Downtown Baltimore has been experiencing the excitement and rejuvenation of an urban renaissance since about 2000. Local and national investors recognized that Baltimore’s real estate was a bargain in comparison to the rest of the country. As a result, the velocity of sales and development activity has increased dramatically with rental rates for Class A and Class B buildings rising in unison.

The Downtown area is comprised of three primary neighborhoods, The West Side, The Inner Harbor/Waterfront, and the City Center. These three neighborhoods are a diverse mixture of various civic, cultural, entertainment, and commercial uses however; a product of the City’s latest renaissance is a growing residential base in each neighborhood, as well as a migration of institutional office tenants to the Inner Harbor East, and the conversion of older office buildings into residential, hotel and mixed-uses within Center City. Since 2000 alone, an estimated 6,356 new residential units are planned, under construction or already delivered. Growth of the residential base is an important trend as the latest renaissance transforms Downtown Baltimore into a 24-hour city.

The West Side

Baltimore’s West Side is comprised of 100 city blocks totaling approximately 450 acres. The neighborhood’s boundaries are defined as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the west, Read Street to the north, Liberty Street and Charles Center to the east, and Pratt Street to the south. The area includes The University Center to the west (University of Maryland Baltimore, and University of Maryland Medical Systems), the residential neighborhood of Seton Hill, as well as the historic shopping areas of Lexington Market, Howard and Eutaw Streets.

The West Side Initiative, led by Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), is the largest redevelopment effort by the City of Baltimore since The Inner Harbor. The development of a strategic plan was a joint effort by the area stakeholders and the City, and reflects the type of public/private partnership that will continue to target this area of historic significance and tremendous economic potential. Parts of Mount Vernon, the Central Business District, especially Charles Center, and the area adjacent to the Inner Harbor are also within the purview of the West Side Initiative.
                           
                             

The goal of the West Side Initiative is to take the vision of a vital, dynamic, and urban neighborhood dominated by a concentration of residential housing and “mixed use” retail, and implement it into the fabric of historic buildings and a vibrant streetscape. To do this it is essential to build on the recognized strengths of the West Side-its centers of history—University Center, the historic market and retail centers, and its once grand theatre center exemplified bythe renovated Hippodrome. The initiative supports, wherever possible, the existing merchants to better serve the retail market, while a major objective has been encouraging new complimentary retail.

There are tremendous possibilities for development that will be implemented over
a gradual six-year period:

• 1800 additional market rate housing units in new and renovated construction projects;
• 400,000 square feet of new private office space focused on university and medical research, health care, information technology, and telecommunications;
• 250,000 square feet of new retail and entertainment uses;
• 400,000 square feet of new university and medical system facilities within their campus;
• The commitment to attracting, enhancing and sustaining new open space areas;
• Recommendations on general guidelines for new construction that will help preserve the historic qualities and unique urban characteristics, as well as serving as a reference for applying consistent criteria.
• Increase public transit usage, consistent with Smart Growth;
• A preservation strategy which strikes a balance between significant landmark structures and contributing building resources with the development of new construction, targeted at non-contributing resources and existing vacant or underutilized sites, while recognizing the importance of preservation to the West Side.

Redevelopment  of this neighborhood has been stalled for about two years, due to a disagreement between Baltimore City and the Henry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. These parties have now resolved their differences and have unveiled detailed plans for a three block area. Lexington Square Park, LLC, a development team headed by Chera Feil Goldman Group of New York, plans a $250 million mixed-use project with 400 one and two-bedroom apartments, 900 parking spaces and 300,000 square feet of retail. The Henry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation will be partnering with the Cordish Company to develop their portion of the Superblock. The site plan recently submitted to the BDC is for a $26M investment featuring 70,000 SF of offices, apartments, shops, retaraurants and parking.

