Trading Residences for Hotel Rooms: Not the Right but the Right Now

Well lets face it, we're in the throws of the worst economic melt down since The Great Depression. One of the largest factors that led to this melt down was the Real Estate Bubble that began inflating in 2002, leveled off in late 2006 and burst in late 2007. Everyone knew this was coming, but like an addiction Home Builders over built and over borrowed, Home Buyers bought homes they couldn't afford using an adjustable rate mortgage where they paid only interest and put nothing down. Once the bubble burst these inflated home prices began to fall drastically leaving millions of home owners paying more for a house they bought two years ago than it's worth today. Even worse, the low interest rates began to rise inflating mortgage payments even higher. Another problem with adjustable rate mortgages is that when you're done with that initial period you're mortgage can go double or even triple. Very few people's salaries doupled or tripled so making these new higher payments have become impossible especially since many home owners could barely make the initial interest only payments, amassing huge credit card debts.

So what's happening now? Foreclosures. Homeowners who got in way over their heads are now unable to pay their mortgage and can't sell their house either, nobody's buying and if they were the home owner would take a huge loss because of the depreciation of the home's value. Now how does this translate into an economic melt down? I'm no economist but I'll take a crack at it anyway, when lending and credit agencies aren't paid back the money they've lent they can't do business and they go bankrupt, this also means that businesses that wish expand can't do so. Homebuilders are unable to sell new construction or take out loans themselves and what they've borrowed to build the houses they can't sell, they're unable to pay back.
Before the economic meltdown there were many signs of the upcoming doom that nobody paid attention to. Baltimore caught wind of this before many other cities and counties which made the impact minimal here.
It all started with the fate of Olmstead at Charles Village which would have been $700,000 condos. Then Streuver Brothers Eccles and Rouse, the builders scaled the project back to rental apartments and sought subsidies from the city. The site remains vacant.This was all Baltimore developers needed to put the brakes on development projects, a very smart move. One type of construction that hasn't been effected as bad as the housing market is the demand for Hotel Rooms. This means that certain projects have been converted from residential units to Hotel Rooms.Now is this the right thing to do? Or is this the "right now" thing to do? Granted the city will over time need a total of 7,500 additional hotel rooms but putting them where residential units were originally supposed to go may halt the city's plans to help regain the 337,000 people it lost since its peak in 1957. There are many other parts of Downtown that could use the hotel space than around the harbor. The Westside of Downtown, State Center, Station North, and Mount Vernon all could benefit from Hotel Rooms which will help some of these neighborhoods become more of a tourist destination and make these neighborhoods a more happening place. Also, the city wouldn't gain the tax base it would get if these developments were turned into Hotels.
So far only four devlopments have either committed to or discussed switching from residential to Hotel but I fear there will be many more to come.
There's 30 East Pratt which is in between the Galleria and the old Examiner Offices,
The Old Mechanic Opera Theater in Charles Center,
The Parking Lot at Light St. and Conway, and the old Hutzlers at Calvert and Lombard next to the Brookshire Suites (yes Hutzlers opened an Inner Harbor Store from 1981-1986.)The Hutzlers site is the only one where construction has begun and two hotels of the Hyatt Brand have committed to opening there.
Now I recall someone inking a post last June instructing developers to "Sit on it" until the economy becomes development friendly once again and resume with their original plans. Well, it was me who inked that post and I stand firmly in that belief. There are other sites in Baltimore that have put their development on hold and I'm hoping that they can be salvaged and eventually built as they were first planned. They include; Waterview Overlook in Cherry Hill,Pinnacle 1 and 2 in Harborview, The Residences at Lexington Market,
Federal Place in Federal Hill, Vistas on the Lake in Reservoir Hill, Harbor Point in Fels Point,
Canton Crossing (the residential part),Tide Point (the residential part), Greektown condos, (1,000 + in high rises), the parking lot surrounded by Guilford Ave., Holiday St., and Saratoga St.,Brewers Hill, and the Gateway at Washington Hill.
There are those that began building before any signs of economic crisis and are having trouble selling or renting out their units. they include
Camden Crossing in Pigtown, Spinaker Bay in Inner Harbor East,
Athena Square in Greektown, Apartments at the corner of Charles and Preston in Mount Vernon,
The Ritz Carlton Residences,Silo Point in Locust Point,
Sailcloth Factory,
Stewarts,Greenhouse,and the Atrium all located in Downtown's Westside.

