[marcus]

I feel like crying. the new 10 IH:

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/42960/2002658954407254410_rs.jpg


I hate this ugly monster. i simply hate it :(
i would honestly rather not have this. What we could have had...

http://www.arcwheeler.com/projects/414lightstreet/414lightstreet_2_lrg.jpg

The last building with a great design was in 1935 with the bank of America building. i thought this might be the next great building...but no

[jason111]

do u know how tall that new design is? also is that official now:(

[alphawolf]

Its hard to tell if anything has been shaved off from that street angle of the original rendering.

[Austinlee]

It looks nice. What seems to be the problem?

[marcus]

^ Well first off they promised a world class design...look at it. Secondly, the facade is just not appealing, i liked the first one's. Look how boxy and hideously fat it looks. Im tired of the fat boxes in bmore. At least with the first it was nice and slim, with a nice facade. Lastly, the only angle this tower looks good is in the render on the top right. now how many people are going to see it from that angle. the first tower looked great from almost every angle IMHO. I don't understand how it could go from such a classy to design, to such such a.....not classy design. Those are my problems with it

[StevenW]

:previous: And the ground level is not very inviting. What happened to the ground retail? :(
The new design is ok. I'd much rather have tall and slender with glass though.

[StevenW]

I can see the new title to the building now: The Behemoth Building!
A huge monster of a tower. Big and bulky! Box city, USA.

[StevenW]

BTW, how tall exactly, would you all guess this new design might be? 700 ft.?
Higher? Shorter? Idon't understand the scale yet. Someone told me at ssc that the tower right next to it is 370 ft. tall.

[marcus]

:previous: And the ground level is not very inviting. What happened to the ground retail? :(
The new design is ok. I'd much rather have tall and slender with glass though.

Definently that too

BTW, how tall exactly, would you all guess this new design might be? 700 ft.?
Higher? Shorter? Idon't understand the scale yet. Someone told me at ssc that the tower right next to it is 370 ft. tall.

The tower to the left is 108.5 m, or 355.9711286089239 Feet haha

[jason111]

so yea does anyone know the height of 10 IH now? well some good news out of this, i guess they are actually serious about putting this up now

[BrooklynChulo90]

I feel like crying. the new 10 IH:

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/42960/2002658954407254410_rs.jpg


I hate this ugly monster. i simply hate it :(
i would honestly rather not have this. What we could have had...

http://www.arcwheeler.com/projects/414lightstreet/414lightstreet_2_lrg.jpg

The last building with a great design was in 1935 with the bank of America building. i thought this might be the next great building...but no

I said the same thing in SSC and everybody started attacking me but on here, everyone seems to agree...I Don't get it:sly:

[marcus]

^ thats kinda strange

i wish Cesar Pelli would come here, knock this ugly proposal out and put a beautiful tower of his own, right in bmore

[StevenW]

I e-mailed John Vonieff about this and he said that BOKA Powel designed the office and parking portion of the 10 IH project. RAMSA still is designing the rest. Final renderings should be seen within the next 60 days. Also, from another forum member at ssc, Mr. Vonieff told him that a major office tenant should be signed within the 60 days. Sounds good to me. It does sound as if this project is starting to pick up momentum. :)

[jason111]

I e-mailed John Vonieff about this and he said that BOKA Powel designed the office and parking portion of the 10 IH project. RAMSA still is designing the rest. Final renderings should be seen within the next 60 days. Also, from another forum member at ssc, Mr. Vonieff told him that a major office tenant should be signed within the 60 days. Sounds good to me. It does sound as if this project is starting to pick up momentum. :)

thanks for the good news

[StevenW]

No problem.

[jason111]

so these designs arent final yet either?

[StevenW]

:previous: Probably not. But they are probably close.

In an e-mail to me today from Mr. Vonieff, he said that the tower would be no lower than 650 feet tall and probably taller when all is said and done.
The project is mostly all office space now. There still will be 135 luxury residential units and around 40,000 sq. ft. of retail and 1,600 parking places on the first 10 floors. Office space will be between 475,000 to 600,000 sq. ft.
More than 1.5 million sq. ft. in all. Well over $500,000,000 is going into this project. Check this out: the residential portion of this project is costing over $100 MILLION dollars alone!!!!!!

[StevenW]

In other news:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/graphic/2008-02/36094473.jpg
Get ready for yet another high-rise going up in Baltimore!
And this one will start in a couple of months!!!!!

Here is the article:

Two hotels planned for stalled Citycenter
Shift in market cancels luxury apartment tower
By Lorraine Mirabella | Sun reporter
February 26, 2008
A stalled project to redevelop a critical downtown corner appears back on track after market changes forced a shift from an apartment tower to a mix of hotels and residences.

Two new hotels with 300 rooms are now planned for the $100 million Citycenter project at Calvert and Lombard streets, first proposed three years ago as a luxury apartment tower, developer Mark Sapperstein says.

The 30-story building, which Sapperstein said he hopes to start building this year, will include two Hyatt-branded hotels, a Hyatt Place, geared to business travelers, and an extended-stay Hyatt Summerfield Suites, with apartments on top, Sapperstein said. It would be L-shaped, wrapping around the Brookshire Suites on the northwest corner.


Baltimore Development Corp., which had selected a team headed by Sapperstein to redevelop the downtown corner in January 2005, is recommending the revised plan, which includes selling the city-acquired property to the developer for $4.5 million and tax breaks in the form of a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT.

The BDC's board of directors is to vote on the plan Thursday. The city's Board of Estimates would have to approve the purchase, and the PILOT requires approval by the City Council.

The development team has spent much of the past three years working out design and pricing issues to make the project work economically, Sapperstein said. While demand for rental apartments downtown remains strong, the cost of constructing high-rise buildings and parking has risen to the point that it makes more sense economically to include both hotels and apartments than to rely on one use, he said.

