Baltimore Grows

First the developers at Marketplace at Fells point switched from Condos to Apartments.  Then, ArcWheeler, the developer of 10 Inner Harbor, started to look at the proportion of condos in their project.  Now, Lexington Square Partners is revisiting their approach to the huge “Superblock” project in Baltimore’s West Side. 

Call it a sign of the times, but it seems like everyone is thinking things over a little more and mulling over decisions carefully.  All in all, the overall scope and size of these projects has remained relatively consistant, but the components or proportion of uses in the “mixed use” has changed.  For instance, the Superblock project will be changing as follows:

Original plan, unveiled in April 2007
Apartments: 400 units in two 14-story towers
Shops: 300,000 square feet
Parking: 900 spaces

Plan presented recently to the BDC board
Apartments: 360 units in one 32-story tower and smaller buildings plus a 150 room hotel.
Shops: 152,000 square feet
Parking: 800 spaces

Click Here to read the article

While the number of apartment units and retail space has been decreased, the developers have added a hotel component… not a bad deal overall.  The taller building will also likely stand out some more, helping to anchor the “new” west side.

The big downside to these changes are the delays associated with them.  In most cases, changes like these require changes to the Planned Unit Development (PUD), which requires the developers to present the revised plan to community associations and city officials.  Tack on time for re-design, permitting, bidding, and so forth, the process could take 6 to 12 months.  At least we can be thankful that developers aren’t walking out on projects (at least not yet).

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com