Rumors have been circulating for years about the future fate of the Wal-Mart and SAMS club in South Baltimore’s Port Covington area.  The latest rumors have indicated that the two stores will be closing as early as January 08 and that the retailers are replacing them with a SAMS in Glen Burnie and a Wal-Mart in Southwest Baltimore. 

The development of these two big box stores on waterfront property has been controversial form the beginning.  And it seems that the SAMS club does well but the Wal-Mart has never lived up to expectations.  A entire retail complex was originally planned and promised for the site - but years later the two super stores sit alone among unfinished parking lots.

A March 2007 Baltimore Business Journal article covered the subject in detail.

The spaces have remained blank nearly five years since a Connecticut developer opened the city’s first Wal-Mart in a once empty rail yard. And, by all indications, it seems the spaces will remain blank in the foreseeable future. The reason: Its original developer said it had no interest in staying at Port Covington for the long haul and its new owners have no immediate plans to develop the site.

Kodiak Properties LLC and Finmarc Management Inc. of Bethesda purchased the site that houses the Port Covington Shopping Center in early 2005.

However the new owners have stated that they have no immediate plans to develop the land.  Apparently they want to wait it out until market conditions are better - not sure when that would be.  There have been all kinds of retail and residential uses discussed for the area, but it seems that none of these have gained enough traction.  This article talked about one such plan.

The waterfront property with easy adjacent access to 95 seems too valuable and has too much potential to remain undeveloped - it’s just a question of what and when it will be redeveloped.  One bright spot of news for the area is the Port Covington Maritime Center, which is where Tidewater Yacht Services moved to from its former location on Key Highway next to Domino Sugar.

There was a recent article on multi-housingnews.com about the Silo Point development in Locust Point.

According to Turner, the development is being constructed in four phases. The first broke ground in May 2005 and has already been completed. It consists of 120 townhouses. The second phase, slated for completion in May 2008, is currently under construction and will include 229 high-end traditional and loft-style condominiums and ground-level retail inside the site’s grain elevator. The third phase will feature additional townhouses and apartments.

So what’s phase 4? Retail?

“Baltimore’s appeal as a residential community extends to individuals and families who work in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area but are priced out of D.C.’s housing market,”

I doubt the people being priced out of the DC market are looking for small condos from the upper $400,000s or larger condos up to $5 million.  If they can afford half a million or more in Baltimore they can find something in DC.

“The current Locust Point residents love the new interest in their community,” Turner adds. “For those of them who do want to sell, their property values are soaring.  And others, who want to stay in the neighborhood, aren’t being pushed out.”

Ahhh… not so fast.  For many residents rising property values are a good thing.  However, anyone that has spent time in a Locust Point Civic Association meeting knows that soaring property values are a problem for many residents.  Rising property values lead to increased taxes for low income families or older residents on fixed incomes.  It’s a concept that escapes many new residents, and that many developers choose to ignore.  Many Locust Point homes have been in the same family for generations, and they have no intention of selling. 

While people such as myself like to see new development in the area - this project has been very controversial and Turner and Sapperstein have drawn a lot of fire from some residents.

This PDF shows the proposed site plan for the former Chesapeake Paperboard site in Locust Point.  The plan originally started out in this same type of Main Street concept, but later morphed into one central over sized structure. Both the city and community special committee objected the revised plan.  Luckily developer Mark Sapperstein came back with a third concept (shown here) that was much more in line with the Main Street concept he originally sold to the community.  I’m sure the plan has changed since this was created back in October 06, but it’s the latest version that I have seen.

The last word was still that the developer had planned to have the grocer Harris Teeter as the anchor store.  UPDATE - The Baltimore Business Journal posted that the new plans have one approval from UDARP.

I’m not sure if this will be the nicest penthouse in all of Baltimore - but if not, it has to be close.  The 16th story penthouse unit of the soon to be built Pinnacle Tower in the Harborview Community off Key Highway, is simply bad ass.  Covering 7,560 sq. ft. (5,850 indoor and 1,710 off terrace space), and necessities such as 5.5 baths, 4 separate terraces, an outdoor spa, a fitness room, and a screening room.

Today’s Baltimore Sun reports that Baltimore-area home prices rose 5.5 percent led by Baltimore city where the average price hit $200,000 for the first time.  But it’s the high-end homes that are driving the price up, and not reflective of the larger market.

That’s because it’s the pricier homes that are selling, both in the city and suburbs, said economist Anirban Basu, chief executive officer of Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group Inc.

“At the higher end, there continues to be a race for superior properties as [buyers] compete against each other,” he said. “The homes that are selling are disproportionately higher-end homes.”

Those looking for an end to the housing slump will have to wait longer, Basu said

These seems to make sense given all the new high-end development in the city.  

In all, 3,365 home sales settled compared with 3,909 in June 2006, a drop of nearly 14 percent as homes took longer to sell — an average of 82 days compared with 51 days in June 2006.

Every jurisdiction posted fewer sales. Carroll had the sharpest drop, nearly 18 percent, while Howard County’s decline was the smallest at 7.29 percent.

Baltimore City has been struggling with the reputation of being a crime infested city for decades.  It seems the city has done a good job the last few years of marketing the city and continuing to increase tourism.  People who a few years ago might not have considered living here - have moved to the city.  All around the Harbor new development is everywhere and out-of-towners can visit without being exposed to the harsh realities of most of the city.  We even recently landed on a couple national media lists as one of the top places to visit and live.

However, this year crime has taken a dramatic jump and there’s no hiding from the coverage in the papers.  Baltimore City is on track to have 300+ murders for the first time since the 90’s and non-fatal shootings are up 35%

Baltimore Sun Google Map of 2007 Baltimore City Murders

Yesterday’s Baltimore Business Journal published an article about how the Chesapeake Paperboard site (The Shoppes at Fort) plans have been delayed.  Developer Mark Sapperstein is building a mixed use project on the 9-acre property.  The project’s master plan was already approved by a Locust Point Civic Association and the city.  However, the more detailed architecture plans did not meet the Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel (UDARP) requirements.  Aesthetic changes such as brick color and changes to the parking garage were requested.

Sapperstein wants to optimistically break ground this Fall, but this might delay the start.  The $80 million dollar project which includes 250 high-end apartments, and 110,000 feet of retail space is scheduled to be completed by spring 2010.  I’m surprised it will take that long. 

This photo shows satellite view of the site - outlined in red - and the surrounding streets.  This shot was taken before the demolition of the former plant beagn over a year ago.  The firehouse sits just above the property and to the right is the Phillips Seafood plant.

UPDATE - The Baltimore Business Journal posted that the new plans have one approval from UDARP.

This is a pretty interesting map showing the city’s 2006 improvement projects.

http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/images/FY2006BOEmap.pdf