Liberty Road West: The Rebirth of Randallstown

Riding on the coat tails of my Liberty Road East post and its introduction of a class system of TOD I give you Randallstown or Liberty Road West. Randallstown is similar to Liberty Road East in that it's in between the Green Line and the Proposed Red Line and is cluttered with dated Apartments and Retail that can be upgraded to better serve wealthier demographics of the area. Whether or not a Class B TOD system is put in place, for Randallstown a rebirth is much needed.
The further away from Liberty Road one gets, the lower the density, there one will see Single Family Homes of varying ages and sizes that are well kept with nicely manicured lawns. The closer to Liberty Road one gets, you will find outdated Apartments and dinghy Retail. It's quite obvious that I will only focus on Liberty Road in this post because that's all that needs to be tweaked and tweak it I will. In addition to redeveloping Retail and putting in better tenants, I will also redevelop the old Apartment Complexes with mixed use mixed income housing as well as New Schools replacing the ones already there. Randallstown will then be the crown and jewel of Baltimore County.
Liberty Road West will consists of two new Down towns or Town Centres if you will first there's Downtown Milford which is close to the Beltway. In order to make this a reality, a lot of homes and businesses would have to be moved but I think the end result will be that of a streamlined master planned community, something that the area is currently lacking. First, the Giant at Liberty Road and Milford Mill Road is ancient, not only that it doesn't face Liberty Road. The best thing to do would be to tear it down and build a new one that faces Liberty Road with a parking lot behind it. All attached businesses will also face Liberty Road.
At the intersection of Rolling Road and Liberty Road, Scotts Branch Elementary will be rebuilt across Rolling Road from Ollie's. The Shoppers Food Warehouse next to Oliies will be turned into a Harris Teeter, the area's first. The Rockdale Gardens Apartment Complexes will be redeveloped and replaced with new high density, Apartments, Condos, Town Homes, and 2 over 2 Town Homes with density decreasing as one gets further away from Liberty Road.
The last big project will be the new Milford Mill High School. The new building will be located where the current Dunhill Village Apartments currently are, the fields will remain at their current location, and the new Dunhill Village Apartments will be where the current School
building is. A smaller project would be to redevelop the dated office condos behind the McDonalds at the southeast quadrant of Liberty Road and Rolling Road with a state of the Art Business Park with better accessibility from Liberty Road.
Next will head down to Randallstown where a Town Centre of sorts is already taking shape at Brenbrook Plaza. This Shopping Center which had stood vacant since the demise of Luskins got a new lease on life when a Home Depot opened several years back. One thing I take issue with is how suburban the Center is. When all of the Central Maryland Suburbs are rapidly urbanizing I think Brenbrook Plaza shouldn't be an exception. I think Brenbrook Drive should be the front door to the Home Depot and rebuild its parking on a swath of land behind Brenbrook Drive.
The remainder of the Plaza should be redeveloped with Liberty Road frontage and should take cues from Lockwood Plaza near the Harbor. Parking structures should be located behind the new Brenbrook Plaza and it should play host to new businesses like DSW Shoe Wharehouse, HH Greg, Home Goods, and Ana's Linens. Existing businesses will be part of the redeveloped Brenbrook Plaza as well. The Randallstown Community Center is located here too, adjacent to the Community Center should be a new State of the Art Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library currently across Liberty Road in the Liberty Court Shopping Center. There are old Apartments that are between Brenbrook Plaza and Northwest Hospital all of which I would have redeveloped with new higher density mixed income Apartments and Condos.
Other than demolishing the old Public Library Building, Liberty Court Shopping Center doesn't require much construction other than a modernized facade. Liberty Plaza on the other hand is ripe and ready for redevelopment. This was once anchored by a Valu Food, a chain that went bankrupt over a decade ago. The only real business here that is fenced off is the Marshalls, everything else has been vacated. Rumor has it that a Wal Mart will be coming here. I see no problem with that, as long as it has Brenbrook Drive frontage with a parking structure in the back. Now why not Liberty Road frontage?
The Marshalls would have that as well as several similar sized businesses in another Lockwood Plaza style development. Ohers joining Marshalls should include Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, Joann fabrics, and Dick's Sporting Goods. The Fire station across Brenbrook Drive will be redeveloped with Liberty Road frontage. One thing that's notable about Liberty Court and Liberty Plaza is the huge swath of land between that stretches all the way to church lane. This will be a great opportunity to introduce more new housing to the area consisting Apartments, Condos, Town Homes, and 2over 2 stacked Town Homes. Also included in the residential development would be the shuttered Car Dealership adjacent to the Fire Station.
Now that I've explained the major projects out of the way, I do think existing Shopping Centers and stand alone Businesses not mentioned could use some updating and new businesses should include but not be limited to; Pier 1 Imports, Office Depot, Fielienne's Basement, Whole Foods, Chicos, Joseph A. Banks, Starbucks (more than one), Lifetime Fitness,BRG The Burger Joint, Five Guys, Panera Bread, Applebys, Olive Garden, TGI Fridays, PF Changs, Chammps, and Pizzeria Unos. I think with a tenant roster like that coupled with Class B TOD I think I can
dub Randallstown reborn.

