The Baltimore Region: Stronger Together at the Pikesville Armory

 A cold rain was driving across expansive Pikesville Armory grounds when regional economic development directors and promoters assembled in the recently renovated Pikesville Armory Foundation headquarters building (the NCO Club) for the All Partner meeting of the Greater Baltimore Committee. 

Economic development panelists Jonathan Sachs, Karen Holt, 
Otis Rolley and Jennifer Jones (Photo: Philipsen)

The 17 acre Armory campus, less than 1/2 mile from the City line, is in the middle of a transformation as a regional arts hub. 

Kathy Klausmeier spoke a few welcoming words, Mark Anthony Thomas CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee as the host elaborated on his economic strategy "All In 2035" which has a strong regional approach and Foundation Director David Ginsburg explained the Armory project. Seawall's Thibault Mannekin who acts as the development partner on the project (his only foray outside the City) shook hands in the back and then disappeared. 

In the packed assembly room sat aligned on bar stools those who are responsible for economic development in their respective jurisdictions: Jonathan Sachs for Baltimore County, Karen Holt for Harford County, Otis Rolley for Baltimore City and Jennifer Jones for Howard County, if one can believe Otis Rolley now no longer competitors but "frenemies" that work together for the good of the region. It would make sense to be less parochial in a region which is clobbered by federal workforce reductions and a federal government that looks a "blue" Maryland with deep suspicion and which is often seen as not particularly business friendly, not as a state in which it is easy to do business.  GBC's All In 2035 tries to create a new narrative. 

Position the people, businesses, and amenities of the Baltimore Region as a globally recognizable and competitive brand. (Goal in All In 2035)

Site Plan of the Armory campus (Website)

"We don't compete with each other but with Silicon Valley or even other countries" was the prevailing view. 

All panelists praised the "new" revamped GBC under Thomas for stepping up to true regionalism, "living up to its name" as Rolley pointed out. Rolley also noted that we really have a dual metro area consisting of the Washington Region and its Baltimore counterpart. the BDC CEO, only since November in his post, also promised a refreshed organization which he thought had become a bit stale. He already almost doubled the staff at BDC to more effectively work on the multiple strategies such as "Baltimore Together" which Mayor Brandon Scott  has set in motion even before Rolley's arrival.  

GBC's Anthony Thomas as moderator
(Photo: Philipsen)

GBC's Thomas, as the moderator, asked his panelists about their biggest accomplishments, obstacles and aspirations and each used the opportunity to advertise the advantages of their jurisdiction. Although they all agreed that the region knows no boundaries, for example, when it comes to transportation as one of the big problems, there was little said in the direction of the region as a whole and how it could become nationally attractive beyond the already well known advantages in Eds and Meds which GBC wants to leverage for start-ups and innovation. Our region's strength in aerospace and defense should become once again a key asset as well. 

The Armory project itself was held up as an example of economic spin-off with its planned event spaces, indoor basket ball courts, Maker Space (a branch of Open Works), arts venues, a theater, senior center, possible restaurant, ballfields, walking paths and green spaces with an ADA compliant playground. 

The estimated $100 million project uses all kinds of funding sources and incentives, including historic tax credits and easements, a $2million matching grant form the Meyerhoff Foundation and public funds. The architect is Ziger Snead with Unknown Studio as the Landscape Architect. 

Armory Foundation's  David Ginsberg (Photo: Philipsen)

Interestingly, the entire project got off the ground not because of lofty government vision plans but because of relentless lobbying of devoted local residents who saw the potential of this property. They traveled far and wide to learn about precedents. The trips taught them that it would be better to own and run the facility as a private non-profit rather than have it run by the County. Instead Baltimore County will lease space for the senior center. The Foundation expects the facility to be self supporting in the end.

The mix of foundations, government officials, private business promoters, residents and individual businesses illustrated well that economic success in a rapidly changing world can only be achieved through collaboration and cooperation. 

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

"We have a people crisis": Marylands Aggressive Pro Housing Legislation 2026

“We’ve done a fantastic job telling people where they can’t build… we never finished the equation.” (Jake Day, Secretary DHCD)

The general understanding that Maryland has a Housing crisis is well supported by a number of studies: Maryland hasn’t built enough housing for years. The state is short roughly 100,000 units today, and needs 590,000 new homes by 2045 to meet projected demand. Lots of people are cost-burdened, the lists of people waiting for housing vouchers or affordable units are endless. 

Housing Director Hickey (Baltimore County) and 
Secretary Day (right) share a word about development 
at a GGW event on Tuesday
(Photo Philipsen)

Relatively new is an understanding that this crisis is not only a problem for those who can't find the right housing for their needs but ripples through all kinds of aspects affecting the well being of the State as a whole. For example, by becoming a fiscal and an economic development problem. This is how it came that Comptroller Brooke Lierman had a study conducted which made big waves in the fall of last year. It showed that for 12 straight years, more Marylanders have left the state than moved in, in an accelerating trend. The study led Secretary Day to state that "we have a people problem" and need to attract a lot more young talent. 

