Seen: Construction Progress on the University of Baltimore School of Law’s New Building
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Development, Sustainability | Tags: ayers saint gross, baltimore, behnisch architekten, charles st, education, john and frances angelos law center, leed, mt royal ave, rainwater capture, school of law, sustainability, university of baltimore Leave a comment »
any have witnessed the progress themselves while passing the intersection of Charles St and Mt Royal Ave since ground was broke late August of 2010. Though it looks near complete now, the “John and Frances Angelos Law Center” isn’t scheduled to be open and fully ready until Spring of 2013.
The 12-story, 190,000 sq ft building will be LEED-certified, with greenery, rainwater capture and re-use, and heating and cooling technologies comprising both functional and aesthetic attributes throughout. It will include 15 classrooms, a 300-seat courtroom, 29 group study spaces, a 32,000 sq ft library, and a large central atrium with natural light. UB Law is the 6th largest public law school in the country, and upon completion it will exist entirely under one roof. Behnisch Architekten of Germany partnered with Baltimore’s Ayers/Saint/Gross to design the project.
For more information, visit the school’s website here.
Robbie’s First Base of Lutherville to Be Featured on New Reality Show
Posted: February 28, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Culture | Tags: abc, ball boys, baltimore, collectibles, lutherville, memorabilia, pawn stars, rob shaggy reier, robbie davis, robbie's first base, sports, sweet lou brown, tv 1 Comment »
ou may notice when browsing your Cable channels that reality-themed television shows remain a popular genre with American audiences. This Spring you can add one more to the mix. “Ball Boys” will chronicle the ins and outs of the sports memorabilia business as seen through the operation of Robbie’s First Base located on Ridgely Road in Lutherville.
The 20+ year-old business focuses mainly on the acquisition and sales of autographed items, and is run in part by Robbie Davis, Jr. and owner/father Robbie Davis, Sr., who has connections with many of the sports industry’s most well known names. The show is produced by the same people behind similar shows “Pawn Stars” and “American Restoration”.
Ball Boys will premiere at 3 pm March 24 on ABC.
Redeveloper Chosen for Downtown DC’s Old Post Office Pavilion
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: Business1, Development, Dining, Washington, DC | Tags: 1100 pennsylvania avenue, bid, cafe, development, downtown, federal triangle, general services administration, gsa, hotel, old post office pavilion, restaurant, trump, washington dc Leave a comment »
ecently, downtowndc.org reported that redevelopment rights had been selected for the Old Post Office Pavilion at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, one of Downtown DC’s landmarks for 100+ years. The General Services Administration (GSA) looked at bids ranging from “a hotel to a museum to a media center”, and ultimately chose the Trump Organization for the job.
Their proposed first-class hotel will include 250 rooms, a spa, conference facilities, as well as restaurants with café tables on the avenue that’s been called “America’s Main Street”. Preliminary plans would have the renovations beginning in 2014.
The 400,000 sq ft building and adjacent pavilion now lose $6 million annually due to underutilized space, low retail rents and high operating costs. In addition to enlivening the Federal Triangle, the new project should create 150-200 new jobs and pull in $7 million to $8 million in new tax revenues for the city.
For the full article, click here.
Bad Business By Baltimore’s Department of Public Works
Posted: February 23, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Culture, Sustainability | Tags: baltimore, bill, city, jbl, public works, refund, water Leave a comment »
s an owner of multiple residential and commercial properties in Baltimore City, I was not surprised to hear recently that the Department of Public Works had been recklessly overcharging the city’s water bills for the past…I don’t know how many years. Not surprised because I’ve been the recipient of a number of eyebrow-raising bills myself. What is surprising, is that something like that could happen.
As The Baltimore Sun reports, refunds to the tune of $4.2 million will be spread among 38,000 Baltimore City and County households. This all stems from an audit that found that over the past three years 70,000 households had been overcharged. On the other hand, many lucky residents who had homes with new meters didn’t receive any bills over a three-year-period.
In response, the Department of Public Works is tripling the size of its complaint department staff, and plans to revamp the water meters and the “40-year-old” billing system…but it’s going to take three to four years.
Baltimore’s got a lot of great things going for it, but with its taxes, crime, school system, roads, and fair share of corrupt politicians, do we really need to add water to the list?
Spike TV’s Bar Rescue Lands in Fells Point
Posted: February 22, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Culture, Dining | Tags: aliceanna, baltimore, bar, bar rescue, fells point, j.a. murphy's, jbl, jon taffer, nicole taffer, restaurant, spike tv 1 Comment »
ar Rescue, which began airing on Spike TV in July of 2011, is making a stop in Baltimore this week, with hopes of transforming J.A. Murphy’s of Fells Point into a “vibrant, profitable establishment”. JBL Real Estate learned of the operation before the bar itself did, as the production company leased one of their spaces at 2030 Aliceanna Street on a short-term basis for production. The timing is ironic considering Gordon Ramsay’s recent visit to Cafe Hon for a new Kitchen Nightmares episode, as we previously reported on.
In the show, Nicole Taffer assesses a bar by talking with patrons and staff for a customer perspective. If the bar is chosen, husband Jon Taffer, a restaurant and bar consultant as well as the show’s host, gets to work on reshaping everything from the bar’s menus, interior design and staff.
