Baltimore's Next Arts & Entertainment District: LaTrobe Homes?

 As part of my ongoing Series on Neighborhoods in East Baltimore between Downtown and Hopkins, I'm brought to Latrobe Homes, a public housing development consisting of approximately 700 low rise Apartments bordered by Homewood Avenue and McKim St. to the west, Aisquith St. to the east, Madison St. to the south, and Eager St. to the north. Esnor St.,  (which in my last post I have renamed Harford Avenue) runs through the middle of the development.

Numerous public housing developments in East Baltimore have been torn down in East Baltimore and the new developments that replace them have been met with great success. My goal is to redevelop Latrobe Homes in a fashion that will produce similar results (population growth, higher quality of life, lower crime etc.) but the types of housing and businesses are different than those found in other developments.

 I haven't been able to find much information on what was on the land LaTrobe Homes now occupies but given its proximity to the Jones Falls, It's safe to think that it may have once played host to Mills not unlike those found in Hampden-Woodberry. My other theory is that it was dilapidated slums which is what most public housing developments replaced. In either event, LaTrobe Homes served the purpose of housing an influx of workers during the great migration and World War II. When the demand for those jobs went away, the "workers" stayed which created poverty throughout the City especially in public housing developments and LaTrobe Homes was and is no exception.

The Communities surrounding LaTrobe Homes are currently in shambles especially those to the north and east (Johnston Square and Oliver) The crime and blight of LaTrobe Homes feeds off the crime and blight of Johnston Square and Oliver making for a vicious circle. It has to stop. I don't building on the vacant lots of Oliver and Johnston Square will yield much change without the redevelopment of LaTrobe Homes first. Given the age and size of the development, it makes sense that redeveloping LaTrobe Homes will have great rewards.

One can't help but notice when looking at a map of LaTrobe Homes that actually very close to Greenmount West, which is part of Station North. Station North is gentrifying more and more by the day and the gentrification is heading east from the Charles North area to Greenmount West. Charles North may become a victim of its own gentrification efforts as glitzy new developments for the area are planned in the coming decades.

Now I can't stress this enough; Station North is not meant to be another glitzy Harbor Neighborhood, It's a Live/Work Community for Artists that provides affordable Housing and Studio  Space for said Artists. If the developments proceed as planned, these Artists will be priced out of their Neighborhood and would need to relocate elsewhere.

This is where LaTrobe Homes enters the picture. We have yet to see a public housing development redeveloped as an Arts & Entertainment District. All other new developments that stand where public housing once stood are mostly mixed income urban Apartments and Town Homes. Although these new Communities are worlds better than their predecessors, I would like to see something different when redeveloping LaTrobe Homes.

I envision LaTrobe Homes as an expansion of Station North. I think that will then encourage the rehabilitation of existing row homes and redevelopment of vacant lots in Johnston Square and Oliver. So now there's the burning question of how this new development will look. First thing's first; public housing for Seniors. This is a must have for any development replacing outdated public housing and LaTrobe Homes is no different. The Senior public housing will act as a barrier between the prisons and the rest of the new development. It will contain a mix of amenity filled services including independent living, assisted living, and nursing home setups. Existing LaTrobe Homes Seniors will get first puck when it comes to available units.

Now the fun stuff, the actual Arts & Entertainment area; it will be focused along Harford Avenue (the Main St. of the new Neighborhood.) I envision Harford Avenue to flanked with live/work lofts with Art Galleries and other Retail that will serve the Neighborhood like a Farmers Market. Perhaps even a Grocery Store can go here as this area is a Food Desert. The Live/Work lofts will be sprinkled throughout the new development but the heaviest concentration will be on Harford Avenue. The goal for Harford Avenue is for it to emulate North Avenue in Station North. The Live/Work lofts as well as some of the regular residences, will have Artist subsidies. 

In addition to the Artist Housing, there will be normal market rate housing some of which will emulate some of the housing recently built in Station North. There will be a few public housing sprinkled throughout the development for LaTrobe Homes Residents who aren't seniors. 

Right now LaTrobe Homes is an area of the City plagued by crime, blight, and population loss. Once redeveloped the area (including Johnston Sqaure and Oliver) will be flanked with population growth, safety, beauty, and a high quality of life for all Residents. 

