New construction, fabulous makeovers and new uses for old buildings. In a historic city ? one dotted with unique architecture from different periods marking American taste ? the struggle is to save the distinctive faces of buildings while satisfying a hunger for space.
“Baltimore is an old city, and it is important for us to do all we can that is feasible to preserve our historic architecture,” said Baltimore City Councilman Keiffer Mitchell.
In Fells Point, for example, the old American Can Co. building is now an office and retail complex that draws thousands of people each week, but for more than 10 years, the former seafood-packaging site stood vacant.
Bulldozers were poised to strike the iconic building in 1989 after a New York developer abandoned his plans. But a coalition of federal, state and local agencies worked with the new developer, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, to bring the structure back with a bang. The exterior today looks as it did when employees filled the building for more than 80 years.
Today, 11 businesses call “The Can” home.
“It?s vital in historic districts, which are a collection of building that interrelate, to keep [the districts?] integrity in tact,” said Denise Whitman of the Fells Point Preservation Society.
Across the Inner Harbor, in the Federal Hill neighborhood where rehabbed homes rule, the push to develop is raising questions about what?s appropriate.
“We would like to retain the historic character of buildings, but that is not our ultimate goal,” said Bonnie Crockett, executive director of Federal Hill Main Street.
A case in point is the old Lutheran Mission buildings on South Charles Street at the intersection with West Street. Plans call for two buildings to be flattened and replaced with a five-story structure housing retail and 12 condos.
Crockett said neighborhood activists are concerned about the height of the project, but there?s not much her organization can do.
“The only thing outside of the legal requirements that we look at is first-floor retail,” Crockett said. “We don?t look at a design beyond that.”
Plus, she said, the old Lutheran Mission buildings that stand on the site are “a mess.”
“The buildings are falling down and in disrepair,” she said. “The building that is proposed will be a 100 percent improvement over what is there.”
Developer Christopher L. Rachuba could not be reached for comment.
Crockett also points to the old South Baltimore General Hospital on Light Street that is now a condo development. The exterior of the building remains as it was when the hospital was in service. Only the interior has been refitted.
“That?s the ideal development,” she said. “People wanting to develop in Federal Hill have a liking for the architecture anyway. That will help retain the nature of the neighborhood.”
