Economic development is a lot like nuclear fusion.
To revitalize blighted residential, commercial and industrial areas of Baltimore, a core of redevelopment must first take place, said Jay Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp.
Once the core is established and begins to heat up, the chain reaction begins.
“We?ve see this happening as a result of our ?Westside revitalization initiative,? ” Brodie said.
The Westside project that began 10 years ago with the city initially buying 6 acres of land bordering Howard, Eutaw and Fayette Streets is responsible for jump-starting a state-of-the-art convention and biotech center, while developers are beginning line up with proposals to rebuilt countess plots of once-abandoned land.
Brodie points to a resurrected Hippodrome Theatre and the Centerpoint project across the street as a prime examples of how a restored core can breathe economic life into surrounding businesses.
“The Lexington Market is running a surplus,” Brodie said. “More people are employed both inside and outside the market.”
But such aggressive development has not come without a hefty price tag.
Brodie estimates that when the project is finally completed in 2008 or 2009, it will cost between $500 million and $600 million.
“The funding is vastly private, but the city will end up paying about 25 percent of that amount,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brodie is honing the city?s redevelopment strategies to new marketing levels.
The Development Corp. has begun packaging parcels of underdeveloped, unused and brownfield land and is seeking bids from developers to revitalize them.
This “targeting,” as Brodie calls it, is attracting local and out-of-state developers.
A recent request by his agency to develop two sites in Pigtown/Washington Village urban renewal area has garnered proposals from eight developers.
The 165-acre section in south Baltimore derives its name from the 1800s when pigs were herded in the streets from railroad cars to neighborhood slaughterhouses.
“They laughed at us when we put this RFP [request for proposal] out,” said Brodie. “They?re not laughing now.”
The interest in this area of the city is no surprise to Dicky Darrell, a senior sales and leasing associate with commercial developer Manekin.
“Ten years ago, no one would invest in these areas,” he said, “but today there is a great demand for housing there.”
On Thursday, The Examiner will explore another project that is breathing new economic life into Baltimore.
objectives of
Westside Initiative
» 1,800 market-rate housing units in new and renovated buildings
» 400,000 square feet of new private office space
» 250,000 square feet of new retail space
» 300,000 square feet of new university and medical system facilities with their campus
Source: Baltimore Housing Department
