Tuesday?s frigid temperatures and gusting winds couldn?t dampen the spirits of Baltimore developer C. William “Bill” Struever.
Struever, partner, president and CEO of Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, even rolled up the sleeves of his navy blue sweater, eager to kickoff the groundbreaking of the $830 million Harbor Point mixed-use development on the site of the former Allied Signal chrome plant.
“I remember when [prominent Baltimore developer] Jim Rouse said, ?This is the best site in America,? ” Struever said. “We went on an odyssey of 15 years leading us to today.”
The project was approved in 1993 for 1.8 million square feet of development on 27 acres of the city?s waterfront. The site, next to Fells Point, has gone through a $100 million environmental remediation after parcels of the site had become contaminated with chrome.
Struever said the site was a great example of Baltimore?s “responsible development of old industrial sites.”
Construction has begun on the 277,000-square-foot Thames Street Wharf office building, of which Morgan Stanley has leased 139,000 square feet of office place. Morgan Stanley plans to add 900 jobs when it moves in 2010.
Michael Beatty, president of H&S Properties Development Corp., which is working with Struever Bros. on the development, said projects such as Harbor Point “stabilize neighborhoods and create jobs.”
“We want the city to be strong, and we want the state to be strong so we can continue to develop these projects,” Beatty said.
Gov. Martin O?Malley commended everyone involved for turning a once-contaminated site into what will be “one of the most phenomenal waterfront sites anywhere in the Unites States of America.”
Mayor Sheila Dixon said the development would generate tax dollars for the city, create jobs for Baltimore residents and draw people to the region.
The project is expected to bring more than 5,600 potential construction jobs to the area and generate more than 3,200 potential permanent jobs for Baltimore City.
Harbor Point will include additional office space, retail stores, restaurants, parking garages and a waterfrontpromenade. The development is expected to receive city and state subsidies.