Make wy for Gay St. II: Harford Avenue

In my previous post regarding the reopening of Gay St between Orleans St. and Broadway, I hinted that Harford Avenue and its Hillen and Esnor St. counterparts were in for a change as well. If you were under that impression and felt short changed at the end of my last post, you're in luck. I will describe in detail my plan to overhaul Harford Avenue and get more vehicular traffic going through that part of town thus allowing for redevelopment and population growth.

For the sake of this post lets say that Harford Avenue begins at the JFX. It continues on as Pleasant St. going westbound through Downtown or as Holiday St. going southbound and ending at Pratt St. by the Harbor. On the other side of the JFX, Harford Avenue is known as Hillen St. Hillen St. is currently a one way St. that only goes southbound. The first change I would make is to change the name from Hillen St. to Harford Avenue in order to streamline the road.

I would also like to point out that for a City Street Harford Avenue and its Hillen St. and Esnor St. alter egos are VERY wide considering they spend most of their existence as one way streets whether it be north or south. Given that the road is very wide, my proposal to make it a two way street from the Fallsway to North Avenue isn't that far fetched.

Adding northbound traffic to Hillen St./Harford Avenue will play a key role after the demolition of the JFX and the redevelopment of the Edison properties, now serving as surface level parking. I would also like to point out that Esnor St. is what Gay St. turns into at Orleans St. rather than going straight through Oldtown Mall. As I have stated in my previous post, Gay St. will reopen to vehicular traffic as a one way northbound which will make Esnor St. between Orleans St. and when it joins Hillen St. utterly and completely useless. Also Hillen St./Harford Avenue will play host to two way traffic so Esnor St. will become even more useless. When redeveloping Oldtown Mall Esnor St. can just fade into the infrastructure or become a local service road.

Harford Avenue currently exists as a two way street for a couple of blocks between Madison St. and Biddle St cutting through LaTrobe Homes. Here is where the width of the road can be of benefit. The road can be made more attractive by adding a landscaped median, bike lanes, and on street parking making the road four lanes two in each direction with the landscaped median giving way to left turn lanes when needed.

Above the Biddle St. intersection things begin to get messy. At this point Harford Avenue becomes a one way northbound street while southbound traffic uses Aisquith St. from North Avenue to Biddle St. I think this traffic pattern diverts traffic and perhaps even Residents from this part of the City. When traveling Downtown from Northeast Baltimore on Harford Road it becomes problematic not to be able to continue on Harford Avenue south of North Avenue. instead one must make a right on North Avenue and then a left on Aisquith St. for a few blocks until it meets Biddle St. and then Aisquith merges BACK onto Harford Avenue! That seems pretty stupid and unnecessary right?

Luckily there's an easy fix for this; just keep Harford Avenue as a two way street for its entire duration. The road is wide enough for it and below Biddle St. it can be narrowed to make it a seamless transition. This will make a clear cut highway free two way route from Northeast Baltimore and beyond into Downtown, something that doesn't currently exist. There have been some new homes built along here which have been beneficial but the area as a whole is still rundown with vacant boarded up row homes. I believe that this new streamlined traffic pattern will spur new investment and development in the area as it is now put back on the map.

Now that we've made way for Gay St. we must also make way for Harford Avenue and reconfigure it so it serves a through route between Downtown and the Northeast. I'm sorry that it took so long to write this post.

Make Way For Gay St. Part I

There may be some overlap between this post and a series I did several years ago called "Reopening the Great Northeast" but at the same time I have re tweaked some of the nuts and bolts as I continue to educate myself and my ideas evolve. No series on East Baltimore can be complete without discussing the traffic patterns in and around Oldtown Mall. Right now it isn't great. Gay St. ends at Orleans St. and doesn't start again until just above Broadway. Hillen St. and Ensor St. are both very wide considering they're both one way streets. Above Aisquith St. Harford Avenue (which is what Hillen and Ensor turn into) becomes one way going Northbound until it meets North Avenue. Like its Hillen St. and Ensor St. counterparts to the south, Harford Avenue is also very wide. I personally believe all of these streets and the traffic patterns associated with them make for a confusing and inefficient grid of streets that contributes to the lack of progress around East Baltimore. I would like to address these issues by declaring five words; Make Way for Gay St.

