The Middle East Preservation Zone

In the ever blurring line of gentrification between Patterson Park and Hopkins lies the southern edge of the Middle East Neighborhood. Middle East actually goes east, north, and northeast of Hopkins. The portions of Middle East most commonly discussed are those north and northeast of Hopkins. Why? Because they were the most blighted and abandoned and have been torn down in favor of the Hopkins Biotech Park and 1500 units of new mixed income housing. Now what's happening to the much less blighted portion of Middle East? Well, I for one am renaming it the "Middle East Preservation Zone."Now why would I take an area with blocks of homes like these and name it a preservation zone? Well, for the answer to that I take you to Butchers Hill, Highlandtown, Upper Patterson Park, and McElderry Park. All of these aforementioned neighborhoods are located between Pratt St. and Monument St. (except Highlandtown) and have similar stock of early 20th century row homes. Once more they were at one time in a blighted state with almost as many vacants as there were occupied homes. Some of these neighborhoods have been completely gentrified while others are well on their way with hardly any new housing.The City put out Master Plans that have called for massive redevelopment of these once blighted neighborhoods. However, something happened; something not done all that often in Baltimore's colorful history. Before the City and its team of developers could get their bulldozers ready the vacants began being bought up. Collectively, a huge group of homesteaders looking for affordability in the City set their sites on East Baltimore and began buying up Upper Patterson Park and headed west into McElderry Park. What's next? Well going in the direction of the Homesteaders I'd have to say the Middle East Preservation Zone.It's not easy to fathom but I project that in 5-10 years these homes will still be standing, be fully occupied, the streetscape will be greened. Why am I so confident? There's a pent up demand for affordable housing which has only become more urgent as the economy went south. Now the City doesn't have the time or resources to build that many new houses or rehab houses like these or such a large scale. However, you the consumer does. No I'm not saying you have the resources to buy up hundreds of vacants but you could have the ability to buy just one. There are hundreds of people who have the ability to buy just one vacant thus fueling the gentrification and re-population of the Middle East Preservation Zone as well as parts of McElderry Park that haven't had it yet.Now can the City do anything to speed up the process? Absolutely! Since everybody's (especially Banks) are exercising extreme caution when it comes to mortgages renovation loans; the City can offer homes for the purchase price of $1. I have advocated the return of this incentive that revived the neighborhoods near the Harbor for stagnant neighborhoods across the City and the Middle East Preservation Zone is no different. Looking at this two way street (McElderry St.) one can't help but notice how wide it is and how easy it can be to speed down. For a residential street like this high volumes of traffic should be discouraged from using them and diverted a block or two north to Monument and Madison Sts. Both McElderry and Jefferson Sts are too wide for their own good. Many gentrified neighborhoods have introduced angled parking in front of their homes and businesses. I think that introducing this concept to McElderry and Jefferson Sts will be a step in the right direction and making them "one way couplets" one westbound and the other eastbound will reintroduce these streets as residential streets and will make drivers slow down. Also as a "gift" to each new home owner buying into the Middle East Preservation Zone the City should plant a tree in front of their home to "green up" the neighborhood.Now there is a little room for redevelopment as there are some vacant lots where it appears entire rows of homes were demolished. Now I shift focus to two Community Anchors that I think should be redeveloped. The first is Northeast Market. Currently runs north south encompassing Chester St., Duncan St., McElderry St., and Monument St. Its Parking lot is east of Duncan St. I think the multiple entrances create a "lack of place" and make it a windowless bunker. I think it should be redeveloped with one big grand entrance on McElderry St. between Chester and Duncan St. the new Northeast Market will be two stories and the second story will cross Duncan St. and the Market will continue where its current parking lot is. A grand exit will be placed here. The new Market will be shallower and its new parking lot will be behind it on Chester St. stopping just short of Monument St.The next is Tench Tilghman Elementary/Middle and Recreation Center. The scrapped Library Square suggested building a new William Paca Elementary with a rooftop playground making for a 21st Century urban School. As I've advocated for new Schools by closing several old ones and opening a new one that serves the populations of several old Schools I had Tench Tilghman, Commodore John Rodgers, and William Paca Elementaries be located in the new William Paca Elementary in my Master Plan for City Schools. Since the plan to rebuild William Paca Elementary is history I think that Tench Tilghman should be the School that's rebuilt due to its central location in the area of the three School Districts. The new School, renamed McElderry Park Elementary/Middle will have space for 1250 Students and like the new Northeast Market, will have only McElderry Park frontage. Like the once proposed new William Paca Elementary will have a rooftop playground. The current playground (which is accessible via a sky walk over Patterson Park Ave) will be a block of new housing. Now for an area that is sure to repopulate itself it would seem that I'm asking the City to invest a lot into it. Well, some of goes along with other things I've proposed Citywide and I'm just applying them here. Also, when buying into a neighborhood, it gives residents peace of mind that the City cares about it and wants to see it make a comeback rather than seeing it crumble which has been the case in so many other neighborhoods. No, the Middle East Preservation Zone will rise again!

