Reservoir Hill: Lets See Some Population Growth

I have a great fondness for Reservoir Hill so it gives me great pleasure when new Residents email me and write in the comments field that they have purchased their dream home in Reservoir Hill and have restored it to glorious perfection and that they have best Neighbors one could ask for. On the other hand, Reservoir Hill continues to lose population, is plagued with boarded up buildings, has trash strewn about the streets and alleys, and vacant overgrown lots. It appears that the grassroots efforts to revitalize Reservoir Hill don't make for a net population gain and on some streets are just a drop in the bucket in rehabbing the gems that are Reservoir Hill's housing stock. Fear not, I have some ideas that should pump up the volume on reinvestment in Reservoir Hill and finally give it some net population growth.

First off, in my research of Reservoir Hill I learned that something I thought needed to be done is actually being done; demolishing the crime infested Madison Park North Apartments is a done deal. I was going to suggest that the aging complex nicknamed "Murder Mall" hit the wrecking ball because it creates a barrier between Bolton Hill and Reservoir Hill. The draining out of this complex may be the reason as to why Reservoir Hill as a whole lost population. Given its close location to MICA it has been suggested that the vacant property be developed for use as Student Housing. MICA has not however given any interest in buying and developing the land. It is currently unclear what will go where Madison Park North is. Hopefully the synergy created by Station North on North Avenue across I-83 will make its way to the Bolton Hill Reservoir Hill area.

Next we go to the opposite end of Reservoir Hill to Druid Lake. This should be some of the sought after property in the City but it isn't and I can tell you why in three letters; HUD. Most of the undeveloped land HUD has a 99 year lease on which makes building upscale housing on it a no go (like the ill fated Vistas on the Lake.) They key to bringing in real population growth all around Reservoir Hill is large scale development and there's plenty of land with Druid Hill Park frontage that this can happen. What first has to happen though is HUD must give up its lease on that land which in its current only allows for Section 8 or public housing.

In its heyday, Reservoir Hill was home to lots of luxury Apartment and Condo buildings. Many of these buildings are still standing but are vacant or are otherwise in distressed condition. I think fully restoring these diamonds in the rough and re renting and sell them as the upscale gems they once were would help in bringing back the elegance and stateliness that Reservoir Hill has historically been known for. It appears that a lot of these smaller buildings were once used as group homes more recently but have been vacated and they are now boarded up and empty. Restoring these to their grandiose elegance will continue to attract more population to Reservoir Hill.

Last but not least we come to what dominates the landscape of Reservoir Hill; Row Homes. Row Homes are where the bulk of Reservoir Hill's new population comes from. There are a lot of row homes here that have been carefully and handsomely restored to their former grandeur. On the flip side there are plenty that are boarded up and have been for years. Row Homes in Reservoir Hill are very large and I think that's its hubris. The larger the home, the more expensive it is to restore it. I think that may have a lot to do with the fact that many of the Neighborhoods that have gentrified in Baltimore contain smaller "cookie cutter" row homes IE Fells Point, Canton, Patterson, Park, Federal Hill etc. Other Neighborhoods with larger row homes like Reservoir Hill haven't decayed like Reservoir Hill has IE Bolton Hill, Mount Vernon, and Charles Village. In order to restore some of the homes in Reservoir Hill, it may take a construction budget anywhere from $100k upwards of a quarter million dollars. Keep in mind that's only the construction budget, that doesn't include actually purchasing the home which could be another $100k. 

I have suggested bringing back the $1 row house program many times over and I think Reservoir Hill is the perfect place to do so. Given how expensive it will be to restore its housing stock to its former grandeur, I think it best for new Home Owners to dedicate all of their money towards construction. Remember these are large homes with lots of interior and exterior details so that doesn't come cheap. That being said, in order to buy a Reservoir Hill row home for $1 the buyer must qualify for at least a $100k mortgage loan to ensure that the construction is done. In some of the more dilapidated homes that loan amount might be bumped up to $200k because they would require more work. 

