Harbor Place: Get Out of the Way!

When it comes to the Rebirth of the Inner Harbor what two words automatically come to mind? Harbor Place right? Me too, when you think of the one thing that's draining vitality from the Inner Harbor 30 years later what two words come to mind? Harbor Place? Me too. What two words do you utter in disgust when you can't see the water from Office, Apartment, or Hotel Room when promised a view of the water? Well you get the idea. The question now becomes, how did the once World Class Shopping Venue that brought the Harbor back from a dead industrial port into the model for Tourist Related Waterfronts looking to redevelop become so problematic? The answer lies ahead.
Harbor Place set the bench in 1980 for a massive Inner Harbor Rebirth. Paired with the Harbor Promenade the tourist attractions began multiplying with the Science Center, the National Aquarium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, countless Hotels, the Convention Center, 1st Mariner Arena to name a few. Some of these attractions were built before Harbor Place but they gained more attention as the Harbor's pull put them on the map. The Activity at the Harbor was a huge success and Restaurant Owners in nearby Little Italy who were initially afraid they'd lose business were ecstatic when their business boomed post Harbor Place. With the Inner Harbor in the 1980s there was still the "Don't Make the Wrong Turn" worries but it didn't seem to deter Tourists.
On the Residential side Mayor William Donald Shaffer's Dollar Row House program in neighborhoods like Otterbein, Fells Point, Ridgley's Delight and Federal Hill made their popularity and home values soar. Since most of the Harbor was still an Industrial Wasteland the demand to redevelop was greater than ever. Inner Harbor East, Canton Crossing, The Crescent at Fells Point, Tide Point, Harbor Point, Harborview, Silo Point all have redrawn the landscape of the Harbor. So everything appears to be Hunk Dorry right?
Well, just like anything and everything in the urban planning field, there's a shelf life for developments or trends if you will. What worked astronomically well 30 years ago doesn't necessarily work today. Usually the catalyst ages the worst, it's surrounded by newer developments with constantly changing innovations in urban planning that weren't there 30 years ago. Also Downtown just kept expanding, all of those developments I mentioned and then some have wooed businesses both independent and national chains into their new development.
Inner Harbor East is much denser than Harbor Place, the traffic design is such that crossing major City Streets is not a life or death maneuver. The same can be said about developments along Key Highway. To get from the Harbor Place Promenade to pretty much anywhere else in the City ie the Hotels, you have to either cross Pratt St., President St., or Light St. if not all of them.Although very safe there have been a few instances of Crime occurring in the more resent summers that have had an impact on businesses in Harbor Place with Outdoor Seating. A greater Police presence can either make you feel safer or it can make you feel like you're in an area that's a known hot spot for crime. The Inner Harbor is not a crime hot spot when it comes to Baltimore Standards but for tourists who don't know about the rest of Baltimore and think that these few incidents are the norm and that the Harbor isn't safe.
All of these elements can hurt business in a Retail Complex such as Harbor Place, and it has. Every time I walk through it from the Sky Walk to the Promenade I see more and more shuttered businesses that moved to other locations. The fact that Harbor Place is often used as means to get across Town without crossing streets makes it appear more crowded but the people aren't always shopping or eating there. As more and more new developments feature Sky Scrapers; the views of the Harbor become obstructed and the Harbor itself is why Baltimore is what it is.
So how do we fix this? The City has requested for proposals to redevelop Pratt St. which has become absurdly wide and congested and has lost its role as the City's Show Case Street. Plans for redevelopment on Pratt St. have included widening the road for two way traffic, adding more Retail, narrowing the road, adding the Red Line, and subtracting Retail. Obviously these plans differ greatly in their goals but Pratt St needs to be redeveloped in order to save or not save Harbor Place. I favor narrowing Pratt St. and putting the Red Line at Surface Level to Show Case a burgoening Rail Transit System for the Baltimore Region.I choose not saving Harbor Place, it obstructs the view of the Harbor while traveling on both Pratt St. and Light St. and its storefronts face the back of the road or the front of the Promenade. Harbor Place is simply in the way. It has enough vacancies to warrant redevelopment and something will have to be done as part of the Master Plan for Pratt St. There are enough open spaces for Retail in other parts of Downtown, mainly the Westside for existing Retailers in Harbor Place.
Now what should in its place? Nothing. Sometimes less is more and with less buildings in the way the more opportunity there is to just sit back and enjoy the view of the Harbor. So get out of the Harbor Place.

Bond St. Wharf: How Did We Miss This One?