As the name of this post suggests, I would like to reopen Gay St. This matter has been discussed quite often from shareholders invested in the dying Oldtown Mall. They believe that closing off Gay St. and making it a pedestrian mall was a big mistake. I defy you to find anybody that disagrees with that logic. A portion of Howard St. was closed off and that killed the Westside of Downtown as did the closing off Lexington St. just west of Charles Center. Howard St. has long since reopened and Lexington St. will reopen shortly if it hasn't done so already. The Oldtown Master Plan does call for Gay St. to reopen but only a tiny portion of it. The plan only shows Gay St. being reopened between Forest St. and Aisquith St. Personally, I don't see how this revitalize Oldtown Mall and the rest of the Neighborhood as a chain reaction. That is why we must make way for Gay St.

Gay St. begins at the Inner Harbor at Pratt St. It goes north for a few blocks as a one way street and then turns northeast intersecting the JFX. You can exit Gay St. and go northbound on the JFX if that's your destination. Continuing along Gay St. you will see the Baltimore City Fire Museum straight ahead which is the beginning of Oldtown Mall. Oldtown Mall begins at Orleans St. and this is where Gay St. currently ends. All traffic bares a slight left to go onto Ensor St. rather than driving through Oldtown Mall. Ensor St. will eventually dump its traffic onto Harford Avenue. Now I'm going to get rid of Ensor St. all together. Traffic on Gay St. will continue along Gay St. straight through Oldtown Mall. Given that this is a narrow stretch of road there won't be any shoulders or on street parking for Oldtown Mall along Gay St. Oldtown Mall (reopened Gay St.) lets at Aisquith St. at Monument St. In the Oldtown Master Plan, this is where Gay St. would end. This isn't the Oldtown Master Plan this is my plan and I'm going to continue Gay St.

In order for Gay St. to continue past Monument St. a few things would have to happen. First, Aisquith St. will have to end at Gay St. Second, the Monument honoring Henry G. McComas will have to be moved to the Dunbar Athletic Field, and finally a traffic light will have to be installed at Gay St. and Monument St. Gay St. will then cut through the eastern edge of the Dunbar Athletic Fields where a new roundabout at Gay St, Madison St, and Central Avenue will be constructed. Past the roundabout, Gay St. will intersect Eden St, Ashland Avenue, and Caroline St. before hitting Church Square Shopping Center. 

I would have loved to have redeveloped Church Square so that the new Save A Lot Grocery Store could be larger than the 22,000 Square Feet it currently is. Given how landlocked Church Square is I don't see that happening without major disruption to the surrounding area. However, between Eden St. and Ashland Avenue, the parking lot for the high rise will have to be torn down. and relocated just east of its current location to make way for the two lane one way street. The loading dock for the Save A Lot will also have to be reconfigured to make way for Gay St.

Just northeast of Church Square, is Bond St. and the titular Bond St. Apartments. Up until now there hasn't been much disruption by extending Gay St. sure move a parking lot here, move a statue there but as far as moving actual buildings goes everything has been spared, until now. The courtyard that's in the pathway of Gay St. simply isn't wide enough for two lanes of northbound traffic nor is it safe to leave the Apartment Buildings where they are even if the front doors were moved. As a result, those two buildings will have to be demolished and rebuilt in a way that Gay St. can co exist peacefully with them. Bond St. Apartments are just southwest of Broadway and Broadway is where Gay St. continues! We've made it! Gay St. is now one continuous road from Pratt St. all the way to Broadway. From Broadway Gay St. runs to North Avenue and then becomes Belair Road. On the existing part of Gay St. I would turn it into two way traffic and plant a landscaped median in the middle as well as designated bike lanes. Hopefully, this newly designed Gay St. will promote redevelopment more traffic going through the Broadway East Neighborhood which suffers from severe population loss and abandoned homes. I would love this to be a catalyst for redevelopment in Broadway East as a fringe benefit. 