Increasingly, there is a focus on the impediments standing in the way of new housing, namely a patchwork of zoning rules, local veto points, and well‑intentioned but restrictive smart‑growth policies. 

Baltimore County's Lutherville Station development, planned for many years but stalled due to local obstruction, has become an infamous poster-case for how people's fears -combined with current rules- can prevent housing even in most obviously suitable locations, such as Lutherville where several acres of former mall land sit mostly fallow right next to a train station.  (I reported about this case before here and Baltimore County's planning fallacies here). Urban style redevelopment near transit has been an explicit goal of many administrations, even under Governor Hogan. However, there are still plenty of rail stations around which not much happened. This appears to change under the Moore administration which puts previously unseen pressure on the issue. A recent positive development was announced in Friendship Heights for the former 20+ acre Geico campus.

Maryland housing production 2000-2024

Naturally, opposition to relaxing zoning and growth restrictions comes from both, conservatives and progressives, as well as from local government- always keen on maintaining almost exclusive rights to zoning. 

Another Baltimore County development case, the Red Maple development illustrates how hard it sometimes is to agree where more housing is appropriate. Steeped in environmental, historic and equity issues, the centrally located development on a wooded open space in a sensitive area was stalled for many years. After lengthy court battles it had recently begun moving forward but was just now temporarily halted again.

“Affordable housing is really important. Where that housing is is also important.” (State Senator Mary Washington)

Homes for America, the developer, has promised not to disturb the site’s small wetland and will preserve about half of the total land for open space. The development was alleged of causing additional stormwater runoff and adverse environmental impacts. In response the developer will stabilize a hillside, plant additional trees, address existing drainage issues and will build a 100-year flood tank to capture rainwater.

Maryland Housing Secretary Jake Day, Gov. Wes Moore and
Kenneth Naylor with Atlantic Pacific Cos., discuss future development
in the Capitol Heights area near its Metro station.
(Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)

As Secretary Day puts it in a talk to housing advocates organized by Greater Greater Washington  "Those who want to keep everything as it is are just as motivated as we are. It won't be easy" [to pass all these bills]. But we are "ready to fight for the unpopular" if it is the right thing and "makes Maryland better". The odds are not too bad because this year even the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) vowed cooperation in solving the housing problem. (Michael Sanderson, executive director for the Maryland Association of Counties says he is trying to find a "middle ground"). 

In Maryland's 2026 legislative session, the Moore-Miller Administration has introduced an aggressive "Housing Growth and Affordability Agenda" focused on increasing supply and reducing regulatory barriers.  The slew of bills under consideration includes these:

Maryland Transit & Housing Opportunity Act (HB 894): Targets Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) by eliminating parking minimums for housing within a quarter-mile of rail transit. It also delays the collection of certain impact fees until construction is complete to improve project feasibility.

Starter and Silver Homes Act of 2026 (HB 239): Aims to expand housing for young families and seniors by preempting local zoning that prohibits smaller, more affordable options. It limits minimum lot sizes to 5,000 square feet and allows townhomes in areas currently zoned only for single-family detached houses. "This bill may impose a mandate on a unit of local government" (Fiscal Note).

Housing Certainty Act of 2026 (HB 548): Establishes "early vesting" rights for developers, ensuring that if local zoning rules change after a permit application is submitted, the original rules still apply to that project. This bill establishes that a housing development project application approval or denial is governed only by laws and regulations in effect when a substantially complete application was submitted, and after approval, the project has a vested right for the longer of five years or a period determined by the local jurisdiction. The bill also prohibits a county or municipality from collecting development impact fees or excise taxes imposed on a residential real estate project until after construction is complete and all requirements for a certificate of occupancy, occupancy permit, or other equivalent have been met.

Bring Back Main Street (HB 1137): Requiring certain counties to allow multifamily developments and mixed-use developments as a permitted use on certain parcels or lots; prohibiting certain counties from imposing certain restrictions, requirements, or limitations on permitted developments; authorizing certain counties to require a permitted development to have a certain percentage of available floor space dedicated to retail uses and to include on-site parking;

Maryland Generational Housing Act of 2026 (HB 1538): A Republican-sponsored bill that would require local laws to authorize at least one internal and one external Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on certain lands, regardless of existing density limits.

Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination (HB 0573): This bill alters State statute related to housing discrimination to prohibit a person from acting in a manner that has a “discriminatory effect.” Authorizing the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt certain regulations related to affirmatively furthering fair housing; providing that certain discriminatory housing practices may be committed without intent; prohibiting a person from acting in a certain manner that has a discriminatory effect; and providing that certain conduct necessary to achieve certain nondiscriminatory interests does not constitute a certain violation.

Tenant Protections & Transparency (HB 80): Requires landlords to disclose all mandatory fees to prospective tenants before a lease is signed and prohibits undisclosed fees.