"What I decided to do was to add more meat into this same square, more revenue enhancing [uses] rather than relying on apartments," Sapperstein said. "We couldn't build the apartment units and go vertical and make the numbers work. Rather than start something that might not work, we decided to switch gears."

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, said the site is a critical link in revitalizing downtown as a place to live, work and find entertainment.

"It's very difficult to redevelop downtown if you have gaps in the streetscape," he said.

Fowler said the city expects the redeveloped site to draw visitors north from the Inner Harbor and connect what has developed into downtown's hotel row. A SpringHill Suites by Marriott opened in November at 16 S. Calvert St.; a Hotel Indigo boutique hotel is under construction at the southeast corner of Calvert and Redwood streets, and a Four Points by Sheraton hotel is planned at 25 S. Calvert St.

Sapperstein had planned to build 300 apartments, a garage and a small amount of retail on the site, bounded by Calvert, Lombard, Mercer and Grant streets. The new configuration of a 30-story building will include 150 apartments, up to 280 parking spaces, and some retail, likely a spa and diner-style restaurant.

But much of the space will be devoted to the two hotels, the first new Hyatt brands downtown since the Hyatt regency Baltimore on Light Street became the pioneering Inner Harbor hotel in 1981.

Hyatt Place, which is geared to business travelers with features such as 42-inch, flat-panel HDTVs and high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access, is to have 175 rooms, and the Hyatt Summerfield Suites, an upscale, extended-stay brand, 125 suites.

Hyatt announced last month that it had doubled the number of Summerfield Suites hotels in its pipeline to 20, boosting the total number now open or under development to more than 50.

The hotels will be among nearly 20 properties planned or under way downtown, according to the Downtown Partnership. As of last fall, four hotels, with a total of 1,192 rooms, were under construction. Between this year and 2012, another 15 - including the two Hyatts - will add 1,891 rooms. The downtown area has 28 hotels with 6,847 rooms.

Sapperstein said he's confident about the demand.

"Hyatt has their hands around this market, and they convinced me as well as market studies," he said. "When you bring on 1,000 rooms, it will have some impact - it may lower room rates for a bit, but once it stabilizes it will be fine going forward."

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com

:)

Good news!!!!!! :yes:

[VA_Gentleman]

I don't follow this thread as religiously as some other posts, but I was thumbing through a real estate magazine at my dad's the other day and saw an ad for "Silo Point." I don't know if this has been covered before, but I didn't see it on the front page. Anyway it looks like condos and lofts in a converted silo:

Here is a picture of the old silo:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g288/anansi8172/siloold.jpg

A few of the renders for the finished overhaul:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g288/anansi8172/silo1.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g288/anansi8172/silo2.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g288/anansi8172/silo3.jpg

A link to their website:

http://www.silopoint.com/home.html

Apologies if this has already been posted.

[jason111]

^^^^i wouldnt mind living there....also thanks steve for the news

[StatenIslander237]

That Silo Point looks impressive. I'm hoping maybe something with the same quality will be built as 10 Inner Harbor.

[StevenW]

:previous:
So far this is what we are getting for 10 Inner Harbor:

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/42960/2002658954407254410_rs.jpg

Not the best by any stretch of the imagination but it is big.

[marcus]

new render from ssc

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1900/10ihga5.jpg

[StevenW]

:previous: That is a much better rendering, IMO.

[marcus]

^ Its a very good render with a still ugly building in it. At least a crown would be good. What a waste of a potentially great design IMHO

[jason111]

yea but look how it towers over all nearby bulidings.....if that new render is true then it looks like 10IH will probably be the height it was first proposed as

[JDRCRASH]

Woah. I just finished watching a movie where Baltimore get's nuked during a football game. Man I hate terrorists.

Anyways, I like that building! It looks so enviro-friendly!:hyper:

[jason111]

Woah. I just finished watching a movie where Baltimore get's nuked during a football game. Man I hate terrorists.

Anyways, I like that building! It looks so enviro-friendly!:hyper:

what movie was that lol? never seen it i dont think

[JDRCRASH]

"The Sum of All Fears"

[StevenW]

Another great Baltimore city movie is: "Enemy of the State".

[jason111]

the wire is also a very good baltimore tv show

[MasonsInquiries]

new render from ssc

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1900/10ihga5.jpg

this tower is really starting to grow on me. LOVE the glass........

[StevenW]

That's not the final design yet. We will know in about 6 weeks.

[jason111]

:( 6 weeks is too long

any other project news?

[MasonsInquiries]

^^yeah, really. the suspense is killin' me.:(

[StevenW]

Will still have to wait longer after the "6 weeks" time is over probably.... :(

Something like that seems to always happen.

I hope not, though.

[Evergrey]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/03/17/daily44.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Friday, March 21, 2008 - 3:45 PM EDT

OAR Severstal to acquire Sparrows Point steel mill

A Russian steelmaker said Friday it has agreed to purchase the Sparrows Point steel mill from ArcelorMittal for $810 million.

OAR Severstal, one of Russia's largest steel producers, will become the mill's fourth owner in four years. The plant employs nearly 2,500 employees and can make up to 3.6 million tons of raw steel a year. Severstal said it has entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the United Steel Workers.

A court-appointed trustee, Joseph G. Krauss, a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm Hogan & Hartson LLP, oversaw the sale.

Severstal said it is expects the acquisition to close in the second quarter of this year. The deal still needs approval by the U.S. Department of Justice.

"With Sparrows Point, Severstal brings into its U.S. portfolio an asset with significant existing value as well as unlocked growth potential," CEO Alexei Mordashov said in a news release.

The company's North American operations includes plants in Michigan and West Virginia. Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MER) acted as a financial advisor to Severstal on the deal.

