Waterfront views and wind power come together in Dubai
July 1, 2008
Two issues that have been the subject of much discussion in the pages of the Daily Record – building condo towers with stunning water views, and the potential for wind power as an alternative energy source – have been married, to a psychedelic effect, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by an Italian architect.
The BBC reports that Florence-based designer David Fisher has planned an 80-story skyscraper, the Dynamic Tower, which would rise more than 1,300 feet (that’s 2.6 times as high as the Legg Mason building) into the sky and would house condo units that rotate around central columns using wind power.
The $700 million project, expected to be completed in 2010, would have 79 turbines, placed between floors that would capture the wind, which blows strong off of the Persian Gulf, allowing the owners of the housing units, which run from $3.7 million to $36 million, to rotate their homes using a voice-command system. The idea is that the building would be constantly changing, never looking exactly the same at any two given moments. Something like living in a combination-snowflake-windmill, I guess.
Dubai, with its sailboat-shaped hotels, underwater restaurants and indoor ski slopes, has lately not been a place for modest design ambitions, and something of a paradise for dreamer architects, but this project takes the cake. Imagine if we had one of these babies in Baltimore. Who needs views on three sides in some old grain elevator?
Don’t forget your Dramamine, though.
ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer
Sphere: Related ContentReport: Giannasca to bypass Baltimore, head for Hilton Head
June 27, 2008
In a story in today’s Reading (Pa.) Eagle, Edward V. Giannasca II says he will appeal his $33 million loss to former Raven Michael McCrary — and denied he has any intention of fleeing the country with his three children, as alleged by his ex-wife.
“What is she talking about fleeing? I’m right here,” Giannasca told the paper from his office in Reading, where he’s seeking approval for a $2.8 billion mixed-use project on 80 acres along the Schuylkill River.
Giannasca said he “merely got passports for all the children at the same time because one son needed one,” the Eagle reports.
He will have a chance to explain that to visiting Judge Paul E. Alpert, who ordered him to appear in Baltimore City Circuit Court on Monday, June 30, under threat of a body attachment.
But, according to the Eagle, he has other plans.
“Giannasca said he won’t be there because he and his family will be on a weeklong vacation in Hilton Head, S.C.,” the story said.
The Eagle also says Giannasca stayed away from this week’s legal proceedings in Baltimore, despite a court order and his own promise to appear, on advice of counsel.
BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor/Law
Sphere: Related ContentHome for sale: 2,000 sf plus wife
June 27, 2008
The real estate market must be really lagging, if this Florida woman is trying to auction off herself and her home in a combo deal. She’s using Craigslist and Ebay to do it.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentTaking a look at Baltimore’s “downtown renaissance”
June 27, 2008
It may have something to do with the fact that Charles Center turned 50 this year, or maybe it’s all the condo and office buildings rising along Key Highway and in Harbor East. Whatever the reason, there has been a lot of looking back recently, remembering and critiquing Baltimore’s downtown redevelopment.
Two recently-produced documents demonstrate that there are two very different perspectives on the “downtown renaissance,” and whether it was really as visionary and beneficial for the city as its creators would have us believe.
“Global Harbors: A Waterfront Renaissance,” a documentary film that aired June 10 on Maryland Public Television, and will re-air July 22 at 9 p.m., revisits both Charles Center and Harborplace through the eyes of Martin Millspaugh, former Evening Sun reporter and urban planner, whose work made both developments possible. The basic premise of the film is that Baltimore’s plan to re-develop its waterfront was risky, but it has been a tremendous success, and has inspired waterfront redevelopments in “90 to 100” cities worldwide, including Sydney, Australia — where the Rouse Co. partnered with local government to build a festival market that looks remarkably like Harborplace — to Osaka, Rotterdam, Pittsburgh and Honolulu.
Sphere: Related ContentPinpointing the start of Baltimore’s revitalization
June 16, 2008
I came across a post this morning on the East Coast Bias blog called “Baltimore Orioles, City Reinvents Self,” that remarked on how much the city has changed in the past decade or so.
Without a doubt, much of the development that brings the after hours crowds and the weekend tourists to Baltimore wasn’t here 20 years ago (the Camden Yards Sports Complex and all of Harbor East to name a few). But a PBS documentary that aired last week on Maryland Public Television reminded us that Baltimore’s revitalization began much earlier than that.
Nearly 50 years ago, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was one of the city’s “worst areas, full of rotting, rat infested piers and trash,” according to the documentary “Global Harbors: A Waterfront Renaissance.” But then a group of city planners came along with the goal of turning it into a waterfront destination that would once again breathe life into the city.
The model would be followed years later by Sydney, Australia, and other waterfront cities looking for a business and tourism renaissance. But, the documentary said, there were some bumps along the way, such as the late 1970s protests to building Harbor Place on open space that was enjoyed by many.
Today large retail stores like Best Buy and Bed, Bath and Beyond are moving in, but parking is an issue for those who might want to shop downtown.
Baltimore’s hospitality industry is also growing, and the city visitor’s bureau is bringing more conventions here to fill up the hotel rooms that are being added. But at a panel discussion last week, members from that industry expressed concern that both the slowing economy and competition from the Washington area would cause a growth plateau period for Baltimore’s hotel occupancy rate for the next couple of years.
Do you think the city’s tourists and weekend shoppers will be able to support the continuing renaissance in downtown? Or are there things you dislike about the expansion — then and now — and think the city ought to pay more attention to preserving some of the open space?
LIZ FARMER, Business Writer
Sphere: Related ContentA bird’s-eye view of Baltimore Co. development project
June 12, 2008
Wednesday marked my first time aboard a helicopter. That’s right, I’ve never been airlifted from a war zone, seen the rocks of the Grand Canyon up close, or gone down with a Black Hawk in the wilds of Somalia. And this occasion wasn’t incredibly glamorous either. We rose up, twice circled the proposed site of an office park redevelopment in Halethorpe, saw it from both sides, then touched down. It was a surprisingly smooth ride.
