Winners Chosen for Redesign of 3 National Mall Sites
Posted: May 3, 2012 Filed under: Culture, Development, Sustainability, Washington, DC | Tags: constitution gardens, davis brody bond, gustafson guthrie nichol, national mall, olin and weiss/manfredi, peter walker and partners, pwp landscape architecture, reflecting pool, rogers marvel architects, sylvan theater, union square, vietnam veterans memorial, washington monument Leave a comment »
he Trust for the National Mall has selected the winning entry for each of the 3 sites to be transformed at the National Mall. The entries aim to connect monuments visually and offer more in the way of entertainment and scenery to the public, all while maintaining a proper amount of security. The areas have grown decrepit after 40 years of use and lacking proper maintenance. Four finalists for each location were displayed for public comment on April 9 after an initial 58 entries.
Rogers Marvel Architects and PWP Landscape Architecture will redesign Constitution Gardens east of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The design is based on a 1976 plan for the site for the bicentennial. A pavilion/restaurant will overlook the lake, while a seating wall with pedestrian lighting will frame the Ellipse, which will be subtly raised to be more prominent. Performances, model boating, and ice skating are other activities residents and visitors can look forward to.
OLIN & Weiss/Manfredi will redesign the Sylvan Theater, southeast of the Washington Monument. The performance space is a large grassy bowl whose outer edge rises 32 feet, just before reaching the base of the monument, which serves as a backdrop to the events taking place. A bridge under a tree canopy will connect the space with the southern grounds of the Washington Monument.
Gustafson Guthrie Nichol and Davis Brody Bond will redesign Union Square near the Capitol. Symbolic of the reflecting pool at Lincoln Memorial, a large reflecting pool will take the place of the nearest grass panel on the Mall, but with the potential for much more interaction. Diagonal pathways will cross the 2-inch sheet of water, which can be drained for special events from time to time on the paving below. A series of outdoor rooms and retaining walls will flank the central space.
Groundbreaking for at least one of the projects should begin by 2014, with the first ribbon-cutting expected in 2016. Fundraising will now take place for the $700M project.
Read more and view a gallery of other proposed designs for the mall at The Washington Post here.
Opening Ceremony for Pierce’s Park on May 6
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Culture, Development, Sustainability | Tags: berm, david hess, mahan rykiel, musical fence, p. flanigan and sons, pier 5, pierce j. flanigan, pierce's park, sculpture, willow tunnel Leave a comment »
n Sunday, May 6, an opening ceremony will be held at the new Pierce’s Park at Pier 5, between the Columbus Center and Eastern Avenue. The park is named after the late Pierce J. Flanigan III of Baltimore construction company P. Flanigan and Sons and his love for sailing and the Chesapeake Bay. Mahan Rykiel Associates designed the park, with local artist David Hess creating the interactive sculptures throughout the park.
The design of the park centers on two circular open/play spaces surrounded by berms, separated by undulations in the ground that mimic waves. Engraved homophones, a musical fence, climbable sculptures and a living willow tunnel help make the park an exciting playground for kids, with natural beauty to boot.
To learn more about Pierce’s Park, visit their website here.
New Plans for Downtown Baltimore’s Mechanic Theatre
Posted: May 2, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Development, Retail, Sustainability | Tags: baltimore, baltimore city commission for historical and architectural preservation, david s. brown, downtown, mechanic theatre, shalom baranes Leave a comment »
ince 2004, the Mechanic Theatre has sat dormant in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Now, David S. Brown Enterprises is seeking a permit for the theatre’s demolition. With the help of architects Shalom Baranes Associates, they’re hoping to build two 30-story towers to include 600 market-rate apartments and 150,000 sq ft of retail. Construction could begin in as early as six months, pending approval of the permit by the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation.
The group had previously planned one hotel tower back in 2009, which could be what the above (top) rendering shows. In that plan, much of the infrastructure of the theatre was kept intact. No word on whether that will remain the case with the new design. The Mechanic Theatre opened in 1967 but after a few decades could no longer meet the production needs of major shows. Its demise coincided with the restoration of the Hippodrome Theatre.
Read more at the Baltimore Business Journal here.
Mixed-Use Project Proposed for Vacant Lot in Bethesda
Posted: May 1, 2012 Filed under: Development, Sustainability, Washington, DC | Tags: 8300 wisconsin avenue, bethesda, leed, montgomery county, stonebridgecarras, trillium lot, walton street capital Leave a comment »
he Montgomery County Planning Board will review a proposal Thursday for the vacant lot at 8300 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital, who both purchased the property one year ago, are looking to build a 360-unit luxury apartment complex as well as a grocery store.