The Inner Harbor/Waterfront

Like many cities in the United States, the City of Baltimore experienced the decaying effects of “urban flight” in the 1960’s as residents of the City’s core moved to the suburbs surrounding the city. In the 1970’s and 80’s the City addressed the ills of “urban flight” with an aggressive combination of public and privately sponsored programs, similar to the West Side Initiative, targeting investment in and revitalization of the Inner Harbor and Waterfront areas. The internationally recognized successes of these programs helped create a large inventory of new and revitalized locations of public interest surrounding the harbor. Today, places like Oriole Park at Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, The National Aquarium, the Maryland  Science Center, the Baltimore Convention Center, The Baltimore Maritime Museum, and the USS Constellation, now bring over 13 million annual visitors to Downtown Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. In addition to these public attractions, places like The Gallery, Harbor Place, and The Power Plant, provide visitors and residents of city with access to restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. Following suit, the area now helps support numerous hotels such as the Hyatt Regency Hotel (486 rooms), the Renaissance Harbor Place Hotel (622 rooms), the Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor (524 rooms), and the Sheraton Inner Harbor (337 rooms).

The renaissance that brought many of the city’s most popular cultural attractions to the Inner Harbor/Waterfront area continues with investment in hospitality, residential, retail, office, and cultural attractions. To the east of the Inner Harbor two new hotels, the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront (750 rooms) and the Marriott Courtyard at Harbor East (208 rooms), have opened. Residential development is booming with the proposed Four Seasons Residences and hotel, the Spinnaker Bay Condominium and Apartment Residences, Promenade Apartments at Harbor East. High-end retailers are locating at Harbor East, a diverse retail development including a Whole Foods Market and “white tablecloth” restaurants. Lockwood Place at 500 East Pratt Street, a 275,000 square foot office tower recently delivered, featuring national retailers Best Buy, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Panera Bread, Filene’s Basement, Capital Grille, Fogo de Chao and Payless Shoes. The building stands as one of two speculative office buildings to deliver in Baltimore in recent years and is presently 99% occupied. On the cultural front, the Reginald Lewis Museum of African American History & Culture, the National Aquarium, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, the American Visionary Museum, and the Maryland Science Center have all been recently constructed or expanded. Following the migration of institutions to the Inner Harbor, Legg Mason plans to relocate from its present headquarters at the end of its lease in 2009 to occupy a new mixed-use complex being developed by H&S Properties. The $550 million Harbor East Complex will include a Four Seasons Hotel, condominiums and 1,200 parking spaces.

City Center

As the historic heart of Downtown Baltimore, the City Center encompasses locations such as Historic Charles Street, Charles Center, and Market Place. Traditionally the area is home to a majority of Downtown Baltimore’s office and retail space, including a large inventory, more than two million square feet, of the region’s city, state, and federal government buildings. Economic development entities like the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Historic Charles Street Renaissance Corporation, and the Downtown Partnership are all actively sponsoring development programs similar to the initiatives of the West Side. These public/private partnerships are having the same invigorating effects in Baltimore’s City Center as they are throughout the West Side and Inner Harbor. One of the most notable trends of the latest renaissance is the numerous Class B & C office buildings that have been redeveloped into multi-family apartment and condominium projects (see the Commercial Development Project List).

In 1999 the Downtown Partnership identified parking as a major roadblock for the continued economic growth of Downtown Baltimore. By 2000, with the help of public/private partnerships the number of parking spaces in Downtown has increased by 5,700 parking spaces, nearly 3,500 are located within the City Center. The partnerships have also been effective in initiating streetscape improvements, administering façade rehabilitation grants and small business incentives, establishing the Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH), coordinating RFP’s, and organizing the renovation of the city park at Charles Center. These achievements are just a small sample of the progress these public/private partnerships have accomplished with the help of Baltimore’s City Center property owners. Notable development projects since 2000 include a new Hampton Inn, Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Superfresh grocery store, Munsey Apartments, Breco Condominiums, Standard Apartments and Saratoga Court Apartments. Additional residential housing now nearing completion include the Zenith Apartments, 414 Water Street Condominiums and 39 West Lexington. These new developments should help to increase the night life in downtown Baltimore. (see the Residential Development Project List)

The outlook for the City Center, and Downtown Baltimore as a whole, is increasingly positive. With the aid of public/private partnerships, the performance of recent developments, and the growing residential base, investment in Downtown Baltimore is likely to continue for years to come.