The Oldtown Master Plan calls for Gay St. to reopened from Forest St. to Aisquith St. Although I'm for that I'm also for connecting Gay St. from Orleans St. to Broadway as a continuous one way northbound street. In short, Make Way for Gay St! Stay tuned for Part II The Harford/Hillen/Esnor redesign.

Historic Jonestown:Far Beyond Albemarle Square

Blending East Baltimore into Downtown is the whole purpose of this series. I think that with such powerhouses as the Inner Harbor and Johns Hopkins Hospital, everything in between it should be considered  real estate gold. One way to achieve that goal is to increase walk-ability and mass transit access wherever possible. That being said, I find myself focused on Historic Jonestown. No not Albemarle Square, the new development that now takes up the majority of the Neighborhood but the actual structures that have survived for centuries and in my opinion, are ready to shine once again far beyond Albemarle Square.

 When looking at how Downtown and East Baltimore have come together in recent years, it appears that Little Italy has always had a great connection to Downtown. When the Harbor gentrified merchants of Little Italy were worried that all that focus on the Harbor would hurt their Businesses. Luckily their worries were all for nothing because the Harbor actually drew to Little Italy and business has never been better. Playing off that success came Inner Harbor East (pictured above), a high density upscale glitzy shopping, residential, and hotel district with breathtaking views of the Harbor, Fells Point, Federal Hill, and Locust Point. Now next on the list is Historic Jonestown. Jonestown had once been an area to avoid with the infamous Flag House Courts high rises dominating the landscape. Today however, there's little if anything to be afraid of now that Flag House has been torn down and replaced with the much cleaner and safer mixed income alternative of Albemarle Square.

Now Little Italy (pictured above) and Inner Harbor East are tourist attractions but can Jonestown also hold that title? Well lets see, within this Neighborhood's small boundaries we have; Lloyd St. Synagogue (among the oldest in the Country), Charles Carroll of Carollton House, the Flag House, the Shot Tower, McKim Free School, The Jewish Museum of Maryland, Reginald F. Lewis African American History Museum, and Corned Beef Row. Touristy enough for you? I thought so.

The Heritage Walk Trail is a good way to tie these attractions together but I would like to see more people living in Historic Jonestown. Now the question comes up on how to attract a critical mass of people to Jonestown? I can think of a great way and it's already built into the infrastructure; the Shot Tower/Marketplace Metro Station! Now the name of the Metro Station in question doesn't do much in the way of promoting the actual Neighborhood. That's why I'm proposing that the Metro Station be renamed to "Historic Jonestown" that would literally put the Neighborhood "on the map." 

Now I ask you another question; how do you know if your Metro Station is successful? The answer of course being of there's a critical mass of Residences, Retail, Office and Hotel Space within a very few blocks of said Station. Said critical mass is located west of the Station on the other side of President St. marking the eastern edge of Downtown. My goal is to extend the density of Downtown into Jonestown not unlike what has already been done in Little Italy and Harbor East. Jonestown will be a hybrid of the two; Historic Housing Stock like Little Italy and redevelopment when needed like Harbor East. 

Now what gets the wrecking ball? Obviously none of the Historical Attractions will. When repopulating Jonestown, I'm attracted to East Baltimore St. I would like to make that the Neighborhood's Main Street. And why shouldn't East Baltimore St. serve that purpose? After all that's where the escalators to the Metro Station are and the Metro Station is what I'm using as a catalyst for growth. If I'm using the Metro Station as a catalyst for growth, then I'm sure you know where this is going; TOD! I think Historic Jonestown could stand for high density TOD to complement Albemarle Square, the Metro Stop, and the slew of Historic Sites and attractions that this fine Neighborhood has to offer. So I bet you're wondering what I have in mind for this new TOD, well lets get to work!

First we have a block of old buildings on Front and Albemarle Streets just below Baltimore St. between the Metro Station and the Charles Caroll of Carrollton House. Please keep in mind that I have no intention of demolishing any historic buildings but these buildings in between would benefit from redevelopment with underground parking and a mid rise (8-10 stories) that has an underground connection to the Metro Station.