All Aboard the SoWeBo Trolley!

If you've been reading my past few posts they've been a part of a series of posts on SoWeBo. This is the last one of the series. Keep in mind as I ink this post all the other posts are meant to fit together like a puzzle.
With everything I proposed I thought that SoWeBo should get its own little mass transit line. Train tracks are a dime a dozen here. That's what would make this project as feasible as it is. In fact, the B&O Railroad's eastern terminus was at Camden Yards. It went westward along what's known today as Carroll Park and parallel to Wilkens Avenue.The SoWeBo Trolley would start at St. Agnes Hospital where I proposed a new Biotech Park across the street at the soon to be closed Cardinal Gibbons School. I would build a new Transit Hub here as this is on the MARC Penn Line and the proposed localized "Purple Line." This new Hub would serve the Violetville/Morrell Park Neighborhoods. Well we're on way aboard the SoWeBo trolley via the old B&O tracks. Our first stop is at Smallwood St. which will serve the Mill Hill and Carrollton Ridge Neighborhoods. As part of my St. Agnes Biotech Park these neighborhoods will undergo a massive transformation to repopulate these diamonds in the rough.
The next stop (Carey St.) will serve the Mount Clare/ Union Square Neighborhoods. I published two separate posts calling for massive reinvestment in each Community. Union Square has come a long way since its initial decline in the 1960s and I see it continuing to turn for the better. Its Public Square and the H.L. Menken House (pictured above) act as tourist attractions. Mount Clare needs a lot more assistance so I called for the American Reinvestment and Recovery to transform all vacants into livable homes once again.This was supposed to be the last stop but then I got an idea. More about that later. This stop will be at the Mount Clare Junction Shopping Center. Hopefully a transit stop will pump some new life into the struggling Shopping Center, whose Safeway Anchor just shut down. This will serve Pigtown, Hollins Market, and perhaps Ridgley's Delight east of MLK Boulevard.Speaking of MLK Boulevard, from Pratt St. to Mt&T Bank Stadium, I would extend the Trolley Line. This is where new tracks would be added seeing as the old B&O tracks have stopped. The Red Line is supposed to go along MLK Boulevard but I have always favored it going through the Westside of Downtown rather than just grazing it.Well here we are at Camden Yards, which has become a Transit Hub in its own right with both the MARC Camden Line and the Light Rail having stops here. The Yellow Line would also separate itself from the current Light Rail Line here in the 2002 Regional Rail Plan (I am favor of this) so I decided to put the SoWeBo Trolley's eastern end here. Why? Because it starts at a MARC track and ends another MARC track. Even though the two MARC lines that serve Baltimore cross in the Halethorpe Arbutus area there is no joint transfer stop. The SoWeBo Trolley attempts to remedy this by being a go between for the two MARC lines. Well that's it! End of the Line! This both concludes my post for the SoWeBo Trolley and my serious of posts regarding SoWeBo , marking the final piece of the puzzle. I hope you enjoyed reading about my SoWeBo plans as I much I did thinking them up and writing about them.

Southwestern High:TOD Galore!

