If you blink when you're driving Downtown from Hampden you might miss Remington. Remington is a collection of diagonal streets nestled between I-83, Hampden, Charles Village, and Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus. With all the investment and development in surrounding neighborhoods Remington seems to have gotten pushed to the side and I'm coming up with a master plan that will allow Remington to maintain its identity as an economically, culturally, and ethnically, diverse enclave in northern Baltimore.
What was Remington?
Remington started out as an outgrowth of the Hampden Woodberry Mill Villages that sprang up around the Civil War along the Jones Falls Valley in what was then Baltimore County. The bulk of residential development in Remington took place at the turn of the 20th century and into the roaring 20s. Like Hampden, mill workers were hit hard by the great depression and looked elsewhere for work. If they were lucky enough to find work it was through jobs created through FDR's new deal. The mills made a triumphant come back upon America's entry into World War II. After World War II production at the mills dropped and began closing during the 1950s and into the 1960s. Remington remained stable despite this increase in unemployment.
What is Remington?
Today Remington's layout is as diverse as its citizens. (I've worn that analogy to the born but I like it) The housing stock is both well preserved and dilapidated, it's a neighborhood for families young and old and college students. Being near the Jones Falls Remington has remnants of an industrial past that put a blighted appearance in certain areas.
A fundamental aspect of creating master plans is identifying a neighborhood's strength and capitalizing on them. On the other end of the spectrum is identifying the neighborhood's weaknesses and addressing them and coming up with solutions for them.
First Remington's strengths. Close to I-83, Hampden, Johns Hopkins University, Station North, Charles Village, and Wyman Park. Hampden Shuttlebug offers access to Woodberry Light Rail Station. Housing Stock is affordable. Diverse population who cares about their neighborhood. Old industrial land available for redevelopment. Lots of churches and faith based organizations. Robert Poole Middle has closed as of summer 2008.
Now Remington's weaknesses. Rise in violent crime, Housing stock is aging, 18% of housing stock is vacant, retail is spread out and lack luster, vacant lots, blighted industrial land out of sync with the residential character of the neighborhood. No neighborhood entrance signs, very little open space and streetscape enhancements. Neighborhood is closed off from its revitalized neighbors. Neighborhood has lots of litter. No library or community center.
Now to enhance Remington's strengths. First the addition of "wayfinding" signs throughout Remington directing pedestrians and motorists to nearby destinations. Although the Hampden shuttle bug will remain an intricate part of Remington's public transportation I will add a Light Rail stop at I-83 and 28th St. which will further enhance Remington's perception of a Transit Oriented Community. Further market Remington's diversity and host neighborhood block party for new residents and those who have lived here for generations to get to know each other. Since Remington's character will remain residential, old industrial land will be redeveloped into new mixed income housing which will range from town homes, to apartments and condos.
Now lets shift focus to Remington's weaknesses. There has been a rise in violent crime in Remington as everyone is all too aware. Ways to combat this would adding adding flashing blue light cameras at problematic areas, going after the most violent offenders (A strategy of the Dixon Administration that seems to work well), and stepping up foot patrols. The image of Police Officer should be that of a citizen who keeps you safe not that of a bully who's drunk on power.
Next the aging housing stock, this goes hand in hand with the 18% vacancy rate. Bottom line is that Remington needs population growth and there are many organizations that target neighborhoods like Remington. If there are city owned vacants SCOPE would be an excellent tool. There should be a "Healthy Neighborhoods" initiative for Remington which provides low interest loans for existing home owners to fix their homes, especially the exterior facade. New housing should be aggressively marketed on LiveBaltimore.com to promote Remington as a desirable place to call home not only that, new housing near JHU should be student housing to further promote Remington's economic diversity.
Not all of the former industrial land should be developed as housing. Although Remington is in close proximity to a number of parks there's little open space in Remington proper. There should be a new "public square" which is only about a block in size but it will be a focal point for the neighborhood and can play host to any number of events.
Now lets talk retail, retail in Remington is spread throughout the neighborhood where businesses can't complement and build off of each other. There should be two "retail spines" in Remington a north south and an east west. The north south retail spine would be Sisson St., an odd choice I'm sure you're thinking but it's the only north south street that connects the southern border of Remington to Hampden. 25th St. turns north into Huntingdon Ave.
Photo From Google Earth
I would extend 25th St. to meet Sisson St. The east west retail spine will be 29th St. It will be converted to 2 way traffic from I-83 to Howard St. Both Sisson and 29th will be Remington's version of "The Avenue" which is course of 36th St. in Hampden. Both roads will receive streetscape enhancements which will include planted medians, brick crosswalks, tree lined streets, additional lighting, metered parking, and new traffic signals with "countdown" pedestrian signals.
With the issue of litter residents will be educated on calling 311 to report illegal dumping and to have their street or alley removed of litter and debris. Now Remington is not a large enough neighborhood to support its Library Branch but I would implement a Hampden Shuttlebug stop at the Hampden Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library as well as a complete renovation inside and out to keep the library up to date and current. Now, a Community Center is something Remington can get and it's within an arm's reach believe it or not. With the closing of Robert Poole Middle that school can be torn down and a brand new school would be built in its place known as Hampden Woodberry Elementary/Middle which will draw from Medfield, Hampden Elementaries and the Green School. The Green School is located in Remington and if it were vacated it could serve as Remington's Community Center.
Well, I've figured out why it takes the city so long to come up with Master Plans. They take forever to think up write. You have to be ultra comprehensive while keeping in line your basic vision which in the case of Remington is for it to be a better version of what it already is.