Yes, the economy is bad and while trading residential units for Hotel Rooms may be the "right now" thing to do it's not the long term right thing to do, those 7,500 Hotel Rooms can be better spread out throughout Downtown.

MLK Boulevard: Living Up to its name

I was watching a CNN Special and it talked about places named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mostly roads and schools. Now to have an honor like that bestowed upon a road or school said road or school must be in a great neighborhood that is the living embodiment of Dr. King's Dream. The population must be integrated and the races and income levels coexist peacefully and harmoniously where everyone loves and respects one another. The CNN Special basically reported the exact opposite. I knew this to a certain extent but it was something that I like most other Americans but in the back of our minds. I grew up in Columbia, a place (a very rare place) where Dr. King's dream flourishes.

Now we come to Baltimore, a city where incidentally there's a school and a road named after Dr. King. The school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is located in Lower Park Heights, one of Baltimore's roughest ghettos. It also became that way through blockbusting where the Jewish home owners left in the drop of a hat for the suburbs making for a drastic full racial turn around in a very few years. (1965-1970) Dr. King's assignation in 1968 only sped up this process. The Elementary School, in sync with CNN's Special is segregated and low performing even in Baltimore City School Standards.
Then there's Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, it's located on the western border of Downtown designed to bypass the gridlock of Downtown. MLK Boulevard runs from I-395, the nation's shortest interstate and Howard St.
When it was completed in 1982 MLK Boulevard was thought of barrier between Downtown and West Baltimore which it was essentially. At the time the road was built its surroundings were completely different than they are today. There were no Stadiums, The Westside of Downtown still had a Department Store or two.Lexington Market was in shambles, University of Maryland was much smaller. It has the only interchange with the tragedy that is I-170.
To the west of MLK Boulevard was Pigtown, although it gained population in the 1980s it still was struggling with crime, drugs, and prostitution.Hollins Market was trying to hold its own despite population loss and racial turnover. Poppleton was in shambles. There were four public housing sites three of which border MLK Boulevard. First was Lexington Terrace, and Poe Homes (this doesn't have MLK frontage), Murphy Homes (nick named "murder homes"), and McColloh Homes. The sprawling Social Security Complex marks the end of I-170.
The State Center Complex occupies the western end of MLK while the Seton Hill Neighborhood occupys the eastern end. At the inception of MLK Boulevard it had not lived up to its name.
Today, MLK Boulevard is both on the cusp of major change and has undergone major change already. Pigtown, although it lost population on the 1990s (I think the 2010 census will reveal that the population is the same as it was in 2000) has undergone major changes. Long time residents fear that it's on its to be the next Harbor East.
Camden Crossing, a Brownfields redevelopment has brought new blood into Pigtown and Washington Boulevard has been designated a "Main Street." Before the economy tanked investors were buying and handsomely rehabbing Pigtown's housing stock.
There are two new stadiums for the Orioles and Ravens Camden Yards and Mt&T Bank Stadium respectively. Hollins Market did not undergo a complete racial turnover, it has become of one Baltimore's most culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods. Like Pigtown, Hollins Market's housing stock is being rehabbed and repopulated. I expect very generous population gains in the 2010 census despite our current economic woes.Poppleton has benefited from the demolition of Lexington Terrace and its replacement with the low density "Towns at the Terraces" which through my phasing out of public housing family developments will see a broader income mix.
Murphy Homes has also hit the wrecking ball in favor of "Heritage Crossing." Heritage Crossing has a broader income than its neighbor to the south and it's also a little more secluded.
Another Poppleton victory has been the University of Maryland Biotech Park encompassing two blocks of Baltimore St. which will bring new blood into the neighborhood.
Speaking of UMB it has grown leaps and bounds and has become a magnet for Grad Students in the field of Medicine. Recent and or upcoming additions include the UMB School of Pharmacy, Dentistry, and a new student library.The next big things for MLK Boulevard are the State Center Redevelopment and the Red Line. The State Center Redevelopment is a TOD Site where the Blue Line and Green Line (both currently) meet up.
It's also a quarter mile away from Penn Station where there are MARC and Amtrak stops (proposed Purple Line) This is great for high density development where residents, visitors, and employees alike don't have to use their cars to get around. Also it will help reintegrate the neighborhoods of Bolton Hill, Mount Vernon, Madison Park, Seton Hill, and Station North together.
Originally the plan was larger and included the redevelopment of McCulloh Homes which will integrate Upton, Heritage Crossing, and the Red Line into the plan. This part of the plan has been scrapped at the request of McCulloh Homes residents. Speaking of the Red Line, in Option 4C which is supposedly what the community wants (they've signed a community compact) will run along MLK Boulevard from the former I-170 to Lombard St. with no stops. I believe this to be a mistake because MLK Boulevard only skirts the Western Edge of Downtown rather than going right through it. The Red Line should make a southeastern journey from the fromer I-170 down to Pratt St. with several stops that connect existing lines and provide service to the Westside of Downtown to ensure proper redevelopment (refer to my transit funds bundling post for a detailed look at this.) Another bad move involving MLK Boulevard is to extend it to meet I-83. This will waste funds that should go to building transit lines and iproving existing infrastructure. This will also cut the UMB Mount Royal Campus in half.Now here's what needs to be done, I'm just going to list them because I'm going to dedicate future posts for this. McCulloh Homes has got to go, The Social Security Building and its intruding parking structures have got to go, and the former I-170 has got to go. I already said the Red Line's Route along here will be a mistake as is its proposed intersection with I-83. Traffic patterns must be improved to promote better pedestrian access and blend West Baltimore neighborhoods with Downtown.Now to answer the question I proposed had Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard lived up to its name? Not quite but it's getting there and I'm very confident that it will. Baltimore, it's time we went against the peices of infrastructure named after Martin Luther King Jr. and honor him.

