Charles Village To Discuss Olmsted Lot

Charles Village residents will have another chance to sound off on what they want to see as part of a planned development at the Olmsted lot.

Johns Hopkins University and its developer will speak at the Charles Village Civic Association’s general membership meeting for the lot located at 33rd and St. Paul streets at 7 p.m., Wednesday. The meeting will be at Sts. Philip and James Catholic Church, 2801 N. Charles St.

The project generated controversy in February when it was revealed the developer, Armada Hoffler, was considering including a grocery store as part of the development. That news upset many residents in surrounding communities, who did not want competition to the locally owned Eddie’s Market of Charles Village, which is located about a block from the proposed development.

"We all just consider Eddie’s an extension of our families. We’ve all shopped there for years," said JoAnn Robinson, a long time area resident and member of a group supporting the local market.

Johns Hopkins already held a meeting this month to discuss the project. At that time, the vast majority of residents said they oppose the inclusion of a grocery store in the proposed development.

"If you really want a partnership, then it takes two to tango, and not just an 800 pound gorilla jumping on a steam roller and heading down the road," resident Ralph Moore told representatives from the developer and Johns Hopkins University during the meeting.

Representatives from the school and the developer insisted that no hard plans had been made, and that they intended to work with the community in planning the project.

The lot was previously owned by developer Struever Bros., Eccles, and Rouse. But the land was sold to the university after the 2008 recession and has sat vacant ever since.

In February, Johns Hopkins University announced it had selected Armada Hoffler as the developer for another proposed mixed-use development. 

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