Rights of Unhoused Individuals (HB 104): Prevents law enforcement from ticketing or arresting individuals experiencing homelessness without first offering them available shelter.

Retaliatory Downzoning (HB 1517) protecting certain qualified projects by requiring a local jurisdiction to allow the density of a certain qualified project to exceed the density otherwise authorized; and permitting a certain qualified project to consist of certain types of developments with certain density limits under certain circumstances.

Two other housing related bills are HB 774 (Good Cause Eviction), and HB 778 (Middle Housing Options).

A discussion of the housing crisis including positions of Secretary Day, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Preservation MD CEO Nicolas Redding and Land Use lawyer Tom Coale can be heard on this Maryland Now podcast.

The path forward should not consist in throwing out protective measures in general but in removing restrictions in areas where housing development should happen, for example near transit or in highly walkable population centers. Innovation and creativity are urgently needed in design, production and policy to address the combined housing, economic development, climate and sustainability crisis. As much as immediate action is needed, it is also necessary to maintain the long view including our natural environment, the demographics of an aging population and the shifting ways how we work. 

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

Related: Zoning reform bills in Baltimore City: Housing Regulations to be Relaxed in Baltimore City

See also Tom Coale's paper: How to Streamline Maryland's Housing Permitting

Baltimore County to City Trail: After 54 Years Follow the Plans!

How can an idea born back in 1973 by a wealthy Baltimore "housewife (SUN) that garnered popular support then and eventually found its way into official plans of Baltimore City 2006 and again in 2015 still not be a reality in 2026? Welcome to a world were plans far exceed realizations. 

The simple idea: Take the abandoned right of way of the old Catonsville Short Line tracks and use it for a bike and hike trail connecting Baltimore County's westside to the existing Gwynn Falls trail in the city. This very concept with an extension to the Gwynn's Falls trail was shown in the 2007 and 2015 bike and trail masterplans. 

At a fork in the track:
Where will the Short Line trail go?
(Photo: Philipsen)

However, half a century later, the matter has become ever more complicated. An abundance of obstacles raised their head, from the widened beltway that claimed the old rail bridge crossing in 1985, to the private Loudon cemetery placing grave sites on the right of way, a senior living compound placing its fence in it, to the MTA that wants to revive the Claremont Branch for trains. It is part of the trail alignment and vital to the connection to the existing Gwynns Falls Trail. 

MTA wants to be able to switch trains between the MARC Penn Line and the MARC Camden Line (PCC). The nearly $233 million estimated total cost MTA project is currently in its concept stage ("30% engineering"), which also involves public participation.

A dedicated group of volunteers, the Catonsville Rails to Trails (CRTT) had moved heaven and earth to get the two segments of the CSL right of way (ROW) already converted to a trail, both in in Baltimore County and built with support of the community, businesses, and Baltimore County Rec & Parks. The Catonsville group previously had realized a popular Catonsville trail to Ellicott City on the former streetcar right of way of the No. 8 Catonsville - Towson line.
CRTT is optimistic about funding a new beltway crossing and has funded moving hundreds of feet of Charlestown Retirement community fencing to continue the trail beyond its current eastern end at the Baltimore National Cemetery to join the newest section of the trail at S. Beechfield Ave.

A new City led initiative that would become the Catonsville to Baltimore Greenway Coalition (CBGC), was formed in 2023 to advocate for a trail that would connect the Catonsville Short Line Trail to the Gwynns Falls Trails. The national Rails to Trails Conservancy organization and the Baltimore active transportation advocacy group Bikemore helped leaders from the Gwynns Falls Community Association, Irvington, and Beechfield organize a new group that meets bi-monthly at St. Agnes Hospital.

CBGC believes they can negotiate their way around the graves because their legality is in dispute and get Amtrak to allow use of an existing but currently unused underpass under Amtrak's four track Northeast Corridor running along Loudon cemetery as part of the Douglass Tunnel community benefits agreements. (Amtrak also wants to build a drainage culvert near the underpass). CBGC has the support of adjacent community organizations and stakeholders such as St Agnes Hospital. 

Delegates Ruth and Ebersole hiked for 2.5 hours to see the alignment and so did a number of Baltimore City council members and a representative of Congressman Olszewski's office.

The first segment of the trail in Baltimore City
in a temporary state of improvement (Photo: Philipsen)

underpass). 

In spite of all the support, so far trail promoters are biting their teeth out on the portion of the trail that is called the Claremont Branch, another abandoned railroad south of the Amtrak corridor. MTA is resisting considering a rail connection that could run parallel to a bike-hike trail. MTA envisions that one day they may want to have passenger service on the connector, and appears to plan for electric power lines (catenary), maximal safety distances, sound barriers and fencing, in all demanding more space than is available.

The trail advocates launched a campaign to send messages to MTA in support of a combined use as it was done, for example, at MTA's Purple Line in the DC area and a scaled down arrangement that possibly would still meet requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) using examples of the FRA guidebook of best practices.

