Downtown Westside Redevelopment:The One You've Been Waiting For

For decades City Planners and developers alike have promised to reinvest and redevelop the Westside of Downtown. There have been a few success stories mainly the ones closest to Camden Yards or the Inner Harbor. With the revitalization of the Inner Harbor, Mount Vernon, Bolton Hill, Seton Hill, Ridgley's Delight, and now the State Center TOD and Station North the Westside has become a blighted donut center with gentrification being the outer portions. Lets fill in the Donut once and for all and I think I have the plan that will do just that. This is it, the one you've been waiting for.

The Westside went down the tubes as Suburban Shopping Malls dominated the landscape. Although Baltimore based Department Stores still considered their Downtown branches to be their flagship stores, their suburban counterparts carried higher end merchandise due to the higher spending power of suburbanites. Baltimore based Departments Stores, the anchors of Downtown's Westside closed down all together, were eaten up by a merger, or decided to focus solely on their suburban branches. This left the Westside of Downtown in shambles with nothing but low rent retail with equally priced merchandise. The Westside of Downtown, although it was Baltimore's retail Mecca and it housed clothing factories it wasn't known for having a large housing stock, this could have been a catalyst in its rapid decline or if more housing were there it could have made the decline even faster. That's a question that may never be answered.
On the suburban side of things retail kept evolving. First it was Strip Centers, then it was enclosed Shopping Malls, then it was Big Box Shopping Centers, now it's Lifestyle Centers. Life Style are a blend of Big Box and Shopping Malls all outdoors. Many of these allow cars to drive right through the middle of the Shopping Center (Think Avenue at White Marsh.) Although Life Style Centers still feature acres upon acres of surface parking like their predecessors, they bring back an urban approach to retail that hasn't been seen for generations. Now what does Suburban retail have to do with the Westside of Downtown? Everything!

As I've stated in previous posts, the goal for struggling Cities should be to incorporate suburban conveniences in an urban setting. Capitalizing on the strengths of both and letting the weaknesses of them both fall to the wayside. Call me crazy but I consider the Westside of Downtown to be a giant Life Style Center and a giant TOD District. This allows for maximum density allowing not only lots of retail but housing and offices to go above said retail. This will create a critical mass to patronize the retail on a local level while at the same time making the Westside of Downtown a world class destination like the Inner Harbor.

Now what type of tenants should the Westside of Downtown try to attract? Well, look no further than your local Shopping Mall, Big Box Center, or Lifestyle Center. Where will the Westside find its clientele? Well look no further than it surrounding neighborhoods. They're all College Towns in their own rights. UMB is to the south, UMB Mount Royal to the north, Mount Vernon to the east, Hopkins University and both Charles Village and Station North just beyond Mount Royal. Mall stores are generally geared towards teenagers and College Students.

Although I consider the Westside to be one giant Retail District, I have divided it into several sub districts. These sub districts feed off of each other and complement each other just like in Shopping Malls. The first is the Garment District it will be located in the southside of the "core" of the Westside. It will be located in the following Lxington St. to the south, Saratoga St to the north, Greene St. to the east, and Arch St. to the west. Another block would Saratoga St. to the south, Mulberry St. to the north, Paca St. to the east, and Greene St. to the west. Yet another block in the Garment District would be Saratoga St. to the south, Mulberry St. to the north, Eutaw St. to the east, and Paca St. to the west. The last block of the Garment District will be Saratoga St. to the south, Mulberry St. to the north, Howard St. to the east, and Eutaw St. to the west. Since these stores don't require a large footprint redevelopment will be minimal. There has been some demolition here and there will need to infill development.

Stores in the Garment District should include Aeropastle, Martin & Osa, Hollister, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Mens Wearhouse, Express, Oakley, Foot Action, American Eagle, Eddie Bauer, PacSun, J. Crew, Bebe, Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, The Gap, Fossil, Delia's, Limited Too, The Limited, Foot Locker, New York Company, Chicos, Lucky Brand Jeans, Talbotts, Guicci, DKNY, Fossil, Ann Taylor, and White House Black Market.

There's a Parking Garage at the southeast corner of Paca and Fayette with a large retail space that's vacant. I think an H&M will fit the bill perfect. There will be high rise apartments and condos above all buildings in the Garment District.