The occasion for my helicopter debut was some reporting I did on Hollins End Corporate Park, a warehouse redevelopment project in Baltimore County being carried out by Lutherville’s Preston Partners. Showing a development site to Realtors, businesspeople and members of media is an uncommon treat at ground-breaking ceremonies, but in the case of Hollins End, it was especially interesting because it put the project in the context of its location.
The developers are building their 1.3 million square feet of office flex and warehouse space on 51 acres between a number of major roadways — I-95, I-695, I-895 — that connect the Baltimore and Washington metro areas. It really took a trip up high to illustrate this context. We saw cars running along I-895, up to the Baltimore beltway, and beyond, in the distance, the skyline of Baltimore rose from the haze.
A media spokesperson for Baltimore County, who was sitting near me in the cramped, four-person cabin of the Bell 407, said, “Google Earth just doesn’t capture this!” I couldn’t agree more. It’s easy to see why so many action film directors choose to shoot from the open doors of a chopper. The sweeping, expansive view you get is just amazing.
Plus you get to wear some totally cool-looking headgear.
ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer
Multimedia: Artists find a home at renovated Bromo Seltzer Tower
June 6, 2008
The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower welcomed the public to its grand re-opening last night by way of an open house. Visitors could tour the tower’s newly renovated 30+ studio spaces for artists and get a glimpse of the view from the top floors, where spaces are still available for rent.
Hundreds of people came to meet the artists and get a glimpse of the massive preservation project.
Daily Record Multimedia Reporter Richard Simon was on hand for the opening. View the larger version of the slideshow here.
Video: Selling Maryland in Las Vegas
May 22, 2008
If you’ve been following Robbie Whelan’s coverage of the ICSC’s ReCon Global Real Estate Convention, then you know he just returned from Las Vegas, where he was documenting the efforts of developers and state employees to sell Maryland as a great place to do retail business.
He wrote several stories for our paper and Web site on the convention, but lucky for you, he didn’t stop there.
If you’re interested in hearing what the Downtown Partnership’s J. Kirby Fowler had to say, or how Samuel Polakoff of Cormony Development pitched the Inner Harbor to retailers, we’ve got it on video. Watch, listen, and be sure to comment below and tell us what you think.
HOAs in need of bread
May 19, 2008
Where I grew up in Ellicott City, the Homeowners Association was King. Most decisions about changes to our neighborhood had to be cleared by the all-powerful HOA.
But their power might be draining (if we equate power with money, anyway).
Many HOAs’ access to cash just isn’t what it used to be. Forget pool upkeep or road repaving projects - some HOAs are scraping to meet the essential services such as trash removal. They’ve fallen victim, like so many others, to the foreclosure crisis. Homeowners are paying dues late or not at all.
The WSJ explains:
A growing number of homeowner and condominium associations across the country are raising their fees or putting the brakes on clubhouse improvements, new landscaping and other shared neighborhood amenities. The kitty is so low for some that essential services, such as building maintenance, electricity, trash removal and repairs have been cut.
As community residents lose their homes to foreclosure and new home building has slowed considerably, many of the roughly 300,000 neighborhood associations in the U.S. are grappling with shrunken budgets.
And, as one sage commenter at Poynter.org points out, some condo associations are dealing with an abundance of empty units - which means there are fewer homeowners to share the costs of vital projects.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentMind the gap, Baltimore
May 16, 2008
We attended a media roundtable Thursday morning, hosted by local market experts from the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, to discuss the state of the commercial and industrial real estate markets in the region. David W. Baird, a senior managing director of the Baltimore office, spoke of disconnect between real estate buyers and sellers in the city.
“If you’ve ever been to London, you know those annoying messages on the underground—‘Mind the Gap’,” he said. “That’s where we are right now. We have to mind the gap between buyer and seller expectations.”
A few years ago, he said, there was $17 to $20 of investment capital for every $1 of real estate. Now, real estate investors and developers are competing tooth and nail for loans. Baird also noted that last year, $80 billion worth of Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities were issued. So far in 2008, only $4.9 billion in CMBS have been issued.
“Sellers are holding on to their inventories,” he said. “Major money center banks are almost out of the buying and selling business … The only active lenders are life insurance companies for the major commercial development markets, and they’ve increased their spreads.”
T. Courtenay Jenkins III, a senior director at C&W, spoke of a “Pause Button” effect that has effectively put big real estate transactions in the Baltimore area on hold.
“It takes a little longer to get a deal done these days, because no one is sure where the bottom is,” he said. “Buyers…freeze their space requirements suddenly, then suddenly hire a new wave of employees…It’s a stop-and-start market.”
The panel of experts also discussed 100 Light Street, the Legg Mason tower, and its future once the money management firm moves to its new building in Harbor East, expected in 2009.
Jenkins said 100 Light Street is widely regarded as “a building that has really seen its day, and is out of date” in the world of Class A office space because of its small floor plates and antiquated fiber-optic systems. Jenkins predicted that its owners, New York’s Lexington Realty Trust, will either substantially renovate the building, or drastically lower rents to compete with newer, more advanced office properties, which these days are fetching close to $40 per square foot.
“100 Light Street has got a lot of landlords nervous,” he said. “What are the odds of getting another tenant to take 250,000 square feet of space [in that building]?…100 Light Street could drop rates to the low $20s.”
However, details of a recent deal struck with USF&G, the building’s previous owner, indicated that many of the tower’s upper levels are already listed at $30 per square foot, and that Lexington already has plans to renovate the building.
ROBBIE WHELAN, Business Writer
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