Reservoir Hill has been waiting to come back big for years now and there are new home owners moving in but there are certain things that are keeping a mass population spike such as Madison Park North and an excess of vacant Apartment Homes as well as views that aren't taken full advantage of. Once these problems are eradicated, Reservoir Hill will truly experience population growth.  

Redefining Downtown's Westside

For well over a decade, Baltimore has tried to reclaim the Westside of its Downtown as the Retail and Shopping Mecca it was before the flight to the suburbs. There has been some success in attracting Residents here as evidenced in the population growth in the 2010 census but Major Retailers have avoided the Westside of Downtown. That's not to say Retailers have avoided Baltimore all together, quite the contrary it's just been in other part of the City. I will attempt to explain why Baltimore has evolved and what that means for the Westside of Downtown.

The flight to the suburbs and the threat of integration killed Downtown's Westside no doubt about it. Lexington and Howard was the intersection to envy if you were a Baltimore Department Store as this was where their Flagship stores once stood. The original locations of Hutzlers, Hoschild Kohn, Hechts, and Stewarts flanked this proud intersection. Not far was Brager Gautmans, McCrorys, and many many more. As Baltimore began losing population to the suburbs and these Department Stores began opening branches in said suburbs, sales in their Downtown Stores plummeted and they began scaling back services like Personal Shoppers and Same Day Home Delivery. Also these "Grand Dame" locations were made smaller until finally closing all together.

Downtown before the fight to the suburbs had loosely defined boundaries; first there was the Westside which was the Retail and Shopping District, there was the Central Business District which is largely where it is today (Charles Center) and then there was the Harbor. The Harbor served as an Industrial Port for Shipping, Manufacturing of everything from textiles to cans and everything in between. 

In 1980 when Harbor Place opened the Inner Harbor was officially redefined. The once Industrial Port became a Retail and Recreationally oriented zone that began attracting the very Retailers that the Westside had lost and was trying to lure back. With the rebirth of the Inner Harbor Downtown began to expand itself including Neighborhoods Federal Hill, Fells Point, and Canton. These same Retailers began flocking to these Neighborhoods instead of the Westside. The opening of Inner Harbor and the future opening of Harbor Point will bring high end Retailers to these Neighborhoods as well. 

Now where does this leave the Westside? After all, its identity as a Baltimore's Retail and Shopping Destination has been taken from it by the Inner Harbor and its Neighborhoods. It's not like the Westside can swap identities with what the Harbor used to be; an Industrial Port because we have entered a service oriented economy instead of a manufacturing one. That still didn't answer the question of how to redefine the Westside. City Planners haven't gotten it through their heads that the Westside can't once again be a Shopping District and that the boundaries of Downtown have been altered. 

Despite not making much progress in the Retail department and there being trash on the streets as well as unmaintained roads and  sidewalks, the westside of Downtown has gained population. This gain in population can be attributed to Historic Retail Buildings being converted into Apartments and Condos like the old Hechts and Stewarts Buildings. 

I foresee the Westside of Downtown being converted into more of a Midtown District College Town like Bolton Hill, Mount Vernon, and Charles Village with convenience Retail, restaurants and pubs such as reopening the White Coffee Pot (pictured above). This should be relatively easy because there are lots of Colleges and Universities just a stone's throw away from Downtown's Westside. A big player to indicate activity in the Westside will be returning the entire Hutzler's Building to productive use. There are also Row House style Retail buildings that are vacant and would make great Residential conversions. Since they're quite narrow it might not be a bad idea to convert two into one to make them wide like those in the aforementioned communities.

 Although successful Residential conversions are what have made the Westside of Downtown gain population its most important show case will not be such. The main attraction to the Westside will continue to be Lexington Market. Lexington Market should be expanded to include healthier vendors and more upscale foods as well.