In September 2007, the U.S. Department of Justice had approved the sale of the Sparrows Point steel mill for roughly $1.35 billion.

In December, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) said it scrapped the agreement to sell the Sparrows Point steel mill to E2 Acquisition Corp. because of the buyer's inability to secure financing.

E2 Acquisition Corp., a global investment firm, is a joint venture sponsored by Chicago Heights, Ill.-based Esmark Inc. and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp.

[jonjj]

I see some structures have been torn down and being torn down at the corner of Charles and Lombard. Does anyone have any idea as to what is planned for that site??? thanks in advance.

[30 Floors Up]

Tis for a 10 story parking garage to service the Legg Mason building. Retail at street level.

[StevenW]

State Center to undergo mixed-use renovation

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - State Center has been an austere throwback to postwar urban renewal, a collection of aging office buildings isolated from surrounding communities by a sea of asphalt parking lots.

But a $1.6 billion plan would transform the area into a hub of residential units and retail space alongside the existing state offices, and tie together Baltimore’s Metro and Light Rail lines.

“Remember when the skywalks were here,” Gov. Martin O’Malley asked a crowd of state workers Tuesday afternoon. “It’s like they were trying to keep human activity off the streets. We’re flipping that around.”

The plan is part of the state’s new direction toward transit-oriented, mixed-use development. The State Center proposal first arose under the Ehrlich administration, but was revamped by O’Malley as part of a larger set of projects, including those in Savage and Owings Mills.

Redevelopment of the 28-acre site includes 1.5 million square feet of commercial office space and 250,000 square feet of retail space. Of the 1,000 planned housing units, 20 percent to 30 percent will be work-force affordable housing, according to Caroline Moore of Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, developer of the project.

The state will donate the land, and Struever Bros. and two partners, Doracon Development and McCormack Baron Salazar, will finance construction. Moore said the yearlong design process will begin early next year, with primary construction completed by 2012.

Moore said two existing buildings at 1100 Eutaw St. and 300 West Preston St. would be converted if possible, but might be torn down. She said the largest building, at 301 West Preston St., was found during construction to be a world-class example of international-style architecture and would be retained, possibly as a residential complex.

The complex will provide offices for 3,500 state workers, nearly 5 percent of the state’s work force and the largest single concentration of employees, said Michael Gaines, assistant secretary for real estate with the state Department of General Services.

Local leaders hailed State Center’s revival and community involvement in planning.

“There are a lot of things that destroyed this neighborhood. Now community organizations have a voice in what will happen here,” state Sen. Verna Jones said.

acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com

[willrusso]

Uh oh... Baltimore is finally getting an actual tall building. I love it. The age of 'mini-scrapers' is over!

Hello StevenW. Long time no talk. I moved to Atlanta last year.

[Halovet]

the wire is also a very good baltimore tv show

The Wire put Crab~Town on the Screen like nothing ever before, but it's not over by a long shot!

Baltimore: the unsung Hollywood of the East Coast


http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2004/03/26/Arts/Baltimore.The.Unsung.Hollywood.Of.The.East.Coast-2245194.shtml

[jason111]

^^^thanks for that article.....but yeah ive noticed that more and more movies were being filmed here.....hairspray, first sunday, etc.

do you know what al pacino and bruce willis movies were filmed here though?

[jonjj]

New day for North Ave.
Developers renovate 80-year-old market as part of the Station North arts and entertainment district
ROBBIE WHELAN
Daily Record Business Writer
April 27, 2008 7:43 PM
A team of local property owners is resurrecting the defunct North Avenue Market, once the city’s biggest, as a 60,000-square foot mixed-use development that is the newest touchstone of the city’s nascent midtown arts district.

Built in 1928 at a cost of nearly $2 million, the market was once home to 254 stalls selling produce, fish and meat, in addition to lunch counters and delis. A six-alarm fire ravaged the property in 1968, and it never fully recovered. In 1970, a large portion of the market, facing 20th Street, was razed to build a low-income housing high-rise that stands today.

Over the years in the space that remained, several businesses that typically operate in low-income neighborhoods, including a check-cashing business and a Family Dollar franchise, leased storefronts in the market.

Now, the market’s rebirth is a result of the efforts of Michael L. Schechter, a prominent property owner in the area, and his equity partner, Carolyn Frenkil, a first-time player in local real estate development, whose husband, a physician with side investments in real estate, purchased the property shortly after the fire.

“The whole thing was gutted by the fire and the water damage,” Frenkil said. “It was really quite horrific.”

The two partners said they have been working to make the new North Avenue Market a reality for the last two years, renovating more than 20,000 square feet of retail space and attracting business owners to lease it.

State records show that the one-acre property, which was acquired by Schechter’s company, Center City Inc., was worth $642,000 in July 2007. The developers declined to comment on the property’s current value but said that their improvements have amounted to between $500,000 and $1 million.

Schechter said some businesses near the market are more suitable than others to remain as the neighborhood becomes more gentrified.

“We’ve got check-cashing but we’ve also got [pizzeria] Joe-Squared,” he said. “We’ve got [music venue] Lo-Fi Social Club, but we’ve also got the North Avenue Motel. … I don’t have anything against North Avenue Motel. I don’t even really know them. I just don’t see it as the future of the neighborhood.”

In a part of the market where a retail clothing operation stood until about a year-and-a-half ago, a new bar called the Wind-Up Space is slated to open May 6. The bar will feature performances of independent music, art shows and film screenings.

The market’s main stall area, which was once home to the Sacred Zion Full Baptist Church, will be converted into an artists’ collective, featuring craftspeople from the Baltimore Glassworks and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, and a coffee shop and bookstore operated by the Baltimore Chop, Schechter said.

The renovation of the North Avenue Market is in line with the city’s vision for the redevelopment of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, which covers the area between Penn Station and North Avenue, bounded by Howard Street on the west and Calvert Street on the east.

