Wednesday, February 20, 2013
It's readers' turn to share their thoughts for new developments in North Baltimore.
Three major planned North Baltimore developments, long on hold, have taken major steps toward becoming reality. Johns Hopkins University announced a development team for the long vacant lot at 33rd and St. Paul streets into a mixed-use building, the redevelopment of the Rotunda is on track to begin this spring and 25th Street Station has cleared legal challenges regarding its planned unit development. Another significant redevelopment of a former tire shop in Remington into a theater, restaurant and office space is also set to begin in March. But what kind of development would you like to see happening in the area? Tell us in the comments.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The Planning Commission approved the redesign for the Hampden mall on Thursday.
The developers of the proposed redesigned Rotunda cleared the final major hurdle before breaking ground on the proposed mixed-use project in Hampden. The Baltimore Planning Commission unanimously approved its staff’s recommendation to affirm the project’s design on Thursday afternoon. "The process is pretty well over… we need to pull a building permit and, you know, select a contractor and get started," said Chris Bell, a senior vice president with Hekemian & Co., the owner of the Rotunda. The commission approved the plans over the objections of some residents along 38th Street and Elm Avenue directly across from the mall. Residents told commissioners they were concerned about the scale and the setbacks of the buildings that will be built …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Hekemian and Co., the mall’s owner, has been trying to redevelop the shopping and office complex for years.
The redevelopment of the Rotunda mall and office complex has been approved by Baltimore’s Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel on Thursday, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. The panel gave approval to the project's schematics during a panel meeting in August. "I think the architecture isn’t great," panel member Gary Bowden said at that time. "There are a lot of ugly buildings in the area and I think this project has picked up some of that." Hekemian and Co., the Rotunda’s owner, have been working for years to overhaul the struggling mall into an outdoor shopping complex with a residential component. Prior to the economic collapse in 2008, the company had hoped to add a 22-story apartment building, condos and a detached …
Monday, December 3, 2012
Councilwoman says designation is not meant to impact proposed redevelopment.
(UPDATED 3:38 p.m.)—Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke wants to add portions of the exterior and the interior of the Rotunda, formerly the Maryland Casualty Company Building, to the city’s Historic Landmark list. Clarke has sponsored two bills, one for the exterior and one for the interior, to be introduced during City Council meeting Monday evening. The building, located at 711 W. 40th St., is currently home to a struggling indoor mall that its owner, Hekemian & Co., has long sought to redevelop as a mixed-use outdoor shopping center. The redevelopment of the Rotunda is expected to break ground this spring. Clarke said that she is introducing the legislation not to complicate matters for the redevelopment of the building, but to instead protect…
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The arcade will feature 25 old school arcade games, such as pinball and skee ball, and it set to open within the next month.
An arcade will be opening in the Rotunda. The Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals approved an occupancy permit for the arcade on Tuesday at City Hall. "We’re going to get the arcade up and running, hopefully within the next month, we’re going to have 25 machines, its going to be a family oriented arcade," said Ira Miller, who will run the arcade and also owns the Rotunda Cinemas. Miller announced his plans to pursue building an arcade featuring old school games such as pinball, skee ball and whack-a-mole in the mall in early June. He has delayed hearings on the permit with the appeals board twice to meet with communities to address concerns about the project. Miller met with the Roland Park Civic League in July, and that neighborhood …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The proposed redevelopment of the Hampden mall can begin the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel's final review process.
Members of a city review panel expressed concern about the architecture of the proposed redevelopment of the Rotunda, but gave approval to the project’s schematics on Thursday. The project will now move into the final approval phase with the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel. The developer Hekemian and Co. still must schedule that part of the review process. "I think the architecture isn’t great," said panel member Gary Bowden. "There’s a lot of ugly buildings in the area, and I think this project has picked some of that up." Panel members expressed concern about how the project fits in with the surrounding neighborhoods, the massing of the project and the uniformity of many of the proposed buildings. But the panel members did …
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel is scheduled to review plans for the project on Thursday.
On Thursday the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel will again review plans for the redevelopment of the Rotunda mall. During the first review, panel member M.J. "Jay" Brodie and Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke raised concerns about the plans to remove indoor shopping at the mall and instead have all retail on the building’s exterior. But Hekemian & Co., the mall’s owner, expressed surprise about the suggestion, and was reluctant to maintain the interior shopping of the current mall. Patch wants to know what you think.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Previously members of the panel questioned plans to eliminate the indoor shopping from the redeveloped mall.
Plans for the renovation of the Rotunda mall in Hampden will go before a city architectural review panel again on Thursday. The plans for the redevelopment of the Rotunda—into the Grand Rotunda—will be presented to the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel at 1 p.m. in the Richard Chen Conference Room on the seventh floor of the Benton Building, 417 Fayette St It will mark the second time the plans have been presented to the panel. On July 19, architectural firm Design Collective and Chris Bell, senior vice president of Hekemian and Co., the mall’s owner, gave a presentation. During the first presentation members of the panel generally expressed support for the redesign, but also shared concern about the developers intention to …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
A city design review panel examined plans to redevelop the struggling Hampden mall.
New plans for the redevelopment of the Rotunda still need some adjustments. Representatives from architectural firm Design Collective and Chris Bell—senior vice president of Hekemian and Co., the mall’s owner—presented the plans to the Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel on Thursday. Members of the panel said they generally approved of the reduced plans for the proposed mixed-use redevelopment. An earlier proposal for the project included a hotel, a 22-story apartment building and condos, but that was scrapped after the 2008 nationwide economic collapse. The new plans still include creating more outdoor retail space at the mall, but now include a much smaller residential component of 300 market rate apartments. But members of the …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
New plans for the struggling mall will be reviewed by a city panel on Thursday morning.
Plans for a revised Rotunda redevelopment will begin the city’s review process on Thursday. The city’s Urban Design and Review Panel will examine the plans for a revamped "Grand Rotunda" at 9:30 a.m. at 417 E. Fayette St. The review panel’s function is to "achieve the highest quality for the planned and built environment of Baltimore City by providing the Planning Commission and the Department of Planning with design review expertise in the area of urban design, architecture and landscape design," according to its website. In February Hekemian and Co., the struggling mall’s owner, unveiled plans for a new redevelopment of the former insurance office building. Initially the company had planned on a massive redesign of the mall that included…
Christian
2:45 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
I think that further consideration should be given by JHU before entering into another proposal to create additional development of the area until there is a real growth in the area to justify the need for such a project. The City's population has not grown significantly and with the development all around us, what is taking place is that one development spurs a retreat from one area that then … more ›