Development : Buzz

Last week, The Baltimore Sun ran a couple of pieces on the city's proposal to create a so-called arts district in West Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt from articles for and against the project:

"City officials backed by Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake are to be applauded for moving ahead with plans to create a new arts and entertainment district on Baltimore's West Side near downtown. The area has been pegged for redevelopment as a cultural hub for more than a decade, but the pace of change has been disappointing. Anything that helps jump-start the process is all to the good.

One might well ask why the area even needs a formal designation as an arts and entertainment district, given the ambitious renovation of the Hippodrome Theatre (which re-opened on the west side in 2003) and the imminent arrival there of the Everyman Theatre Company. Isn't it already on a path to becoming the cultural magnet its backers originally envisioned?"

Read the entire article here.

"A proposal endorsed by Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake would make the city's west side into an arts district, which the administration hopes will help turn around the ailing neighborhood.

This is not the solution. Why? Baltimore already has two arts districts -- Highlandtown/Patterson Park and Station North. It doesn't need a third.

The city declared Highlandtown/Patterson Park an arts district in 2003. That same year, the Creative Alliance at the Patterson (pictured), a mixed use arts/performance space, opened. Offering art exhibits and cutting edge performances, the Creative Alliance was supposed to be the cultural anchor for an arts renaissance in Highlandtown.

Nearly seven years later, Highlandtown/Patterson Park hasn't seen a sliver of the artistic explosion and revitalization that was supposed to happen. Aside from the Creative Alliance and the Southeast Anchor Library, Highlandtown/Patterson Park doesn't have much more in the way of arts than it did in 2003."

Read the entire post here. And now tell us what you think...

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund has launched an investigation into what it calls "Hard Times Profiteers," scammers who post signs throughout metropolitan areas offering help with foreclosures, home sales, etc. Reporters headed to D.C. first, but now have posted a video by Robert Strupp, director of research and policy at the Community Law Center.

Here's an excerpt:

"Drive through most any city in America and the offers will leap out at you: "Repair Your Credit!" "Modify Your Loan!" "Sell Your House Quick!"

People always gotta eat, right? The economy doesn't seem to have made a dent in the number of new restaurants springing up all over Baltimore. This blogger thought it an ideal moment to make a list of some of the newest places to dine around town. 

Here's an excerpt.

"It seems like there have been a bunch of new restaurants and bars opening in Baltimore recently. Here's just to name a few:

Langermann's � Canton � Located at the Can Company in Canton, this place took over what used to be Kiss Cafe. They seemed to do a much better job of giving the place an identity and atmosphere, something that Kiss Cafe could never do. It's an "upscale casual" place, with white tablecloths, but a chill setting. The bar looks like a cool/cozy place to hang out. I was able to eat lunch there the other day, and the food was great. It is pegged as "southern inspired global cuisine". The turkey apple and brie sandwich with smoky mountain pepper jam on raisin bread was to die for. I will definitely be going back for dinner sometime."

Read the entire article here.

Dave Murphy of Greater Greater Washington argues that the Central Maryland Transit Alliance should not prioritize the extension of Baltimore's Yellow Line light rail to Columbia, saying it would do better to focus on central transit.

An excerpt from the column reads:

The Green Line extension will hit developed areas in a large city with a burgeoning centralized train system in place. This is smart. The Yellow Line extension will connect Columbia to downtown Baltimore on a very long, very circuitous route that by-passes Fort Meade, the largest employment center in the state of Maryland.

Baltimore City needs transit connections. It needs an expanded system. It needs a centralized system. A Yellow Line extension would bolster businesses in Columbia and Towson. These are decentralized locations. A Green Line extension would bolster more centralized business districts like the Belair Road and Harford Road corridors. These are centralized areas. Baltimore has been decentralizing for fifty years, and it's not working.

From Columbia, the Yellow Line would take 42 minutes to get to BWI Airport, and then another 27 to get to downtown Baltimore. An hour and nine minutes to get from Columbia to Baltimore isn't a good transit connection. The northern section of the Yellow Line is actually a good idea, connecting several colleges along a main thoroughfare through the city proper. But the southern portion is as circuitous and useless as the current plan for the CCT in Gaithersburg.

Read the entire column here.

A critical mass of government sector jobs is keeping Maryland's unemployment rate low vis-�-vis the rest of the nation, and that has helped buoy the housing market. But there are chinks in the armor, as this article, derived from House Predictor research, explains.

An excerpt from the article reads:

Maryland housing sales are rising as a direct result of having one of the best employment rates in the nation. The federal government is hiring workers and government related jobs are growing as a result of the Obama administration, energizing home sales right outside of Washington D.C. Maryland is banking on government assistance in more ways than most other states.

The deflationary cycle in housing prices is showing signs of easing up in Maryland as home sales improve. But the declining values of homes have a long way to go before reaching stabilization as a result of the financial crisis. The days of fast money are over as new mortgage standards replace loose lending practices.

Read the entire article here.

Otis Rolley III, president and chief executive officer of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, admonishes readers of the Sun who object to surface portions of the Red Line along Boston Street in Canton and Edmonson Avenue to consider the infeasibility of a subterranean route there and to participate in talks with city planners about alternatives.

An excerpt from the letter reads:

The Maryland Transit Administration has stated it will study traffic mitigation and parking management plans for both Edmondson Avenue and Canton. It will examine streetscape enhancements and environmental sustainability strategies and work with residents who are impacted by the Red Line route.

That's an open invitation for critics to become part of the solution rather than remaining part of the problem. It's the way other cities with light-rail projects have proceeded: They listened to opponents' critiques and sought to find acceptable solutions. The results there have been highly positive. We must hold the Maryland Transit Administration to its stated commitment and make sure everyone is part of the process.

From my experience as a former Baltimore City planning director, the Red Line process has been the most open and inclusive of any transit project in Baltimore's history. The number of public meetings and hearings has been extensive, even before Maryland submits a plan to the Federal Transit Administration.

Read the entire letter here.

John Wagner, The Washington Post's Maryland blogger, reports that the Baltimore City Entertainment Group will change its application for a slots parlor to include six times the number of machines previously requested. A state commission is expected to decide on the application in the fall.

An excerpt from the blog reads:

In February, the Baltimore City Entertainment Group emerged as the only bidder for a Baltimore license, one of five authorized by the state. At the time, the group applied for 500 machines, well below the maximum of 3,750 allowed at the site. Michael Cryor, a consultant to the group, said that it is now close to formalizing a rumored change in its application to install 3,750 machines.

The group is also now looking to construct a building to house the machines a few hundred yards away from the previous location. The new site on Russell Street, which was reported this morning by The Daily Record, would be more visible and be further away from neighborhoods, Cryor said.

Read the entire post here.

In an effort to stretch resources and help more families, Anne Arundel's Habitat for Humanity and Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity of Baltimore merged July 1, according to Mike Mitchell, executive director of the new Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake. The merger resulted in two layoffs.

An excerpt from the article reads:

"We had been hearing from donors for at least four or five years that this was something they wanted to see," said Mitchell, former executive director of the Chesapeake Habitat. "We're really excited about it."

One of Arundel Habitat's main projects was in Brooklyn, just over the Anne Arundel County line. In the past few years, the neighborhood along Jack Street has transformed from a rundown city neighborhood to a home for dozens of Habitat families.

But Chesapeake Habitat, which focused on projects in Baltimore city and Baltimore County, was building homes in the Pigtown neighborhood, just a few miles away. Joining forces just made sense, Mitchell said.

Read the entire article here.