Baltimore Grows

Despite the economy, there still seems to be a flurry of development news concerning the Station North area of Baltimore.  The Station North Area was designated an “Arts and Entertainment” district by the city and the neighborhood is roughly bounded by 20th St on the North, Howard on the West, Greenmount on the East, and Penn Station/train tracks on the south.

Here’s a bit of recent news:

1. The Baltimore Development Corporation recently issued a Request for Proposals for the former Parkway Theatre and adjacent properties that sit at the crucial corner of Charles Street and North Ave.  The Parkway Theatre is currently vacant (anyone looking for a fixer upper?) and the adjacent property is occupied by “New York Fried Chicken”.  The chicken joint can go “bye bye”, but as part of the proposal, the theatre must remain and be used as some kind of live performance venue. 

Click Here to view the RFP

2. Amtrak recently inked a deal with a Bethesda based developer to develop the top three floors of Baltimore’s Penn Station into a boutique hotel.  Work is expected to start by the end of the year for completion in 2010.  Click Here to read the article.  Ultimately, the plan is for Amtrak to expand the concourse north across the tracks to the parking lot along Lanvale Street.  Amtrak has retained consulting firm WRT to make recommendations for the 1.5 acre site by this fall.  Early plans have called for this area to be an open concourse with a mixed hotel/retail components.  Follow the link to the Station North Master Plan at the bottom of this post for more info.

3. Also in the works is a planned $15million development of artist housing on a vacant parcel of land at the corner of Greenmount Ave and Oliver St.  The development will be a mix of affordable apartments and townhomes.  Click Here to Read the Article.

Click Here to View the Full Station North Master Plan

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com