Next comes the Housewares/Electronics District this may have superblocks due to the size of showrooms but we'll try to make showrooms two or more stories if this becomes an issue. The Housewares/Electronics District will include Mulberry St. on the south and Franklin St. on the north it will extend from Greene St. to Parke Ave. Stores will include LaZ Boy, The Room Store, Havverty's, Jennifer Convertables, Ethan Allan, Ikea, Willams Sonoma, Brookstone, The Apple Store, Pier 1 Importants, Pottery Barn, Yankee Candle Company, Origins, FYE, and Offenbachers. This area will also play host to independant Boutiques that carry Housewares. The buildings here will be high rises with apartments and condos the closer one gets to Greene St. and Offices the closer one gets to Park Ave.
The next district will be the Restaurant District. This is the G-Rated name for it the true name will be Hell's Kitchen. Baltimore's Hell's Kitchen will be centered along Eutaw St. and its intersection with Madison and Monument Sts. with frontage on the westside of Howard St. This is where graduates of Baltimore International College can open up their own Restaurant or Celebrity Chefs who have overlooked Baltimore will have a great place to discover Charm City.
Just below Hell's Kitchen will be "Westside Square" this will be a public square that will link the Green Seton Hill Neighborhood to the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. Its borders will be Eutaw St. to the west, Howard St. to the east, Centre St. to the south, and Monument St. to the north. Condos and apartments will be on the above floors.
On Howard St. across from Hell's Kitchen will be Jewelers Row. This is where Jewelers like Jared's the Galleria, Zales, Kay Jewelers, Chipp Smyth, Swarvinski, Fire & Ice, White Hall Co., Littmans Jewelers, and Reeds Jewelers. Condos and Apartments will be on the above floors.
Just above Jewelers Row sits the former shell of Antiques Row. There are still a few Antique in operation on this otherwise desolate block on the east side of Howard St. across from Maryland General Hospital. This suggests there may still be a market for a viable Antiques Row if even merchants came back and a critical mass of population may be able to support it.
Speaking of Maryland General Hospital it's time the Hospital expanded. This is not me talking there are plans to renovate and expand the Hospital. I think the expansion should be west of the existing building with Eutaw St. frontage. The existing buildings here will have to be torn down to accommodate this.
The northeast corner of Howard and Franklin St. will play host to four Hotels. A Clarion, Embassy Suites, a Marriott Courtyard, and a Westin.Caddy Cornered from these Hotels will be the rebuilt Congress which in my opinion shouldn't have been torn down in the first place. There are apartments being built on part of the site but they will be surrounded by the new Congress.
Across from the four Hotels sits the shell of the Mayfair Theatre. This cannot and will not be torn down if I have any say in it which I don't but what I'm proposing is what I proposed in my previous about Movie Theatres in Baltimore. It will be a ten screen Multiplex showing first run movies. It will still feature the old Mayfair Marquis although a chain Cinema will run it.
It will be expanded in the back to Eutaw St. and to the sides to Franklin St. and the Old Western High School (now condos.)
Next we travel south to the Department Stores around Lexington St. The Grand Dame that was once the Flagship location for Hutzlers stands almost completely vacant. This will be a mall in and of itself. It could fit a Dicks Sporting Goods, Staples, DSW Shoe Warehouse, JoAnn Fabrics and a Ross Dress for Less.
In fact, it will have a similar rebirth than that of its sister store in Towson.
The Old Brager Gautmans will be a Barnes and Noble. Just east of the Stewarts Building will be a Bally Total Fitness.
The upper side of Lexington Mall will be called "Organic Row" which will house Health Food Stores like GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, and possibly Davids Natural Market a long time staple in Columbia that keeps growing that could be talked into opening a Baltimore Store. Just above Organic Row will be the R US towers The first three floors will house an R US Store; Toys R US, Babies R US, and Kids R US.Next we come to the Super Pampered Block. This will be located across from Lexington Market on the east side of Eutaw St. and will be home to upscale Day Spas and stores such as Rafets Hair Masters, Nail Trix, Bubbles Salon & Spa, MAC, Sephora, Bath & Body Works, Faces, and Merle Norman.
On the other side of Lexington Market sits a three story parking garage where there's a proposal to build 23 Town homes, 2 100 unit towers and 50 unit tower. This is known as the Residences at Lexington Market. I believe this has been shelved due to the economy but I think it should be revived when the time is right.
South of Lexington Market is the perfect location for a transit hub. Both the Light Rail and the Subway have stops here which are Baltimore's only two rail lines. The Red Line is not set to have a stop here but in my Red Line plan it does which bumps the number of rail lines stopping here to three. This will also be the beginning and end point for several bus routes. A Taxi stand can also be located here.Speaking of transit there are tunnels under Howard St. currently occupied by the CSX but they will have to vacate. After that, the Light Rail should use those tunnels and Howard St. should be made into a two way street its entire length to ease the burden of its neighboring streets.
The intersection of Fayette and Greene Sts will be made into neighborhood retail anchored by a Harris Teeter Superkmaret and a Rite Aid Pharmacy (the same Rite Aid Pharmacy currently located at the Townes at the Terraces)and neighborhood conviences such as a Coffee House, a Dry Cleaner, a Wine Cellar, smaller restaurants like Chipotle, Chick Filet, Quiznos, Pei Wei Asian Diner, and Boston Market.

