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.

Mayor Dixon has blocked the developer’s plans to build two additional 26-story towers on the HarborView site along Key Highway in South Baltimore.  Many have been worried about blocking views and cluttering the skyline.  To me - the main problem, should those towers be built, is traffic. Key Highway leaving the city in the morning would be maxed out.  But I’m not opposed to the height necessarily. The slim towers would actually preserve more water views than if they built a wider, less tall structure.  Just look at how much water view the new Ritz Carlton ate up.

To the relief of many in South Baltimore, Mayor Sheila Dixon has blocked a plan to build two more waterfront towers at HarborView.

Faced with intense community opposition, the mayor pushed HarborView’s developer, Richard A. Swirnow, to rescind his request to the City Council that would have enabled him to keep building even though he technically had exhausted his construction options.

“I have decided to withdraw [the bill] and instruct the Planning Department and Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods to bring all parties together to find common ground,” Dixon wrote in a letter to a community leader who opposes the proposal.

Full article

I’m not sure if this will be the nicest penthouse in all of Baltimore - but if not, it has to be close.  The 16th story penthouse unit of the soon to be built Pinnacle Tower in the Harborview Community off Key Highway, is simply bad ass.  Covering 7,560 sq. ft. (5,850 indoor and 1,710 off terrace space), and necessities such as 5.5 baths, 4 separate terraces, an outdoor spa, a fitness room, and a screening room.

Mayor Sheila Dixon has decided that the city Fire Department’s waterfront repair facility - located along Key Highway in South Baltimore - will become a public park.  There has been a lot of debate over the future use of the property.  It’s a prime waterfront location that sits adjacent to the Harborview community and the popular bar and restaurant Little Havana.

 The property was very close to being rezoned a couple years ago.  A move that would have led developers to bid on the property and likely build a mixed use project that included condominiums and retail space.  I attended some of these Key Highway Association meetings back when this was being debated.  Much of the community was in favor of seeing the property rezoned and rebuilt.  However, a few residents raised concerns, and as a result the city backed away and included the property as part of the Key Highway Master Plan that it was creating. 

In one respect in would have been nice to see the property developed and put to good use, rather than just another dilapidated property sitting along Key Highway.  But in the end, it looks like the rethinking paid off.  A waterfront park will be a nice addition to the community.  I wonder how this will affect some of the other proposed open/green space and view corridors along Key highway.  Another piece of land along Key Highway - at the bottom of Lawrence Street, roughly across from the Royal Farms - had been proposed as waterfront open space.  So I doubt there will end up being two parks located that close.   So this news will certainly shake up some of the existing plans along Key.

Baltimore Sun article

Today’s Baltimore Sun article discusses the latest controversy surrounding the upscale South Baltimore Harborview community.  Harborview - nestled along Key highway between Federal Hill and Locust Point currently contains the Harborview Tower, The Pier homes, and Harborview town-homes.  These properties are some of the most exlusive in all of Baltimore, and developer Richard A. Swirnow is looking to build even more.  Construction is about to begin on the 17 story luxury Pinnacle Tower - with top units commanding as much as $7 million dollars.  The latest controversy is over the proposal to build two additional 27 story towers.  This would dramatically alter the look and feel of that stretch Key highway.  But then again, it’s already been altered.  The huge Ritz Carlton condominiums project sits adjacent to the Pier Homes and has dramatically reshaped the look of the area.

Federal Hill residents are already steamed over the Pier Homes construction which broke height restrictions and blocked the water views of many existing homes.  The new towers threaten even more views.  I’m not necessarily opposed to the towers.  Obviously if they affected my view I would be more concerned.  The larger concern for me - and hopefully most area residents - is what the added density will do to rush hour traffic along Key Highway. I’m already seeing an increased backup along Lawrence street and Fort avenue as a result of more people living in the area.  The new BP/Quiznos is also backing up traffic because the left lane heading out of the city is now used as a turn lane into the station. 

Once the Shoppes at Fort are built it will cause even more bottlenecks.  The traffic along Key highway will certainly be painful in a few years.  The new towers do offer some potential benefits for us.  Much of the Key Highway stretch is a bit run down and dilapidated.  And overall there just isn’t a lot of foot traffic.  Added density, brings residents, which brings business, restaurants, and in the end hopefully a more vibrant community.