Bicycle and pedestrian trails are popular, especially those which are separated from roads and use abandoned railroad ROWs which are never very steep and often elegantly traverse barriers such as streams and roads in grade separated underpasses or bridges, thus being able to go over longer distances without too many barriers or dangerous crossings. Such trails are suitable for commuting to work, recreational use and safe enough for families with children to use whether for walking, hiking or biking. The most popular trail of this kind in our area is probably the Northern Central Railway (NCR) Trail, stretching north for about 40 miles from Ashland into PA for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. 

Catonsville to Baltimore Greenway and phasing 

In older post industrial environments like ours those abandoned railroads are ubiquitous and often forgotten opportunities to expand and connect a trail network. 

However, these forgotten old rail lines also represent good opportunities for expanding freight rail and rail transit services also much in demand in the region; a preprogrammed conflict that can only be resolved with mutual concessions. There is no doubt that the proposed rail Connector will be very beneficial for MARC operations which currently rely on storing trains at Union Station with very restricted possibilities for dispatch and daily inspections. But there is also no doubt that it will bring noise and access impacts to disadvantages communities along the  ROW, rising the specter of community benefits of which the trail and access to green spaces could be one.

In the case of the Penn Camden Connector, with some good will and additional funds it shouldn't be too hard to accommodate a trail alongside trains that operate only occasionally in non-revenue service mode and given the short distance could do so slowly and safely. 

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

 Penn-Camden Connector overview (MTA)

1973 SUN article about the Catonsville Short Line as a trail

How the Penn Camden Connector would tie in with the NEC tracks

Pinchpoint: bridges over Wilkens and Caton Ave (Photo: Philipsen)

Section showing train next to trail (Rails and Trails DOT)

The Bombshell News About the Key Bridge Rebuild

 Just when I thought that enough had been said about the Key Bridge collapse and rebuild, (I wrote two previous blog articles on the topic) a bombshell exploded yesterday that confirmed the worst fears about what could go wrong with the reconstruction. MDOT announced that the bridge would be nearly 300% more expensive than the previously published lower end of the estimated cost ($1.9 bn) and the completion time would be pushed back 2 additional years to 2030, i.e. extended by 50%! The media reported without comment, dutifully quoting the official explanations which had to do with inflation, tariffs and protected bride supports. I will get to this in a moment.

The proposed new Key Bridge (MdTA rendering)

It had been suspiciously quiet around the rebuilding of Key Bridge after the almost daily updates during the cleanup of the wrecked bridge right after the collapse. You will remember, the clean-up was completed ahead of the schedule which the "Unified Command" had set for itself with a heavy participation of Governor Moore. 

Impressed by that delivery, I had suggested to create a similar emergency framework around the rebuild as well, a unified command type structure in lieu of the highly regulated business as usual approach which is typical for public transportation projects.

Alas, the project was handed to the Maryland Transportation Authority MdTA, a branch under the Maryland Department of Transportation. There was some media noise around the request for proposals for the innovative "progressive design build" (PDB) title which was described by MdTA as a two-phase  approach. The PDB was supposed to foster collaboration, ensure flexibility, and compress the schedule in that no time was spent to prepare a design or specifications for the bidder. Not even the required new clear height or the minimum required protection of the piers was provided, the latter a no brainer after a pier had so spectacularly failed when the rudderless Dali had rammed it. The basic parameters were supposed to be established in phase 1 of the procurement along with a firm cost. Should design and cost be acceptable, MdTA would proceed with the selected bidder, otherwise it would "deliver the work under a separate contracting mechanism" (MdTA press release).

Original MdTA schedule (community meeting)

The silence from MdTA continued even when the anticipated  milestone of summer 2025 as the end of a conceptual design phase and a firming up of the cost anticipated came and went. The news about the Key Bridge were limited to details about the demolition of the remaining concrete portions of the bridge, the driving of test piles for the new bridge and that the new bridge would be offset to the side of the old one and not be constructed in the exact same place. It had also been shared that the new bridge would be some 50' taller than the old one and that it would be, as expected, "cable stayed". 

The cost and schedule bomb was detonated now, months after  the initial milestone. Kiewit, the selected bidder and designer, must have convinced MdTA officials that their exploded cost estimate was entirely reasonable since there is no word about ""delivering the work under a separate contracting mechanism."  According to Kiewit's own website, their official construction cost is still months away and will only be submitted in "the first quarter of 2026". Kiewit is only now soliciting subcontractor proposals for many trades.  

