Once this
phase was competed, the recession hit. The future of Canton Crossing
which was to be Baltimore's First Big Box Shopping Center as well as a
slew of Office Buildings and Apartments was in grave danger. The
industrial wasteland on which this ambitious project was to be built sat
as vacant as a bleak reminder of the fate this once ambitious project
was suffering. Indeed, Developer Ed Hale had to sell off the remaining
land banks of Canton Crossing as well as other stalled development
investments to keep his primary venture; First Mariner Bank afloat.
The
buyer of this land bank was "Corporate Office Properties Trust" better
known as "COPT." As I was always a fan of the original concept of Canton
Crossing and what it would do not just for Southeast Baltimore but the
City as a whole. I made an impassioned plea on this very blog to COPT to
"Keep Ed Hale's Canton Crossing Alive." Luckily, this plea was not
necessary. Not only did COPT have any intention of making huge changes
to the original concept, the land was and is zoned for that exclusive
purpose.
True to their word, COPT began
negotiations with potential tenants and announced anchors such as Target
and Harris Teeter as well as "Junior Anchors" Old Navy, DSW Shoe
Warehouse, Michael's Arts & Crafts, as well as several restaurants
and smaller Retail ventures. Sketches of the layout of the Shopping
Center as well as the decidedly urban style of the buildings began
flooding local newspapers to drum up excitement for the soon to be
opened center dubbed "The Shoppes at Canton Crossing" which was slated
to open in November of 2013.
Perhaps it was
for best that the construction of Canton Crossing was delayed several
years. Had it opened in '08 or '09, that part of the Canton/Brewers Hill
Neighborhoods was still quite sparse. However, the Residential Market
in particularly the Rental Apartment Market was recession proof.
Projects in Brewers Hill just across the street for Canton Crossing such
as the Gunther, Domain, and Hanover Brewers Hill created a population
boom as well as the need for additional Retail. New town homes in
Neighboring Greektown have also added to the demand.
Finally,after
years of planning and waiting, the Shoppes at Canton Crossing opened to
a huge fanfare. This once forlorn and forgotten part of industrial
Canton had experienced a true rebirth as a big box Retail haven flanked
by the adjacent First Mariner Tower and Apartments that are both new
construction as well as reused industrial buildings. COPT had truly done
what Ed Hale had dreamed up and gave Canton and all of Baltimore a
successful urban big box Center.
With the
success of the newly completed Shoppes at Canton Crossing, many had
thought that the entire Canton Crossing Development had been completed. I
was beginning to think so as well as my searches for "Canton Crossing
Apartments" and "Canton Crossing Mixed Use" came up empty except for
articles written years earlier when Ed Hale still owned the land. I had
simply thought that COPT had scaled back the project which was not
uncommon for developments that stalled the recession. and that those
remaining undeveloped parcels would remain so and/or eventually get
sold.
Recently I received the exciting news
that it's still intended for Canton Crossing to be mixed use. The land
that is currently a surface level parking lot on Clinton St. is slated
to be at least four office buildings. The swath of undeveloped land next
to the target is slated to be a six story 350 unit Apartment Building
with underground parking and ground floor Retail. One reason that the
additional phases of Canton Crossing were held up was because the design
board didn't like the plans presented to them by developers so they
were literally sent back to the drawing board especially when it came to
the Apartments.
Greatt post thanks
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