Near the Maryland Institute College of Art, the University of Baltimore, and the upscale art galleries and restaurants of Mount Vernon, Station North is meant to be the next wave of arts-anchored development to creep up Charles Street.

In the last few years, a handful of arts-related businesses and performance venues, including Load of Fun Studios and Westnorth Studios, have opened along the blighted blocks near Charles Street.

“We’re overcoming the perception of the decline of this neighborhood,” Frenkil said. “So we’re trying to get foot traffic going on North Avenue, people coming to events. You don’t want to build out until you have something built to base it upon. The people on [North Avenue]. they could see beyond the obvious, and we have the same vision. … This is the new Portland.”

Frenkil is an outgoing woman who used to run the state’s office of occupational licensing. Later, she ran a company that did pre-employment drug screening tests for large companies. Standing inside what will soon be the Wind-Up Space bar, she joked, “I gave up drugs for booze.”

She met Schechter, whose real estate holdings include the nearby Charles Theatre, Tapas Teatro and the Metro Gallery, through their common accountant.

“They’re leading the way,” said Michael Deets, chair of the Midtown Community Benefits District. “They’re showing leadership by creating value in the neighborhood. … [They’re] creating an atmosphere where property owners can see that there are positive opportunities that they can use their land-bank properties for.”

David Bielenberg, director of a nonprofit that promotes the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, said there is a real problem of speculators buying properties around the North Avenue corridor and sitting on them for years. He mentioned the stately, art deco Parkway Theatre, at 5 W. North Ave., and several properties owned by Washington-based restaurateur Tony Cheng, as examples.

Cheng, who has purchased at least 10 properties in the Station North area, is trying to attract Asian-owned businesses to establish a small, “Chinatown”-themed retail and entertainment district.

“I’m certainly hopeful that [the market will] be the next stage in the revitalization of North Avenue,” Bielenberg said. “I’m looking forward to not only bringing in artists, but bringing in audiences as well.”

The owner of another stalled rehabilitation property, on the northwest corner of Charles Street and North Avenue, is rumored to have plans to build a jazz club on the site but ran out of money for the renovation, according to Schechter and Bielenberg.

North Avenue Market, its developers say, could be a catalyst for reviving these projects.

“Let’s hope the enthusiasm we have will be contagious, will catch on and will get them going,” Frenkil said.

[jonjj]

News on the State Center:
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=5304&type=UTTM

$1.6B State Center facelift will add retail, residences
ROBBIE WHELAN
Daily Record Business Writer
May 6, 2008 6:51 PM
The plain, unassuming cluster of state office buildings in Central Baltimore known as State Center is truly an island in the middle of several thriving city neighborhoods.

Seemingly walled off by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the median of four-laned Dolphin Street, two sets of light rail tracks and several large parking lots, it’s hard to imagine that 3,500 state employees go to work every day in this empty-looking complex.

But with the backing of the city and the state transportation department, State Center will undergo an estimated $1.6 billion redevelopment, led by local developers Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse and Doracon Contracting Inc. One state official has called it “the biggest project since Harborplace in terms of its impact on the city.”

“This is obviously one of the best opportunities in the state [for transit-oriented development],” said Jamie Kendrick, deputy director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. “You’ve got the confluence of the backbone of our system with the light rail and the Metro there. It should be able to flourish, especially if it’s a good mix of residential and retail development.”

This week, the city’s Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel will review State Center’s master plan, and take the first steps towards approving the Struever company’s Planned Unit Development. Officials at Struever Bros. expect PUD approval by the end of the year, followed by a year-long design phase, a groundbreaking in 2010 and completion of the initial construction plans, which include at least one new building, by 2012.

Caroline A. Moore, Struever’s chief operating officer for public-private partnerships, said Thursday’s discussion at UDARP comes after 10 months of community-oriented planning that included input from 500 people in nine neighborhood groups, as well as at the nearby University of Baltimore and Maryland Institute College of Art.

“When State Center was created, it was detached from the grid,” Moore said. “The governor likes to say, ‘Gosh, this is in the middle of nowhere,’ but actually … if we can get this right, you can have a catalytic impact on nine different neighborhoods.”

With its five state-owned office buildings, the area has an isolated, institutional feel.

Extra-wide sidewalks separate parking garage entrances from the street, and most of the buildings have second-floor lobbies that were once connected by aerial walkways. A patio filled with outdoor, café-style lunch tables — which sat empty during Tuesday’s lunch hour — is next to 10-foot-tall heating exhaust ducts on the side of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene building at 201 W. Preston St.

“Its disconnect: that’s probably the biggest design flaw,” said Michael A. Gaines Sr., assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services. “There are no amenities. Where do you go to eat? Where do you go for a cup of coffee and a meeting? And at 4:30, when people leave, it’s desolate. … It’s not pedestrian friendly at all.”

Gaines, who was once a vice president at the Rouse Co., and served as general manager for Harborplace, the large retail development along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that many say contributed to a revitalization of the city in the 1980s, said the goal of the Struever-led project is to “fix some of that connectivity,” and add housing and retail amenities, to best leverage the nearby transportation hub. State Center has its own Metro and light rail stops, Penn Station is less than a mile away, and the buildings stand near several MTA bus lines and bicycle routes, including the Jones Falls Trail.

Plans include tearing down the building at 1100 Eutaw St., now home to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, lopping off the facade of 201 W. Preston St., and eliminating the second-floor access on all of the buildings to make way for street-level retail businesses.

Moore said the developer also plans to reduce the buildings’ set-backs by cutting into the sidewalk space on West Preston Street, expanding its median into a plaza, and building a new structure in the middle of the street that would house a restaurant, retail space and a bicycle depot with showers and locker rooms, modeled on the bike garage at Chicago’s Millennium Park.