Now lets take a trip down East Baltimore St. which like I said before will be Historic Jonestown's Main Street. In the 900 block there's a one story building that belongs to the "Chess Communications Gorup." Actually this building has Fayette St. Frontage but that's neither here nor there. Density this low is not appropriate this close to Downtown. therefore this buildings should be redeveloped with a parking garage in the middle of the block and a mixed use building all around said garage. As part of this project the two lone row houses in this block should be rehabbed and rented or sold. Across the Street from the Chess Communications Group building is a row of vacant Row Homes that need to be rehabbed as well. The Chess Communications Group will be given Office Space in one of the new buildings.

In the 1000 block of East Baltimore St. there's a building that's used by the City Health Department. Just like the building in the 900 block this building is very low density for the type of Neighborhood I'm envisioning for Jonestown. One thing they did get right was the parking garage that's already there. As for redevelopment, the building would go and would be rebuild over top of the existing parking garage with Fayette and East St frontage. With the density increased for the City Health Department building, there's now room on Baltimore and Exeter Streets for a new "L" shaped building that wraps around the intersection of Baltimore and Exter. Again this will be a mixed use building roughly 8-10 stories in height.

The 1100 and 1200 blocks of East Baltimore St. are perfect for rehabs. There's a vacant building just west of the McKim Free School that would be perfect for Loft Apartments. As part of the rehab of the building in the 1100 block of East Baltimore St., the developer must rehab the McKim Free School and put it to use as either a Community Center or another non profit use. 

The 1200 block building that appears to be vacant is also a great candidate for restoration. The stucco facade doesn't go well with the Neighborhood but adding masonry and converting the building to Loft Apartments would make this building fit right in and complement Historic Jonestown perfectly. There's even room to add on to this building which rid the 1200 block of East Baltimore St. of any vacant lots. 

With several new and rehabbed blocks in Historic Jonestown within steps of the Metro Station, when one thinks of Historic Jonestown in the future, they will look far beyond Albemarle Square.

Middle East: Demolition and Redevelopment is in Full Swing

As I continue my series on East Baltimore I feel I must comment on the elephant in the room known as Middle East and the Hopkins Biotech Park currently in progress.

Well like it or not, Baltimore's "New East Side" is coming and despite all the protests and worries that it's simply "cleaning house" to make way for a "higher class of Residents" the first new houses have gone up and demolition has continued on several more blocks of vacant housing. Now, what's going in its place? Well in addition to new housing, there will be Retail (most likely a full service Grocery Store), the Hopkins Biotech Park, as well as a Hopkins Stop on the MARC Line. A brand new East Baltimore Community School has already opened on the site of the closed Elmer A. Henderson Elementary and that has proven to be a gem to the Community. Now the question remains, will the plan lead up to its promises that were put forth over a decade ago? Or will the plan fall short? Regardless the demolition and redevelopment of Baltimore's Middle East Community is in full swing.

Almost as quickly as the ink dried on the East Baltimore Development Initiative (EBDI) there were protests. Residents don't like it when an outside institution like Hopkins intrudes on their Neighborhood regardless of what State said Neighborhood is in. Residents believe that Hopkins doesn't care that these boarded Row Homes that attract crime, drugs, littering, and prostitution once housed a proud Community. A Community of working class African American Families who were employed throughout the City. Back then crime was something that happened somewhere else. Row Homes were kept in pristine condition inside and out and Parents felt it safe to allow their Kids to play outside as gun shots were something of a foreign concept back then. Needless to say, that heyday has long since ended and in addition to the crime & poor living conditions, Middle East simply doesn't have very many Residents in these once proud Row Homes.

There are a few Residents most of whom are Seniors and simply "have nowhere else to go" are trying to bring back the heyday I described in the paragraph above. That being said, they believe Hopkins and EBDI are not how they envision their Neighborhood prospering back to what it used to be. They seem to think that adding more low to moderate income housing, that the crime and drug culture associated with high vacancy rates will go away. That's not a method I'd be opposed to trying but that's what the City and Neighborhood Associations had been trying to do in Middle East since the 1970s when Middle East began to fall apart. The Row Homes that are designed as low income units don't generate enough revenue for landlords to keep them up properly and trying to lure back Homeowners also has not been a success. With reinvestment dollars entering the Community and with vacant boarded up Row Homes rotting, the City inspector is given no choice but to condemn them.   