Fells Point has a lot of developmental firsts when it comes to Baltimore. It was among the first three settlements of the original Baltimoretown, Some of Baltimore's first industrial ventures have roots in Fells Point, some of Baltimore's first homes are in Fells Point, Fells Point was the first neighborhood to successfully stop a freeway from killing, and along with Otterbein and Federal Hill it was the first to see a rebirth through getting people back in its old row houses. It should have then been the first neighborhood to be built out through redevelopment of its old industrial waterfront then too right? Wrong! Bond St. Wharf remains vacant How did this happen? I will try to answer this and provide what the future looks like when Fells Point does become built out.
Fells Point grew rapidly as Baltimore's best shipping enclave. It featured the winning combination of the Bond St. Wharf, Henderson's Wharf, and the Broadway Pier. In the early days this served as 1st Class Docks for importing and exporting goods and services not just in and out of Baltimore, but the whole Country. Manufacturers began opening up factories that produced clothing and textiles throughout Fells Point to be near the Docks for easy shipping. Fells Point itself was home to a diverse ethnic Population with immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, The Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Ireland, Germany, and Italy filling the streets. As technology became more sophisticated, Fells Point was still an industrial magnet as Allied Signal Chemical bought up the entire Bond St. Wharf for its Warehouses and Shipping Docks.
Like the plight of all Industrial Cities, Fells Point suffered a major setback after World War II when the nature of industry and manufacturing fell victim to technology. Why a victim to technology you say? Well, it's responsible for the collapse of the American Workforce as we once knew it, factories that once employed thousands began massive layoffs which continue to this day. As unemployment in Fells Point grew, its population shrank as families sought employment elsewhere. Industrial Fells Point may have fallen but residential Fells Point retained its quaint old world charm despite a population loss.
1980 began a new day for Fells Point and the Baltimore Waterfront as a whole. The opening of Harbor Place marked the birth of the Inner Harbor as a World Class Tourist Attraction. Nearby neighborhoods like Fells Point sought to regain population due to its proximity to the Harbor. City Dwellers new and old were attracted to the quaint old world charm in Fells Point and the old row homes began filling up with a population that was wealthier than its working class predecessors. Fells Point however, was in grave danger of falling victim to the interstate revolt, Canton too for that matter. I-83, was not supposed to stop at Fayette St., it was supposed to continue through Fells Point along Aliceanna Street's alignment and then through Canton along Boston Street's current alignment (sounds like the Red Line 4C) meeting I-95 by going across the Harbor. This would have had a devastating effect. Enter Senator Barb (she wasn't a Senator at the time) who was the driving force behind the Freeway and launched her Political Career into high speed earning her her title "Senator Barb." I-83's southern terminus remains at Fayette St. and will not extend further south.
Now comes the redevelopment of old industrial Baltimore. Can you say Mixed Use Residential/Retail/Office/Hotel and everything in between? First came the Harborview High Rise along Key Highway which was supposed to be nothing but high rises but the plans were changed to add a mix of residences. Then came Inner Harbor East located south of Little Italy. Then Came Canton Crossing and Henderson's Wharf in Fells Point. Now anything near Water is gold it goes as far as Brewers Hill and Locust Point. It doesn't have to be the Inner Harbor anymore. The Middle Branch will see new life as Westport, Cherry Hill, and "Gateway South" along Russell St. redevelop their Waterfronts. Port Covington is also being eyed. So does that mean the Inner Harbor is completely built out? Not quite, a pivotal part of the Inner Harbor Waterfront in Fells Point has seemingly been forgotten; the Bond St. Wharf, the former Allied Signal Chemical Site. How did we miss it?
The truth is, we didn't miss it and never did. Allied Signal closed their plant in 1985, 5 years after the opening of Harbor Place leaving it as a long time hold out in the once proud industrial Baltimore. In 1989 4 years after the plant's closure the site, was deemed contaminated and not fit for development. Allied Signal reached a deal with the State of Maryland to conduct a 20 year $61 Million site cleanup and remediation to clean up the site and the water that borders it. So, if the clean up started in 1989 that would mean the completion of the clean up of it did indeed take 20 years wasn't completed until 2009. Now, the State of Maryland wouldn't have bothered having Allied Signal undertake such a massive effort if they didn't think Bond St. Wharf wasn't a great redevelopment site. So we've come to the conclusion that the Bond St. Wharf was a worthy contender for redevelopment since 1989 at the latest.
Since then, redevelopment efforts in less contaminated sites along the Harbor took place, are currently taking place, or will be taking place. These stories dominated the head lines of our local and sometimes national newspapers but the Bond St. Wharf Cleanup did not. This led to the conclusion that the site was not a contender for redevelopment, guess what! It was and is. So now that we've established that the Bond St. Wharf is ready for redevelopment in 2010 and beyond the question one might ask his or herself is who's going to build it and what are they going to build?Look no further than Inner Harbor East for the Developers. H&S Bakery and Streuver Brothers Eccles and Rouse have teamed up once again to bring you "Harbor Point.", the renamed Bond St. Wharf. This is not to be confused with Harbour Point, a town home development currently under construction in Locust Point. Now what does this Dynamic Duo of local Developers have in store for Harbor Point? Well, it will be a seamless transition from Inner Harbor East. It's set to include Retail, Reidences, Offices, a Hotel, and Cultural Space and Open Space. It's not clear what the Cultural Space is planned to be, whether it's a Museum or a Concert Hall but the Developers are comparing with the Opera House in Sydney, Australia. Of the 27 acre site 11 acres will be preserved for Open Space and an expansion of the Inner Harbor Promenade.
Now for the question that the title of this post asks; Bond St. Wharf How Did We Miss This One? We didn't it just looks like we did.

Fancy Some Redevelopment?

All Maps from Google Earth
All Photos Taken By Me

As of the 2000 Census, there were 15,000 vacant homes in the City of Baltimore. That number has gone down in the past 10 years and I'm curious to see what the 2010 census has to say in a few months. Needless to say there are still sections of the City that are all but deserted. Those selected areas can't make a comeback with their current housing stock. The houses are either obsolete or are two much of a hazard to try to rehab. It's at this point where these large sections of certain City Neighborhoods have to hit the wrecking ball. There is a pent up demand for new housing in the City, in some of the very neighborhoods where large portions need redevelopment also play host to a few blocks of new housing. Most of these homes were built in mid to late '90s through the earlier part of the past decade. These new homes are in perfect condition in neighborhoods that are in bad shape otherwise. Here are the selections of neighborhoods I have chosen for redevelopment.Park Heights-although there has been a major redevelopment initiatives for this neighborhood it still needs to be addressed. Most of these homes are below Woodland Avenue and west of Pall Mall Road.

New homes should be as narrow as their predessors but should contain modern amenities. One car garages in the first floor, the elimination of formal Dining Rooms in favor of large eat in Kitchens with walk in pantries, and a Master Suite with Walk in Closets and a "Superbath." These homes would be either three or four stories depending on the number of bedrooms and will be for a mix of incomes. The "affordable" houses might not have all the amenities as a market rate house. The Owenership/Rental Ratio will be 70/30.Franklin Square/Poppleton-The eastern edge of Poppleton that abuts to MLK Boulevard has enjoyed a revival first with the demolition of Lexington Terrace and their

The "Townes at the Terraces" Replacement and now the UMB Biotech Park.However, these success stories have not resulted in a turn around of West Poppleton and still further west, Franklin Square. Within the redevelopment of Poppleton, its other public housing development Poe Homes will be redeveloped, however, the "Poe House" and its row will not be. The nothern and eastern edge of the redevelopment site will be high density apartments/condos.The southern and western edges will be row homes like I described in the Park Heights Redvelopment Plan. Franklin Square is named after its lovely Public Square. Poppleton currently lacks one as part of its redevelopment a block in Poppleton will be spared as a public sqaure. The Ownership Rental Ratio will be 55/45.
Harlem Park-Just like Poppleton the eastern edge of Harlem Park is the healthiest. This can easily be attributed to it bordering Heritage Crossing, the highly sucessful although suburban redvelopment of Murphy Homes. As you can tell from the map there are plenty of vacant lots but Harlem Park's vacant housing count was 40% in 2000 so add that to the vacant lots, it's clear that redevelopment is needed here.I also don't believe Harlem Park gained population in the past 10 years, I believe it continued to lose population. Below Harlem Avenue the new housing will be Apartments/Condos while above Harlem Avenue it will be row homes. The row homes they're replacing are larger and wider than your average Baltimore Row Home and should be redeveloped as such. These will have 2 car garages, a large eat in Kitchen AND a formal Dining Room and downstairs Den or extra Bedroom with either a full or half bath. Also like Poppleton the Owner/Rental Ratio will be 55/45.Sandtown Winchester- Sandtown was given a great gift in the Schmoke Adminstration. The Non Profit "Enterprise Foundation" redeveloped and rehabbed hundreds of homes here for below market rate home ownership.The blocks with new housing have remained a huge success. Of course not this is only a small part of Sandtown mainly the southern and eastern edges. Gentrificaton has not come to the northern and western parts of Sandtown and I know why.