You can see examples of this all over the City; Schools that have closed and ceased operations as a traditional Public Schools. Some have been reborn as "Smaller Learning Communities" while others have been transformed into some sort of Community Center. Most of these Schools have very small campuses so large redevelopment of a campus can rarely be discussed if one closes. My continuing focus on SoWeBo has taken me to Southwestern High. I have exhausted all avenues in seeing whether it's currently being used as either, if it's another School, it can easily be relocated to the under crowded Edmondson/Westside Campus just a mile or two northwest. Those of you who have taken the small journey down Font Hill Avenue from Fredrick Avenue know that the Southwestern High and surrounding undeveloped outback is huge. If you haven't taken said journey you'll be surprised at how much land is back there and how easy it is to pass it. If I weren't looking for Font Hill Avenue to take these pictures I'd just assume drive past it. As I keep going east towards Downtown and St. Agnes Hospital, I will cross over a little bridge that most pay little attention to. The bridge is the MARC Penn Line tracks going under Fredrick Avenue just past Southwestern High. See what I'm getting at?In the DC area complete Communities are built for the sole reason that they're on the metro line (TOD). In Baltimore there aren't enough rail lines yet for that be a demand yet. One way Baltimore can begin to be a better City in terms of Rail travel would be to adapt a concept in the 2002 Regional Rail Plan to "localize" the MARC lines in the City. The Purple Line would be on the tracks of the MARC Penn Line and the Orange Line on the Camden Line. St. Agnes Hospital and the Southwestern High Campus should be the first stop on the Purple Line. There's already a Master Plan in place for the West Baltimore MARC Station just a mile or two north. The concept of localizing the MARC lines hasn't been met with the best reviews. I embrace it with open arms for both its low cost and fast completion (don't have to add tracks just trains.)It's not hard to get the idea of this post. In fact, it can be summed up in just a few words; Redevelop Southwestern High and surrounding outback with mixed use TOD with retail lining Fredrick and Font Hill Avenues and right a passenger boards and gets off their train. This new stop that serves Fredrick Avenue and St. Agnes Hospital will not be a MARC Stop but a localized stop on the Purple Line which can be made a reality in the VERY short term. There that's it, it's that simple, a 25 year old who didn't major in Traffic Engineering or City Planning could have thought that up. As a matter of fact, one did; me! All this or can be done while the powers that be (who do have the above stated degrees) argue the finer points of the Red Line Baltimore can be well on its way to becoming a World Class Rail Transit City starting with Southwestern High.
The buck doesn't have to stop at Southwestern High, in fact I discourage it. The West Baltimore MARC redevelopment (pictured above) can move ahead without the Red Line. The Purple Line can continue eastward into the industrial ruins of Rosemont generating a Stop and TOD there. Past Penn Station it can stop at the East Baltimore Biotech Park without waiting for the Green Line expansion to Morgan. It will continue to an East Baltimore MARC Station yet to created in Orangeville and out of the City where TOD can occur in congested East Baltimore County Communities such as Rosedale, Rossville, and Perryville. Yes it's true that the Purple Line will be TOD Galore starting at Southwestern High and graduating Baltimore from a rail transit no man's land to thriving World Class Transit Hub. Full Speed Ahead!