There's a project that's been shelved next to Lexington Market that I think should be brought back to light; The Residences at Lexington Market. This mixed income housing development will consist of two high rise Apartment Buildings, a Condo Building, and 23 Town Homes built atop the parking garage pictured above.

In addition to being a world class Public Market and new upscale Residences, Lexington Market must also be the area's number one Transit Center. I've said it before and I'll say it again; the Red Line must go through Downtown and not around it and Lexington Market is a crucial stop for it because both existing lines meet there and to make the area a transit hub, multiple lines be it rail or bus will have to stop there. I think that the Red Line has the potential of making Lexington Market a true gem.

In Downtown's Westside, despite the population gain, there appear to be signs of disinvestment. The roads are in terrible shape as are the sidewalks and lighting could be better. Charles St. in Mount Vernon just completed a very attractive streetscape project that I think will complement the Westside of Downtown very well. The project included newly paved roads, new sidewalks, cross walks, additional street lights, and new traffic lights (pictured below.) 

Now that Downtown's Retail and Shopping District has moved to Inner Harbor East and Harbor Point, we must now redefine the Westside of Downtown in order to breathe more new life into it. 

Greater Lauraville: I was Right

 In my travels and in my writings I make a very large effort not to gloat or be arrogant. However, back in 2009 I wrote a post about the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville and how their demographics appear to be changing and the response to that article was such that I had to duck and cover and go into the Witness Protection Program. You would have thought I was saying something bad about their Neighborhood. Changing demographics are not a bad thing on my part it was just an observation. Residents accused me of not knowing their Neighborhood and how dare I say such bad things without actually walking the streets and going inside businesses along Harford Road. Guess What? I have traveled Harford Road on foot and I have gone inside and walked the aisles of the Safeway and CVS just like commentators accused of not doing and that is how I have come to the conclusion that Greater Lauraville was and still is experiencing a change in demographics. My saving grace was to wait for the results of the 2010 census to see what the truth held; turns out I was right.

When I say Greater Lauraville has been undergoing changes I don't just mean an influx of Blacks and a reduction of Whites. I'm hesistant to say White Flight because I do know that Whites still move into the area as well. Other ways Greater Lauraville is changin is that it's emerging as a Restaurant District with new offerings, a vacant lot has been turned into a thriving Farmer's Market the labor of cleaning up that lot was a grassroots effort of Residents who volunteered their own time. Harford Road has welcomed a Safeway and a beautiful new landscaped median. Although the number of Whites has decreased many Neighborhoods in the area  have experienced net gains in population; something that an area of Baltimore should be VERY proud of considering how many Residents the City as a whole loses.

Now to put my money where my mouth is; below is a make shift chart that shows the percentage of White population in 2000 vs. 2010 as well as the Black population in 2000 vs. 2010 and whether that Neighborhood has experienced an overall population loss or gain.

                         White 2000 White 2010       Black 2000 Black 2010     Net Gain/Loss
Arcadia                     60%           50%                 35%           44%               -1.4%
Belair Parkside          39%           24%                 55%           67%               -11.6%
Beverly Hills               66%           58%                 30%           40%               -16.5%
Cedmont                    75%           45%                 21%           50%               + 0.5%
Glenham Belhar          67%           38%                 29%           58%               + 1.4%
Hamilton                     38%           26%                59%           70%                - 0.3%
Lauraville                     51%           41%               44%            54%                -5.1%
Moravia Walther           60%           38%               37%            58%                -7.3%
Rosemont                     70%            39%               24%            55%               -1.0%
Waltherson                   55%            28%               42%            67%               +2.5%
Westfield                      77%            51%               19%            44%                -2.1%

                                             

These numbers are the official numbers provided by the 2000 and 2010 census I am not in any skewing the numbers in my favor. If it turns out that Greater Lauraville's demographics hadn't changed at all I would have issued an apology for misinformation. I don't see anything wrong with Neighborhoods showing growth in their Black population but apparently there are some Residents in Greater Lauraville who do. I'd like to congratulate Greater Lauraville on its improved Retail and Restaurant Offerings as well as a cleaner greener Harford Road. I can only hope that the angry commentators from 2009 have come around and have learned to embrace diversity. 