Smack dab in the middle of Sandtown is Gilmor Homes. Gilmor Homes is a low rise public housing development where there have been talks to demolish them in the past but I haven't heard anything of the sort lately. My redevelopment plan includes Gilmor Homes and the western and northern edges of the neighborhood.

Along Fulton and Monroe Sts. will be higher density Apartments/Condos to encourage TOD in the Rosemont Industrial Ruins. The Central part of Sandtown will be narrow row homes with modern amenities. The Owner/Rental Ratio will be 65/35 with an emphasis on affordable owner occupied housing.
Upton-Lucklily the Marble Hill District is located on the eastern edge of the Community because the western edge needs the most redevelopment. The homes on the western edge that warrants robust redevelopment aren't as large or as elegant as those in the Marble Hill District. These homes are also located just across Fremont Avenue from all the successfully redeveloped area of Sandtown.In theory, a redeveloped West Upton can in fact work. It's also located next to Heritage Crossing, also successful would be a boost to any redevelopment of Upton. New development, like the old will be smaller row homes except for the Upton Courts Apartment Complex. Home Owner/Rental Ratio would be 45/55 with an emphasis on affordable housing. McCulloh Homes-If you've followed me on my journey known as this blog you will see that I've gone back and forth on what the future should be for McCulloh Homes. If it's in this post that means it should be redeveloped. The "Senior and Handicap" High Rises will stay but the rest would go. At first when the State Center was up for redevelopment, McCulloh Homes was included, however, residents fought against it and won.

That was several years ago. Today, McCulloh Homes appear less and less occupied. I attended a meeting discussing TOD projects, one of those discussed was State Center and I asked why McCulloh Homes was taken off given that their population seemed to draining out. I was told that McCulloh Homes was under massive renovation and that explains the low occupancy. When was the last time the City renovated a public housing complex? I can't remember either. The City's standard protocol has been demolition, I believe the City is draining out McCulloh Homes in secret for redevelopment. Reservoir Hill-The rebirth of Reservoir Hill has been a tremendous grassroots effort that's still going on today. There are still areas that need work and there is new development planned to overlook Druid Hill Park.

What I'm proposing to have redeveloped is the blighted Madison Park North Apartments along North Avenue and a critical central block that cuts through the spine of the neighborhood. Once redeveloped Bolton Hill and Reservoir Hill won't seem like they're worlds apart because of North Avenue. New homes will be large with 2 car garages, formal dining rooms, and a downstairs 4thor 5th bedroom and full bath. This will be 100% Home Ownership.
Johnston Square and Oliver-Both these neighborhoods are eagerly waiting true renewal. There have been a few new town homes scattered throughout which have been an invaluable asset to the Community showing that they can in fact co exist with their surrounding blight while still looking immaculate. Homes here are small and with the exception of a few apartment complexes are mostly row homes.

New Apartments/Condos will be at the western border of Johnston Square so if and when the JFX is torn down, it will be a seemless transition from Mount Vernon on the west. The new town homes will be in the rest of the redevelopment zone in east Johnston Sqaure and Oliver. They will be smaller, like their predecessors with a 1 car garage and no formal dining room. Broadway East-Now that Middle East is being engulfed by the Hopkins Biotech Park and several public housing projects have been demolished, Broadway East just might hold the title of the worst neighborhood in East Baltimore. With a vacancy rate of 30% redevelopment won't be very hard. This neighborhood has an unrecognized catalyst for growth that needs to be utilized to its full advantage; Transit!

This neighborhood can be one of Baltimore's best Transit Hubs if done correctly. First the East Baltimore MARC Station to be built is not far, Second my personal Red Line plan has the one the Red Line "branches" going through Orangeville, and on the western edge the Green Line expansion to Morgan and hopefully points northeast thereof. New development closest to Broadway and the MARC Tracks will be High Density TOD Apartments/Condos with ground floor Retail while parts of the area further away will be town homes.
Pulaski Highway-Pulaski Highway in Baltimore is too much of well, a Highway. Because of that, its surroundings suffer and have become outdated. Pulaski Highway could be considered East Baltimore's "Road to Nowhere" except for the small detail that it does in fact go somewhere. In order to make Pulaski Highway function its interchanges with streets like Erdman Avenue and Moravia Road. Those should be made into regular signalized intersections and I've stated that I-895 should not extend that far in previous posts. Once Pulaski Highway is turned into an urban street like say Eastern Avenue, it can redevelop and function with the rest of the City.
Orangeville-Three letters for Orangeville's Future! TOD. This is the proposed location for the East Baltimore MARC Station and will eventually give wealthy Inner Harbor East Dwellers a run for their money. Currently an aging 20th Industrial Wasteland, there are a few homes here. Gone with the dated industry and in with the high density mixed use residential /retail/office/hotel that comes with upscale urban TOD. Orangeville should put Baltimore on the map with transit savvy Cities like Portland,OR or San Francisco.
Highlandtown Loft District-I saw drawrings for this and I must say I'm very impressed. The reuse of the long anbandoned Cork Factory and the Red Line Stop will close the gap that seperates Highlandtown from Greektown.

There's a little known neighborhood known as Kresson which is the old industrial buildings in between Highlandtown and Greektown with a few lonely row homes. This is what can be known as the next Station North and bring new residents into Southeast Baltimore. Highlandtown, your time has gone.
Eastern JFX-This is prime Real Estate. Demolish the JFX and Baltimore has expanded its Downtown. The Parking lots known as Penn Fallsway, The Prisons,(yes the prisons),

and Old Town Mall will all be converted into Sky Scrapers that range from residential, hotel, commercial, and retail. Further east will be town homes particularly where Douglass Homes, LaTrobe Homes and the already demolished Somerset Homes are. The only thing left in this zone will Monument House. Downtown and Johns Hopkins Hospital finally meet.

Barclay/Midway/Coldstream-This North Central chunk of Baltimore Real Estate suffers from old tired housing that feels desolate at times.

Barclay, is perhaps the most viable but east of Calvert St. despite its proximity to Station North and Charles Village is struggling to come back in its current form. Developers know this and have begun envisioning a new redeveloped Barclay with a Public Square. East Baltimore Midway has been forgotten and neglected. Time does not heel all woonds with some blocks entirely vacant. Redeveloping East Baltimore Midway will be a task like that of Uplands only bigger. The entire East Baltimore Midway neighborhood will be demolished. Coldstream, the lower part of Coldtream Homestead Montebello will also be demolished and will help bring back the signifigance of Historic Homestead Village to the north.Across Loch Raven Boulevard in Better Waverly there's a Rental Town Home Complex that doesn't go along with the Single Family Home and Row House motif that works well with the rest of Better Waverly.