With a large portion of its housing stock condemned and another large portion being rented out by slum lords, it's no wonder smaller scale efforts have failed before even getting off the ground. I suppose the City could have come up with its own redevelopment plan for the "worst blocks" of Middle East which may have allowed for reinvestment in blocks nearby. Keep in mind that Baltimore is not a rich City nor is it a City that has a shortage of struggling Neighborhoods. In short, the City has plenty of other Neighborhoods that it's allocating its meager resources to. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is; In order for Middle East to change for the better something BIG will have to happen.

And something big did happen or is happening depending on how you look at it. Johns Hopkins, the world renowned Hospital just to the south of Middle East, is not only Baltimore City's largest employer but it also has very deep pockets and a large interest invested into the City. As such, when Hopkins wishes to expand, it's in the best interest of the City to be as accommodating as possible. At the time, Biotech Sciences were all the rage with their growing start up companies and their ever expanding Employee rosters and growing amounts of Office and Medical Space needed to fulfill their operations. With the barren Middle East Neighborhood just north of Hopkins, it only makes sense that this is where Hopkins would locate its Biotech Park.

With Hopkins now in the Driver's Seat that's steering the future of Middle East, Hopkins wanted to do something more than just erect Buildings that turn their back on the decaying Neighborhood to their north. They wanted to create a brand new Neighborhood with new housing using the Biotech Park as a draw for its employees to live near their work. Since the Biotech employs people with a diverse educational background, Hopkins didn't want to exclude anybody from the new Middle East, therefore Hopkins would make the new Middle East a Mixed Income Neighborhood. The few remaining Residents of Middle East did not and still do not trust that Hopkins will keep up their end of the bargain by allowing them to return to their Neighborhood despite the first housing to be built in the new Middle East is for low income Seniors, the majority of the displaced Residents of Middle East. They fear that Middle East and eventually all of East Baltimore will become too expensive and too elitist for anyone but a high earner which has become the case with the Harbor.

With the opinions of Residents known, Hopkins went ahead with its plan and began demolishing the first few blocks of the wasteland that Middle East had become. With the few remaining Residents bought out of their homes it appeared that the redevelopment of Middle East was in full swing and nothing could stop them. Well almost nothing. Even Johns Hopkins and its prestigious Biotech Start-up Firms aren't immune to an economic downturn. The recession took full effect on the whole redevelopment project and brought demolition, development, and all activities in between to a grinding halt. Today as we emerge from the recession there are only a few blocks of new housing and more blocks of demolition with no new housing to speak of. Finally more blocks of housing are beginning to be demolished. Whether or not the replacement housing will soon follow is yet to be seen.

Housing is something that's always in demand so during an economic downturn housing development does stop but it can usually continue as if nothing had happened when the market turns around. However, the need for commercial space changed drastically as a result of an economic downturn. As a result, the number of Biotech firms that have gone under is staggering. In addition, the Biotech firms still in business are scaling back the amount of Office/Lab Space required for their operation. That means that the Biotech part of the redevelopment project will now be smaller. Don't worry, I still have a plan for that land; A large Hotel or perhaps two Hotels.

My paying Job is in the Hotel Industry and I'm all too aware that Hopkins Patients, their Families, and business travelers coming to Hopkins are under served when it comes to finding Lodging Space near the Hospital. My Hotel is 35 minutes away in Ellicott City and we still get Guests who are either doing business at or receiving treatment at Hopkins. Of course we appreciate the business but if people are traveling that far to do business with or receive treatment at Baltimore's Largest Employer, it proves that it's under served. Hotels Downtown cater mostly to the tourist market as well as the Central Business District but where do people stay for Hopkins? That is why I'm proposing that 2 Hotels, one for shorter stays and one for extended stays be built on land originally allocated for Biotech Space that is now excess. 

I'm happy to report that the demolition and redevelopment of Middle East is in full swing and hopefully the excess land allocated for Biotech Space will be used wisely to fill the demand for Hotel space near Hopkins.