Many Locust Point residents are up in arms over Struever Brothers proposal to build a major new mixed use project at the Tide Point location.  Roughly 250 concerned residents showed up at last Wednesday’s special neighborhood meeting. Struever’s plan would have added up to 1,200 residential  units to Locust Point.  This would be in addition to the two large residential projects currently under way in the community - Silo Point and McHenry Row.  Based on the community outcry the plan has already been reduced in scale and is likely going back to the drawing board once again.

“..Struever Bros. has already agreed to significant reductions in the scope of its plans. Among them, the number of residential units was reduced from about 1,000 to 644 units, a 26-story building was scaled down to 15 stories and the amount of office space was reduced from about 300,000 square feet to about 200,000 square feet. ”

City Council Vice President Edward Reisinger, who represents South Baltimore, said he will not endorse the project as it stands now. “If you don’t want this to go through, it’s not going anywhere, it’ll die,” said Reisinger, chair of City Council’s land use committee. “I’m listening to you, and that is what’s going to happen.”

Recent Coverage from Baltimore Business Journal 3/6/08 and Baltimore Sun 2/29/08

For those not familiar with the McHenry Row project, it is the large retail & residential development project currently in progress in Locust Point. Read these posts for some more background.

Baltimore’s McHenry Row - Panera, Starbucks…
McHenry Row - Baltimore - Locust Point

If you have driven down Key Highway recently, you know the McHenry Row construction is well under way on the first structure - the parking garage.  It appears the earlier reports of Harris Teeter being the grocer and anchor store, are about to become true. Developer Mark Sapperstein hopes that the deal will soon be announced. The store will be their largest location and will likley stay open 24 hours. If what’s being said is true - this will be the nicest grocery store in the city. It’s proposed to have a high-end selection of prepared foods, deli/butcher, bakery, seafood, sushi bar, cheese bar, on-site pizza makers, etc. The store will have a big focus on fresh produce and organic products. The projected completion for the grocer is Summer/Fall 2010, months after the residences will open.

Harris Teeter opening a Baltimore location is a bit of a stretch for them. It’s outside of their existing geographic area, and this area of Baltimore does not yet support their typical demographics.  The success of the overall project, and bringing in additional high-end retailers, really hinges on locking in Harris Teeter.  Once that happens the other tenants should be lining up.  I’ve heard that Starbucks and two banks are likely, and Panera, Cosi, Cold Stone, Legal Sea Food and other restaurants are possible.  If the project plays out as hoped, it will certainly become one of the nicest retail centers in Baltimore.

Sapperstein is also planning on doing some interesting lighting and signage on the existing water tower at the site. He’s proposing to use some variation of neon or a well lit sign, as well as some automated lighting effects that “go off” every 7 minutes. It sounds a bit cheesey, but is supposed to play off existing Baltimore landmarks like Domino Sugar, Phillips Crab, Natty Boh, and UTZ signs.

Key highway will also undergo a large amount of work that includes a landscaped medium between the existing four lanes.

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.

Mark Sapperstein - the developer of the former Chesapeake Paperboard site in Locust Point -recently met with a group from the Locust Point Civic Association and Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel (UDARP) and shared new details.

The project which he was currently referring to as the Shoppes at the Fort - is now being called McHenry Row.  They also plan to use variations such as The Shops at McHenry Row and The Lofts at McHenry Row for the 9 acre mixed use project.  The project will be phased with the garage, apartments and office space likely coming first, followed by the grocer.  The grocer still has not been officially named - but he had named Harris Teeter before.  However, the latest rumor has Fresh Market moving in.

Sapperstein plans to have a pharmacy - both CVS and Walgreens want in on the project.  Two banks, one with a drive through window, will be part of McHenry Row.  He is also looking to bring in a lively restaurant with outdoor seating - Clydes and Green Turtle were mentioned as possibilities.

Panera Bread and Starbucks were both mentioned as likely tenants.  Apparantly this project, and Locust Point in general, is more marketable than some had thought.

 The 250 one and two bedroom upscale appartments will be managed by the Bozzuto Group.  One of the apartment buildings will have a green roof, and the developer is trying to achieve LEED silver certification for the project - this deals with environmental sustainability.

The latest site plan is shown here. McHenry Row - Baltimore - Locust Point

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.

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.

It seems that the name “The shoppes at Fort” or “The Shops at Fort” is being thrown around for the new commercial, business, and residential development at the site of the former Chesapeake Paperboard company.  The property sits basically on the corner of Fort Avenue and Woodall street in Locust Point.  The property is behind the Fort Ave. firehouse, and will also have future access via Key Highway.

to be continued….