The last section of the Westside is, at least in its current condition, everybody's least favorite. It's the ugly sprawling and outdated Social Security Complex. Good News! It's vacated its fortress and moving to the new State Center! Since it doesn't fit in the new Wetside I'm proposing the whole complex; buildings and garages will hot the wrecking ball. Would you miss it? Neither will I. Now, the development potential here is almost too good to be true. One market segment I left out of the Westside was kids clothing stores. This will be called the "Junior Garment District" it will include stores like; The Children's Place, Gap Kids, Abercrombie Kids, Old Navy, Pumpkin Patch, Kids Foot Locker, Janie & Jack, Lucky Brand Jeans, Icing by Claires, Hot Topic, The Disney Store, Nautica Kids, Build a Bear, Baby Gap, and Club Libby Lu.

Now as I've stated the New Westside will be high rises whether they be brand new buildings or existing buildings that will be expanded upward which will house Apartments, Ccondos, or Offices. Now, there have been some residential conversions worth mentioning. I don't know how successful they are because of the economy and the slow pace of other development projects and ones that have been scrapped all together. In its current state the Westside hasn't become the draw planners had been hoping for. These projects include;

The Old Western High School,

The Old Hects Building,

The Sailcloth Factory,

Greenhouse,

Camden Court,

The Atrium (built on the grounds of the former Hoschold Kohn Building),

and the Old Stewarts Building.

Another project of note is Avalon at Centerpoint. Centerpoint was supposed to be a superblcok developed by Bank of America. Due to Bank of America's financial woes they sold off Centerpoint and its future is undetermined. Avalon at Centerpoint appeared to have jumped the gun on this one.

Well that's it, the one you've been waiting for. Now why is this the one you've been waiting for? It's not too comprehensive and it's not too small either. It's comprehensive yet it examines every parcel of land at the same time and determines what will best suit it. It doesn't redevelop one building and let its neighbors remain blighted, it tackles everything. Demolition is minmial compared to other plans which will make preservationists happy. It tackles traffic issues and creates a multi modal transit hub at Lexington Market where three lines meet. It creates a critical mass of residents and workers to support all the new retail while making it a regional draw as well. It puts five Hotels in the middle allowing tourists to experince the New Westside as well. It connects itself to its surrounding neighorhoods; Charles Center, The Inner Harbor, Seton Hill, Mount Vernon, UMB,and the State Center. Most importantly, it takes the conviences of Suburbia and puts them in an urban setting building upon the strengths of both and letting the weaknesses of them both fall to the wayside. This was it! The One You've Been Waiting For!

Old Movie Houses:Just One Life to Live

Ever been to the Movies? Well of course you have, who hasn't? Now have you been to the movies in Baltimore? Well of course you.........probably haven't at least any time recently. This post will discuss everything movie theater related whether it be films or theater they show and how both can be strengthened and how they got to be where they are today.