All told, the project is expected to result in eight new buildings and 6 million square feet of new construction: 1.5 million square feet of residential space, 250,000 square feet of retail space, 2 million square feet of office space, 250,000-300,000 square feet of public-use space, and 2 million square feet for parking.

Of a total 1,200 residences, 40 percent will be condominiums, built by Struever, some of which will be sold as work force housing, with price tags based on buyers who earn 60-120 percent of the area’s median income.

The remaining units will be developed by St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar, a company that specializes in mixed-income housing. Of these, 10 percent will be rented at rates based on less that 30 percent of the area median income, 30 percent will be based on incomes of 60 percent of the area median income, and 60 percent will be rented at market rate.

The most inexpensive rental housing, Moore said, will be comparable to prices at the nearby McCulloh Homes, a high-rise public housing development.

“It’s not going to be an overwhelming mix of affordable [housing] — it’s just about 30 percent — but if it’s well-managed, it can be a tremendous asset to the city,” said Karl Schlachter, senior vice president of McCormack Baron Salazar. “Where we’ve done other transit-oriented developments, we’ve had huge demand for affordable housing, because if you don’t have to pay for gas, you can free up a lot of income for the more important things to survive in this world, like sending your kids to school.”

[StevenW]

http://www.examiner.com/images/newsroom/CB20FD13-3048-7D2A-C2CBB2B6C3639CA4.jpg
An artist’s rendering of Preston Street depicts what developers hope State Center will become. – Courtesy Design Collective


State Center plan aims to unite neighborhoods

May 9, 2008 3:00 AM (4 hrs ago) by Andrew Cannarsa, The Examiner
# 120 of 19,529
Filed under: BALTIMORE , Andrew Cannarsa , State Center

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - State Center’s redevelopment plans are focused on the need to “help pull adjacent neighborhoods together” in midtown Baltimore.

“The urban fabric of this area has changed quite dramatically over the last 100 years,” Matt D’Amico, principal of Baltimore-based Design Collective, told the city’s Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel during an introductory presentation Thursday of the State Center plan.

The $1.6 billion project comes with a master plan totaling 6 million square feet of development. The plan includes 1.3 million to 2 million square feet of office space, 180,000 to 250,000 square feet of retail space, 350,000 square feet of civic space and 520 mid-rise and 830 high-rise residential units. The residential units will be a mix of rental and for-sale properties at market-rate and affordable prices.

Three buildings in State Center — the state buildings at 201 and 301 W. Preston St. and the 5th Regiment Armory — would likely be maintained, and eight mixed-use buildings would be built in the complex, D’Amico said. The buildings at 1100 Eutaw St. and 300 West Preston St. would “probably be good candidates for demolition,” D’Amico said.

The plan would include retail outlets and restaurants on the ground level of office and residential buildings along Preston Street, to “create a really great Main Street” and connect the Metro Station in State Center to the Light Rail to the northeast, D’Amico said.

The goals of the project include providing ample pedestrian and bicycle paths, encouraging economic development in the area, maintaining the characteristics of the surrounding neighborhoods and maximizing transportation outlets such as the Metro, Light Rail and nearby Penn Station. Plans include enough parking garages for 5,600 spaces.

“We see this as an exciting opportunity for a public-private partnership to effect an important part of the city of Baltimore,” said Michael Gaines, assistant secretary in the state’s Department of General Services.

Designers and developers have had about 20 meetings with surrounding community groups to discuss the plan and its effects on the area.

“This is a monumental event for us,” said Caroline Moore, project manager for Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, lead developer on the project. “It’s taken us a year to get to this point.”

McCormack Baron Salazar and Doracon Development are also involved in the project’s development.

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com

[StevenW]

check this out. Arcwheeler is getting into the restaurant business:

http://www.arcwheeler.com/hospitality/

"The Happy Cactus".

Ok........

[PeterSmith]

I'm digging all of these new State Center concept renderings. If the real thing turns out anything like the renderings, we're in for a treat. I mistook that central structure for the Broadway Market redevelopment. Is that structure already existing or will it be new construction?

[jonjj]

From the Maryland Daily Record:
Hale adds 31-acre site to Canton Crossing project
ROBBIE WHELAN
Daily Record Business Writer
May 13, 2008 7:20 PM
With the acquisition of a large parcel of industrial waterfront property, one of Baltimore’s biggest development projects has more than doubled its size.

Edwin F. Hale Sr., CEO of First Mariner Bancorp and developer of the $1 billion Canton Crossing project, said Tuesday that he had purchased a 31-acre former shipping terminal and refinery site from Exxon Mobil Corp. Both sides declined to say how much Hale paid for the property.

Partnering with Owings Mills-based developer Greenberg Gibbons Commercial and Virginia-based builder The Bush Cos., Hale said he plans to add a “Main Street” lined with retail outlets and restaurants adjacent to Canton Crossing’s existing 22 acres.

“Every neighborhood association [in Canton] said they wanted retail,” Hale said. “Well, they’re going to get retail, and then some.”

Hale said he would rely on Greenberg Gibbons to develop the retail portion of Canton Crossing.

“I’m a banker, and I’m 61 years old, and I don’t want to learn how to do a shopping center,” Hale said.

Greenberg Gibbons was responsible for building Hunt Valley Towne Centre, which includes an open air Main Street with 269,000 square feet of retail including a Wegman’s grocery store.

The developers said they are in negotiations with several big-box retailers, including Target and Virginia-based upscale grocer Harris Teeter.

“We do not have signed agreements yet, but we are confident we will be able to reach those,” said Brian Gibbons, president and CEO of the company. “We feel this is something that could happen quickly.”