Not Highlandtown, Waverly!

There's been some interesting news surrounding the Arts Communities of Baltimore. Rather than migrating to the "new" Arts & Entertainment District in Highlandtown, an emerging Artist Community has quietly been forming northeast of Station North in Waverly. I'm going to take
a microscope to both Highlandtown and Waverly to see if I can put my finger my on this new development.
First of all, I will be talking about "Artists" a lot this go around, so I would like to make clear just what defines an Artist. I think the City defines an Artist as either a Painter, Sculptor, Musician, Poet, or Photographer who makes their living selling their work. I personally think what defines an Artist is much broader and that anyone with a passion for creating anything qualifies as one. My definition might be too broad for the spectrum of this post so I will use the City's narrow definition.
Now lets take a look at Highlandtown; the Neighborhood the City wants for an Entertainment District. Highlandtown historically has been a working class Neighborhood that has catered to the City's ethnic Eastern European Population most notably Polish and Greek Catholics. Bethlehem Steel in Dundalk served as a Major Employer for the Neighborhood until its slow decline after World War II. Another economic benefactor was the Crown Cork & Seel whose sprawling complex was located in the heart of Highlandtown.
Today Highlandtown is on the upswing after disinvestment due to plant closures took their toll on the Neighborhood. Just north of Canton and east of Patterson Park, Highlandtown's location is setting it up for gentrification Neighborhoods closer to the Harbor become built out making the price tag for a house in Highlandtown sky rocket. The Red Line will have a station that serves Highlandtown.Highlandtown has been losing population for quite some time and despite growth in Neighboring Areas between 2000 and 2010 Highlandtown has continued to lose population. Although the Eastern European population is still dominant, there is a growing Hispanic population. Highlandtown is composed almost exclusively of early 20th Century Row Homes with very few trees.
Now lets take a look at where Artists are flocking; Waverly. Waverly is by all accounts suburban, it has tree lined streets Single Family Homes with gardens, Duplex Row Homes, and very little Commercial Activity on streets other than Greenmount Avenue and 33rd St.
The Gothic Architecture alone with high ceilings would attract anyone to Waverly. Waverly started out as a pre annexation suburb with large estates that were divided into smaller lot homes be they Single Family Homes or Row Homes. In 1954 Waverly's crown and jewel; Memorial Stadium Opened and hosted the Os and the Colts until Camden Yards Opened in 1992.The closure of Memorial Stadium drained Waverly of its vitality and it too began losing population. The decline of surrounding Neighborhoods only worsened matters. I think the proximity to Station North has been beneficial to Waverly when it comes to attracting Artists. As Station North becomes more expensive and commercial, Artists may seek a more affordable alternative nearby that is also safe. Waverly not only fits the bill but Artists looking to settle
down and start families will appreciate the suburban atmosphere that Waverly provides.
As Waverly makes a turn around, Greenmount's rough commercial corridor may finally improve and be more conducive of its surroundings. Good news on the front of surrounding areas, Barclay is undergoing a massive redevelopment effort that may well bring in a larger Artist presence, then again it may not but it will still be good for Waverly.
I can't put my finger on why Waverly has become a haven to Artists instead of the City's choice of Highlandtown, but I think Waverly's affordability and diverse selection of architecture makes a good case.