And now perhaps the biggest redevelopment effort needed in the City The Road to Nowhere I'll let my friend and fellow Baltimore Writer Peter Tocco take over from here http://www.baltimorphosis.com/. Now that's a lot of redevelopment!

Alameda Marketplace: Just Some Moderniazation

Not all retail in Baltimore is substandard to the surrounding neighborhood. The Alameda Marketplace plays host to neighborhood retail and does so as a good in between point from the Waverly Giant and Harford Road Safeway in North Baltimore. The only problem is the center looks very dated and may deter would be shoppers. All that's needed is some modernization.
As its stands now, the Shopping Center looks tired. The row house nearby neighborhoods, although most of them are very nice neighborhoods also look tired. Redevelopment in any of the neighborhoods nearby is not warranted. I'm hoping that a modernization of the Center will have a domino effect on surrounding neighborhoods where Residents and Landlords alike will aggressively revitalize the houses in the area.
Now what do I mean by modernization? Well, Just look at this picture of the newly redeveloped Owen Brown Village Center in Columbia shown above and compare it to any picture of the Alameda Market Place. Clearly Owen Brown Village Center has a much more modern and inviting appeal. Notice I said redeveloped for Owen Brown Village Center, that Center's lay out was obsolete so it warranted redevelopment. The layout for the Alameda Market Place is still viable so redevelopment is not warranted.
In addition to an exterior facade overhaul, interior renovations will take place in the Center's chain stores and possibly mom&pop retailers as well. The Center's Anchored by a Stop Shop & Save Grocery Store, usually associated with lower income urban areas. I say the Stop Shop & Save should renovate its Alameda Market Place Store to be on par with the Waverly Giant and Lauraville Safeway. The will be Stop Shop & Save's "flagship store" and will serve as a model for other Stop Shop & Saves to renovate towards. What's one thing that new Rite Aids have and as well their direct competitors? Drive Thru Pharmacies, The Rite Aid at Alameda Market Place will have to be renovated so once can be placed there. The Rent a Center, Goodwill Super Store, Rainbow, and Family Dollar will receive renovations to modernize and give them an upscale appearance. Samller Mom & Pop Retailers throughout the Center can create a "co-op" fund that they can use to pool together recourses to have all their stores renovated on the inside at a more reasonable price seeing as contractors give discounts for bigger jobs.
Well that's about it for the Alameda Market Place. Just Some Modernization is needed for this diamond in the rough then it will truly shine.

Orchard Ridge:Recession Proof

It's comforting to know that in the throws of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression there's still housing in Baltimore that's selling like Hot Cakes. What the secret? Well it's a no brainer, quality, safe, affordable housing, located near major highways for an easy commute. Good Affordable Housing is still an undeserved market in Baltimore. In addition to a great community when buying quality affordable housing there are a lot of additional tax credits or first time buyer credits to take advantage of. Now what is the name of this magical land in Baltimore that is supposedly recession proof? Orchard Ridge
Located along Erdman Avenue near Edison Highway, Moravia Road and Interstates 95 and 895 the location location location aspect is pretty firm. However, Orchard Ridge was not always a gleaming new development off 444 Apartments and Town Homes.Before Orchard Ridge, the site was occupied by two blighted public housing developments; Freedom Village and Claremont Homes. Combined the site played host to 752 units 600 in low rises and 152 in a high rise. Currently, part of Claremont Homes still stands with 292 units yet to be demolished. This far east corner of the City, just of Belair Edison hosted other public housing developments whose fate was met in entirely different fashions. First there was Hollander Ridge, which was the City's newest High Rise Complex opening in 1975, it also had the shortest life span having been imploded in 1996 in favor of Office/Industrial Flex Space. Armistead Gardens was and is a neighborhood of bungalows and duplexes. It was once public housing but the residents formed a co-op and bought the neighborhood from the City in the 1950s. Residents of Armistead Gardens have 99 year leases on their homes as part of the co-op.
Now back to the topic at hand. Freedom Village/Claremont became the only public housing development in the area. Although it had begun to suffer from urban decay and blight, it remained contained to itself. No matter, blighted public housing developments in this day and age are being torn down at an alarming rate in Baltimore, many with no plans to redevelop in the future. The Freedom Village/Claremont Homes site did have a plan to redevelop and it's being executed wonderfully.
Orchard Ridge, or the Townes at Orchard Ridge or the Residences at Orchard Ridge depending which section you're speaking of is a picture perfect mixed income community in the making. The first units went up for sale at a time when most developers nation wide were scaling back and or abandoning projects all together. The developers of Orchard Ridge knew the pent up demand for quality affordable housing wouldn't go away with the onset of a housing market fueled recession, if anything the demand will go up.
And so it came to be the recession proof town homes at Orchard Ridge began coming on the market as buildings were completed. They didn't stay on the market long what new home would with prices ranging from the $130s to the $270s? Civil Servants, Teachers, Fireman, Police Officers, Hospitality Workers instantly recognized the dream that slowly eroded America's Middle Class; Home Owenrship. Many people didn't wait until a home was complete to buy. Sections were sold out before the foundations were even poored. This once forgotten section on the eastern end of the City has become a hot bed for new Home Owners in an age of foreclosure and Orchard Ridge, hopefully is just the beginning.
Just south of Orchard Ridge lies Orangeville. Orangeville is an old industrial area that got lost in the post industrial area in the latter half of the 20th century. Its weaknesses can become its strengths, the MARC tracks that run through it can make for the location of an East Baltimore MARC Station, the Red Line will most likely have a stop here, and all the land banking here will make for upscale mixed use TOD. What does all this mean for Orchard Ridge? Orchard Ridge could in fact become linked to Orangeville thus ceasing its Status as a mixed income community. It will become so sought after that original buyers in Orchard Ridge can sell for up to three times what they paid for it ten years down the road.
For now, Orangeville is just a pipe dream and Orachard Ridge from formation in 2008 until its completion in late 2010 can marvel in the fect that it's completely recession proof.

