The Baltimore Development Corp. announced Tuesday that it has received a redevelopment proposal for the Liberty Clay site, the last major development parcel within the Westside “Superblock” area.
Baltimore entrepreneur and developer Cary Luskin, who started the electronics chain of Big Screen stores, and Michael Seipp, executive director of the Baltimore Station, have proposed apartments, a parking garage and street-level retail space. The project would redevelop Luskin?s two properties at 100 to 106 W. Lexington St.
The announcement of Luskin and Seipp?s proposal follows in the theme of other redevelopment plans proposed to create jobs and boost a slow-growing area of the city, BDC President M.J. “Jay” Brodie said.
“This is the last piece of the project, meaning it?s an important piece,” Brodie said Tuesday. “It?s also a highly visible piece.”
The proposed project, estimated to cost about $60 million, includes a six-story parking garage, with seven floors of apartments above the garage, to be constructed on the existing surface parking lot south of Clay Street. A new, eight-story building would be built at the corner of Lexington Street and Park Avenue and connect to the garage.
Luskin?s two historic buildings would be converted to apartments with ground-floor retail space along Lexington Street.
In all, the plans total 152 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, 15,900 square feet of retail space, 7,400 square feet of office space and 316 parking spaces.
Luskin has asked the city for an unknown amount of funding for the project, and the proposal is under review at BDC.
The proposal is consistent with other Superblock plans, including residential, retail and office components.
“It?s a good theme, and we know it works,” Brodie said. “There really is an audience out there for residential, and the retail has to follow along.”
The proposed Superblock projects should create a vibrant atmosphere and attract people to the Westside, said Ronald M. Kreitner, executive director of WestSide Renaissance Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the revitalization of the west side of Baltimore?s downtown district.
Luskin and Seipp could not be reached for comment.
Other Superblock Plans
» Plans proposed by the Cordish Co. and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc.: More than 20,000 square feet of retail space along Lexington Street, office space and 2.5 levels of parking for $26 million, or a 35-story tower with 10 levels of parking and 15 levels of office space and residential floors.
» Lexington Square Partners Project: About 312,000 square feet of retail space, a seven-story parking garage and 400 apartment units in two 14-story towers for $250 million.
