The Baltimore Development Corporation recently released details on four proposals it has received for the historic Senator Theatre. Located in Northeast Baltimore, the theatre site is 20,517 square feet and the building measure 17,868 square feet. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the single-screen theatre opened in 1939 and seats about 900.
The first proposal, dubbed The Lofts at the Senator Theatre, would turn the theatre into loft apartments. The proposal from JR Owens Corporation would create a mixed-use development that would include the renovation of the existing movie theatre along with the new construction of 24 two bedroom, two bath rental apartments on three floors as well as 27 secure parking spaces in the basement of the new construction and existing retail space.
James Cusack, Jr. and Kathleen C. Cusack, owners of the Charles Theatre, with architect Alex Castro, envision a Senator Theatre that would maintain the building as a single screen movie theatre, adding a restaurant and crepe shop. Two alternates would provide for a second screen and an arts education area in the approximate 2,000 square foot triangle to the south of the theatre and a sliding glass door system in the front of the restaurant.
Noch-Noch Productions' The Theatre Project PUPKIDS proposes turning the Senator into a mixture of live performances and cinemaplex attractions simulating a staged Vaudeville Revue to attract interest in puppetry and puppeteers.
Towson University's WTMD submitted the final proposal that would see the radio station relocated to the Senator Theatre. The University with Zigler/Snead Architects and Whiting-Turner contractors would undertake a "historically sensitive renovation" of the theatre's interior. The pland would also build a new addition to the south side of the building as well as an expansion of existing space on the north side of the theatre. The Senator will be home to WTMD's daily operations, as well as a schedule of films, educational activities, concerts and community events designed to reach people from all over the region. The station will connect and promote the events taking place in the theatre.
Source: Baltimore Development Corporation
Writer: Walaika Haskins