When I last discussed Remington I had laid out a Master Plan for the Community to add residents and keep streets safe. Since then, I have spoken with residents both in person and via email about what they want for Remington. It's in line with what I have laid out. They do not want extreme gentrification or redevelopment. Those wishes, even in this economy have proven to be a reality.
Now, that's residential Remington. A few blocks south lies intersections of 24th St, 25th St. Howard St, and Sisson St. This little commercial area lies within Remington's boundaries but isn't always associated with it. It can be called in addition to Remington, South Charles Village, Old Goucher, Charles North, and Station North. Now the name isn't important. What is important is what occupies and may eventually occupy it.
Currently it is occupied by two Car Dealerships and their Service Garages. One is a GM Dealership, the other a Honda Dealership. Both are owned by the same company known as Anderson Automotive. The GM Dealership has been forced to close due to GM's financial hardships. The Honda Dealership, which claims to get most of its business from the County, will move to Hunt Valley to be nearer to its customer base. They may leave a Garage in the City but even with that remaining there will still be a large vacant tract of land. Now, we all know Car Dealerships aren't the most attractive form of retail. Since Car Dealerships are hurting badly we can rest assure that new Dealerships won't be replacing the ones vacated by Anderson's.
Surprisingly, in these struggling economic times we're facing, new development on the Anderson's Site might not be that far done the road. A developer wants to build a Lowes, Home Improvement Warehouse, a Grocery Store, and stores like Staples and Marshalls. They will be served by a large parking deck. On Maryland Avenue, there will be neighborhood retail with new homes over top. If all goes according to plan, this could be a reality by late 2011.
As with any big change it must be looked at very carefully and adjusted when deemed necessary. Like I said before, a parking deck will serve the needs of this new development and that's what will flank 24th St. west of Howard St. Lowes and the Grocery Store will back to 25th St. west of Howard. The front entrances will face the parking deck inward and faux windows will flank 25th St. so as not make the streetscape of 25th St. look like a slab of side walls. It appears that the Staples and Marshalls will be east of Howard St. on 24 th St. and west of Maryland Avenue with a surface lot behind it. I'm not sure if their front doors will face 24th St. or the parking lot. Speaking of Maryland Avenue, between 24th and 25th Sts will be neighborhood retail that will actually face the street. However, the houses built over top of them will not.
There appears to be a common theme here. With a few exceptions nothing seems to face the street rather it faces inward discouraging foot traffic and additional lighting that will warrant. Having grown up in Columbia I've seen what happens when Retail faces inward. Safety concerns rise and Business is lost due to lack of roadside visibility. Columbia has had to redevelop its older Village Centers and its newer ones learned their lesson and were built in an open design that faces the road thus making it safer. I don't believe that the faux windows proposed for the Lowes and Grocery Store on 25th St. will suffice. One big difference between Columbia's Village Centers and the development in Remington is that the Remington Development is still in the planning stages and these potential development errs can be fixed before a single brick is laid.
That being said lets those fix potential errs before they're made. The Solutions are all very simple, build things so that their front doors face the street and not their parking structure or lot. Istead of a wall of faux windows on 25th St. how about real windows and the front doors? Sure customers will have to walk a few extra steps from their cars but traditional urban retail always seems to prevail both in the City and in the Suburbs. On 24th St., it seems that with the naturak slope downward between 25th and 24th St. the parking deck will dominate the landscape. But what if part of the top level of the parking deck were put to good use? Remington, under this plan is having a lot of National Retailers shoved down its throat and it's always prided itself on home grown business. So, why not incorporate that into the design? I'm thinking on Weekends we use a section of the upper parking deck for a Farmers Market and a Seasonal Florist. This will help 24th st. appear more lively and will put a local stamp on what is currently nothing but chains. East of Howard St. on 24th st. I'm not sure if the Marshalls and Staples will face the street or the parking lot. If they don't, they need to. On Maryland Avenue, the neighborhood retail does face the street, lets keep it that way. The homes over top of the retail do not face the street, lets make it so they do. Howard St. above North Avenue (and below it) is a traffic nightmare. I don't know what can be done to fix this but I do think that as the Central Spine of this new development, it should receive streetscape enhancements like brick crosswalks, planted medians, upgraded bus shelters, new traffic signals with "countdown"pedestrian signals should be considered for all streets involved.
Now most of this post obviously focused on the Anderson redevelopment but not much on Residential Remington. One big reason is because Residential Remington is a grass roots effort that's growing very fast and healthy. I still have an idea or two up my sleeve. First off, Remington is surrounded by "famous neighborhoods" with attractions while Remington holds more of a "Best Kept Secret" Status. It has a great youth group, something other Baltimore Neighborhoods can take a cue from, and a very friendly diverse population. Baltimore, to outsiders isn't known as being a Friendly City but I haven't met a Remington Resident who isn't anything less than pleasant and welcoming. Charles Village has the Painted Ladies, Hampden has the 34th St. Lights and the Avenue, and Station North is burgeoning Arts & Entertainment District. What can give Remington its distinction? How about landscaping? Baltimore always prides itself on having the wackiest and tackiest decorations like the Painted Ladies in Charles Village and the 34th St. Lights in Hampden but no Neighorhood has come out with the wacky tacky front yards. It can range from shaped hedges, lawn gnomes, things spelled out in feritlizer anything your imgaination can dream up. That will put Remington on the map and give it a greater identity.
Since I last wrote about Remington, I laid out a Master Plan that appears to be well followed, now with the Anderson Automotive Redvelopment "fixed" and some wacky tacky lawns Revisting Remington was a great visit. I hope you'll have me back soon!
