners and local groups, including the Hampden Community Council. Those conditions include limiting the live entertainment to karaoke, and hosting karaoke only on Friday and Saturday nights and setting a decibel limit, says Hampden Community Council President Adam Feuerstein.

Voted Baltimore’s best karaoke night by the City Paper two years ago, the bar received several noise complaints from neighbors in May. In November, bar staff met with the Hampden Community Council to win community support for the karaoke nights, Feuerstein says.

Bar owner Robert Markarovich could not be reached for comment.

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Sources: Clipper Mill Inn employees Randy Cullison and Donna Tingler; Adam Feuerstein, Hampden Community Council

A community center providing services and programs for underserved families will open in a historic rehabilitated firehouse Thursday in the Perkins Homes community.

Called the P.O.W.E.R. House, which stands for Providing Opportunities to Work, Expand, and Rise, the community center is the latest facility created by the Living Classrooms Foundation. It is located at 316 S. Caroline St., just north of Fells Point.

With 688 units, Perkins Homes is one of the largest public housing developments in Baltimore City. Having a community center in the middle of Perkins Homes without having to travel outside of the neighborhood will be an asset, says Living Classrooms CEO James Piper Bond.

“It’s going to be a beacon of hope for the community, and we’re honored to lead the way,” Bond says.

The project is six years in the making, and a partnership between the public and private sectors. The house has received support from a variety of foundations and companies including Commercial Interiors and SunTrust Bank, Bond says.

Some of the amenities include multipurpose rooms for community meetings, after-school activities, a computer lab, and a financial literacy center. The Perkins Homes Tenant Council will also have an office in the space.

Living Classrooms will a offer after-school and summer programming on site for youth in education and career development, civic development, health and life skills and the arts.

The P.O.W.E.R. House is located within Living Classrooms’ Eastside Target Investment Zone, an initiative that seeks to provide opportunities and create safer neighborhoods for underserved communities through education and workforce development.

Writer: Alexandra Wilding
Source: James Piper Bond, Living Classrooms

Baltimore City’s proposal to increase the tax on soda, water, beer and juice to pay for school construction has some business owners concerned that it will eat into their profits.

“Everyone cares about schools, but this is not the way to go about it, which is on the backs of businesses,” says Rob Santoni Jr., chief financial officer of Santoni’s Supermarket.

The city introduced a 2-cent beverage tax last year and is now proposing to increase it to 5 cents. The tax, combined with revenue from slots and the city’s contribution to teachers’ healthcare benefits, would increase the Baltimore City school’s capital budget by $23 million.

“If we want to grow the city with more families and create tomorrow's workforce and new jobs, we can't afford crumbling school buildings,” says Ryan O’Doherty, spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

But Santoni, chairman of the Maryland Food Dealers Council, fears more of his customers will shop in the county instead of the city. He estimates that he has lost $500,000 in income due to fewer customer visits since the beverage tax was first introduced.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Rob Santoni Jr., Santoni's Supermarket; Ryan O'Doherty, Baltimore City

Women’s apparel shop Anthropologie will open a boutique at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore’s Harbor East neighborhood.

Baltimore City’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel is slated to review plans for the store’s design Dec. 8. The store would join clothing shops White House Black Market, South Moon Under and Urban Chic.

A unit of Urban Outfitters Inc., Anthropologie’s other area stores are located in Towson and Annapolis. There’s also an Urban Outfitters in Harborplace.

Baltimore City architect Robert Quilter says the store’s architect David A.Levy & Associates Inc. of Akron, Ohio wants to do something “different” with the storefront, which is why it needs the city’s design panel to review its plans. He deferred additional design questions to David A. Levy architects, who could not be reached for comment.

Urban Outfitters officials could not be reached for comment.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Urban Design and Review Panel

Phillips Seafood is opening an express location at the $500 million Maryland Live Casino near Arundel Mills next year.

Phillips’ Director of Marketing Michelle Torres compares it to the Phillips Seafood Express it operates in the Maryland House Welcome Center in Aberdeen. She says the company has yet to determine the exact square footage and menu of the new spot, but expects it will serve salads, wraps, crab cakes and possibly dim sum.

Opening in the summer, the casino spot will be located in a food court and offer counter service. It will be the local restaurant and seafood company’s second Cordish Co. location. It opened its new Inner Harbor restaurant at Cordish’s Power Plant this month, after 31 years at Harborplace.

It will be Phillips' sixth express location. The others are located at Boston's Logan International Airport, Atlantic City and FedEx Field. The average express location is between 600 and 1,000 square feet and employs five to 10.

Asked whether Phillips will open other spots in Cordish locations, Torres says she is “very hopeful.”

“We see [Cordish] as a long-term partner.”

The casino is slated to include a restaurant operate by Bobby Flay, a Cheesecake Factory and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michelle Torres, Phillips