This is the second proposal for the site, the first of which would have included a 2,000 sq ft arts incubator which many in the community were sad to see not included in the new design. But the Planning Board staff have recommended approval of the new project, on the conditions that the new design achieve LEED certification, onsite recreational facilities, and at least 12.5 percent of its dwelling units to be moderately priced.
Read more at The Gazette here.
A Better Pharmacy – A Thing of the Past?
Posted: March 26, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Retail, Sustainability | Tags: baltimore, burke's, cvs, hampden, local, pharmacy, rite aid, walgreens Leave a comment »
hen was the last time you stepped into a local pharmacy? By local I don’t just mean the closest. I’m talking about a home grown, community-oriented, “mom and pop” pharmacy. Today they’re few and far between, with “mega pharmacies” like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens opening in more locations all the time. But in a similar vein to our January post on Baltimore’s growing market for smaller, more accessible restaurant/dry goods stores, city residents would also embrace a pharmacy that caters to the community instead of a national brand it operates under.
In addition to sprouting new locations on a regular basis, these national brands are buying up the little guys simultaneously. Two of JBL Real Estate’s listings, 801 W 36th Street in Hampden and 8500 Harford Road in Parkville, were previous locations for locally-owned Burke’s Pharmacy, recently acquired by Rite Aid.
Urban retail is lacking the true local pharmacy, where service is unmistakably better and the person behind the counter isn’t a gum-chewing, ipod-listening college student with an attitude. And having your pharmacy nestled nearby among your other local stops is what living in the city is all about.
Big-name pharmacies have their place in modern-day America (try any major thoroughfare). But maybe we’d rather go to a pharmacy…some other place.
Baltimore / DC – The (Great?) Commute
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Culture, Sustainability, Washington, DC | Tags: amtrak, baltimore, commute, gas, marc, traffic, transportation, washington dc Leave a comment »
or some, a 75-minute commute to work and back sounds like a scenario to avoid at all costs, even to the possible detriment of their careers. For others, it’s just another Monday. Google Maps clocks the route between the heart of each city at just over an hour. But you can double that should there be an accident, bad weather, construction, or just plain old rush hour.
Today’s gas prices alone might deter one from driving themselves an hour or more for their job. Then again, Baltimore residents may save enough with cheaper housing over DC housing to make up for the loss. You’ll find more in that crowd than those that travel from DC to Baltimore for work (of which I am one).
There’s also the option of public transportation for those who’d like to read, sleep, or work on the go, or just happen to be more “green”-minded. The MARC Train is the most popular service…not as fast as Amtrak but cheaper.
Whatever your commute, whatever the distance, hopefully we all make the best of it. Happy traveling.
Baltimore Considers Selling Its Historic Landmarks
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: Development, Culture, Sustainability, Baltimore, Business1 | Tags: baltimore, historical, preservation, landmark, shot tower, peale museum, roland park water tower, west arlington water tower, engine house no. 6, cylburn house, mckim free school, war memorial, friends meeting house, civil war museum, orianda mansion, crimea estate, valve house, clifton park, westholm & associates, tax credit, city hall, thomas stosur, superintendent's house Leave a comment »
t has to be a curious process: determining the market value of a historic landmark. Assuming Baltimore’s Board of Estimates approves the contract today, that’s just what the Department of General Services will pay appraisal firm Westholm & Associates to do. For $46,500, the Annapolis-based company will analyze 15 city landmarks deemed “underutilized” by City Hall.
The city is hoping that leasing or selling the buildings will earn them revenue they’re not seeing now, with offices as a potential use for developers. Preservationists are of course worried that such transactions could jeopardize the state and status of such landmarks. But the city hopes that historic tax credits would encourage developers to protect the sites that now sit vacant, uncared for, and in some cases even vandalized.
Sites include (click to enlarge):
Thomas Stosur, Baltimore’s director of planning, previously stated, “I don’t know that every single one of them is officially a designated landmark.” Determining such bears much importance on the matter, as only those that are would be protected under laws governing historic properties. It was announced today that 12 of the 15 are in fact protected by historic landmark designation.
Whatever the turnout, a result that sees these landmarks put to better use for their communities, while also ensuring their continued protection, has my vote.
Out With the Old…In With the…??