Allendale East: More New Development on Edmondson Avenue

Whether anybody knows it or not, Edmondson Avenue is on the forefront of a major transformation with both Uplands and the West Baltimore MARC on the cusp of redevelopment. The problem is, if orchestrated wrong it will fail and if it was being done to my satisfaction would I be writing a post? I probably would but the fact of the matter is, there's a lot of potential I see in the Greater Edmondson Village/Rosemont neighborhoods from new housing and redevelopment to additional streetscape enhancements and everything in between.
As the new Uplands Community is built in the coming decade we have to look at Edmondson Village and see how it can turn around and be a sought after community just like Uplands. Now, what are the weaknesses of Edmondson Village? Lack of new housing, decaying Apartment Complex, housing stock on Edmondson Avenue gives poor reputation of the neighborhood, lack of sidewalks on Edmondson Avenue, the Red Line as proposed will increase traffic on Edmondson Avenue rather than relieve it, and a declining home ownership rate.Now I didn't mean to paint a completely bleak picture of Edmondson Village, as a matter fact the vast majority of its housing stock looks great. It is in danger of losing its appeal as more and more renters under slum lords continue to move in. That, according to the Edmondson Village Master Plan, is the number one concern of residents. Well Edmondson Village residents, I have the prescription to your neighborhood worries. Right now, driving through the neighborhood I see plenty of "For Sale" and "For Rent" suggesting a turbulent demographics shift. I say all those housing on the market be bought up by the City and sold back to perspective buyers for $1. The $1 Row House will come with strings attached; they invest at least $100,000 in their homes, and they (the owners) occupy them for a minimum of 7 years. This will restore the high home ownership rate in the Community. Next lets talk new housing or lack there of. I see a great parcel of land in the "Allendale" section of Edmondson Village. Dismantling the dated Edmondson Avenue/Hilton Parkway partial clover leaf will allow for additional space for new housing.
It will be located on the east side of Hilton St. below Edmondson Avenue. It will consist of town homes and a relocated Hilton Recreation Center with a 100% Home Ownership Rate and it will be called "Allendale East." Now the lingering problem of the row homes on Edmondson Avenue. The ones pictured above are among the healthiest to offer. Now the portion of the new Uplands that faces Edmondson Avenue will be higher density Apartments/Condos. I think the redevelopment of row homes into the same style Condos in Uplands will "keep the momentum of renewal" going into Edmondson Village and beyond.
These are the type of Apartment/Condo Buildings that would flock Edmondson Avenue from Uplands to the West Baltimore MARC Station. It features 48 units, underground parking, and four retail spaces on the ground floor. The higher density closer to the "Main St" goes along with common sense urban planning.Now Edmondson Village does have Apartments currently. They're located in the way back of the neighborhood at the intersection of Wildwood Parkway and Stokes Drive. They're known as Wildwood Gardens and their age and hard use have rendered them nonviable in today's market. Their location in the back of the neighborhood may also be a cause for concern. I think a redevelopment with town homes in their place would be the right way to go. I think after their demolition, Edmondson Village will be a much calmer neighborhood. The new town homes will be called "Leakin Village" and will offer picturesque views of Leakin Park and will be priced accordingly with a 100% Home Ownership Rate. The Median recently planted along Edmondson Avenue will symbolically represent the Red Line. It runs from Edmondson Village to the MARC Station above ground. The lush Community enhancement may become a thing of the past. With the Red Line set to be rammed down Edmondson Avenue the same way the Light Rail runs down Howard St. taking all medians and turn lanes in its path. Strangely enough, this is what the MTA thinks will turn around Edmondson Village when it in fact it will further contribute to its decline, case in point; Howard St. In order to make the Red Line work for everything west of the MARC Station it has to be tunneled and double tracked. Tunneled Light Rail is not much slower than Heavy Rail for the mere fact that it doesn't have vehicle traffic to get stuck in. When doubled tracked trains won't have to wait for each other on Cooks Lane where just a single track is proposed. I know it will cost a lot more but cutting corners on something like this has proven to be detrimental.As we look down the long and bumpy road to renewal known as Edmondson Avenue, I ask that you keep this post and these talking points in mind. Simply shoving a rail line down an already congested street will not solve the underlying Community problems. Examining Edmondson Village, which is at a teetering point right now and redeveloping and building new where needing and restoring Home Ownership will work wonders for the Community.

Mount Clare:Lets See Some Stimulus Dollars

The American Investment and Recovery Act. In these tough economic times it was and is today's version of the New Deal which made FDR one of the best Presidents on the Domestics. The American Investment and Recovery Act is set to create jobs for workers mostly in the Blue Collar sector as they will be charged with repairing America's aging Infrastructure. As of the writing of this post, I haven't heard of this Act being used to redo an entire a neighborhood. Well that's what I'm proposing for this post and as the title suggests, it's Mount Clare. So Mount Clare, Lets See Some Stimulus Dollars!Mount Clare has earned its page in Baltimore's and the American Railroad's History Books. Its location at the eastern terminus of the B&O Railroad has meant work for those who lived nearby for decades whether it be the maintenance of the tracks & cars, their expansion, or the loading and unloading of goods and services made Mount Clare a destination for anyone willing to work. The B&O's western terminus changed many times over but its eastern terminus will always be Mount Clare. Mount Clare's location has allowed for industry to pop up all around it for its proximity to the Railroad line. Yes, for Mount Clare it was the Great American Love Story known as Capitalism at its best.Like all love stories, a happy ending is hard to come by. When the love story in question is capitalism in post industrial America, it's down right impossible. The B&O Railroad, bought and sold several times rerouted its tracks away from Mount Clare, Industrial Jobs including those on the Railroad itself disappeared never to be seen again. Now did that leave Mount Clare? It left Mount Clare in the same place as all other urban rust belt neighborhoods across the Country. Mount Clare's population began to go down leaving home and businesses vacant and its infrastructure left to crumble.