Upper Floors Available

As Baltimore continues to redevelop its Downtown and Harbor the Buildings become mixed use. Some say mixed use is a new trend but I respectfully disagree, mixed use development has been the foundation of the American City since its inception. However, as new mixed use projects come down the pipeline, it's interesting to see that all floors are accounted for. This was the same in neighborhoods but today the upper floors in older retail neighborhood portions remain empty.
A quick definition or of density means growing up not out. That's why the suburbs are traditionally less dense than Cities. When Baltimore's Population peaked at 987,000 in the 1950s every nook and cranny of every building was filled and put to good use. Today, store fronts that have been vacant since the mass exodus to the suburbs are being back filled with ground floor retail. When ground floor retail returns there is often one or two floors in the building that are left vacant. In order for Baltimore to regain its population and vitality these upper floors must be filled. Here are some examples of such.Penn Station, Baltimore's spectacular Rail Travel Welcome Center has at least two vacant upper floors. Luckily, a small Boutique Style Hotel is planned to fill these long vacant floors. Talk about convenient.Hampden, this one's right on the Avenue! Want the hottest address in Hampden? Well whoever owns this building whose ground floor contains several trendy Boutiques can cash in by replacing the second floor windows with glass instead of bricks and turning them into apartments.Forest Park, although the retail that's here could stand to be more upscale, there are plenty of buildings like this along Liberty Heights Avenue with vacant second and or third floors. Some have a larger foot print like this while others are that of a Row House. Retail woes aside, the larger buildings' upper floors would be good for either more Retail or Offices while the Row Houses would be better suited for residences.Highlandtown, Eastern Avenue is the unofficial Main Street of Southeast Baltimore. Why not in the middle of it all? Liberty Income Tax made its sign friendly to Upper Floor Tenants while Security Loan & Jewelry has not. Eastern in Highlandtown has a lot of buildings like Security Loan & Jewelry and not enough like Liberty Income Tax. Hutzler's the Grand Dame Department Store! Other Downtown Department Stores have experienced rebirths as Apartments with fround floor retail and unerground parking. This building is large enough for an enclosed Big Box Mall and what I envision for all six or seven floors. Think Towson Circle which also happened to a Hutzlers. This one's too important to let go of.Coldstream Homestead Montebello, although I'd like to see most of this neighborhood redeveloped, here's an example of ground floor retail along Harford Road with a vacant second floor.Leington St., this picture shows an open business on the ground floor. Lexington St. struggles with keeping even the ground floors of its buildings occupied. However, this posts is about upper floors and most of its upper floors are good for Apartments and Offices.Jonestown, I'm having a hard time calling it Historic Jonestown because so much of it is brand new construction. Attman's Deli, a long time staple of East Lombard St. has had a vacant seond floor for quite some time. For Attman's, this will soon be a moot point because it's building a brand new store on the vacant lot next door. The existing building will be renovated and leased out, all floors! There are more buildings like this along Baltimore St.Pak Real Estate, these clusters of buildings' upper floors won't be hard to fill because their downstairs Neighbor is a Real Estate Office! This located in Station North at North Avenue and Maryland Avenue.Pigtown, along Washington Boulevard new businesses have been popping up over the past few years. This goes along with all the investment in this neighborhood including Camden Crossing. Pigtown is still one of those neighborhoods where the Corner Store reigns king. One aspect of the Corner Store is the Shopkeep living above it, this isn't the case in Pigtown.Parkway Theatre, located in the heart of Station North (Charles St. and North Avenue) this building's lone tenant is a lone New York Fried Chicken. The Station North Master Plan shows a robust rehab of the Parkway Theatre that doesn't include New York Fried Chicken. It does however, show all floors occupied.Reoccupying upper floors of existing buildings is an inexpensive way for Baltimore to regain population and ensure the first floor retail in those buildings maintain a healthy customer base. It's also a good way to keep the wheels in motion during the recession while large projects are on the back burner.

Remington Revisited

When I last discussed Remington I had laid out a Master Plan for the Community to add residents and keep streets safe. Since then, I have spoken with residents both in person and via email about what they want for Remington. It's in line with what I have laid out. They do not want extreme gentrification or redevelopment. Those wishes, even in this economy have proven to be a reality.
Now, that's residential Remington. A few blocks south lies intersections of 24th St, 25th St. Howard St, and Sisson St. This little commercial area lies within Remington's boundaries but isn't always associated with it. It can be called in addition to Remington, South Charles Village, Old Goucher, Charles North, and Station North. Now the name isn't important. What is important is what occupies and may eventually occupy it.
Currently it is occupied by two Car Dealerships and their Service Garages. One is a GM Dealership, the other a Honda Dealership. Both are owned by the same company known as Anderson Automotive. The GM Dealership has been forced to close due to GM's financial hardships. The Honda Dealership, which claims to get most of its business from the County, will move to Hunt Valley to be nearer to its customer base. They may leave a Garage in the City but even with that remaining there will still be a large vacant tract of land. Now, we all know Car Dealerships aren't the most attractive form of retail. Since Car Dealerships are hurting badly we can rest assure that new Dealerships won't be replacing the ones vacated by Anderson's.Surprisingly, in these struggling economic times we're facing, new development on the Anderson's Site might not be that far done the road. A developer wants to build a Lowes, Home Improvement Warehouse, a Grocery Store, and stores like Staples and Marshalls. They will be served by a large parking deck. On Maryland Avenue, there will be neighborhood retail with new homes over top. If all goes according to plan, this could be a reality by late 2011.
As with any big change it must be looked at very carefully and adjusted when deemed necessary. Like I said before, a parking deck will serve the needs of this new development and that's what will flank 24th St. west of Howard St. Lowes and the Grocery Store will back to 25th St. west of Howard. The front entrances will face the parking deck inward and faux windows will flank 25th St. so as not make the streetscape of 25th St. look like a slab of side walls. It appears that the Staples and Marshalls will be east of Howard St. on 24 th St. and west of Maryland Avenue with a surface lot behind it. I'm not sure if their front doors will face 24th St. or the parking lot. Speaking of Maryland Avenue, between 24th and 25th Sts will be neighborhood retail that will actually face the street. However, the houses built over top of them will not.

There appears to be a common theme here. With a few exceptions nothing seems to face the street rather it faces inward discouraging foot traffic and additional lighting that will warrant. Having grown up in Columbia I've seen what happens when Retail faces inward. Safety concerns rise and Business is lost due to lack of roadside visibility. Columbia has had to redevelop its older Village Centers and its newer ones learned their lesson and were built in an open design that faces the road thus making it safer. I don't believe that the faux windows proposed for the Lowes and Grocery Store on 25th St. will suffice. One big difference between Columbia's Village Centers and the development in Remington is that the Remington Development is still in the planning stages and these potential development errs can be fixed before a single brick is laid.