Transit Fund "Bundling"

All Photos From Google Earth

Well, Baltimore has missed out on Transit Funding from the Stimulus Package. The Stimulus Package is geared towards business as usual projects rather than new and innovative ones. This is across the board not just in transportation. This is a shame because Americans don't want business as usual they want change. However, I'm going on the defense and saying that innovation takes time and that the Stimulus Package was and is an emergency economic bailout that had to be passed so quickly that they couldn't take time to be innovative. The opportunity for such change will present itself but the money won't be as free flowing as it is with the Stimulus Package. What the Stimulus Package does do is fund highways. In Maryland that means the ICC in Montgomery and PG Counties and the I-95 Toll Road/Widening which includes the redesign of I-95's northeast interchanges with I-895 and I-695.
This widening will go from the city/county line to at least White Marsh Boulevard. This project has been nick named the Spaghetti Bowl.
Other projects of note include the redesign of the I-695/I-70 interchange, the expansion of the BW Parkway for the redevelopment of the Westport Waterfront, I-795 Dolfield Boulevard interchange, Reisterstown Road and Owings Mills Boulevard Interchange. JFX/MLK Boulevard interchange and extension, and finally Northern Parkway/JFX interchange redesign. Now with that being said, a fellow "Envision Baltimore" contributor by the name of Brad McCormick came up with the idea of sneaking in transit initiatives with road projects. Basically State, Local, and Federal Governments who have been writing blank checks for highways will see some of that money go toward rail transit lines. Brad, I told you this on Envision Baltimore and I'm telling you this now; you're a genius. I'm taking this idea of yours and I'm running with it giving you full credit of course but not only should Highway projects pay for transit but so should developers and other community stakeholders. So here's how we get Baltimore a 1st class transit system without allocating much money directly towards it. I call this "transit bundling" as in they will be bundling funds for transit in other projects.