Liberty Road East: A Different Kind of TOD

Well here I am in the County again, the more I focus on issues surrounding the County I realize how a successful County is crucial to a successful City. This go around I'm focusing on Liberty Road East (inside the Beltway but outside the City),which includes the communities of Lochearn, Milford Mill, and Sudbrook. Most of my focus when it comes to the County is mass transit and Liberty Road East is no different.
Even if and when Baltimore has a viable Rail Transit system not every suburban drag will be located directly on Transit Line but Liberty Road has the distinction of eventually being located in between two; the Green Line to the north and the Red Line to the south hopefully by the year 2020. In the suburbs of DC, due to their well functioning Rail Transit system, there has been an upswing in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) in the past 10-15 years. Obviously TOD has to be within a short of one or Rail Transit Stops in order to qualify as such so Liberty Road doesn't quite meet the qualifications, or does it?
Who says TOD has to be built strictly around Rail Transit? Perhaps a Bus Line can attract development and redevelopment to an area that although not a short walk to a Rail Stop but a short bus ride to one?DC employs a line of buses known as "Metro Bus" (think Charm City Circulator that only goes between Rail Stops)which serves riders who don't live as hop skip and a jump away from a Rail Stop. As Baltimore expands the number of Rail Stations available throughout the City and the County, a similar venture should come to fruition to increase Rail ridership and decrease dependence on cars.
Given Liberty Road's prominent location between the Green Line and soon to be Red Line in the County I think a Metro Bus like line should operate with stops throughout Liberty Road East to increase ridership in its nearby communities. A bus route can include the Milford Mill and the Old Court Stations on the Green Line, and the Social Security and the Medicare/Medicaid Stations on the Red Line allowing Residents of the Liberty Road East Communities a convenient alternative to driving to a Rail Stop or worse driving their car all the way to their destination in the City.
Now what does a Metro Bus like system have to do with TOD? Like I said TOD only really has relevance within a short distance of the RAIL stops themselves, but why does that have to be the case? Why not have TOD oriented around a BUS Stop that then transports you to a Rail Stop
for your commute Downtown? What I'm proposing for Liberty Road East and eventually all of Baltimore (both City and County) is a class system of TOD to classify what type of transit the development is oriented around.
Class A TOD is built around at least one Rail Stop examples of this include the new Westport Development, Charles Center, and Station North. All these areas now have one Rail Line servicing them but if the Yellow Line ever becomes a Reality all these stops will have access to it. Class B TOD is what I'm proposing for Liberty Road East, though close to a Rail Stop, it's not an easy walk so dedicated buses like DC's Metro Bus will serve it. Finally Class C TOD (of which there aren't any known examples of) would be built around a Bus Stop that doesn't directly service a Rail Stop.
Now why put TOD along Liberty Road East other than what I've already proposed? Well I see a lot of promise in the area just like Liberty Heights Avenue just across the City Line. The Neighborhoods surrounding Liberty Road are stable modest single family homes with
nicely manicured lawns and handsomely renovated interiors. Liberty Road itself is filled with hodge podge Retail, and rundown Apartment complexes, neither of which paint a true picture of the Community at large. If TOD albeit Class B TOD but TOD none the less were built where such blight now stands, a broader mix of residents and incomes will come to the area and with that, better amenities such as modernized Schools and Community Centers. I think a new class of TOD has just been born and if successful, can be a model throughout Baltimore.

Reopening the Great Far East

As promised I'm following up on my previous post by writing about the new development opportunities made possible by demolishing I-895 north of its I-95 intersection, and downgrading highways like Edison Highway, Pulaski Highway, Moravia Road, and Erdman Avenue. New development will be centered around the proposed East Baltimore MARC Station and the Red Line Stop at the same location. Hopefully this new development in Far East Baltimore will have a domino effect and breathe new life into ailing Neighborhoods in East Baltimore.
The dividing Far East Baltimore into Neighborhoods will be used more in this post than in the last one. Once again the areas are as follows; the Orangeville Area, the Armistead Area, the Kresson Area, and the Pulaski Area. Given that the core of the Orangeville Area remains an
active and thriving Industrial Area, redevelopment won't occur hear until that is no longer the case.
First off is the Kresson Area. It extends all the way down to Lombard St. in Greektown and Bayview. It won't achieve a complete connection to those areas because there are still active train tracks in use. With I-895 gone, the area can be stream lined into high density TOD given that the East Baltimore MARC Station and Red Line stop will be closest to this area. A little known anomaly is that there is a small very old Row House Neighborhood known as "Kresson" these Row Homes will be preserved and occupied homes will remain as such. This small Community will be named "Historic Kresson." Housing types will be Apartments, Condos, and converted lofts from attractive warehouses.
Next comes the Pulaski Area, this will feature a diverse array of housing options. This is in the general area of the former Hollander Ridge public housing high rise that was torn down in 1995. The ability to build new housing here will improve greatly by the demolition of I-895. Again the area closest to the new MARC Station will be the highest density with density decreasing as one moves further from the Station.
The area bordered by Erdman Avenue will feature Apartments and Condos while the area by Orleans St. (nee Pulaksi Highway) will feature Town Homes not unlike those found in Orchard Ridge.Finally north of Moravia Road will be an extension of the development "Frankford Estates." This new development features Single Family Homes
on small lots in a compact urban design.
Although the Armistead Area was covered a few posts back in "Adios Armistead" I will still summarize for the purpose of this one. Armistead Gardens is a former public housing development turned Co-Op which, according to Residents who have commented on this blog, has
seen better days.
In order to recoup the density lost from Freedom Village and Claremont Homes' demolition, the new Armistead Gardens will be entirely mid-rise Apartments and Condos. Work will be done in phases.
The last area of Far East Baltimore is actually the most centrally located. I have advocated for high density TOD in Orangeville for almost five years now and that was the subject of one of my very first posts. Orangeville, unlike other areas of Far East Baltimore still has some thriving industry. It also has some industrial wastelands that are ready for redevelopment now. The area east of Edison St. (nee Highway), west of the CSX Tracks, north of the Amtrak tracks, and
south of Federal St. will be spared until Industry is no longer viable, then and only then will this area be redeveloped.
There are some areas of note here, like the small development of Single Family Homes, they will never be redeveloped and will be known as "Historic Orangeville." There are also a few land banks here one of which was supposed to be developed as a suburban big box center. That would be a big mistake for an area I'm trying to build up as a new urban area. The areas that warrant redevelopment are the parts facing Erdman Avenue east of the railroad tracks and the area above Federal St, below Sinclair Lane, between Edison St. and Erdman Avenue. This will be redeveloped as an Office Park with underground parking. This will add to the mixed use aspect of Far East Baltimore. The Offices facing Erdman Avenue will have ground floor Retail. Portions west of Edison St. will be residential, town homes that mimic existing Row Homes.
Well, I've created an entire new district of Baltimore City. Hopefully this area will be sought after enough to breathe new life into existing distressed Row House Communities nearby. Given how few Residences there are here, the new Residences built here will be straight population growth for the City.