Perhaps the biggest problem with older American Cities that are trying to regain population lost in the latter part of the 20th century is trying to appeal to suburbanites while at the same time not turning in to a suburb itself. One fundamental difference (of many) between cities and suburbs is how one goes to the movies. The suburban trend has been and will continue to be bigger. Bigger Theatres which play multiple movies at the same time. These are called "multiplexes" the number of theatres in a multiplex can range from two to twenty two. Baltimore, did not catch on to this trend in revitalization attempts. Baltimore in its hey day had lots of "Movie Houses" all through out its neighborhood's Main Streets which as their name suggests only has one theater that played one movie at a time.

Baltimore may be lacking in the Cinema sector of Theatre but it has a vibrant and healthy live theatre community with venues throughout the City.
They include the Hippodrome, The Merrick Opera House, and the Everyman Theatre in
Downtown's Westside.(coming soon, currently in Station North
Mount Vernon also plays host to several Theatres including Center Stage, The Lyric Opera House, Run of the Mill Theatre, and The Spot Light Theatre. Fels Point and Greektown house the Corner Theatre and Toby's Dinner Theatre respectively. In both the Charles North and State Center Master Plans there are plans for a live theatre.

Now back to Cinemas. Baltimore is in danger (again) of losing its last Movie House; The Senator. The Senator, although its attendance is lacking has a lot of support from Baltimore Movie Buffs. Whenever the Senator is in trouble residents and businesses alike pull together to put the Senator back on track. There is talk of the City stepping in to save the Senator from its current financial woes. One thing that puzzles me is if the Senator has such a large fan base why is business so slow? My theory is that only showing one film at a time, the audience is limited to people who only want to see that particular film and fans of the Senator have to wait until it shows a film that they like. That right there is the explanation for the demise of the Movie House and the rise of the Multiplex; something for everyone. There is another former Movie House that decided to expand in 1999 from one screen to five.
That theatre is the Charles and its expansion marked the birth of "Station North" an arts and entertainment district that has become a trendy hot spot.

Now the Senator is a relic, a dinosaur if you will. Baltimore was once full of Movie Houses from Lauraville to Violetville. They include the Hamilton, The Walbrook, The Pimlico, The Patterson, The Royal (Upton), The Parkway Theater (Station North), The Paradise(Fels Point), The Federal (Federal Hill), Eureka (Hollins Market), Ideal (Hamden) The Broadway, The Bridge, (Edmondson Avenue), The Waverly, McHenry (South Baltimore), The Gilmor (Sandtown Winchester), Roosevelt (Mount Vernon) Forest Park, Pennington (Curtis Bay), Echo (Locust Point), The Fredrick (Irvington), Lafayette (Harlem Park, The Hampden, The Edmondson, The Flag (Riverside), Dunbar (Washington Hill), The Harford (Lauraville), The Fairmount (Canton), and the New Gem (Buthchers Hill) The were dozens more located throughout Downtown, Pennsylvania Avenue, and North Avenue, too many to name them all.

There are two underlying themes in this post. The first is that Old Movie Houses are only fit to be just that, Movie Houses. Their Architecture won't support any other uses. Plenty of old Movie Houses in Baltimore have been converted into storefront churches among other uses mostly among the retail sector. They look hideous, as much history as these old Movie Houses have they should be torn down or renovated drastically to fit the needs of their current function if any. With the Royal, the Theatre was torn down and Marquis was saved. In Forest Park one was torn down in favor of a Walgreens Pharmacy.
In Highlandtown one was torn down in favor of the Southeastern Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I'm not against saving Old Movie Houses in fact it would be nice if some were converted back to Movie Houses like the Walbrook which is still standing but is currently a Store Front Church. However, we've got to face facts that this nostalgic era of Baltimore's past is just that; the past. Old Movie Houses only have one life to live.
Edmondson Village took a stab at the Multiplex idea in the 1950s but they ultimately closed.
The second underlying theme of this post is that despite the demise of Old Movie Houses in Baltimore we still have to look forward and be innovative to fill the retail gap left by Old Movie Houses. This means that Baltimore has to build more Multiplexes throughout the City. Now Multiplexes are a product of Suburbia with their acres of surface parking and the "Big Box" design of the buildings themselves. This is where the innovative thinking comes into play. After all, we do not want Baltimore to become a suburb of itself in fact the higher the density, the better. Can Baltimore have its cake and eat it too?
It already took its first bite with the opening of the Landmark Theaters in Harbor East. It shares a building with a Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites with either Offices or Apartments Above. Now this the way to do it. I'm proposing several other locations throughout the City to build multiplex Theaters with varying density. Some will be in lower density suburban style shopping centers while others will be part of the high density urban grid. My suggested locations include;Southside Shopping Center,
Mondawmin Mall, Mount Clare Junction,
Reisterstown Road Plaza, Edmondson Village (again), Belair Road, Orangeville (After the Redline is built),the Westside of Downtown (where the Mayfair is it will use the old Marquis),
and Eastern Avenue. Notice these locations are not near the Charles or the Senator.