Mount Clare Junction Redevelopment: The Key to Revamping Pigtown?

Washington Boulevard has long since been the Main Street of Pigtown. In fact, the City has designated it as such. As Neighborhoods near and including Downtown have seen Billions in gentrification efforts, Pigtown has been largely left out. Don't get me wrong there have been great new developments in Pigtown not only on Washington Boulevard put away from the Neighborhood's Main Street as well. Residents and City Officials alike want to see Pigtown as an extension of Federal Hill and Ridgley's Delight as a vibrant community that serves as a destination not only for its Residents but those far and near Pigtown. I agree that Pigtown should be revamped as such as but I wonder; Is Washington Boulevard the answer?

The 1970s proved to be a disastrous decade for the urban core of Baltimore. Residents were either moving out completely or into the outskirts of the City. With Industry leaving the Harbor and surrounding areas desolate something had to be done. In the 1960s a section of Downtown was slated for redevelopment to be known as Charles Center. This had become a glimmer of hope for the deserted Downtown as Office Buildings were completed. This re centralized Baltimore's Central Business District. Next came the Harbor which became a Retail tourist destination as Harborplace opened and Residents began moving Downtown as $1 Row House initiatives were implemented. Eventually this gentrification spread to Federal Hill, Locust Point, Fells Point, Little Italy, Canton, Mount Vernon, Patterson Park and will eventually reach Highlandtown and Greektown. It became evident that Pigtown would also enjoy this revival.

When the Harbor began its gentrification Pigtown was both the typical Baltimore Neighborhood and an atypical Neighborhood at the same time. Perhaps the biggest thing that set Pigtown apart was that it was and still is very integrated in a City where Neighborhoods tended to be segregated. Like most of Baltimore, Pigtown was working class and losing population at an alrming rate due to the decline of the manufacturing sector of the economy which was a major Employer for the Neighborhood. In fact, that is how Pigtown got its name back in the 1800s. Given the Mount Clare Junction's railroad stop and its proximity to slaughter houses Pigs would run the route in between the train and the slaughter houses giving the Neighborhood its name; Pigtown.

In an effort to attract more Residents to Pigtown, some busybodies tried to tidy up the Neighborhood's image by changing its name to the painfully generic Washington Village. Although Pigtown did gain population in the 1980s, that was a flook and long term the change in name was about as misguided as trying to copyright the term "hon." Pigtown Residents both old, new, and perspective were more than satisfied with the name of their Community. Also in the 1980s the Mount Clare Junction Shopping Center was developed complete with a Safeway, and suburban style lay out. Although the Shopping Center failed to thrive, the Safeway did hold on until 2010. Only a few tenants remain.

 It seemed that to Urban Planners and Community Activists alike that the key to Pigtown's revitalization lied not in Mount Clare Junction but in Washington Boulevard, the Community's Main Street. As a result incentives were offered to Businesses and Residents alike to rehab vacant structures and turn them into attractive Retail and or Residential uses. There have been some great success stories along Washington Boulevard and throughout Pigtown where once vacant row homes have been handsomely restored. The problem is as these homes are reoccupied other homes are still being vacated and bordered up which gives Pigtown a net loss of population both during the 1900s and the 2000s. Before the housing collapse, builders were interested in Pigtown. The biggest evidence of this is in the once vacant site that used to be industrial that was redeveloped as Town Homes known as Camden Crossing (pictured below). Camden Crossing was built just as the economy tanked, that meant that it took a lot longer to build and sell the final homes of the development.

