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Convention Center Director steps down; $50M investment in Harford Road; more

A year after the sale of the former Greyhound bus stop for redevelopment, the Maryland History and Cultural Center will be separated from another parcel of land on Howard Street.
This time, two brick buildings in the 600 block of North Howard Street, originally commercial properties, were recently used as storage by the nonprofit History Center, formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society.
The Baltimore Planning Commission is scheduled to consider an application this week to separate the Howard Street property from the rest of the Maryland Historic and Cultural Center campus so that it can be redeveloped into nine apartments.
The proposal, on the committee’s agreed agenda, marks the second time in two years that the Maryland History and Cultural Center has downsized its campus after the center sold the former Greyhound bus stop at 601 North Howard Street to SquashWise in Baltimore in May 2021 .
The request for a “small subdivision” comes less than a year after the Walters Art Museum sold the apartment buildings at 606, 608 and 610 Cathedral Street to private developer Chasen Companies for continued residential use.
The brick building is located on the east side of Howard Street, from the former bus station to Monument Street, a short walk from the light rail station.Since the buildings were already used for storage and had no openings on Howard Street, they added little to the hallway, creating a sort of dead zone between Antique Street to the north and Market Center to the south.The proposed development will bring more activity to the area, and the sale will increase city taxes on the building.
The Maryland Historical and Cultural Center occupies most of the city block bounded by Monument, Howard and Center Streets, and Park Avenue.Subdivision is required so it can transfer the Howard Street property to a new owner.
The developer is Alan Garada, and the architects are Ward Bucher and Joseph Wojciechowski of Encore Sustainable Architects.The price has not been disclosed.
Committee meetings begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 21 at 417 E. Fayette St.Since the property is located in the Historic District, any changes to the building’s exterior require approval from the Baltimore Historic and Architectural Preservation Commission.
On the planning committee’s agenda, the land to be subdivided is listed as 201 W. Monument St., home to Enoch Pratt House, the former home of wealthy businessman and philanthropist Enoch Pratt, and part of the historic campus.
Pratt is associated with several local institutions, including First Unitarian Church in Baltimore, Shepard Pratt Hospital, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
According to conservation advocacy group Baltimore Heritage, Platt began building a three-story mansion for himself and his wife at 201 Monument Street in 1844, the same year the Maryland Historical Society was founded.In 1868 he worked with renowned architect Edmund Lind to add a marble portico and a fourth floor with a Mansard-style roof.
Enoch Pratt died in 1896 and his wife lived in the house until her death in 1911.The Maryland Historical Society acquired the property in 1919.
Marc Letzer, president and CEO of the Maryland History and Culture Center, said his organization has no plans to sell the Enoch Platt home.
The planning board is also scheduled to consider requests on Thursday to subdivide the property on the 1900 block of South Hanover Street (for 270 apartments and a 396-car garage); the 900 block on South Elwood Street (for the construction of nine single-family homes) and conversion of a former church parish into 6 apartments); and the 1500 block of East Pratt Street (as part of the second phase of the Perkins Homes development, containing 67 apartments and 34 parking spaces.)
MCB Real Estate’s condo project in the 4500 block of Harford Road will cost $50 million, said representative Amy Bonitz at a recent virtual information session with members of the Lauraville Improvement Association.
Plans unveiled last month called for a four-story, 147-unit apartment building that could house about 400 to 450 people, with completion scheduled for 2025.The second phase involved the reconstruction of a historic building called the Markley Building on the site.Historic preservationist Dale Green is studying the history of the Markley Building to help determine its best use, Bonitz said.
Peggy Daidakis will step down as executive director of the Baltimore Convention Center on September 1, ending 49 years in Baltimore city government.
Daidakis joined former Mayor William Donald Schaefer’s staff in 1973 and served four years in his administration.In 1978, Schaefer assigned Daidakis to be part of the team that opened the 1979 Convention Center, with Eugene Beckerle serving as the first director.In 1986, former Mayor Clarence “Du” Burns named her executive director, making her the first female director of the National Convention Center.
During her tenure, Daidakis helped expand the convention center, which is now three times its size, making it the largest convention and exhibition venue in Maryland.She manages more than 150 full-time employees.In 2013, she was elected to the Convention Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders, one of the highest honors in the hospitality industry.
Deputy Mayor Ted Carter will work with the city’s Human Resources Department to determine her successor.
The operators of the 3128 Greenmount Ave. store in Waverley have begun arranging book launches and other gatherings on-site in preparation for its grand opening.
On July 20th at 7 p.m., they will hold a book launch with Dr. Zackary Berger, author of Health for All: A Guide to Healthcare for Political and Social Progress.On September 22, they will welcome Psyche A. Williams-Forson to talk about her book, “Black Eating: Food Shame and Race in America.”
The Greenmount Avenue store replaces the former Red Emma at 1225 Cathedral St.According to Red Emma’s website, it will officially open in late summer.
“We can’t wait to open up for food, coffee and books,” said a Tuesday announcement related to this week’s new book releases.”It’s going to happen soon.”
In the 1960s, developer James Rouse created a mixed-use community called Cross Keys Village outside the 5100 block of Falls Road in Baltimore as a prototype for the larger “new town” he later launched in Columbia, Maryland.ten years.
One of Rouse’s sons, artist Jimmy Rouse, will come to Cross Keys this month for a solo exhibition of his paintings, prints and woodcuts.The exhibition opens July 25 and runs through October 21 in the gallery space of the Monument Sotheby’s International Realty office at 42 Village Square, Cross Keys, 5100 Falls Road.Gallery Hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm Artist Reception Thursday, August 18th, 4pm-6pm
The Riverstone condo community at Owings Mills at 4700 Riverstone Drive in Baltimore County has sold to Carter Funds for $92.9 million.The seller is Continental Realty, which was bought in 2016 for $61.6 million.
On Wednesday, July 20 at 6 p.m., Jubilee Baltimore will host a Zoom forum to discuss proposals to reduce Baltimore City’s property tax.The forum was designed to inform people about the grassroots referendum petition to amend the Baltimore City Charter this November.
Charles Duff, president of Jubilee Baltimore, will serve as moderator.The speaker will be Andre Davis, a representative for Renew Baltimore, who supports the proposal, while John Kern of the Stop Oppressive Seizures (SOS) Fund will oppose it.Panelist questions and general Q&A time will follow.Here’s a link to the session, which is expected to last an hour.
My family lived at 225 W. Monument St. circa 1946-49.As I recall, it was only a few doors down from Howard and our dentist lived down the street.MD Historical Society is on the corner of Park and Monument.If we got home before our family, my fraternity and I would climb over the wall through a telephone pole into our backyard.We lived on Howard Street below the center before the monument, then moved to 8 E. Hamilton.Our playground is Mount Vernon Plaza.Thanks for the update.


Post time: Aug-01-2022