Its not all falling apart: Small miracles in Baltimore's "Westside"

 The "Westside", or as the local merchants want me to call it, "Market Center" is my local habitat and a place that is quite representative of Baltimore at large. Three steps forward, and two back, sometimes more like two steps forward and three back. Just think "Superblock", a 18 year story of failure I have extensively covered in these columns. There are many boarded buildings and the light rail trip up and down Howard Street has been the subject of many snide remarks about the state of affairs. When it comes to Baltimore's downtown Westside, the mood can flip from hope to despair within moments, depending on what happened last.

The arts as savior? Westside Bromo District
(Photo: Philipsen)

Cliffhangers abound: The Superblock, the Mayfair redevelopment, The Lexington Market to name just a few of the bigger deals that never seem to happen. Intermittently the BBJ busts out with news of RFPs issued by Baltimore Development, new land disposition awards made and hopeful news of investments here and there.

But then the wildly successful Asian themed Night Market happened and brought out thousands to mill around in the usually desolate old retail center and as if a magic wand had been waved, actual construction activity is now more common than new paper renderings. Especially heartening is the activity on both sides of the 400 block of Howard Street, a block that was probably as dead as it can possibly be with only one building, St. James Place, occupied at the corner of Franklin Street and one in perpetual rehab mode (Le Mondo). It is still possible to overlook the mostly indoor activity, except for the dumpsters collecting demolition debris tossed out of the hollow window openings from time to time. And from my office I can peer over the rooftops, and see that several of the buildings have received all new roofs in recent weeks.One group of five buildings that sat vacant for decades is renovated by Poverni Sheikh for 39 market rate apartments and some retail. The same goup had turned the former Planned Partenthood building further north on Howard Street into a storage facility with some retail.

The Time Group apartments on Park Avenue create a solid edge
on the area's north side (Photo: Philipsen)

These more surgical operations are indicative of the new approach that may actually turn the area around without much fanfare. The new approach is mostly small, incremental and driven by a diverse slate of investors not tapped from the usual suspects which do development elsewhere in the City. Investors include the Le Mondo group and the Current Gallery, artistic users that have to cobble their funds together from many sources and who do their projects in fits and spurts often with sweat equity. There are bigger projects, too. Enterprise's new apartments on Mulberry Street probably helped to encourage Park Avenue Partners to engage on almost a full block investment between Tyson Street and Park Avenue, a project that involves the old Marticks building which, along with several old Chinatown buildings on Park Avenue is supposed to be spared the wrecking ball.

The L on Liberty: 71 affordable apartments between Liberty
and Park. Architect: Peter Fillat  (Photo: Philipsen)

Of course, in reality, the change did not happen overnight. The tandem redevelopment of the former Hutzler distribution warehouse with its popular Mount Vernon Market Place and the brand-new apartments next to it (500 Park Avenue) by Time Group shored up the northern edge, the fod hall turned into an attraction. Early on, large adaptive reuse projects such as the conversion of the former Hechts department store and the old BGE headquarters into apartments, the new construction of Centerpoint and several entertainment venues such as the Hippodrome and the Everyman Theater had fueled expectations for a rapid revival that never became reality. Still, progress was made: A whole block of West Baltimore Street around the corner from the Hippodrome was filled with retail behind nicely restored facades. All of Saratoga Street east of Paca Street is filled with shops and new apartments behind old walls, including a new hotel and Howard Street south of Fayette Street has barely any vacancies.

Neglect in the public space is rampant
(Photo: Philipsen)

Yet, the Westside is so large and abandonment so pervasive in some areas that the area could never quite cast aside its image of a run down place full of addicts and barbershops. For any new projet several old stores and businesses gave up and created new vacancies. The stately Gombrecht building on Eutaw Street burnt in a fire only to stand two years later as derelict as the fireman had left it. That BDC slogan that "The West has Zest" became over time even more ridiculous than it was at its inception and was eventually abandoned.

Once again merchants, the Market Center organization, stakeholders and BDC officials are hopeful that a break-through is near. I, too am happy to pin hope to the work crews I can hear clanging away. As I have pointed out many times before, run-down downtowns and commercial districts can revive. This is what happened in the old heart of Los Angeles, in the Over the Rhine section of Cincinnati and in our own Hampden and Highlandtown neighborhoods. For the final breakthrough of Baltimore's Westside/Market Center area to really happen, though, a better consensus is needed how the neighborhood should look like in the end.

Il Mondo: Part 1 of a larger renovation
(Photo: Philipsen)

Under the leadership of Kristen Mitchell, the Market Center Development Association is just now embarking on the effort of creating such a consensus and strategic plan. A few successful strands seems to emerge: African American and Asian themed, mom and pop shop oriented, preservation rather than demolition and lots of art and entertainment.

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

Trade vans and new roofs: Signs of rehabilitation
(Photo: Philipsen)

BBJ map of current projects (BBJ)