Rumors that Hale was seeking an anchor retail tenant for Canton Crossing have been circulating for months, and Hale said that he had had his eye on the terminal site for nearly 10 years. Contamination, zoning issues and the lingering possibility that Exxon might develop the site had delayed the purchase until now, Hale said.

“Tenacity was the clincher,” he said.

Andrew Warrell, major properties manager with Exxon Mobile Environmental Services, said the sale was delayed so that the companies could deal with environmental remediation issues.

“After 100 years, it takes a long time to demolish the facilities and arrive at an end land use,” he said. “I think it was the willingness of all parties to work together that got the deal done. …We knew Hale would deliver.”

Currently, Canton Crossing consists of the 17-story, 500,000-square foot 1st Mariner office tower, which according to Hale is more than 90 percent leased by such tenants as CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Prometric and Comcast Spotlight, and the 80,000-square foot Merritt Athletic Club on Boston Street.

Other expansion plans include a full-service hotel, for which Hale officials say no operator has been selected, a waterfront public space and 470,000 square feet of additional office space.

The Bush Cos., which built 414 Water Street, a downtown Baltimore condominium development, has plans to build a 500-unit condo complex at Canton Crossing. They are slated to break ground within 18 months, according to Andrew A. Viola, Bush’s regional vice president.

“We’ve been very pleased with the absorption [in Baltimore], very pleased with the people who have bought there,” he said. “We did very well initially, and frankly we’ve had some fall-off. … It’s common knowledge that anything that was sold in the 2005-2006 timeframe, you see some slippage in your closings. But what you’ve really got to look at is what is happening in Baltimore as far as continued growth.”

Viola said he is optimistic about selling the Canton Crossing condos because of the influx of economic development associated with the federal Base Realignment and Closure initiative, as well as the proposed Red Line mass transit project, which Mayor Sheila Dixon discussed in a public forum on Saturday.

Standing in front of renderings of Canton Crossing’s proposed Main Street Tuesday, the mayor praised Hale for his energy, unpredictability and vision.

“Ed can be crazy, but it’s a good crazy,” she said. “Even though it’s not there yet, you look at these pictures and you can just feel people walking around, shopping, spending money, contributing taxes to the city.”

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=5374&type=UTTM

The picture of the developement in the paper looks great!

[Ktulured55]

That Silo Point looks impressive. I'm hoping maybe something with the same quality will be built as 10 Inner Harbor.


That SiloPoint is pretty much topped off. It is nothing special, but considering there is NOTHING of any kind of height over in that area... I am happy with it. It shows that Baltimore is big enough to build skyscrapers outside of the main center city like other bigger cities do. I wouldn't mind touring some of those places to see what they look like :)

[Ktulured55]

this tower is really starting to grow on me. LOVE the glass........

Brazilian flag? are you Brazilian? nice.

Do you work for Legg Mason?


And yes the tower does look better. Look at how wide it is... to get that square feet, they could have made it skinnier and like 1,000 ft tall. But I guess for Baltimore to get a 1,000 footer (supertall) it would look nicer to have a few 700 or 800 footers first. The rendering makes the building look pretty tall though, looks like 700+ to me if it's accurate. And it's wide, it will be a huge building.

[Ktulured55]

Tis for a 10 story parking garage to service the Legg Mason building. Retail at street level.

Hmmm, the owners of the Legg Mason building must really be trying to attract a prime new tenant for when Legg Mason moves out. Smart move. As long as it is taller than the little shit buildings there before it, I'm happy.

I can watch and hear them working every day on that ground from work. :hell:

[Ktulured55]

check this out. Arcwheeler is getting into the restaurant business:

http://www.arcwheeler.com/hospitality/

"The Happy Cactus".

Ok........

Interesting. I guess there will be one in 10 IH when it's done. There will be at least 2 or 3 restaurants in the retail portion. Good thing I like Mexican :D

Btw... anyone ever eat at Morton's? Finally went there, it was delish!

[jason111]

can anyone give me a quick rundown of whats going on in the city i havent been on here in a long time

[marcus]

^ i would if i knew! But here's a good render of Four Seasons w/ Legg Mason in the background! got it from ssc :)

http://www.fourseasons.com/residence_clubs/images/generated/property/baltimore/slideshow/page_633_image_0.jpg

[jonjj]

My company received a letter regarding the rehabbing of the Lexington Market metro stop along with the bus stop by it. Does anyone have any pictures of what that will look like? The letter mentioned work begins on this project this month.

[StevenW]

Not sure about any renderings. :no:

[StevenW]

Uh oh... Baltimore is finally getting an actual tall building. I love it. The age of 'mini-scrapers' is over!

Hello StevenW. Long time no talk. I moved to Atlanta last year.

Hot-Lanta, huh?
Cool.
I'm just 3 1/2 hours by car north from you now.

Yeah, it's been a while.

BTW, how do you like ATL so far?

[marcus]

Here's a shot showing the construction of Legg Mason. Its already a floor tall! :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/2588954350_7641b12932_o.jpg
http://flickr.com/photos/jessicafm/2588954350/

[MasonsInquiries]

^ i would if i knew! But here's a good render of Four Seasons w/ Legg Mason in the background! got it from ssc :)

http://www.fourseasons.com/residence_clubs/images/generated/property/baltimore/slideshow/page_633_image_0.jpg

wow, i can't get over how good this tower looks...

[MasonsInquiries]

Interesting. I guess there will be one in 10 IH when it's done. There will be at least 2 or 3 restaurants in the retail portion. Good thing I like Mexican :D

Btw... anyone ever eat at Morton's? Finally went there, it was delish!

yeah, their steak is the best i've ever stated, next to jordan's in ellicott city.....

[MasonsInquiries]

News on the State Center:
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=5304&type=UTTM

$1.6B State Center facelift will add retail, residences
ROBBIE WHELAN
Daily Record Business Writer
May 6, 2008 6:51 PM
i really can't wait until this project gets underway

[jason111]

so whats new in the city? any updates?