Highways:Dividing East Baltimore Since the 20th Century

When most people think of East Baltimore they think of densely packed row house communities such as Broadway East, Berea, Ellwood Park, and Madison Eastend to name a few. Sadly these Neighborhoods have fallen on hard times resulting in a large population loss and rise in crime for the past few decades. There's another East Baltimore though, one that's worlds away from the aforementioned Row House Communities but in reality the "other East Baltimore" is only across either a Highway or train tracks which "connect" the two. Notice I said highways and train tracks and they have divided East Baltimore for too long.
So what is this other East Baltimore? It's mostly an under utilized Industrial Area separated from the rest of the City and County for that matter by unnecessary highways and train tracks. Since highways divide this area so well I will divide it myself for the purposes of naming them all; there's the Orangeville Area, the Kresson Area, Pulaski Area, and Armistead Area. These differentiated areas will prove helpful as I attempt to write this post.
In the Armistead Area lies Orchard Ridge, a master planned community that of town homes built on the grounds of a former Public Housing Site. Given the fact that these were built in the middle of the recession and still sold like hotcakes, it shows that this area is an untapped resource. I'd also like to take this moment to say that not all highways here present a problem, in fact it's the proximity to I-95 that played a part in the success of Orchard Ridge and will play a part in further redevelopment of East Baltimore.
Now that that's out of the way, lets list some of the highways that need either go away or be downgraded to urban style streets; Edison Highway, Erdman Avenue, Pulaski Highway, I-895, and Moravia Road. This particular post reminds me of a series in the summer of 2010 called Reopening the great Northeast that called for the reopening of Gay St. and Harford Road traveling northeast from Downtown. That series didn't go far enough east so think of this as "Reopening the Great Far East."
Of course I don't believe thriving industry should be given the boot so instead only industry that can be redeveloped right away and highways that can be made into City streets. The biggest such endeavor is I-895.
It meets I-95 at the end of both the Harbor Tunnel and Fort McHenry Tunnel but continues on, this portion is not well traveled and should be gotten rid of completely, which in turn would open the doors to new mixed use development.
Pulaski Highway is another road that is guilty of dividing the industrial east. Its grade separated intersections with Moravia Road, Erdman Avenue and Monument Street should all be downgraded and narrowed to urban streets with signalized intersections. Since there is already a Pulaski St. in West Baltimore, Pulaski Highway will simply take the Orleans St., which is the name it uses further west in the City.
Edison Highway is another guilty party although it should more just be narrowed given that it doesn't have grade separated intersections. The road itself will be renamed "Edison St." which will be narrowed to two lanes in each direction with pedestrian signal upgrades.
Erdman Avenue's biggest problem is its grade separated intersection with Pulaski Highway and its intersection with I-895 both of which have already been discussed. Like other roads discussed here Erdman Avenue will be narrowed into an urban style street with signalized intersections and the deletion of I-895.Moravia Road will endure a similar fate with its downgraded intersection with Pulaski Highway and the deleted intersection with I-895.Highways have divided East Baltimore for too long and in order to save the area, the highways must go, stay tuned for next post dedicated to development in the same area.