I’m not going to be able to post for the next week or so, but will be back in full swing in early Sept.

Have you noticed any of the cruise ships docked at the South Locust Point Cruise Terminal over the last couple summers? Ever wonder where they’re headed? Currently Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines are sailing to the following destinations: Bermuda, Caribbean, Norfolk?, and New England/Canada.

2008 Baltimore cruise schedule and destinations

This is pretty funny - only problem is the guy is driving in circles.

The Zenith Apartments are housed in the new building that went up adjacent to Camden Yards.  They look very nice and the upper floor units have a great view. You can even see a small slice of the baseball field from one side.  The other side, well they have a nice view of the Shock Trauma helicopter taking off and landing throughout the day and night.  With the new convention hotel going up next door - this area is certainly getting denser  -which is a good thing.  Also, there are plans to have a restaurant on the ground level - but I’m still waiting on my “inside source” for the name.

Prices: 1 bedroom - $1,500+/month, 2 bedroom - $2,300+/month, 3 bedroom - $4,200/month.

 I came across the site MyNewPlace.com today. They have a cool mapping feature that shows you the physical location of buildings with units for rent.  For some reason the little building icons just come across as a nicer way to present the locations.  Owners of condos or houses can also pay a monthly fee ($199 for up to 10 listings) to show up on the map.  At this point it’s mostly large apartment complexes that are listed though.  Wish Craigslist had a nice mapping feature like this.

Today’s Sun has an article about the new Orchard Ridge townhouses being built in Belair-Edison area of Northeast Baltimore.  Basically they are selling really well because of their affordable price point - $135,490 to $274,990.  There isn’t much competition for new construction in that price range.  The article’s title “Development in city defies housing slump” lead me to believe it would be about the overall development patterns in the city - unfortunately I was mislead, used, and abused.

As some already know - and can probably better elaborate on - the independent film theater chain Landmark Theaters will be opening in HarborEast.  Their website says Winter 2007, but it is rumored to be opening in October.  Yet another reason HarborEast is on fire.

From their website:

Landmark Theatres is the nation’s largest theatre chain dedicated primarily to exhibiting and marketing independent film. Landmark is a recognized leader in the industry for providing consistently diverse and entertaining film product in a sophisticated adult-oriented atmosphere to its customers.

According to Realtor.com - The three most expensive homes for sale in Baltimore are: Read the rest of this entry »

The long anticipated Key Highway extension (loop road) opened today.  And it looks like every employee at Tide Point is well aware of it.  As I came home tonight there was a steady flow of traffic coming out.  Cheers to a shorter commute for some and less neighborhood traffic for others. Sun article.

The Daily Record has an article about the movement to protect and preserve the Mechanic Theatre Building.

The Baltimore Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation on Tuesday moved forward with a proposal to make the 40-year-old Morris A. Mechanic Theatre building a city landmark. Commissioners also approved another measure that could give them review of improvements to the structure.

Full article