(This article originally appeared in the June 2023 issue of the South Baltimore Peninsula Post newspaper. It has been updated to reflect new developments at Baltimore Peninsula.)
A brand new SoBo neighborhood unlike any other on the South Baltimore peninsula arrived quietly in April on the grounds of the former Baltimore Sun printing plant next to I-95. This newcomer is tall, tailored, versatile, and clearly made for the hustle and bustle of a modern urban community that mixes work, play, and living.
All it needs now is the hustle and the bustle.
In its initial configuration, the compact Baltimore Peninsula neighborhood in Port Covington is not large as SoBo neighborhoods go: it could easily fit inside Riverside Park, its neighbor across the interstate. It features eight new buildings, including an eight-floor parking garage; six freshly paved streets with wide sidewalks and bike lanes; a broad plaza landscaped with shade trees and benches; and a courtyard with café tables and chairs waiting for office workers, shoppers, and shops.
The first residents of the two new apartment buildings arrived at the beginning of April. By the end of April, about two dozen SoBo residents were calling this neighborhood home. One commercial tenant, the planning and design firm H. Chambers Company, has moved in with about 30 employees. In July, the extended stay “aparthotel” Roost opened for business. Most of the construction and landscaping has been completed and most streets are open.
“This is no longer part of a massive construction and infrastructure undertaking,” said MaryAnne Gilmartin, CEO of Baltimore Peninsula developer MAG Partners during an April 26 media tour. “This is a real place. And it’s a place that people call home.”
The new neighborhood covers a fraction of the former Port Covington industrial and commercial area slated for redevelopment. Major construction is still underway on the other side of E. Cromwell Street between Nick’s Fish House and Sagamore Spirit distillery. The new Under Armour headquarters complex is rising, and the Locke Insulator factory is being cleared away to make room for hundreds of new homes by a separate developer. No plans have been released for the rest of the property, which extends west across Hanover Street.
Residents and visitors can enter the neighborhood from Hanover Street along the reconfigured E. Cromwell Street past the Sagamore Spirit distillery and on toward Port Covington Marina or through the parking lot of the now vacant Sun printing plant at W. Peninsula Drive and on to the new main thoroughfare Mission Boulevard.
At the corner of Mission Boulevard and Rye Street, you reach the heart of the new community. The two apartment buildings, office/retail complex with the lone commercial tenant, and parking garage meet at this corner. These six- to seven-story buildings tower over three sides of this corner.
To the southeast is one of the four buildings making up the Rye Street Market commercial/retail complex. Employees come to work in the new Chambers offices on the second floor. On their way, they walk through a spacious, treed courtyard set with tables and chairs where market vendors will one day sell their goods from inside the ground-floor shops.
To the southwest is Rye House, the larger of the two apartment buildings with 254 units, comparable to the number of units in Locust Point’s McHenry Row Apartments but fewer than SoBo’s Anthem House and 101 Cross Street. At the end of May, 15 percent of the complex’s two adjoining buildings were leased.
To the northwest is 250 Mission with 162 apartments. At the end of May, 10 percent of the units were leased. The apartments wrap around the two sides of the parking garage facing this corner so that the garage itself is hidden from view. (From Riverside Park the decks and ramps of the north side of the garage are clearly visible.)
The northeast side of this corner is still a construction zone, fenced off to traffic and pedestrians. An as-yet unnamed city park is being built here on top of an underground wastewater storage tank designed to ease the new development’s impact on the city’s public works infrastructure. Landscaping is underway as well as installation of playground equipment, including an eight-foot-tall, climbable blue crab.
On the far side of the playground are Distillery and Tidewater streets that form a one-way loop around an undeveloped lot connects the development to eastbound McComas Street.
Although the physical story of this Baltimore Peninsula neighborhood is now largely written for all to see, the human story of the new community is on its opening page. Walking along the streets on a typical weekend this spring, you might not see anyone; the only vehicle is a parked security car idling at the Mission Boulevard entrance. The scale of the place makes its current emptiness especially striking.
But that is changing.
Former Otterbein resident Briana Calhoun and her husband moved into the 250 Mission apartments in early May because it kept them close to things they love in SoBo while adding some new pluses.
“We loved our house on S. Sharp Street, but we were looking to downsize and be closer to the water,” says Briana. “We wanted a space with amenities like parks nearby. Our apartment here has a large kitchen. I’m a huge cook and love going to Fenwick’s in Cross Street Market. I can also host in the club rooms and read in the common area.” Walking distance to Sagamore Spirit and Nick’s Fish House was also a draw.
Briana can already envision becoming a long-term resident of 250 Mission. “We have a one bedroom, which is perfect now for my husband and I and my cat. But we’re already talking about upgrading to a two bedroom when he finishes his residency at Johns Hopkins.”
To infuse more life into the new neighborhood, Baltimore Peninsula is sponsoring on-site events and activities. “Food Truck Wednesdays” bring different lunchtime options to the parking lot of the old Sun printing plant every week. A monthly outdoor movie night series opened in June near the new Rye Street Park next to Sagamore Spirit. A growing list of events is available online.
The next growth spurt for the neighborhood comes later this year. The Sun printing plant will be demolished by the end of the year and the first CFG Bank employees will move into their new headquarters. In early 2024, the new city park will be completed and a refurbished Rye Street Tavern will open under new management.
How quickly the rest of the current Baltimore Peninsula neighborhood fills up with residents, businesses, and shops is not known, but MaryAnne Gilmartin is looking toward a major milestone in late 2024. “Under Armour will open its headquarters in the fourth quarter of 2024, and I think we will have a critical mass of retail, residents, and commercial folks here by then.”
What shape the remaining undeveloped portions of Baltimore Peninsula will take has not yet been decided, says Gilmartin. “We are looking at so many different things. One possibility is a large-scale entertainment venue, whether it’s sports or culture or entertainment. Maybe a public venue such as a hotel or conference center, which could draw a lot of people here. We’re also exploring new industries. I think the film industry could have a place here in Baltimore Peninsula. Another industry is health care and wellness, whether it’s medical, research, or laboratory. We can do all that here.”
Plans are being developed, according to Gilmartin, for better connecting the new neighborhood to the rest of the South Baltimore peninsula and the city with roadways and walkways – a major concern for many SoBo residents.
In May, a summary of the Maryland Transportation Authority’s “I-95 Port Covington Access Improvement” project was released as part of the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board’s long-term planning process. This project, envisioned to start in 2029, includes many changes to the access ramps to and from I-95 and I-395 adjacent to Baltimore Peninsula, reconstruction of portions of Hanover and McComas streets, and widening of Key Highway from McHenry Row to McComas Street.
To date, no plans have been released by MAG Partners to improve pedestrian and bicycle access to the new Baltimore Peninsula neighborhood from the existing South Baltimore peninsula neighborhoods to the north.
For now, a drive south on Hanover Street to E. Cromwell Street is the best (and safest) way to visit the new neighborhood. Go take a look. – Steve Cole
South Baltimore Peninsula Post 