Posted: March 19, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Culture, Development, Retail, Sustainability, Washington, DC | Tags: baltimore, chris bell, giant food, grassroots, greenspring tower shopping center, grocery, hampden, hekemian, popularise, retail, roland park, rotunda, tenant, trader joe's, washington dc Leave a comment »
esterday, ExploreBaltimoreCounty.com reported that at 6 pm on March 29, Roland Park will say goodbye to its longstanding Giant store at the still-struggling Rotunda complex, and hello to Giant’s new location just a quarter mile away at the Greenspring Tower Shopping Center (1030 W 41st Street). Rotunda owner Hekemian & Co. worked out a deal with Giant allowing them to relocate down the street, and Giant allowing them to fill the void left by their 41-year-old store with another grocer, so long as they don’t exceed 20,000 sq ft.
This came as good news for most residents of the Roland Park neighborhood. A smaller “boutique” grocer seems to be what they already had in mind, with specific attention called to Trader Joe’s. While the decision ultimately lies with Hekemian & Co., one can’t ignore the voice of local residents, politicians and neighborhood associations, all part of a “citizens advisory task force” created specifically for the project. Collectively, they made their voice known through a groundswell of public discourse, including phone calls, letters, a petition, and even a Facebook page.
The idea of a grassroots system for picking and choosing the retailers, restauranteurs, etc. that inhabit our cities, towns and communities may not be altogether new, but is gaining momentum in progressive real estate culture. The relatively new site Popularise works around that notion. Working for the DC area, underutilized sites are chosen, and users can either choose from a list of businesses interested in the property or suggest their own. Then, though it’s not 100% clear how, Popularise works with the business most voted for and “gets them to open in your neighborhood”.
So far the response to the approach has been very positive. In its first week alone Popularise.com was visited 10,000 times. Time will tell if the era of publicly chosen businesses is truly upon us.
Shipping Containers: Not Just for Shipping
Posted: March 16, 2012 Filed under: Baltimore, Business1, Retail, Sustainability | Tags: architecture, baltimore, box, boxpark, commercial, dolphin sea containers, freitag shop, homes, k & k international, lot-ek, papertainer museum, prefab, puma city, real estate, retail, shipping containers 3 Comments »
t may not be for everyone, but shipping containers have become an increasingly popular element to modern construction for developers, homebuyers, and really anyone looking to make a public display of their “green”-mindedness. Just do a Google image search for “shipping container home” and you’ll be bombarded by examples from mostly the past decade, many of which boast top notch design too. And while some good examples of their use in commercial real estate exist as well, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of them “popping up” (as many describe their completed construction).
As for those good examples…
The Freitag Shop (left) in Zurich, Switzerland is the tallest structure to be made of shipping containers. It’s a fitting design for the retailer, whose products are also made using reclaimed materials. Puma City (right) is a temporary structure that travels to different cities around the globe. It was designed by LOT-EK, an architecture design studio based in New York, known for their innovative ways of incorporating recycled material in their projects, especially using shipping or cargo containers.
London’s Boxpark (left) claims to be the world’s first pop-up mall, featuring a variety of shops, galleries, and cafés. It also considers itself a temporary structure, lasting five years in its current location before popping up somewhere else. And one of the largest structures to be built using the containers is the Papertainer Museum (right) in Seoul, South Korea’s Olympic Park.
As the largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic region, Baltimore seems like a great city to adopt the eco-friendly practice of using these containers for real estate, be it commercial or residential. If one were interested, Baltimore-based container companies like K & K International and Dolphin Sea Containers might be a good place to start.
Shop Big Box…Support Local Merchants?
Posted: March 5, 2012 Filed under: Business1, Retail, Sustainability | Tags: big box, department store, local, merchants, retail, target, walmart Leave a comment »
arget unveiled a plan last month to showcase local merchants from a handful of markets inside their stores for the first time. These smaller retailers will have their product lines sold in small branded shops within select Target stores for a period of six weeks, after which the retail giant plans to swap them out with other local “pop-up” merchants.
The product lines chosen for this first round include a candy store in San Francisco, a cosmetics shop in Aspen, a dog bakery in Boston, a vintage furniture shop in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a clothing store in Miami.
And though the structure of how Target will share the profits with the smaller retailers is still unclear, this certainly seems like an olive branch for those that are cynical of the effects of large discount department stores on the small businesses around them.
Gordon
Jeremy
Ross
Guest