Well Old Movie Houses may only have one life to live but their legacy will live on in the form of Multiplexes.

East Baltimore: Streamlining the Gentrification

East Baltimore is having and has had a number of different gentrification projects over the years. They have been met with great success and will continue to as the years go by. One problem with East Baltimore is that these projects are a patchwork and don't spill out into the greater community leaving other parts of the community to continue to operate in shambles. What this post will do is identify what can be done fix this and unite East Baltimore as a Community with homes and businesses new and old all of which will thrive.

As I've stated previously, the disinvestment of East Baltimore can traced back to the down fall of its major employers; Bethlehem Steel, Canneries, Breweries, and Ship Yards. One constant anchor to the Community has been and will continue to be Johns Hopkins Hospital. However, it hasn't done much to curb the disinvestment of its surroundings until very recently.
East Baltimore has played host to several Public Housing Developments over the years some of which still exist while others have been demolished. This has resulted in the patch work of gentrification and blight I discussed earlier because the public housing developments were located right next to each other rather than spread out. The first development to hit the wrecking ball was Lafayette Courts, a high rise development that was replaced with the town home and low rise senior building known as Pleasant View Gardens.
Pleasant View Gardens (PVG) was met with mostly positive reviews but not having enough of an income mix is posing problems.
That's why when Broadway Homes (southeast of PVG) and Flag House Courts (a few blocks south of PVG) were redeveloped their finished products; Broadway Overlook andAlbemarle Square respectively contained a much broader income mix and have become the bench mark for mixed income communities.
Broadway Overlook's average median income has sky rocketed since its 2004 completion it also incorporated the recently shuttered Church Hospital in the form of mid rise apartments and a community focal point.
In the immediate vicinity of these new developments lie several old and blighted developments which have not benefited from the redevelopment of their neighbors. Some will be demolished while others may be demolished. If it's not a sure thing there is at least talk of doing so. Somerset Homes is emptied out and ready for demolition.
It is directly north of PVG, East of Forest St. Apartments, and west of three Schools; Paul Laurence Dunbar High, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle, and Thomas G. Hayes Elementary. Thomas G. Hayes Elementary has closed, Dunbar High's Athletic Fields are northwest of the School and the School itself is under capacity.When redeveloping Somerset Homes all these factors need to taken into consideration. In my School Facilities Update post, Dunbar High will receive a massive renovation and redistricting to bring it back up to full capacity. Its athletic fields will go on the roof to save space. Thomas G. Hayes Elementary will close and Dunbar Middle will close (in my plan). In my plan Forest St. Apartments will be demolished with Somerset Homes as will Thomas G. Hayes Elementary and Dunbar Middle. They will all be part of a new high density development of market rate apartments and condos with underground parking and ground floor retail known as "Hopkins Pointe." The current Dunbar Athletic Fields will be cut in half be letting Aisquith St. run through it. One side will be a public square known as "Oldtown Square" and the other will be a Dog Park.

Speaking of Oldtown, no conversation about East Baltimore will complete with bringing up Oldtown Mall. Oldtown Mall, is a desolate Outdoor Pedestrian Mall where Gay St. used to run. If the buildings aren't in danger of collapsing, we can save them and back fill them with businesses that will serve the tremendous population growth from its surroundings. Gay St. will reopen to cars. If not, they will have to be demolished and the city will lose yet another Historic Site due to neglect. West of Oldtown lies acres of surface parking lots in an area known as Penn Fallsway. With Downtown literally across the street from here I can't fathom how this hasn't been developed. Well, it's time we demolished the JFX and extended Downtown into these parking lots and ultimately connected Downtown to Hopkins. The network of streets will have to be reworked to achieve maximum density and the best traffic flow. This will be mixed use residential, office, hotel, and retail all with underground parking. This development will be called "Jones Falls Overlook." Other elements here will be a Farmer's Market that currently operates under the JFX and a Homeless Shelter because there are many homeless camps under the JFX.