That being said lets those fix potential errs before they're made. The Solutions are all very simple, build things so that their front doors face the street and not their parking structure or lot. Istead of a wall of faux windows on 25th St. how about real windows and the front doors? Sure customers will have to walk a few extra steps from their cars but traditional urban retail always seems to prevail both in the City and in the Suburbs. On 24th St., it seems that with the naturak slope downward between 25th and 24th St. the parking deck will dominate the landscape. But what if part of the top level of the parking deck were put to good use? Remington, under this plan is having a lot of National Retailers shoved down its throat and it's always prided itself on home grown business. So, why not incorporate that into the design? I'm thinking on Weekends we use a section of the upper parking deck for a Farmers Market and a Seasonal Florist. This will help 24th st. appear more lively and will put a local stamp on what is currently nothing but chains. East of Howard St. on 24th st. I'm not sure if the Marshalls and Staples will face the street or the parking lot. If they don't, they need to. On Maryland Avenue, the neighborhood retail does face the street, lets keep it that way. The homes over top of the retail do not face the street, lets make it so they do. Howard St. above North Avenue (and below it) is a traffic nightmare. I don't know what can be done to fix this but I do think that as the Central Spine of this new development, it should receive streetscape enhancements like brick crosswalks, planted medians, upgraded bus shelters, new traffic signals with "countdown"pedestrian signals should be considered for all streets involved.
Now most of this post obviously focused on the Anderson redevelopment but not much on Residential Remington. One big reason is because Residential Remington is a grass roots effort that's growing very fast and healthy. I still have an idea or two up my sleeve. First off, Remington is surrounded by "famous neighborhoods" with attractions while Remington holds more of a "Best Kept Secret" Status. It has a great youth group, something other Baltimore Neighborhoods can take a cue from, and a very friendly diverse population. Baltimore, to outsiders isn't known as being a Friendly City but I haven't met a Remington Resident who isn't anything less than pleasant and welcoming. Charles Village has the Painted Ladies, Hampden has the 34th St. Lights and the Avenue, and Station North is burgeoning Arts & Entertainment District. What can give Remington its distinction? How about landscaping? Baltimore always prides itself on having the wackiest and tackiest decorations like the Painted Ladies in Charles Village and the 34th St. Lights in Hampden but no Neighorhood has come out with the wacky tacky front yards. It can range from shaped hedges, lawn gnomes, things spelled out in feritlizer anything your imgaination can dream up. That will put Remington on the map and give it a greater identity.
Since I last wrote about Remington, I laid out a Master Plan that appears to be well followed, now with the Anderson Automotive Redvelopment "fixed" and some wacky tacky lawns Revisting Remington was a great visit. I hope you'll have me back soon!

Belvedere Square: Anchoring the Govans Comunity

The York Road is just that, a route form Baltimore to York, PA. York Road didn't have as large a stretch that it does in Baltimore City today, during the the annexation of 1911 Baltimore's Northern Border was extended drastically. With it, that extention included the developing suburbs of Guilford, Homeland, Roland Park, and the developing farm villages of Govanstown and Waverly.
After annexation, Govanstown, which was eventually shortened to Govans experienced massive development into semi urban semi suburban neighborhood with a diverse mix of housing options. Buyers can choose from from the traditional urban row house or varying sizes of Single Family Homes. I would guess that the row homes came later as there was a push for more density in the annexed area.Unlike most of the City, the decades following World War II were much kinder to Govans. A Hoschild Kohn Department Store opened along York Road along with a Hess Shoe Store in addition to neighborhood retail. Movie Houses began popping up as well, the Senator until very recently remained in operation. Displaced White Residents by blockbusting found solace in Govans as it was just like a suburb, it just happened to still be in the City.The 1970s saw racial change for Govans. It still had a strong White Population suggesting the racial turnover was peaceful and dare I say welcomed? The 1980s saw a continuing racial change for Govans but at a much slower space. Department Stores that were local and/or not part of an enclosed Shopping Mall were closing all over. Hoschild Kohn as a chain was in financial trouble, one of the Stores closed was their Govans location. The chain eventually went belly up.
This was supposed to be the beginning of the end for Govans but it wasn't. Most neighborhoods further south on York Road had experienced urban decline except for Waverly which still played host to the Orioles at Memorial Stadium. It was at this time that Developers and Community Leaders alike wanted a new concept for the Govans Community involving Retail. It was to be located at York Road and Northern Parkway.
Belvedere Square opened in 1986 to positive reviews and for the next 10-12 years worked as both a retail Mecca and a Community Gathering Spot bridging the Gap formed by York Road. Its East and West neighborhoods had kept to themselves before the opening of Belvedere Square. The late 1990s Belvedere Square's day in the sun had faded. Storefronts had been turning up vacant and shoppers didn't congregate here as they had been.
Although Belvedere Square wasn't very old and/or historically signifigant, Communities both east and west of York Road wanted to see Belvedere Square back filled with new tenants and for it to continue to act as a gathering place. The desire for a resurgance of Belvedere Square caught the attention of bigwig Baltimore Developer Struever Brothers Eccles and Rouse. Manekin LLC , Belvedere Square's management teamed up with Struever Brothers and William Jackson Ewing Inc, to redevelop the center as a largely Open Air Market with Boutique Shops and Offices on the second floor.
In 2003 Belvedere Square reopened anchored by the Belvedere Market and Deadalus Books. York Road's corwn and jewel is shining once again and all parties couldn't be happier. Belevedere Square year round is bustling with shoppers looking for fresh produce at the Market, a good deal at Tuesday Morning, or a good book at Deadalus. The Govans Community has been able to hold its own through the rough days of Belvedere Square and has come out even stronger once it reopened.
One can only wonder if the friendly nature of the Govans Community (It has raised enough money to save the Senator Theatre) would have gobe into decline without the Belvedere Square Anchor. Luckily all we can do is wonder because Belvedere Square doesn't seem to be hitting any rough spots even in this shaky economy and Govans remains a strong hold for Baltimore residents seeking a safe diverse middle class neighborhood.

Northwood Plaza: Slam Dunk!

