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

Baltimore’s Urban Design and Architectural Review Board has approved the plans for Baltimore’s City Center project, a mixed use project that will include and Summerfield Suites, Hyatt Place, and a residential component. 

Demolition will begin this summer with construction to begin next spring.  The project will be complete by Fall of 2011.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/real-estate/bal-city-center-0618,0,1421366.story

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com

While renderings of all four arena proposals are not available yet, the descriptions themselves say a lot.  Basically, this will not be your average arena.  Assuming the project comes to fruition and 300 million plus dollars are secured for construction, the days of a big ugly box type municipal indoor stadium will be over… replaced with what we hope will be a world class design.  The one rendering which has been made public, that of the Streuver Brothers proposal, depicts a daring signature building that incorporates a hotel and retail along with the arena itself.  Congratulations for thinking big!

Here’s a good summary of the proposals as posted on Wikipedia:

On December 17, 2008, the Baltimore Examiner reported that the Baltimore Development Corp. had received 4 proposals for the 1st Mariner Arena replacement that could take away a “major entertainment venue” for Baltimore upwards to “4 years” and the estimated price is $300 million but could be more depending on additional retail and hotel uses. The arena is reported to be a 18,500 seat venue built at the same location of the current 1st Mariner Arena. The four proposals are:

ESmith Legacy and Garfield Traub Development:ESmith Legacy is a team lead by former NFL player Emmitt Smith that has offices in Baltimore. This proposal includes that will be in addition to the larger arena:

• 7 screen movie theater
• 20,000 SF of retail space
• 1,000 seat concert venue

Streuver Brothers Eccles & Rouse: A well known Baltimore based developer. This proposal includes:

• 300-room hotel
• 43,000 SF of retail space

Cormony Development and Harrison Development:A Rockville and Baltimore based (respectively) development firms who have been involved since 2007. This proposal includes:

• 400-room hotel
• 240,000 SF office tower
• 12,000 SF to 20,000 SF of retail space

A&R Development, J Street Development Co., and Accent Development Co.: A partnership of Baltimore based A&R and Washington based J Street and Accent Development under the name Arena Development. This proposal includes:

• Up to 100,000 SF of retail space

The Baltimore Examiner reports that the BDC could make a decision on the developer as soon as mid-2009.^[2]

A rendering of the Streuver Brother’s Proposal:

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com

Baltimore’s Best Hotel

Recently I was asked what the best hotel in Baltimore was. Having not stayed in many hotels in the city, I didn’t really have a good answer. I know which ones look nice from the outside, are in a good location, or perhaps have nice lobbies, but that’s about it. So to better answer the question I directed them to the first place I always go when looking for a hotel – www.tripadvisor.com. The site allows users to rate hotels and post photos and videos. The rankings below are based on Trip Advisor ratings. FYI – some hotels are ranked lower when they don’t have many reviews.

Best Baltimore Hotels

1. Henderson’s Wharf Inn (5 out of 5)
2. Hampton Inn Baltimore – Camden Yards (4.5 out of 5)
3. Residence Inn Baltimore Downtown / Inner Harbor (4.5 out of 5)
4. Homewood Suites by Hilton Baltimore (4.5 out of 5)
5. Renaissance Harborplace Hotel (4 out of 5)
6. Baltimore Marriott Waterfront (4 out of 5)
7. Courtyard by Marriott Baltimore Downtown / Inner Harbor (4 out of 5)
8. Hilton Baltimore (4.5 out of 5) *
9. Hampton Inn & Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor (4 out of 5)
10. SpringHill Suites Baltimore Downtown/Inner Harbor (4 out of 5)

Best 4 and 5 Star Baltimore Hotels

1. InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore (4.5 out of 5)
2. Renaissance Harborplace Hotel (4 out of 5)
3. Baltimore Marriott Waterfront (4 out of 5)
4. Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel (4 out of 5)
5. Hyatt Regency Baltimore (3.5 out of 5)
6. Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards (3.5 out of 5)
7. Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore (3 out of 5)
8. Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel (3 out of 5)
9. Doubletree Inn at The Colonnade (3 out of 5)

Best Baltimore B&Bs and Inns

1. Scarborough Fair Bed and Breakfast ( 5 out of 5)
2. Inn at 2920 (4.5 out of 5)
3. Blue Door on Baltimore (4.5 out of 5)
4. Aunt Rebecca’s Bed & Breakfast (4 out of 5)
5. Wilson House Bed and Breakfast (4 out of 5)
6. 1840s Carrollton Inn (4.5 out of 5)
7. Celie’s Waterfront Bed and Breakfast ( 3 out of 5)
8. Ann Street Bed & Breakfast (3.5 out of 5)
9. Glenda’s Bed & Breakfast (3.5 out of 5)
10. Park Avenue Bed and Breakfast (3.5 out of 5)