Apparently, the Trump administration's Department of Transportation got wind of the cost and schedule problems ahead of the public. Secretary Sean Duffy expressed in a September letter  "concerns" about "ballooning" cost, a slipping schedule and the DBE set-asides which are common practice for all public projects in Maryland. He added ominously: "We will leverage our oversight authorities to ensure this vital bridge is rebuilt the right way.” 

the large approach ramps that are being fully demolished (MdTA photo)

The last thing that Marylanders need is that Key Bridge rebuild becomes a political football. However, given the acrimony between the Governor and the President, it is unlikely that the feds will fork over two or three times the originally estimated $1.9 bn. This  which would throw Maryland's already troubled budget into even more stress. The official reasons given by MDOT why the bridge will be so much more expensive and so much slower to build point to Trump's tariffs, overall inflation and unexpected extra cost. Neither the tariffs nor the high inflation of construction materials can fully explain a cost increase of 200-300%. I suppose, unforeseen from the standpoint of a bidder in 2024, was the new bridge height of 230" feet instead of the previous 180'. Taller translates into longer approach ramps, taller pylons, higher loads, i.e. overall higher cost.  If cost and expediency was of utmost importance, a much more moderate increase of the clearance may have sufficed as well, especially since the Bay Bridge is only as tall as the old Key Bridge. Pans for a full reconstruction are in a pretty distant future. A less tall bridge may have allowed maintaining the old access ramps, although MdTA denies that this was an option. 

Even the new exorbitant cost doesn't allow any pedestrian or bike access to or across the bridge or any type of customization such as a viewing platform, iconic lighting or an art budget to name just a few things that could enhance the new bridge to become one again a landmark. 

More than all design aspects, though, what makes US infrastructure projects so slow and expensive, are  the bureaucratic procedures from procurement to permitting and construction. I got a first row view of that as a member of the Red Line project which a governor canceled for political reasons after 13 years of planning and review. 

Today public agencies such as MTA or MdTA don't have the staff to design or oversee large projects themselves. So, in addition to hiring contractors to build, they have to hire designers that draw things up and specify a project (in the case of the Key Bridge and the Purple Line the designer and contractor are part of the same contract), then they need to hire consultants that can oversee both, the design and the construction contractors. Every step of the way agencies have to involve the public (more consultants), follow all environmental laws (even more consultants and lawyers), procurement rules, labor contracts and the like (lots of lawyers). Most of these regulations have been enacted for good reasons, namely to protect the public. However, in an emergency it should be possible to cut to the chase and go straight for what needs to be done, just as it was demonstrated for the bridge debris removal and cleanup under "unified command" and as it was done for the large bridge in Genoa, Italy, that fell in a thunderstorm and was rebuilt in 18 months and within the budget. The same consortium that rebuilt the more than a mile long bridge there, offered their services here as well. As far as I know, they were never heard, let alone selected when they bid the job. 

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

previously on this blog:

The New Key Bridge - More Questions than Answers (7/24)

A "Cathedral of American Infrastructure" - gone in a few seconds (3/24)

Baltimore: The Jones Falls is waiting for you!

 The world over cities are rediscovering their rivers. Historic Frederick, MD successfully looked at San Antonio, TX when it created its own Riverwalk, an all around successful project bearing fruit for years now. Denver, CO is taking advantage of its rather puny Platte River to the fullest extent in ever new segments that boast riverfront trails and redevelopment of former industrial sites in RiNo.  

Adaptive reuse and Platte River greenway in
Denver's Ri-No district. (Photo:Philipsen)

But in Baltimore we have done almost nothing to celebrate our Jones Falls in spite of its beauty that is far exceeding the creeks of the examples. Not only did we leave it lingering underground over wide stretches, we are seriously discussing placing a recycling transfer station along its banks in a spot where it is about the most beautiful. 

The renewed discussions about the Sisson Street recycling transfer station and the possible relocation to the adjacent but much lower Potts and Callahan site motivated me to walk Sisson Street from 29th Street to 26 Street and the closed Sisson Street bridge and I saw only opportunities. Most of us know this area only from flying over the bridges of 28th and 29th Streets, high above the river and crossing Sisson Street at the edge of Remington. And what an edge it is! The landscape urbanist Alan Berger coined the term Drosscape for these urban wastelands which are vestiges of a time long passed in which the river attracted all kinds of industries. Today this edge consists of abandoned and repurposed factories, billboards, communication towers, a gas station, a fast food place, two bus facilities and acres of unused pavement. And a waste stations. 

This low-intensity-use landscape is so underutilized that it should invite any creative mind to imagine what it could be. Cues of possibilities are everywhere, in the vegetation surround some abandoned structures, the driveways that gently overcome the significant drop between Sisson Street and Falls Road and in the architecture of some of the old industrial buildings. 

The Sisson transfer station (partial view) (Photo: Philipsen

Denver's redevelopment of the River-North arts district (RiNo) comes to mind in which the River Platte plays a major role. Those transformation do not come without intention and major efforts. THK designed South Platte river greenway masterplan and Sasaki created the Denargo district masterplan. Plans to turn the Platte from a stinking backwater into an urban attraction have been in the works for decades. Today Denver developed some 60 miles of river trails with additional projects still underway or to be started. Today Denver's economic vitality is in large parts based on active recreation along its riverbanks. 

In Baltimore the lift would be much easier. Remington has already come a long way from a disinvested area to a desired location to live, populated by folks of various incomes, races and orientations. What is needed is to connect this neighborhood to a cleaned up the Jones Falls river greenway. Such a link would create a beautiful synergy and many opportunities for innovative re-use of those drosscape spaces. 