Northwood Plaza, sadly is now known as the place where City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. was gunned down outside of the New Haven Jazz Club in the early morning hours in 2008. Now, the one would think that residents would demand that New Haven Jazz Club be shut down immediately. Ironically, that's the one business that residents envision staying at Northwood Plaza after redevelopment. The New Haven Jazz Club is throw back to when Jazz Clubs were a dime a dozen. I'm sure as Pennsylvania Avenue redevelops and tries to attract new businesses they would love to have several Jazz Clubs like New Haven.
Northwood Plaza was completed in the late 1930s by the Roland Park Company, the Builder responsible for what is now known as Original Northwood. Obviously Roland Park was built by its namesake Company along with its neighbors to the West of Greenmont Avenue/York Road. Northwood Plaza represented, at least in Retail Trends a move towards suburbanization. A Hechts branch opened there along with two Grocery Stores and the Northwood Movie House. Opening a Department Store in what was thought of Suburbia was a radical move back then. Not surprisingly, the Shopping Center was segregated despite having the City's first Black Suburb; Morgan Park located nearby to the east. Northwood Plaza's popularity continued to grow as Northern and Northeast Baltimore became built out. It is unclear when the New Haven Jazz Club Opened but it has been there for several decades.
The Social unrest of the 1960s was not kind to Northwood Plaza. Its tenants including the Hechts Department Store were subject to non violent protests such as sit ins by Blacks and Progressive Whites pushing for integration. Civil Rights legislation that forced integration in all public venues including Northwood Shopping Center by the late 1960s. Unlike other parts of Baltimore, Northwood Shopping Center was relatively unscathed by the MLK riots in early April 1968 following his assassination. The neighborhoods surounding Northwood Plaza was still White. The rioting trends in Baltimore ironically, occurred alomost exclusively in Black Neighborhoods.
The 1970s bgean Northwood Plaza's slow decline. The surrouning neighborhoods however, remained a draw for Inner City residents looking to escape racial turnover. Department Stores, began popping up in enclosed Shopping Malls rather than Strip Shopping Centers. Hechts began competing with its own branches in what would eventually become Towson Town Centre and Golden Ring Mall. Needless to say these locations were more profitable than that of Northwood Plaza. Hechts closed. Efforts to find another Department Store for the Space proved unsuccessful as other area Department Store changes were looking to expand "further out" rather than open another City Branch. Other tenants such as the Northwood Theatre followed suit.
Small racial turnover in nearby neighborhoods began in the 1970s but it became more widespread and recognized in the 1980s. Hillen and New Northwood became majority Black while turnover in Ednor Gardens remained majority White. To the east, Greater Lauraville remained completely White. Although, this beginning trend of a Black presence proved to be no Danger as crime did not increase, White Shoppers began favoring other newer Shopping Centers.
For a small time the old Hechts Space was occupied by a Hechingers Home Improvement Store before the chain went belly up and on the Second Floor a Burlington Coat Factory. Burlington Coat Factory left Northwood Plaza not long after its first floor companion Hechingers leaving the old Hechts Space vacant once more.
Today, the Shopping Center has two different owners. A while back (I'm not sure of the dates) Morgan State University and its ever expanding Campus bought the vacant Hechts Building. Their intentions were and still are to redevelop it and put its School of Business and Hospitality there as well as possibly a Student Run Hotel. Once completed this will be a monumental move across Perrring Parkway/Hillen Road. It was supposed to be a full fledged Highway like the JFX known as the Perring Freeway. Perring Parkway now serves as a divider between the City's Northern and Northeastern sections. Limited development along the road and Mount Pleasant Park further create this portrait. I've always thought that Perring Parkway/Hillen Road should be redeveloped as an Urban Boulevard that bridges the gap between the two sections of the City and Morgan State University attempts to do just that.
The Retail Portion of Northwood Plaza is owned by the Schuster Family and up intil Harris's Murder in 2008 was self managed. Now Trout-Daniel & Associates has been put in charge of management, more importantly Security. Before Trout-Daniel & Associates signed on, local residents as well as Morgan State University Faculty and Students have blasted the lack of Security at the Center. It needs Security Guards to be present all through the night and into the early morning hours. The New Haven Lounge's late hours is cause alone for this heightened Security Measure.Stores at today's Northwood Plaza are down scale for the neighborhoods that surround them. They include; Shop Rite Supermarket, a Rent A Center, a Rite Aid, Sunny's Subs, a Beauty Supply Store, a Dominos Pizza, a Chinese Take Out Place, a McDonalds, a BP Gas Station, and the New Haven Lounge. Now, except for Lauraville, the Clientele living near Northwood Plaza (students included is majority Black) however, what doesn't make sense is how much money residents make versus the stores in Northwood Plaza. In Hillen the Average Median Income is almost $53,000 Ednor Gardens; $52,000, New Northwood; $31,000 Original, Northwood; $65,000 and Stonewood Pentwood Winston; $40,000 now what does this suggest? It suggests that neighborhoods near Northwood Plaza are strongly Middle to Upper Middle Class who don't fit the bill for the Retail there. These days College Students ie those of Morgan State have more disposable income than ever. The reason I can think of for Northwood Plaza's unaccommodating Retail Mix is that it's a majority Black area although their earning power is high which makes me use the phrase that put me under intense scrutiny; "Racist Retail."
Luckily, both the neighborhoods and Morgan State University are fighting back to lure upscale reatilers and redevelop Northwood Plaza. They've used the Services of the Neighborhood Design Center to brainstorm plans for both the University Section and the Retail Section. I've seen the plans and they're a slam dunk. It calls for a mixed use Residential with Ground Floor Retail and the School of Business and Hospitality to be incorporated together. Usually, with two separate owners, it's very hard to come up with a cohesive plan to make it look as one but they've been able to do it. Slam Dunk! http://www.ndc-md.org/html/documents/NorthwoodFinalDesigns.pdf here's a link to the plans for Northwood Plaza.
Now it's pretty well documented that Mogran State University wants to put its School of Business and Hospitality and possibly a Student Run Hotel. The plans suggest a Hilton Garden Inn but that was just for illustrative purposes. This will bridge the Hillen Road Gap Slam Dunk! Now, what about new Retail? The neighboring communities can support higher end Retail and it appears that two floors of housing above it are what the plans suggest. They want a Grocer and by its size (43,000 Square Feet) a Bloom or a Whole Foods fit the bill. I say in that space labeled "Grocery" we put a Barnes & Noble and put a much smaller Trader Joes in the Center. Trader Joes are only about 20,000 Square Feet and can easily be a medium sized tenant. Other suggestions could a Ritas or a Cold Stone Creamery, Peir 1 Imports, Chicos, a Dry Cleaners, an upscale Winery, and a few Sit Down Restaurants on the Caliber of a Pizzeria Unos, Bonefish, Applebys, or a Fridays, and of course teh New Haven Jazz Club. I higher end Grocers because Harford Road has a new Safeway and a CVS and in Waverly there's a new Giant. These merchants would certainly be a Slam Dunk!
Now, all this activity at Northwood Plaza and Morgan State University should catch the attention of the MTA. Buses overcrowd Hillen Road and back up traffic. The area is booming regardless of Northwood Plaza's current state. Yes, I'm talking about expanding the Green Line from Hopkins to Morgan State/Northwood Plaza. This has been overshadowed by the Red Line and the Charles St. Trolley but the time has come for a Green Line Expansion. It would go up Broadway to Harford Road to Hillen Road with stops at the new Biotech Park, Clifton Park/Coldstream Homestead Montebello and Morgan State/Northwood Plaza. This would end the Green Line for now. It was supposed to continue up Hillen Road/Perring Parkway but I'd rather see it travel under the denser Harford Road catching residents of Lauraville, Waltehrson, Hamilton, North Harford Road before going through Parkville Perry Hall and White Marsh. Slam Dunk!
Well, for a Shopping Center with two owners and different redevelopment plans it's very hard to come up with a cohesive plan to satisfy all parties but the Neighborhood Design Center did it this time Slam Dunk!