Today Pigtown is in transition. Residents are moving in but it doesn't supersede those moving out. Residents both old and new want more businesses to come to Washington Boulevard such as Pubs, Bars, Restaurants, and other "destination Retail" that will make Pigtown more than just a Residential Neighborhood but a place with a vibrant Commercial area without vacancies and Residences that are attractive and fully occupied. Current Residents of Pigtown, UMB, and Ridgley's Delight take very expensive to areas that have the businesses they're looking for in Fedral Hill, Fells Point or the Inner Harbor. Residents were told that Pigtown was an up & comer which it still is but lets get the ball rolling.    

Washington Boulevard is an attractive Main Street for Pigtown, but can it attract a crititcal mass that will spur revitalization? I don't think so and here's why. Although it does run a short distance east of MLK Boulevard into Ridgley's Delight, it does not go Downtown. This makes Washington Boulevard less accessible to those residing Downtown or attending UMB to go into Pigtown if more night life oriented Retail were to open in Pigtown. Mount Clare Junction on the other hand has Pratt St. frontage. Pratt St. obviously goes into Downtown and beyond and if executed properly can be a gateway into SoWeBo from Downtown. If Pratt St. were thought of as Pigtown's Main Street I believe that would attract more visitors.

In order to make Mount Clare Junction and ultimately Pratt St. the Retail core of Pigtown the struggling suburban Shopping Center would have to be redeveloped. It should be a higher density alternative to the adjacent Camden Crossing development which will attract the critical mass of Residents that will support the new restaurants, bars, and pubs Pigtown is looking to attract. Despite its failing as a 

suburban shopping center, Mount Clare Junction as a mixed use mixed income district of Mid to High rise Apartments and Condos, Office Buildings, and Restaurant Oriented Retail should thrive and it can spur reinvestment not only in Pigtown but Hollins Market, Union Square, and Mout Clare. In addition to attracting students from UMB it can also attract employees from the UMB Biotech Park a few blocks to the north. 

Pigtown has a very distinct personality, not the least of which is the annual running of the pigs at the annual Pigtown Festival. I think as new Businesses open in Pigtown that should be kept in mind such as Pubs that reference Pigs in some way like Hampden does with the bee hove hairdo and how Woodberry is stating to open Businesses that celebrate its history as a Mill Village. With Pratt St. being Pigtown's new Main Street there would have to be a way to get patrons safely across MLK Boulevard. Since City life depends on walking so much there would have to be a pedestrian bridge so that people crossing would not have to come in contact with the overload of traffic that MLK Boulevard endures on a daily basis. 

Although Washington Boulevard is a great Neighborhood Main Street for Pigtown it doesn't appear to attract a crowd into the Neighborhood the way Pratt St. has the potential to and given that Mount Clare Junction has Pratt St. frontage it can make Pigtown into an extension of Downtown that will revitalize not only SoWeBo but the westside of Downtown in the process.

Eastern Avenue: The All Around Better Alternative

Historically Eastern Avenue held the title of East Baltimore's Main Street. Given that North Avenue was the northern border for much of the City's history that wasn't as large of a stretch as it is today. The way I think of Eastern Avenue is as a diverse high density Main Street that acts as the northern border to gentrified Neighborhoods like Inner Harbor East, Fells Point, and Canton. In addition, it acts as a southern border to more traditional East Baltimore like Upper Fells Point, Little Italy, Patterson Park, and Highlandtown. Given that Eastern Avenue plays host to Retail, Residential, and Community Uses it seems natural that the eastern end of the Red Line be located on Eastern Avenue but guess what? It isn't.

Although I have spent a considerable amount of time bad mouthing the Red Line being at surface level along Edmondson Avenue and that the stops Downtown are lack luster at best, I haven't dedicated much time to the Red Line in East Baltimore. Option 4C, which is the preferred option for the City although I hear of more people who hate it rather than like it. 

Option 4C calls for the Red Line to go down President St. for a few blocks to Fleet St. where the proposed Harbor East stop is to be located. It will then travel down Fleet St. until it meets Boston St. where it will travel at surface level until roughly the location of the new Canton Crossing development. There they go again with surface level, people think that because it's the cheapest alternative that it's also the most effective. Sometimes you may have to spend more money in order to make more money. When something makes more money yet had cost more to pland and build wouldn't IT be more cost effective than something that was cheap but has low ridership due to its poor location?

