Staying on the Silo Point theme…  Jeff was kind enough to share theses great pictures that were taken from the top of Silo Point during the initial demo/pre-construction.  These give you an idea of the great views that these condos will have.  And I assume the top units will have even better views.  Interesting seeing these “aerial” views of Locust Point.

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I took these updated shots of the Silo Point development in Locust Point.  I found the first one ironic. You can spend a million dollars to live in one of the nicest properties in Baltimore, but you can’t get rid of the graffiti covered train cars parked in your front yard.

The new restaurant Aloha Tokyo opened this week on Fort Ave. in Locust Point, and I’m a bit confused. The food is Japanese with a Hawaiian twist. I guess. I haven’t eaten there yet. But I did stop by to take a look at the menu. It’s pretty limited at this point, but they plan to start offering sushi soon. I’ll probably wait till then to give it a shot. The decor is very “festive” complete with a mock indoor tiki bar and Hawaiian (style) music. They definitely spent more money on the inside then they did refinishing the outside. A quick coat of paint and reuse of the existing hanging sign did little to spruce up the somewhat run-down appearance.  Which is in stark contrast to the beautiful long-term rehab that was done on Nasu Blanca one block over. I’ll let you know how it is once I get a chance to eat there.  Locust Point definitely needs some sushi, so hopefully Aloha Tokyo does a good job.

Baltimore Sun article

Aloha Tokyo Website (still in development)

Harbor East has the best collection of restaurants in Baltimore…. well at least according to the Harbor East website.  So yes, it’s a biased claim, but it might be hard to argue with them.  From the site;

HARBOR EAST IS HOME TO BALTIMORE’S FINEST COLLECTION OF RESTAURANTS. From casual to fine dining, your options are distinct and memorable, as is the cuisine that each establishment has to offer.

Harbor East currently has; Charleston,  Chui’s Sushi, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Grille 700, James Joyce Irish Pub & Restaurant, Kosmo’s Lounge, Lebanese Taverna, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Pazo, RA Sushi, Roy’s, and Taco Fiesta. Coming soon is  Cinghiale a Northern Italian restaurant - a Cindy Wolf venture.

Granted, most if not all of these restaurants fit a certain mold, are new, and cater to a somewhat upscale consumer.  Lacking are “traditional” Baltimore type restaurants with long standing traditions, but given that everything in Harbor East is new, we can’t really hold that against them.  So there are no Peters Inn or John Stevens type gems.  And I guess we could argue whether Pazo is Harbor East or Fells Point.  In any case that’s a high concentration of quality restaurants in a small area.  I know two of our favorites are there - Roy’s (me) and Pazo (my wife).

So if it’s not Harbor East, who takes the cake for best restaurants?  Fells, Mount Vernon, Canton?

In case you noticed the new section on the right side of this blog - the black Related Blogs section.  This is a new tool from BlogRush that allows me to display links to similar posts on related blogs.  Again, they are blog links not ads.  I thought I would mention it here in case any of you want to use this tool to promote your own blog - as I know some of you have blogs.  The product just launched early this morning, so I don’t yet know how effective it will be, but they have been overwhelmed by the initial usage, and expect it to really explode.  Get BlogRush - Blog Syndication Network.

Walk Score is an interesting site that lets you enter an address and then calculates a “walkable” score for the property based on the amount of “things” in the area.  Essentially it is trying to calculate how easy it is for someone to walk vs. drive.  Our house scored a 66 out of 100.  Of course the scoring is dependent upon how many businesses in the area are actually listed - so it’s far from an exact science.  For example only about a quarter of the bars within half mile of our house are listed.

For comparison, I used my old DC address and got a score of 68.  I would describe the DC address as much more walkable, partly because it sat a couple hundred feet from a Metro stop.  But the scoring doesn’t account for public transportation.

From the site:

What is Walk Score?
We help home buyers, renters, and real estate agents find houses and apartments in great neighborhoods. Walk Score shows you a map of what’s nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property. Buying a house in a walkable neighborhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

Silo Point has their new website up.  It’s a nice

looking site, and you get an idea of what an incredible property Silo Point will be.  The views from the upper floors and the 19th floor Sky Lounge will likely be the best in Baltimore.  If you happen to be buying one of these new units, please send me an invite to get me into the Sky Lounge.  The site has floorplans - the top 2 penthouses are 2 story 3 bedroom beauties.

Check out the Silo Point Location page with it’s map of Locust Point. It’s interesting to see what they did and didn’t consider worthy of noting on the map.  J. Patricks - no, Wine Market - yes,  Trumans - no, Cupcake Factory - yes…

New website

Baltimore Business Journal article

Seems to be a lot going on up there…

A former senior center in Mount Vernon is now the focus of a $62 million project that will add a new center and residential and retail development in the community.

The Baltimore Development Corp. and the Baltimore City Commission on Aging and Retirement Education announced plans Tuesday to work with MtV2, a group of local developers, to rebuild the Waxter Center.

The developer will construct a new 40,000 square foot center on the site at a cost of $8 million. At least $2 million has already been raised for the project, officials said.

On the remaining portion of the site, the developer will build a $54 million residential and retail component featuring 600 apartments and condos, 20,000 square feet of retail space and more than 200 parking spaces.

“This is a niche market that’s never really been tapped,” said Howard Chambers, a developer with MtV2 Development, which is working on the project, aimed at attracting young professionals and graduate students.

Estimated prices on the condos — expected to range in size from 375 square feet to 425 square feet — are to be around $150,000. But the spaces will be available to be leased as apartments for $850 a month.

Article from The Examiner about new development in Mount Vernon 

Part of Mount Vernon is getting a makeover, thanks to a pair of developers with big plans.  Two large buildings at the north end of the 800 block of Park Avenue are the targets of new development projects. One, the historic Brexton Building, will be turned into a boutique hotel. Across the street the Waxter Center, a senior center, will be rebuilt at an adjacent site along with a 600-unit apartment-condominium complex targeted to young professionals and grad students.

Full article

I found this news on the Baltimore Business Journal website interesting.  

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is curbing its plans to build a new waterfront campus in South Baltimore and has sold 11 of the 19 acres it bought for the new center to local developer Patrick Turner for $1.5 million, a spokeswoman for the aquarium said.

What is interesting is that this land purchase was part of a 3-way deal/swap that included the sale of the Baltimore City Fire repair shop on Key Highway in South Baltimore.  I believe the deal was to sell the repair shop to a developer, in order to generate money that would allow the city/aquarium to purchase land and develop the waterfront campus.  But plans to sell the repair shop were overturned by Mayor Dixon in favor of building a public park.  So by not selling the repair shop property, it forced them to have to sell another piece of property. Ironic.