Part of the Sisson Street "Drosscape" in the area where Remington
could connect to the Jones Falls (Photo Philipsen)

The recycling transfer station plays a pivotal role. It occupies over 5 acres used for dropping off recyclables from private vehicles, placing a number of dumpsters with sorted materials and truck access to and from the dumpsters. The site was declared surplus and even offered in a proposal process by BDC. The interested party in the site is Seawall Development, the same developer responsible for a lot of reinvestment in Remington. They want to build a commercial development with a grocery store on the site. The City proposed to relocate the facility to the adjacent lot where the streetcar museum wants to refurbish the old railroad roundhouse to house their museum there.

A re-imagined transfer station that would be incorporated into a mixed use development could be innovative and feature green roofs etc., in short be made compatible with the efforts to connect Remington to the Jones Falls. An example of such an approach can be found in Seattle. 

The success of this trash-processing station in a residential neighborhood shows that with a thoughtful discovery process, design can make even the most noxious building typology a boon.
Seattle’s North Transfer Station might reasonably be mistaken as a factory for electric cars or some other high-tech production facility. But the low-lying translucent glass and concrete structure actually houses a dump, right between two residential neighborhoods and less than 100 yards from the shore of Lake Union. (Architecture Magazine)

For now the Mayor put the dumpster site plans on hold by announcing that he will form a task force to look into all options for the Sisson facility. The task force will include City Council members, community stakeholders and city officials.  Scott promised to "consider all options for the future of the transfer station, including keeping it where it is, moving it or simply closing it”. 

Scenic portions of the Jones Falls along Falls Road
make you feel like you are far outside the city

Meanwhile the Friends of the Jones Falls have received a grant to create a strategic plan for the future of the Jones Falls and its connected waterways. The project is touted as a historic collaboration between City and County from Greenspring Valley to the Inner Harbor. The work will be led by three team leaders for the upper, middle and lower portion of the stream. 

Efforts of making the Jones Falls a central feature of Baltimore's planning infrastructure are not new. The Olmsted Brothers did as much in their 1904 Report Upon the Development of Public Grounds for Greater Baltimore, but that was obviously before the JFX was built above much of the stream. Currently there is also a Jones Falls Gateway Masterplan and a Gateway project which "seeks to transform a narrow, discontinuous sidewalk along the south side of Falls Road and Lanvale Street — between the CSX Bridge underpass (next to the Streetcar Museum) and Charles Street — into a 10–13' wide shared-use path suitable for people of all ages." Finally, the City has its own Green Network Plan which also makes the Jones Falls part of a larger trail network. 

The Potts and Callahan site with the roundhouse desired
by the Streetcar Museum which already loops its tracks
through the site (Photo: Philipsen)

In short, there is enough awareness of the importance of the Jones Falls for recreation and green networks that any attempt of putting a trash station at its banks appears as planning blasphemy, or at least as something where the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the affliction of not seeing the forest for the trees that seems to be all too common in Baltimore. For once, please see the bigger picture!

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/council-bill-introduced-to-sell-remington-dump-property-for-redevelopment-falls-road-parcel-proposed-as-a-replacement/

https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/legislation-to-sell-sisson-street-transfer-station-property-for-private-development-put-on-hold-pending-recommendations-of-mayoral-task-force/

Drosscape: Underutilized but with potential: The areas along the
edge of Remington

Underutilized, partly green: Opportunities to connect to the river

The transfer site sits on a large retaining wall 

Transfer site used by citizens driving up their recyclables

Sisson Street community park

Remington's edge: Gas stations, fast food, factories

Active uses in old factories can be incorporated in a
greenway connection plan as they are in Denver's Ri-No

Copycat - Baltimore's largest Arts Experiment Comes to an End

On the Auction Block

The Copycat building in Baltimore's Station North Arts District shows up in several chapters in of Baltimore's history. As a building constructed for the fabrication of an exclusive Baltimore innovation and invention - the crown cork for bottles.

Copycat building in Station North
(Photo: Eli Pousson, Baltimore Hertitage)

As a factory building that could adapt to changing needs from making clothing to accommodating  municipal workers providing relief in the Great Depression, to printing presses spewing out reams of paper. The final chapter was a maze of artist studios with all the forms of live-work one can imagine, including indoor skateboard ramps. The future is uncertain. 

Thus the building is testimony of Baltimore's industrial legacy and an example of artists being pioneers in urban rejuvenation. While future chapters are still unwritten, it is almost certain that its life as an art catalyst for Station North has come to an end. The building now faces the auction block and the need for substantial renovations to become useful for any use. This last chapter as a home and workplace for artists isn't as much about the building itself as about people, specifically the role of artists in a gentrifying district.

The auctioneer's  description is dripping with developer speak which conveniently hides the torturous years of its most recent history where a landlord and a part of the artist community battled it out in court and in the press.