The gentrification of the Inner Harbor didn't so much as graze Mount Clare. What it did bring was a new Shopping Center known as "Mount Clare Junction" that was integrated into the B&O Rail Museum. The Safeway anchor tenant just closed its doors, the Shopping Center has suffered from high vacancies and low attendance just like the neighborhood it serves. The Inner Harbor Gentrification has turned around Pigtown, Mount Clare's neighbor directly to the east. Sadly, the economy went bust just as there was a shred of hope that Pigtown's gentrification was traveling west to Mount Clare. With Pigtown, Hollins Market, and hopefully Mount Clare Junction's vacant Safeway (pictured above) will be backfilled with another Grocer.Now what makes me think that wanna be Harbor Dwellers would come to Mount Clare? Well take a look at this "Million Dollar" shot from Mount Clare that showcases Downtown. Yep, this picturesque view is afforded to Mount Clare residents past present, and future. Now, this view isn't secluded to Mount Clare exclusively. Other Communities with a great Downtown view have redeveloped with brand new housing. Is this what I want for Mount Clare? NoNow we come to the American Investment and Recovery Act and what it can do for Mount Clare. When you think of that act you would think that at best, it would repave the streets, re cement the sidewalks, restripe crosswalks and median strips, angled parking, more greenery, streetscape enhancements, new traffic signals and count down pedestrian signals, new street lights, and bus stops.But how does this help the housing stock? Directly, it doesn't. Indirectly, it could bring about some homesteaders but not enough. Now where does this leave the Housing Stock? The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act doesn't appear to do much if anything for housing. Now why is that? I don't know. Could additional funds diverted to Mount Clare via the American Investment and Recovery Act be beneficial to Mount Clare and Baltimore as a whole? Yes. What I'm proposing is for the feds to acquire all vacants in Mount Clare just like the O'Malley Administration's "Project 5000" Unlike to Dollar Row Home Program, these homes will be rehabbed BEFORE being sold rather than after. This is Reinvestment in America resulting in Recovery, the definition of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. So Mount Clare, Lets See Some Stimulus Dollars!

Could a Saint Agnes Biotech Park Revitalize Wilkens Avenue?

