Housing, shops and arts “incubator” on tap for the bedraggled West Side
Redevelopment planned for a heavily-decayed corner just west of Charles Center as well as the 400 block of North Howard Street
Above: Rental housing is slated to replace this eyesore at the corner of Fayette Street, Park Avenue and Liberty Place just west of Charles Center.
Two redevelopment projects are expected to move ahead on the West Side of downtown when the city sells seven vacant properties to developers with ambitious plans.
The Baltimore Development Corp., which oversees downtown development, is seeking approval from the Board of Estimates tomorrow to sell the properties to developers that bid for them after the BDC sought proposals.
One project is expected to redevelop the long-empty corner properties at Fayette Street, Park Avenue and Liberty Place. The second seeks to rejuvenate two properties in the 400 block of North Howard Street.
Both projects are aimed at rejuvenating the West Side retail district that has undergone decades of decay, abandonment and stalled redevelopment.
The BDC plans to officially announce the sales agreements tomorrow.
Long Vacant Corner
The larger project involves the sale of five parcels to a group called Liberty Park Development LLC. The parcels are 142-144 West Fayette Street and 102, 104 and 106 North Liberty Street located just west of Charles Center. The sale price is $831,623.
According to a memo to the Board of Estimates, the developer wants to build a “mixed-income residential apartment building” with ground-level retail space. The project will also include the historic rehabilitation of a privately-owned property at 111 Park Avenue, the former headquarters of Health Care for the Homeless.
Sixty percent of the proposed residential units will be rented at market rate and 40 percent of the units will be available to individuals and families with incomes below 50 percent of the Area Median Income. Approximately 6,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space will be included along Fayette Street and Park Avenue.
The developer will pay $83,162 at settlement, and the city will take a purchase money mortgage in the amount of $748,461 with a 30-year amortization at an interest rate of 4 percent per year.
Theatrical and Artist Space
In the second project, a group called Howard Street Incubator LLC is seeking to buy the city-owned vacant properties at 408-410 and 412 North Howard Street for $100,000.
The BDC issued a request for proposals for the properties in February 2014. Howard Street Incubator submitted the only bid and entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with the BDC last November.
According to the BDC, the Howard Street Incubator is designed to be a collaborative that combines arts, culture and community development.
These two historic buildings on North Howard Street are planned for theatrical space and artists’ studios. (Photo by Ed Gunts)
“The project will include a multi-theater ground floor, a ground-floor cafe and flexible retail space,” as well as educational and office space and “live/work” units for artists. Ezra Hercenberg, president of Harbor Builders, is listed as the group’s resident agent.
The new owner will pay $50,000 at settlement, and the city will take back a purchase money mortgage for the remaining $50,000 of the purchase price.
According to the BDC, the developers plan to restore the two buildings and create 21,700 square feet of space using tax credits for historic preservation.