Although Charles Village has been undergoing a revitalization in recent years, there has been a glaring hole in the growth: 1.12 acres of empty, barren land in the middle of a thriving community.
This space is supposed to house a towering building, with space for retail, offices, housing and much needed parking, but the plans for the Olmsted, a project of Struever Bros. Eccles & rouse (SBER), has gone through a series of design changes. The most recent revision, approved by the Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel (UDARP) on Sept. 27, proposed to add 24 feet in height to the previous building plan in order to provide more room for retail and office space.
The Olmsted was also originally slated to include a smaller number of condominiums that would be offered for sale to individual buyers, but slow sales of the SBER owned Village Lofts prompted the company to change their plans. The Olmsted will now house 217 apartments purely for rent.
"There is a general drag in the housing market and the condominium market has slowed down even more. It doesn't make sense to build another structure of condominiums, so we studied alternative plans," said Tim Pula, senior development director of SBER.
"The current 217 apartments will be divided in two: 70 percent will be market-rate and 30 percent will be work-force housing. This work-force portion is geared specifically to nurses, teachers and possible graduate students and post-doctoral students. We don't envision the building serving the undergraduate population. There will be a full-time job requirement in addition to an income requirement," Pula said.
According to Paula Burger, dean of Undergraduate Education and vice provost of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the University had hoped that the Olmsted would "attract owner occupied units as a means of bringing further stability to the Charles Village neighborhood."
"We certainly understand that the real estate market has changed significantly," she said. "And share disappointment that the original model is threatened by current external market forces. On the other hand, the project under consideration should be standing for 80-100 years, and it would be most unfortunate not to see this as a long-term consideration."
The latest plan for the Olmsted has also changed the height of the building, adding 24 feet to the building that was previously supposed to be the same height as the neighboring Charles Commons. This change means that the Olmsted will top out at 13 stories, a height of which the University disapproves.
"Not only is the building now out of scale with its surroundings, it will present a blunt wall on the 33rd St. side directly across from Charles Commons, creating a sort of canyon effect on the south side of the street, blocking light to the Charles Commons," Burger said.
Charles Commons stands 316 feet high, and the University wants the Olmsted to max-out at this same height. According to Burger, the Commons was held to a vertical limit of 332 feet to match the height limits of the adjacent Charles and Blackstone apartments.
"Our position is that the Olmsted project should be built in accord with the same standards so it does not compromise the Charles Commons and the look and feel of this neighborhood," Burger said.
While Sandy Sparks, the chair of Planned Unit Development (PUD), said that the committee took these concerns seriously, the vote on Sept. 27 was overwhelmingly in favor of increasing the height of he Olmsted.
"The City Council has legislation pending to permit the height of the Olmsted to be 340 feet," said Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke,, who represents the Charles Village area on Baltimore's city council.
The UDARP height approval is just the first of a series of necessary approvals prior to construction.
"UDARP's approval is not the last step. There needs to be a Plan Commission hearing and a Second Leader meeting within the City Council where votes will be taken on the amendment. There is also a third vote after those two steps, but it's typically for formality," Pula said.
Salem Reiner, Hopkins' director of Community Relations of the Homewood Campus, explained the University's stance.
"We are interested in seeing a high quality design comparable to that of Charles Commons, one that works with the other physical elements and uses in the area. We want to see uses that enhance the viability of the area and are of interest to the surrounding community," Reiner said.
"JHU did not, and will not be 'fighting' the direction of the Olmsted project," he said.
According to the new proposal, the first two levels, employing 32,000 square feet, are devoted to retail space, followed by four stories of apartments. The seventh and eighth stories will harbor 79,000 square feet of office space, and the remaining five stories will be devoted to apartments as well.
Although the details are unclear, a portion of the nine stories of apartment space will be devoted to four-and-a-half levels of parking.
"The parking authority of Baltimore will operate the functionality of the parking garage. There has been a great need of parking in the Charles Village area. It will be open to the tenants of the Olmsted and the public, but the technicalities are up to the city of Baltimore," Pula said.
Reiner voiced Hopkins' hope for the building's place in the community.
"I would like to see the Olmsted create a greater sense of community in the immediate area, bringing both JHU affiliates and others together ... JHU, like SBER, and the community are very interested in seeing the construction start as soon as possible. We are all interested in a high quality project in terms of design and development program [uses]."
Clarke expressed a similar standpoint.
"The community wants the Olmsted to be as architecturally appealing as Charles Commons and an asset to Hopkins' students and Charles Village residents alike. [But] to make the economics work, Struever has increased the original retail space and added office space ... In addition, the City wants surplus public parking spaces in the garage which this building will include, "surplus" meaning more than the apartments, offices and retail customers will require," Clarke said.
Rubenkonig said that it will take 22-24 months to complete the construction portion of the project upon commencement and "we're shooting to get it going in 2008."
Pula confirmed this, saying, "We are hoping to start construction in the summer of 2008. We hope to open the Olmsted for occupancy in the summer or fall of 2010."
The preliminary Planning Commission public hearing on the legislation is scheduled to be held on Oct. 18 at 3 p.m., 417 East Fayette St. on the eighth floor.
"Testimony is welcome," Clarke said.