How Much Red Line Is Feasible?

The previous post was very dismissive of the Red Line favoring lines or portions of lines that were a lot easier and cheaper to build. Not only that, the lines are laid out properly and will get great ridership and decrease congestion in their respective areas. They also provide opportunity to expand those lines as redevelopment warrants it. One thing about Baltimore is that its north south corridors I've found to be more congested than the east west corridors.
Now, I'm very much in support of the Red Line but I want it done right. Option 4C does not fit my vision of the correct way to do it. The MTA wants to push the entire Line through the legislative process as quickly as possible to qualify for stimulus dollars to make it "shovel ready."
Transit, like any other project should be done very carefully and cost cutting measures are very detrimental to the final product. Now I pose the question which I will attempt to answer; How much Red Line is Feasible?
Now with every transit line, I believe we should start Downtown and go from there. Now I'm telling you right now that any Red Line that I think I deam "correct" will not pass by in its entirety but I've always said that the Red Line, just like all other transit lines should be built in stages.The Red Line Downtown is a joke, it goes along MLK Boulevard from the Road to Nowhere to Lombard St. with just a single stop at Saratoga St.
There are many missed opportunities here to aide in the redevelopment of the Westside of Downtown, the ever expanding UMB, and create a Lexington Market Hub. From the Road to Nowhere the Red Line will gradually descend in a southeast pattern until it meets Pratt St. at Camden Yards.Besides the Lexington Market Hub, there are other stops in my plan that aren't in 4C they include Seton Hill, the Western Edge of Charles Center, UMB/Westside, and Camden/Convention Center.
Once on Pratt St., the Red Line will go be surface level. Unlike Howard St. and Edmondson Avenue, Pratt St. is very wide and traffic will run more efficiently on a narrower street and what better way to showcase Baltimore's Mass Transit than on Pratt St. which is the crown and jewel of the Inner Harbor and the Baltimore Region as a whole.
It will be surface level with an Inner Harbor Stop at a redesigned Light St./Calvert St. intersection and a Pier Six Stop.
At President St. there will be an unbuilt transfer station where the Red Line will branch off into two. The branch is not in the first phase.

What is in the first phase is an Inner Harbor East Stop at Eastern Avenue and President St. I chose Eastern Avenue rather than Fleet St. because it will catch more riders from Little Italy, Perkins Homes, and Upper Fels Point which, if on Fleet St. may not travel the extra block. I also chose Eastern Avenue because surface transit on low density Boston St. is a joke. Canton won't even be in Phase I because Ed Hale's Canton Crossing's future is so uncertain.

Phase I will end at the Fels Point intersection of Eastern Avenue and Broadway one block above the Broadway Market.

Phase II or III will extend the line both east and west but it depends on one word MARC. If the redevlopment of the West Baltimore MARC Station and the creation of an East Baltimore MARC Station come first it will be Phase II if not, it will be Phase III.

Whatever Phase it will be will include the infamous Road to Nowhere from the Social Security Building to the West Baltimore MARC Station. Redeveloping the Road to Nowhere I'd like to see Peter Tocco's Baltimorphosis plan put into effect. Peter Tocco, like myself is a Baltimore Idea Man who resides in West Columbia. I have a link to his labor of love "Baltimorphosis" in my links field where you can see his ieda first hand. Gerry Neilly contributed a lot to Baltimorphosis as well.

The East Baltimore MARC Station located in Orangeville will open the door to massive TOD opportunities and a Red Line Station there is very much warranted. The Orangeville branch will use the President St. transer and that line will continue along Pratt St. through Albemarle Square and will have a stop serving the rapidly gentrifying Washington Hill and Butchers Hill. Then it will slope northeasterly above Patterson Park whose gentrification won't go above Fayette St. into McElderry Park. Hopefully a station here will jump start McElderry Park's gentrification. Lirbrary Square will also have a Red Line Station before ending at the East Baltimore MARC Station at Orangeville. This concludes this Phase whether it's Phase II or III I don't know.

The other Phase II or III depending on the development climate will be extending the Eastern Avenue Branch to Bayview. Highlandtown has some massive redevelopment coming down the pipeline starting with the abandoned factory on the Eastern End.

There will be a new loft district which will connect the neighborhood with Greektown. Obviously Highlandtown and Greektown will share a Station on the Red Line.

Canton will get its saving grace regardless of Canton Crossing with a stop at Eastern Avenue and Clinton St. It will have a shuttle bug with stops at Canton Crossing, Brewers Hill, and the Boston St. Safeway. This branch will end at Bayview.

Phase IV will be Edmondson Avenue. This is flawed because 4C has the Line going surface level along Edmondson Avenue disrupting the already busy street. I say wait until funding becomes available for tunnels under Edmondson Avenue.

Stations will include Edmondson Village (Allendale St.), Rognel Heights (Edmondson Shopping Village), and the new Uplands (Uplands Parkway) and ending at Hunting Ridge (Cooks Lane) concluding Phase IV.

Phase V will be the Orangeville branch making a sharp turn south crossing Bayview for another Red Line transfer Station. Then it will go down Dundalk Avenue to a redevloped O'Donnell Heights/Fort Holabird then meeting its ultimate final eastern terminus at the Industrial Dundalk Sparrows Point Waterfront. Redevelopment may not be far behind. That's Phase V.

Phase VI will be Cooks Lane to the Medicare/Medicaid Offices. Since 4C only allows for one tunnel under Cooks Lane it has to be shelved until funding becomes available for double tracking. Just one set of tracks will be very disruptive to the entire Red Line, it will fall like a row of Dominos. So, under Cooks Lane it will have a stop at the Ingelside Avenue/Forest Park Avenue and I-70 Park & Ride/Security Boulevard Intersection. Now it will travel along Security Boulevard where it will have stops at the Social Security Complex, Security Sqaure Mall, and Medicare/Medicaid Complex. That concludes Phase VI and the Red Line.

Now I can't provide a time line for the completion of all these phases because they depend on the funding of other projects and funding for itself. However, I think I've proposed a great and quality alternative to Option 4C where each Phase was calculated very carefully and added on when it was warranted. Right now Downtown and into Fels Point are the only parts of the Red Line that are needed and are currently feasible. Now that's how much Red Line is feasible.