[MasonsInquiries]

so whats new in the city? any updates?
well,


the fitgerald (UB/MICA project) should be getting underway pretty soon


the project near JH hospital has found another developer to partner with, so it looks like that project is gonna' get started pretty soon. we'll see



legg mason/4 seasons tower still pushin' on.....

[jason111]

well,


the fitgerald (UB/MICA project) should be getting underway pretty soon



? i mustve forgot what that is

[StevenW]

Any new pix? :)

[IHIH11]

Any new news?

Is 10 IH final yet?

anything on 300 E.pratt st. or one light st

and what happened to the tower at 701 E. baltimore:koko:

[IHIH11]

Oh yeah, forgot to ask

how tall is Cityscape supposed to be in feet, i know it's 30 stories and all

[IHIH11]

? i mustve forgot what that is
It's a new condo building about 7 stories i think to begin construction later this year. I think, i'm not quite sure either.:slob:

[MasonsInquiries]

Any new news?

Is 10 IH final yet?

anything on 300 E.pratt st. or one light st

and what happened to the tower at 701 E. baltimore:koko:
701 east baltimore is on hold (temporarily)

[MasonsInquiries]

Any new news?

Is 10 IH final yet?10IH has a new rendering, but i can't bring it up on my pc @ work. it looks nice!!:notacrook:

[MasonsInquiries]

300EP on the other hand is very slow-moving...

[StevenW]

You got that right!

[marcus]

Here's that new rendering

http://www.jeremai.com/non-site/2008_09_Boka%20Powell_10%20Inner%20Harbor.jpg

[MasonsInquiries]

Here's that new rendering

http://www.jeremai.com/non-site/2008_09_Boka%20Powell_10%20Inner%20Harbor.jpg
http://www.jeremai.com/non-site/2008-09_BOKA_Powell_10%20Inner_Harbor.jpg

i like this tower! it's definitely better than the other 2 versions. :notacrook: :notacrook:

i think i need to see it from an aerial view to really make a true determination...

[MasonsInquiries]

here's a rendering of CityScape. the building is, eh, ok. it's nothing to get up & shout about, but it'll do......

http://turtlecreekdevelopment.com/Turtle%20Creek%20Photos/cityscape.jpg

[MasonsInquiries]

i really wish this tower could've gotten built. this site truly looks underused with just the 3-story pavilion.

http://img498.imageshack.us/img498/710/harbortower1ia.jpg

[MasonsInquiries]

they're moving really fast with this project....

http://www.ar-companies.com/imgs/portfolio/urban/fairfield1.jpg

[marcus]

What project is that?

Is anything planed for the site now? The "3-story pavilion" site?


here's a rendering of CityScape. the building is, eh, ok. it's nothing to get up & shout about, but it'll do......

http://turtlecreekdevelopment.com/Turtle%20Creek%20Photos/cityscape.jpg

Where is the location of this?

[Ktulured55]

What project is that?

Is anything planed for the site now? The "3-story pavilion" site?




Where is the location of this?

According to an earlier post, the street on the right would be Calvert St (north/south) and the street on the left (east/west) would be Lombard st. There are building there now though so a lot of things would hvae to be relocated to do this. There is a CVS on the corner of lombard and light, and then water st cuts through the middle. There are some shops (Peter's bar, Cafe Gourmet) and office space above... but they are 'Original' Baltimore buildings probably built in the 20's/30's that are there now. So for this to happen, those businesses would have to move. This would be nice though as these buildings are all pretty short and are surrounded by taller (the meat of the baltimroe skyline) buildings. This would be GREAT for density and add more to the skyline. :) :) :)

[Ktulured55]

http://www.jeremai.com/non-site/2008-09_BOKA_Powell_10%20Inner_Harbor.jpg

i like this tower! it's definitely better than the other 2 versions. :notacrook: :notacrook:

i think i need to see it from an aerial view to really make a true determination...

This looks very nice (glass again, yay!). Looks to be about 700ft here. Very exciting!!!

I still don't really know where Westport is, I guess when the building finally starts to rise I will know where it is. What streets are around it?

[marcus]

According to an earlier post, the street on the right would be Calvert St (north/south) and the street on the left (east/west) would be Lombard st. There are building there now though so a lot of things would hvae to be relocated to do this. There is a CVS on the corner of lombard and light, and then water st cuts through the middle. There are some shops (Peter's bar, Cafe Gourmet) and office space above... but they are 'Original' Baltimore buildings probably built in the 20's/30's that are there now. So for this to happen, those businesses would have to move. This would be nice though as these buildings are all pretty short and are surrounded by taller (the meat of the baltimroe skyline) buildings. This would be GREAT for density and add more to the skyline. :) :) :)

The Location is Grade A. Love the idea of a tower there. However, the deisgn is just so underwhelming knowing the potenial the site has. The Design is unattractive and boring. I hope the design gets changed, i strongly dislike the facade (I don't really like new towers with that kind of color like 414 water tower)

[Ktulured55]

Well, it is much much taller than what it is replacing and that's an important part to me. Is it me or does emporis kind of suck? They don't even have the Marriot (our 5th tallest building) on their site and they took off all of the proposed buildings that used to be on there. Dissapointing.

I am going to try to put some pics up of construction of the LM Tower and 4 Seasons within the next couple of weeks (hopefully sooner) :D

[Ktulured55]

When I was on a lunch break last week I was wandering around Calvert St... I noticed that it looked like the beginning of a demo process of some old buildings and there were some 'workers' standing around a pickup truck in the small street next to the buildings so I asked the guy what they are demolishing for, "what are they going to build here?".
"They are going to be building a 20-story hotel here, but I don't know which one".