 Although Boston St. is very wide considering its location just east of Downtown, it isn't dense by any stretch of the imagination. Its housing stock is new and mirrors that of its suburbs. There is also a suburban style shopping center with a Safeway. The only dense area will be Canton Crossing although funding woes haven't yielded many finished products except for the 1st Mariner Tower. Also keep in mind that Boston St. now has more residences as its waterfront once hosted industrial uses that have been redeveloped. Also keep in mind that to the south of Boston St. it's water and nobody but the fishes lives there and fish don't ride mass transit.

Eastern Avenue on the other hand is much more Retail and Community oriented with much more of an urban feel. The road itself is much narrower with parallel parking. There are older "cookie cutter" row homes with ground floor Retail as well as taller row homes that have since been converted into Apartments. In short, when traveling on Eastern Avenue you will know that you're in the City. There are also plenty of City Bus Stops where Residents who don't have regular access to a car take advantage of. On Boston St. the amount of Bus Stops and Riders at said stops is much smaller than what is found on Eastern Avenue. In short, Eastern Avenue is very dense and Boston St. is very sparse.

I'm sure now you can see that Eastern Avenue being the preferred location for the Red Line east of Downtown so why isn't it? It's very true that tunneled Light Rail under a narrow street is more expensive and disruptive than surface level Light Rail on a wide street that comparatively doesn't get much traffic. Could this entire issue be boiled down to the MTA being cheap? I think so, Although the Red Line will cost more than other rail lines in DC simply because the other lines are older and the cost of the Red Line is adjusted to inflation. Given that the Red Line cost is adjusted to inflation, the MTA still doesn't want to spend more money to make the Red Line comparable to its DC brethren. 

So it's all about money? That's what has been keeping the Red Line from being all it can be? Yes that seems to be the problem. At the same time, the Mayor, the Governor, and the MTA are hell bent on building just to say that they have. Unfortunately end result of just "building something" will not improve the area in fact it will detrimental because the money spent would then be wated due to low ridership. Why will ridership be low? Given that Boston St. is a lower density higher income area than Eastern Avenue there are simply more options for them. Residents there have more access to personal vehicles. Along Eastern Avenue, Residents are less likely to own a car, not only that there are simply many more of them both north and south of the road itself. This all adds up to higher ridership.

The reasons above make Eastern Avenue a better choice but consider this one; Eastern Avenue is narrow so it can't support surface level transit therefore it would have to be underground. Underground or tunneled transit is uninterrupted by vehicular traffic which makes for shorter trip times. A big reason riders would choose Rail Transit over their cars would be that it takes less time to get to their destination. A surface level Rail Car is a big obstruction to traffic and it has to compete with any and all other traffic. How often have trip times been delayed on Howard St. due to the Rail Cars competing in rush hour traffic? It will be just the same on Boston St. Boston St. may be wide now but it isn't wide enough to accommodate two tracks of Light Rail in addition to two way traffic and dedicated turn lanes.

Speaking of dedicated turn lanes, with the Rail Cars at surface level on Boston St. there's a good chance that a lot of side streets would be forbidden to make left turns onto and off of Boston St. This is proposed to happen on Edmondson Avenue where the Rail Cars are slated to be surface level. Like Boston St. this needs to be tunneled as well. Given that Edmondson Avenue is not as well to do as Boston St., there has been significantly less coverage by the News Media on it. If tunneled under Eastern Avenue, these problems will of course be null and void.

It's very clear that for the Red Line in southeast Baltimore, Eastern Avenue is all around the better option. Although there is currently a Community Compact on the record for Option 4C, there has been some wiggle room in the form of Cooks Lane double tracking. Hopefully if the pressure is put on the MTA they will change their mind and pony up the funds to make the Red Line under Eastern Avenue a reality as well as Edmondson Avenue.