Now for perhaps the most pivotal development in streamlining East Baltimore; Douglass Homes. Strategically located at the intersection of Broadway, Fayette, and Orleans Streets it ties all the new development. Think about it, every development I've discussed and will discuss borders Douglass Homes in some way.
Pleasant View Gardens (PVG)is to the west, Somerset Homes is to the northwest, The Dunbar High Campus to the north, Johns Hopkins Hospital to the northeast, Broadway Overlook to the south, and the Gateway at Washington Hill to the east. To be in scale with the developments already in place it will feature mostly two to three story town homes some with garages and/or basements some with neither. Also on Central Avenue will be a low rise Public Housing Senior Building that mirrors the one in PVG directly across the street.
One project of note near Douglass Homes is the new Enoch Pratt Free Library.
The old Charles Carroll of Carollton Elementary is located on the PVG side of Central Avenue but its redevelopment will be part of the new Douglass Homes.
The new development, will be "The Villages at Central Avenue."
Central Avenue will receive a complete makeover from Fayette St. to the Inner Harbor with streetscape enhancements including landscaped medians, brick crosswalks, bike lanes, new sidewalks with tree plantings, new sheltered bus stops, updated traffic signals, and new "count down" pedestrian signals.The previous paragraph discussed a few things where I haven't gone into full detail, allow me to do so now. First there's Johns Hopkins Hospital, the fact that it's Baltimore's largest employer has done very little for its surrounding communities, until now.
The East Baltimore Development Iniative (EBDI) is turning the neighborhood north of Hopkins (Middle East) into a Biotech Park and 1200-1500 units of new and rehabbed mixed income housing. EBDI is also looking to redevelop a couple of neighborhoods east of Hopkins known as Milton Montford and Madison Eastend.
Other neighborhoods east of Hopkins such as Patterson Park, McElderry Park, Ellwood Park/Monument, and Library Square are gentrifying on their own.
People are finding cheap boarded up homes that haven't sat vacant for very long and are gutting and rehabbing them without much outside help.
The Gateway at Washington Hill is a proposed mixed use residential, retail, office development just south of Hopkins on three vacant blocks; Baltimore St. on the south Wolfe St. on the west, Orleans St. on the north, and Washington St. on the east.
The last development to be demolished will be Perkins Homes. Like Douglass Homes, it's a vital link between redeveloped and gentrified areas of the city.
It sits in between Little Italy, Albemarle Square, Inner Harbor East, and Fels Point. Included in its demolition will be the two schools located directly north of Perkins Homes. They are; Lombard Middle which is slated to close after this school year anyway, and City Springs Elementary. As part of my plan to rebuild schools and reduce excess classroom space City Springs will be combined with other local Elementary Schools to build a brand new school.
The last cluster of East Baltimore neighborhoods I will discuss lie north of Biddle St. and South of North Avenue. They are; Berea, Broadway East, and Oliver. I don't see them benefiting much from all the new development in East Baltimore. However, I do see them benefiting from all the transit lines slated to be built. The Green Line Extension from Hopkins to meet the Purple Line which runs on the MARC tracks will turn Broadway East and Oliver into TOD districts instantly. Berea, will be a stop on the Purple Line with MARC stops at Orangeville and Penn Station within a 10 minute ride. Orangeville, an old industrial neighborhood and a preferred site for East Baltimore's MARC Station will instantly be transformed into upscale mixed use residential, retail, office, and perhaps a Boutique Hotel.
Now to effectively streamline all these new development projects one must keep in mind that there are still some old vacancies. Most of these lie in Historic Jonestown and Washington Hill. They can offered by the as $1 row homes providing the buyer rehabs the house to its former glory. If it's something bigger than a row home like an old office or industrial building it can be bought for $100 and converted into something like loft apartments. There are some beautiful vacant buildings in these areas and it would be a shame to see them hit the wrecking ball.
Now that I've streamlined the gentrification of most of East Baltimore (I purposely left some things out for a different post) all the neighborhoods can reunite with one another, after all, that's what this post was all about.