It is downtown right by the gallery but a block or 2 north where Water St. intersects with Calvert St. (on the east side of Calvert St.). I haven't heard anything about this yet so figured I'd put it on here!!!

[jonjj]

I am surprised that they are going ahead with the project but apparently they are. I spoke with a manager of the crew there and they said it was a go.
On another note, the lot was closed and digging and prepping have begun for the Fitzgerald on Mt. Royal by U of B.
Glad to see so much construction starting with the economy in the shape it is.

[Ktulured55]

Do you know what the hotel is supposed to be? Probably not too big of a name, the hotel will only be so big but stilll curios of what it will be....

-------------------------

Any news on 300 East Pratt or 1 Light St.?


Those little 5-story building right on President St (where it meets Lombard) are topped out at their 5th story, haha. At least it's better than what was there but they could have put something a bit heftier on that block :shrug:

[StevenW]

When I was on a lunch break last week I was wandering around Calvert St... I noticed that it looked like the beginning of a demo process of some old buildings and there were some 'workers' standing around a pickup truck in the small street next to the buildings so I asked the guy what they are demolishing for, "what are they going to build here?".
"They are going to be building a 20-story hotel here, but I don't know which one".

It is downtown right by the gallery but a block or 2 north where Water St. intersects with Calvert St. (on the east side of Calvert St.). I haven't heard anything about this yet so figured I'd put it on here!!!

Are you talking about Cityscape? It will consist of a 30 story tower and a 20 story tower. Hotel and residences.

[StevenW]

???
http://turtlecreekdevelopment.com/Turtle%20Creek%20Photos/cityscape.jpg

Is this it?
Cityscape.

[jason111]

so how are things downtown going?

[StevenW]

slow. harbor east is all the rage now.

[jonjj]

Design Selected for New University of Baltimore Law School
Published by Jeff under Mount Vernon, North Baltimore, Uncategorized

University of Baltimore officials have awarded a winning design in a competition for a new law school building that brought competitors from across the globe. The winners were German firm Behnisch Architekten in a joint venture with Baltimore-based Ayers, Saint, Gross Inc.

The prominent building site sits at the corner of Charles St. and Mt. Royal Ave, fully visible from the Jones Falls Expressway. Undoubtedly, UB is going for an iconic design for the new 100 million dollar plus building. The design is decidedly modern in contrast to mainly historic and contemporary buildings in the area, although not unlike the MICA Brown Center and the new MICA Gateway Building further up Mt. Royal Ave.

Since the preliminary design is the result of a competition that lasted a few months, one would expect the design to change through the process of full design. But from the looks of it, the new design will be bold, daring, and will hopefully add to the character of growing midtown Baltimore on what has been a sad empty parking lot.





http://www.baltimoregrows.com/

More information at the above source

[StevenW]

Latest "Westport" conceptual renderings:
:)
http://www.jeremai.com/Non-site/2008-11_Turner_Westport_1.jpg

http://www.jeremai.com/Non-site/2008-11_Turner_Westport_2.jpg

http://www.jeremai.com/Non-site/2008-11_Turner_Westport_3.jpg

http://www.jeremai.com/Non-site/2008-11_Turner_Westport_4.jpg

and...

http://www.cbre.com/NR/rdonlyres/B76AF16B-0176-4FCE-8E67-E3B0E177293C/662672/intro1.gif

a blown up rendering I found:

http://www.westportwaterfront.com/images/homepage.jpg

Keep in mind that these renderings are not final designs. They are purely conceptual.

:)

www.turnerdevelopment.com
and
www.westportwaterfront.com

[StevenW]

Design Selected for New University of Baltimore Law School
Published by Jeff under Mount Vernon, North Baltimore, Uncategorized

University of Baltimore officials have awarded a winning design in a competition for a new law school building that brought competitors from across the globe. The winners were German firm Behnisch Architekten in a joint venture with Baltimore-based Ayers, Saint, Gross Inc.

The prominent building site sits at the corner of Charles St. and Mt. Royal Ave, fully visible from the Jones Falls Expressway. Undoubtedly, UB is going for an iconic design for the new 100 million dollar plus building. The design is decidedly modern in contrast to mainly historic and contemporary buildings in the area, although not unlike the MICA Brown Center and the new MICA Gateway Building further up Mt. Royal Ave.

Since the preliminary design is the result of a competition that lasted a few months, one would expect the design to change through the process of full design. But from the looks of it, the new design will be bold, daring, and will hopefully add to the character of growing midtown Baltimore on what has been a sad empty parking lot.





http://www.baltimoregrows.com/

More information at the above source

And here is the "winning" design.:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399194.jpg

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399239.jpg

[StevenW]

And here are the "losing" entries:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399248.jpg
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399552.jpg
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399534.jpg

and...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399237.jpg

and...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399236.jpg

and...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-11/43399189.jpg

[jason111]

hopefully something gets built in that westport project

[Blind_Guardian]

Here are a couple shots I took of Harbor East the day before Thanksgiving while I was near the Light Street Pavilion. This was the best angle I could get with the time I had. It appears that the shorter tower (Legg Mason Tower) is progressing faster, with the cladding up about 10-12 floors. Four Seasons in the foreground...

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/4876/img1480xn6.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1205/img1484rz4.jpg

[jason111]

good pics good to see something moving in bmore

[marcus]

Arena proposal

http://assets.bizjournals.com/story_image/214988-0-0-2.jpg

:cheers:

[StevenW]

I wonder how this proposal will turn out? It's the Morris A. Mechanic mixed-use tower proposal.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2008-09/42311542.jpg

BTW, I love that SBER arena/hotel proposal.

[marcus]

^ hm interesting proposal. What do you think of the design? I think it could be better, but it puts the mechanic theater to shame. although it has always been a shameful disgrace of Concrete :D