 The Copycat Building is a rare landmark redevelopment opportunity located in Baltimore’s thriving Station North Arts and Entertainment District. This massive 265,000-square-foot, 6-level building encompasses a full city block and is a prominent feature of the Baltimore skyline. With its rich history and prime location, the Copycat Building is an ideal investment for a visionary developer. 

Originally built in 1897 as the main factory for the Crown Cork & Seal Company, the building is a marvel of Victorian Industrial architecture. For decades, it was a hub of innovation, producing the world-famous crown-style bottle caps. In the 1980s, the building transformed into an iconic live-work space, becoming a haven for Baltimore's burgeoning art scene and fostering a vibrant community of creative professionals. This unique heritage makes the Copycat Building more than just a property; it's a piece of Baltimore history. The Copycat Building is strategically located in the heart of the Greenmount West Planned Urban Development and the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. Its location offers unparalleled access and visibility. (Alex Cooper website)

Baltimore Street Art 2022, Graffiti Alley

Artists as Window Dressing?

The view of artists is notably different. Two quotes in a 2022 article in the SUN illustrate this.

“Developers use artists like window dressing, once they’re done using the artist, they dispose of them and put up condos the artists can’t afford … and then you’re left with a bunch of people in condos listening to Ed Sheeran.” (Ed Schrader, musician)

“If you guys really think that Baltimore is going to be just as fun and cool a place to live in without any of the artists, any of the show organizers, any of the public art installers that make this city beautiful, you’re in for a really dark, disappointing dystopia.” (Cam Alvarez, musician)

Reflecting the increasing acrimony between artists and landlord is a website organized by Indigo Null, the most vocal spokesperson of the artists' discontent who also organized a rent strike against the landlord that lasted through the pandemic. In an op-ed in Baltimore Beat they claimed:

Indigo Null in their studio space (Photo: Baltimore SUN)

The building was never brought up to housing code or properly licensed in this transition, and was thus operating with severely inadequate fire safety, unabated lead and asbestos, faulty and dangerous wiring, and elevators that were often dangerously inoperational, among other issues. 

After a four year battle Indigo Null was evicted in January of 2024, with media coverage. In a recent Facebook post rent strike organizer Null defended the rent strike with the dire conditions of both tenants and the building:

To be clear, the rent strike started because the landlord tried to evict the majority of the tenants in the building in a situation where many of us did not have any money coming in because of the pandemic. Rather than end up broke and homeless, we chose to preserve our resources so that we could end up in housing that wasn’t full of asbestos and lead. (Indigo Null)

 

"All Over Street" 2-5-2016 (Photo: Philipsen)

The Copy Cat - A Free Space

The third point of view is the one of the public. The Copycat as a hidden gem that was mysterious and a bit frightening in its otherness. It was an experimentation what can be done with space. The cavernous inners chopped up in such a confusing manner that it was easy to get lost which is beautifully demonstrated in this NPR video. Of course, creativity, innovation and artistic expression in pictures, music, sculpture and in the decoration of the spaces themselves. For a time, the public was eager to enter, the slight thrill from knowing that not everything was up to code and that may not find an exit mixed up with the excitement of a truly "free space".

Is Community Development Gentrification?

In many ways the Copycat landlord - tenant fight is also a reflection of the larger housing crisis and the ongoing lack of affordable housing which affects many segments of the population. Depending on the political stance, solutions vary wildly between a market driven view arguing from the supply and owner side and a view focusing on human hardships on the tenant side. Squaring safe and code compliant living with extremely low rent without subsidy may be quite impossible.  The court taking up the Copycat conflict expressed the legal view of this conflict in dry words:

The balance between a property owner’s right to repossess his or her property after the expiration of a tenancy and a tenant’s right to safe and habitable living conditions during a residential tenancy. That balance has been struck by the Legislature through its enactment of a comprehensive statutory framework that governs landlord and tenant relationships, including its modifications to the common law ejectment action and the remedies afforded to tenants to ensure safe and habitable housing. Anna Velicky v. The Copycat Building LLC, No. 1, September Term, 2021; Christopher Walke v. The Copycat Building LLC, No. 2, September Term, 2021, Opinion by Booth, J.

In a city like Baltimore that is angling for any foothold that let it climb out of the deep troubles that deindustrialization has wrought, the fight over the Copycat building has an even bigger horizon. It encompasses the issue of the City's shrinking population, the many vacant buildings, the branding of the city as a heaven for artistic people and the need for safer neighborhoods. The City can't be a neutral bystander and has to step up to bridge and mitigate the conflicts between protecting renters and stabilizing communities. The Copycat building should matter to the City administration.

Studio space (Screenshot NPR video)

Bridging Artistic Vibe and Development

Baltimore has invested in the idea of being an attractive destination for creativity, arts, innovation and quirkiness. The Copycat building with its chaotically creative studio spaces was the perfect expression of this self image. The City designated four arts and entertainment districts and for some time Station North seemed to be the one flourishing the most. During its heydays between 2009 and 2014  Station North organized Art Walks dubbed All Over Street during which the public came in droves to see the hidden city, the work of artists, the creative live work-spaces, and to drink and party. 