J.A. Murphy’s, located at 1703 Aliceanna St, isn’t as decrepit and overall failing as some other bars previously featured. In fact, though I’ve never been, I was impressed by some of its features. It’s in the heart of Fells Point by the water, offers foosball and multiple TVs for sports games, a large smokers’ courtyard, and, most likely its biggest perk: ANY shot for $1 Mon-Fri 4-7pm and Sat-Sun 11am-1pm.
Filming will take place from Thursday to Saturday, with the bar closed on Friday for the renovation, and a reveal party scheduled for Saturday. According to a spokesperson, the episode will air this Spring or early Summer. For more information on Bar Rescue, visit their official website here.
Recent Press on JBL Real Estate Tenant “Union Craft Brewing”
Posted: February 21, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Culture, Dining, Retail | Tags: baltimore, beer, brewery, clipper mill, gordon biersch, hampden, jbl, kevin blodger, union craft brewing company, woodberry Leave a comment »
nion Craft Brewing announced award-winning Kevin Blodger as the Head Brewmaster for their new endeavor, set to begin operation in the Spring. Blodger, a Baltimore native, formerly worked with Gordon Biersch for five years. Union Craft Brewing will be located at 1700 Union Avenue in Hampden’s Clipper Mill-Woodberry section. BeerInBaltimore.com recently sat down with Kevin to find out the scoop on Baltimore City’s newest brewery.
Check it out.
Seen: New Activity at Mount Vernon Mills No. 1 Development
Posted: February 17, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Development, Dining | Tags: apartments, chestnut avenue, construction, falls river, falls road, hampden, jbl, mill, mills no. 1, mount vernon, office, rendering, residential, restaurant, terra nova ventures 2 Comments »
he lower portion of Hampden, which snakes along the Jones Falls River, has been reminiscent of a ghost town over the past few decades…until now. On Wednesday I noticed signs of life at Mount Vernon Mills No. 1, located in the 3000 block of Falls Rd in Hampden. The mill building, which sits at the corner of Falls Rd and Chestnut Ave is now surrounded by scaffolding and work to the facade has begun. The development, spearheaded by Terra Nova Ventures, is expected to contain 9,500 square feet of Restaurant space, 42,000 square feet of office, and 92 residential apartments.
Whatever Happened to the CoStar-LoopNet Merger?
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: Business1 | Tags: commercial, costar, ftc, jbl, listings, loopnet, merger, monopoly, real estate, stock 2 Comments »
oStar Group Inc.’s (NASDAQ-CSGP) announcement in late April 2011 that it would be purchasing arch rival LoopNet (NASDAQ-LOOP) shocked the real estate world and raised eyebrows on Wall Street. Now almost a year later, the deal seems to be dying on the vine as the Federal Trade Commission continues to scrutinize it for antitrust issues. The result of the merger would be a near monopoly on the commercial real estate listing industry. The FTC began their investigation of the proposed $850 Million dollar purchase on July 1st, but has yet to rule. On January 31st, global investment banking firm William Blair gave the deal a “less than 50% chance of going through” based on the structure of the deal, the estimated market share both firms presently hold, and the amount of time the case has been under review by the FTC.
We will see how…and when the Federal Government finally rules on the matter. Personally, I’d hate to see LoopNet disappear. Its free and user-friendly style would be missed.
All of this begs the question-why isn’t there more competition out there? Well for what it’s worth, you now have a new web option for posting your properties for sale or lease…The Commercial Listings page on The Real Estate Seen! If you are interested in listing a property for free on The Real Estate Seen- just email us at info@jblrealestatellc.com.
Seen: Construction Moving Along on The Avenue’s ‘Food Market’
Posted: February 15, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Development, Dining, Retail | Tags: baltimore, bar, chad gauss, city cafe, construction, dining, elan kotz, food market, hampden, jbl, painting, robert mcclintock, the avenue 3 Comments »
ampden’s “The Avenue” has seen its share of anticipation for new arrivals. The newest- The Food Market, a play on words with the “Hampden Food Market”, the name of the dusty, grocery/gambling parlor that once used the space at 1017 W 36th Street.
Painting by Robert McClintock
The restaurant, which hopes to be open by April, will be fronted by Chad Gauss, former executive chef to Mount Vernon’s City Cafe. To realize the transformation to a dining establishment that will serve “basically blue-collar food in a white-collar execution,” as Gauss puts it, he and his partner, Elan Kotz, have gutted the 3,000 square foot space top to bottom. Plans include a dining room to seat 90, a 12-seat bar and an open kitchen.
Construction began a month ago, with structural work now complete and HVAC underway. We’ll continue to update pics/video as work progresses.
by Jeremy
Seen: Makeover Underway On One of Fells Point’s Less Attractive Lots
Posted: February 15, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Development | Tags: baltimore, construction, fells point, fence, jbl, lot, parking Leave a comment »
onstruction began today on the lot at 2030 Aliceanna Street, which faces the water near the Chester Cove Marina. The now dilapidated pad will be regraded, repaved and re-striped, with a black metal fence replacing the flimsy chain-link fence that currently borders it.
The lot is used to house parking for office tenants of the building. Other spaces are leased on an individual basis.
Fountain Realty is the owner.
Rendering
Gordon
Jeremy
Ross
Guest