Ok, since the Red Line is not "shovel ready" it won't get any Stimulus Dollars. Luckily, it's still a high priority on the MTA's agenda.Too bad option 4C (everyone's preference) is flawed from the get go. Lets use other sources of funding to fix it! The I-695/I-70 interchange redesign runs through the Red Line's path however, this section of the Red Line is not flawed but a little further east it's above ground on Edmondson Avenue from Cooks Lane to I-170.
Lets use some money from the I-695/I-70 interchange to have it tunneled here.
Also after I-170 the Red Line goes along MLK Boulevard until Lombard St. bypassing the Westside of Downtown and UMB. This will decrease ridership.The Red Line needs to stay on Mulberry St. until Paca St. where it will have a Seton Hill Stop, go down Eutaw St. where it will have a Lexington Market Stop, and meet the Green Line. At Eutaw and Baltimore Sts. It will have a UMB/Westside Stop. Funding for this can come from the ever expanding UMB, The redevelopment of 1st Mariner Arena, and other Developers throughout Downtown's Westside. It will then turn down Baltimore St. where it will again meet the Green Line and the future Yellow Line at South Charles Center. It will then travel down Liberty St./Sharp St. until it meets Pratt St. where it will turn east and emerge above ground to have a Convention Center, Inner Harbor, and Pier Six Stop, this can be incorporated into the Pratt St. redesign.
Now the Red Line in option 4C goes down President St. through Aliceanna St. and comes back to street level on Boston St. in Canton. This is one of Baltimore's lowest density areas, it needs to go where it's higher which translates into higher ridership.It should go down Eastern Avenue from President St. to Dundalk Avenue (tunneled of course) where it will have stops at Inner Harbor East, Fels Point, South Patterson Park, Canton, Highlandtown and Greektown. To make up for the cost difference one doesn't have to look far John Paterakis, developer of Inner Harbor East should put some money towards it as should Ed Hale Developer of Canton Crossing. The Developer of 1,000 condos in Greektown should also Pony Up.
Now there's supposed to be an East Baltimore MARC Station in Orangeville. This won't be reached via Eastern Avenue. Instead, the Red Line should branch off at President St. and travel through a tunnel on Pratt St. where it will have stops at Central Avenue, North Patterson Park, and Library Square, finally it will meet the East Baltimore MARC Stop in Orangeville (This is the only part that has funding gaps). Past Orangeville the Red Line will travel south and have a Bayview Stop (they cough up some cash for this), meet the terminus of the Red Line's other branch at Eastern and Dundalk and travel to the redeveloped O'Donnell Heights (developers can fund this) and then the Red Line will end at Fort Holabird.
Now comes the Yellow Line, itching to free itself the clutches of the Blue Line. The Blue Line should only be the Line that goes from Glen Burnie to Hunt Valley and the Yellow Line(in its current state) should go from BWI to Penn Station. It will follow the Blue Line until it gets built fully and here's I'll do it.Anne Arundel County and the Developers of Arundel Mills and Surrounding Areas will pony up to have the Yellow Line meet the Dorsey MARC Station, Arundel Mills Mall and the BWI MARC Station where it meet its current terminus at BWI. Along with the Blue Line the Yellow Line, upon entering Baltimore City will be tunneled. It currently separates the new Westport from existing Westport.Both Patrick Turner (developer of Westport) and the BW Parkway widening to prepare for the Westport development can pay for this.There has been a proposal to get rid of the JFX from Fayette St. to Preston St. this can fund the Yellow Line when it splits from the Blue Line at Camden Yards and it goes up Calvert St. through the Inner Harbor, Charles Center, Mercy Hospital, Mount Vernon, to Penn Station. The Demolition of the JFX will warrant more than enough money for this in fact it will complement the new road design perfectly.
After Penn Station but before North Avenue the Yellow Line will turn northeasterly and will parallel Greenmount Ave. The Station North Developers and the Developers for my Barclay East Baltimore Midway Better Waverly Redevelopment efforts can push the Yellow Line up to 33rd St.
In Towson there are plans being drawn to revitalize its Downtown, that coupled with the ever expanding triple campuses of Towson University, GBMC, and Sheppard Pratt will warrant these efforts to pay for the Yellow Line from the City/County Line along York Road to Towson Town Center, its northern terminus.
The only funding gap is between the city/county line and 33rd St. So that's the Yellow Line.
The MARC lines will include the Orange and Purple Lines and as part of the MARC System's Master Plan it includes "more localized" stops in the city ie the Orange and Purple Lines. The Purple Line however, will leave its MARC tracks south of Halethorpe and meet the BWI MARC Stop and will end at the Dorsey MARC Stop. Instead of Camden Yards being the end of the MARC Camden Line it will be at Hamburg St.
The Orange Line will then extend through South Baltimore and Locust Point making a loop around Locust Point. Developers of Federal Place Harborview, The Ritz Carlton Residences, Harbour Point, McHenry Point, Tide Point, and Silo Point can come together to pay for this. That's the Orange and Purple Lines.After the 2001 explosion under Howard St. it became clear that the CSX line would have to move. This leaves a tunnel vacant where the Blue Line can be placed. I'd rather have it under Eutaw St. but that post got blasted by the crictics. They did suggest underground pedestrian tunnels to connect the Blue and Green Lines. This corrects the mistake of ramming the Light Rail down Howard St. In option 4C of the Red Line makes this mistake seems to be made again twice first with Edmondson Avenue and then with Boston St.
Using funds from the MLK/JFX interchange and the improvements of the Northern Parkway JFX interchange I'd tunnel the Blue Line along the JFX and add a Remington and Reservoir Hill stop. I don't want to do this because it's a very scenic ride along the Jones Falls Valley but wet leaves disrupting service has forced me to change my opinion.
Another point Brad McCormick made was putting Street Car tracks when repaving roads. This can bring about the Charles St. Trolley Line because as luck would have it, a lot of Charles St. being repaved. The Trolley Line would go from Northern Parkway to an expanded Charles St. in Port Covington.