At the same time, Baltimore is working on stabilizing its ailing neighborhoods so they can keep their existing residents happy and become a destination for new residents. To this end the Greenmount Avenue corridor, the North Avenue corridor, Barclay, Johnston Square and Station North itself have made significant progress. Depressed property values, abandoned homes and vacant lots are a burden on existing residents and a detriment to attracting new ones. Therefore, one of the goals of neighborhood stabilization is to increase property values so owners can obtain loans,  generate generational wealth, or sell their homes and developers can recover rehabilitation and new construction cost through rent or sale without subsidies. 

City Arts Building in Station North (Jubilee Baltimore)

That makes keeping the artistic vibe parallel to neighborhood revitalization so difficult. When the neighborhood recovers, dirt cheap rents disappear. Is the path that the two musicians described in 2022 where the artists in the end get kicked inevitable? It was the case at the Bell Foundry in Station North, the H&H building in the Bromo arts district, the Copy Cat Annex and now for the Copycat itself. It will probably happen for the large complex in East Baltimore where the Crown Cork and Seal company had moved after moving out of their original quarters. In light of the Oakland fire then Mayor Pugh the City briefly stepped up to solve the problem of cheap artists housing that is also safe by creating the Safe Artist Space task force. The workgroup issued a report but didn't yield any substantial results, even though the City obviously tolerated a not code compliant Copycat building for some time. 

Station North Matures

Today in Station North there are no longer All-Over-Street events, the artist hang-out at the Windup Space has long closed and so did Joe Square Pizza and a number of other places that gave Station North its original vibe. The Bell Foundry evicted all tenants soon after the devastating fire in a similar space in Oakland that killed 36 people. Then a developer snapped it up. 

But things are not entirely bleak for artists. The Station North Arts District is still there, organizing events such as monthly art walks, with 20 venues this August. The Central Baltimore Partnership is working to revive the large former North Avenue Market where the Windup Space was and Liam Flynn were located. 

The Market, 10-30 West North Avenue, demonstrates Central Baltimore Partnership’s collaborative approach. 
In 2024, CBP and Central Baltimore Future Fund purchased this anchor in partnership with the building’s longtime owners Mike Shecter and Carolyn Frenkil and future owner, Twenty-Two Lanes.
The Market is now activated by interim tenants, including Baltimore Youth Arts, Club Car, and Mobtown Ballroom and Cafe, while plans and resources for the restoration are assembled. (CBP website)

The creative spirit in Station North is still alive. Open Works is flourishing as one of the nation's largest maker spaces, the Impact Hub is actively "supporting a community of innovators and entrepreneurs to scale and sustain their initiatives", two modern artist live-work spaces developed by Jubilee are fully booked. 

North Avenue Market 2024 (Photo: Philipsen)

Area 405, a building around the corner from the Copycat may be illustrative. Its function as an artists refuge and creative center had also been in jeopardy  because of code issues and the building's condition in spite of heroic efforts of an artist cooperative who owned the building since 2001 and provided a home to 45 artists working in the building, the Station North Tool Library, and the AREA 405 the exhibition space.  After 20 years of independent artist-run ownership  the anchor of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District, and Baltimore City had to close in 2021. But it wasn't gentrification that followed. Instead, the CBP together with developer Ernst Valery stepped in to save the structure and its use by artists with the help of a slew of funding sources including the France-Merrick Foundation, the Goldseker Foundation, the Baltimore City Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund, Reinvestment Fund, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.  Area 405 will host the annual "Sweaty Eyeballs" animation show on August 22.

“I cannot find another example of a community coming together to save an arts space like what has happened with Area 405. With a very strong development team, we took a calculated risk on a revitalization strategy. We couldn’t find the model, so we created it. I hope to see it replicated again in Baltimore and in other parts of the country. It is feasible, and it is critically important.” (Ellen Janes, Executive Director CBP)

 CBP is not likely to come to the rescue of the Copycat, it would be far too big a bite in addition to all their other projects. Could it be that another entity steps up to save the Copycat from being moved out of artists reach? Whether it will happen or not, change will continue in Station North and across the city and the art scene will change as well. After reading this article Indigo Null sent me this statement which sums it up quite nicely:

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

Related article on this Blog:

The Copy Cat: Part of a Hidden City (2016)

Other sources:

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2022/07/28/copycat-building-photos/

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2019/05/18/jacques-kelly-the-nine-lives-of-baltimores-copycat-building-in-greenmount-west-from-industry-to-arts/

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/14/copycat-building-auction-sale/

https://baltimorebeat.com/op-ed-when-knowing-your-rights-just-isnt-enough-a-copycat-organizing-retrospective/. (June 2024)

https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/03/22/149061691/peek-inside-the-copy-cat-building-where-baltimore-artists-work-and-live