Well, it's official, Biotech Parks are taking Baltimore by storm. Well, actually there are only two, the first is the UMB Biotech Park in Poppleton and the 0ther being the Hopkins Biotech Park in Middle East. The latter is transforming the entire blighted East Baltimore Community into a sought after world class live/work neighborhood with 1500 units of new and rehabbed housing. Baltimore wants to be a world class leader in the Bio-Science field so why not build another Biotech Park? It can be an extension of a Hospital Campus and in a part of town where redevelopment would be very beneficial. Without further ado, I give the St. Agnes Biotech Park.
St. Agnes Hospital is just one of Baltimore's Hospitals leading the way in Medical Innovation. Its location at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Caton Avenue has allowed for numerous expansions of its medical campus. St. Agnes Hospital and the communities of Wilkens Avenue create the perfect setting for gentrification with a Biotech Park playing the role as catalyst.Now my proposed location for the Biotech Park is controversial to say the least. Just across Caton Avenue from the Hosital lies Cardinal Gibbons School. Cardinal Gibbons is slated for closure much to the chagrin of its students and alumni. Personally, I'm neutral to the fate of Cardinal Gibbons. However, if fate deals Cardinal Gibbons the hand of closure, I think its campus would make the perfect location for the St. Agnes Biotech Park. If Seton Keough High School (not pictured) were to close (I'm not condoning it) its campus could be an expansion of the Biotech Park. Seton Keough High is located adjacent to Cardinal Gibbons with Caton Avenue frontage rather than the Wilkens Avenue frontage of Cardinal Gibbons. The Biotech Park's borders would be I-95 to the south, Wilkens Avenue to the north, DeSoto Road to the east, and Caton Avenue to the west.Now, of Baltimore's two existing Biotech Parks one doesn't involve residential redevelopment and the other one does. Now, those of you who have read this blog for any length can guess what I have in mind for the surrounding neighborhoods of St. Agnes but for those of you who are first time readers I'll make it simple; I favor redevelopment of three pivotal neighborhoods along Wilkens Avenue. They are: Gwynns Falls, Mill Hill, and Carrollton Ridge. Although the Biotech Park is located south of Wilkens Avenue the neighborhoods slated for major redevelopment are mostly north of it.Now the Biotech Park itself is only Phase I of the whole plan. It can't all be done at once because the market needs to be absorb everything in a timely manner. The Biotech Park and the jobs created from it need to create a demand for better housing options near it for its employees, right now the demand for better housing isn't there which can be seen by the high levels of vacant housing. So Phase II involves new housing. All three neighborhoods will be redeveloped with high density Apartments and Condos along Wilkens Avenue and Fredrick Avenue. These will also go below Wilkens Avenue to overlook Carroll Park, which is a diamond in the rough. Gwynns Falls has a lot of undeveloped land perfect for new housing. Within the neighborhood it will be town homes. The vacant housing stock seems to be contained certain blocks making redevelopment easy. Most developed blocks in Gwynns Falls are very healthy so redevelopment would be quite rare.Mill Hill is the most complex of the three neighborhoods to be effected by the residential portion of the Biotech Park. Shown above is a row of mostly vacant homes that should be slated for redevelopment. But this block doesn't represent all of Mill Hill.This row of homes also located in Mill Hill is relatively healthy with just the two vacants. The vacants could be rehabbed by a developer and sold off or the City could acquire them and sell them as $1 row homes. Redevelopment is not needed.Here is a very healthy part of Mill Hill along Ashton St., blocks like this will remain largely untouched. Ashton St. could use a makeover into a one way eastbound street. This will allow for angled parking on both sides which, in my opinion adds a touch of class and elegance to a row house neighborhood. Finally in Mill Hill are vacant parcels just waiting for new housing. As a general rule of thumb, if it's not along Wilkens or Fredrick Avenue and doesn't have Carroll Park frontage, it will be built as town homes. Also in Mill Hill lies Phase III of the Biotech Park; Westside Shopping Center and Fredrick Avenue. As new residents start populating its surrounding Westside Shopping Center its tenant roster and perhaps its lay out will change to meet the demands of its new clientele. Fredrick Elementary will serve as a School for several Communities whose Schools will close. Fredrick Elementary/Middle will be rebuilt as a brand new State of the Art Facility that will serve in addition to its current population those currently attending Samuel F.B. Morse, Stuart Hill, and Sarah M. Roach Elementaries. Those three Schools will close and will be sold off for development.The last neighborhood along Wilkens Avenue to be redeveloped by the Biotech Park is Carrollton Ridge. Although it's the furthest from St. Agnes and the proposed Biotech Park it will see the most change. Its housing stock is in dire need of intervention and I don't think very much of it can be saved.When driving through Carrollton Ridge, this sight: row of homes that are mostly vacant appear to be the majority rather than the minority like most others. It's because of this that Carrollton Ridge will be almost exclusively new housing. You know what they said before the economy went south; if you build it, they will come.This looks like it was a healthy vibrant block very recently. But if you look closely most of these homes are vacant. It appears the residents here fled very recently suggesting a draining population. Carrollton Ridge needs a lot of help and fast. This block might not have to hit the wrecking ball if these homes are bought and rehabbed right away.Now, there are very healthy parts of Carrollton Ridge and they will be preserved so they can become the majority once again. Well, I've wanted to do a Willkens Avenue Post for quite some time now but I couldn't think of a way to gentrify it because it currently appears to have gone stagnant. The beckoning call of the Biotech and the ever expanding St. Agnes Hospital paired together and going off of the success of the Hopkins Biotech Park gave me the perfect angle.