Now we come to the Green Line's norheast expansion.The Johns Hopkins Biotech Park warrants and can fund an expansion from the Hospital to North Avenue with a Madison Sqaure stop.
My Coldstream Homestead Montebello redevelopment plan and Morgan State expansion can push it up Harford Road to Lauraville.
The I-95 Toll Lanes aka the Spaghetti Bowl will have more than enough money to fund the Green Line from the I-695/Harford Road interchange to White Marsh Boulevard where it will have stops at Fullerton, White Marsh, Pulaski Highway, and its eastern terminus at the Middle River MARC Station at Martin State Airport.
The only funding gap is between Lauraville and I-695.

Now to perfect the Green Line, north of Mondawmin I'd tunnel it under Wabash Avenue which is overdue for redvelopment. Said Developers will pay for that.

At Nothern Parkway, which could also use new development it will turn easterly and go up Reisterstown Road. In the county,

Pikesville is trying to revitalize its Town Center, it can relocate its Milford Mill and Old Court stops along here instead of where I-795 was supposed to go.

On Reisterstown Road between I-695 and Painters Mill Road the Green Line will continue rather than along I-795. It will have new stops at Woodholme Shopping Center, The Avalon Community, and McDonough Township. It will go down Painters Mill Road to end at Owings Mills. To pay for the new Green Line above I-695 we can take funds from the I-795 Dolfield Boulevard interchange, the Reisterstown Road/Owings Mills Boulevard interchange and the Owings Mills Metro Station TOD.

Now we've just "bundled" ourselves to a brand new state of the art comprehensive transit system which will create new jobs, housing, population gains, and a great magnet for BRAC families. There are only three funding gaps; The Red Line Branch from President St. to Orangeville above Patterson Park, The Yellow Line from the City/County Line to 33rdSt. along York Road/Greenmount Ave., and the Green Line from Clifton Park to I-695 along Harford Road. If we managed to get funding for everything else secured I don't see a problem with these three little road bumps. Thanks Brad!

Happy Birthday

Baltimore City's Past Present and Future turns 2 years old today! I published my first post on February 13th, 2007 and haven't looked back since. After a slow start people started catching on. Now, close to every post gets multiple comments of varying satisfaction. The posts are longer and more involed and now have pictures. The pictures started in 2008 and have mostly been from Google Earth and a few of my own. Now I'm in the process of replacing those in older posts with pictures of my own. I'm shooting for most of my posts to have only my own pictures. Keep reading, I'll keep writing!