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Business and government officials gathered at the Baltimore Convention Center Thursday night for the annual meeting of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, pitching a vision of a downtown poised for a rebirth.
Mayor Brandon Scott said his administration, in partnership with several civic and business organizations, is launching a new revitalization effort called Downtown RISE, a Roadmap for Investment, Support and Equity. Scott, who faces a tough reelection bid in May, said now is the time to write Baltimore’s “comeback story.”
A strategic plan for downtown is coming in 2024, Scott said, but in the meantime, the city is putting a special focus on downtown. That means repainting faded crosswalks downtown, fixing roads, optimizing traffic signals, adding more murals, and holding more pedestrian-friendly events. He also noted that Baltimore city employees will be required to come back to the office at least three days a week starting in 2024.
Hundreds of people attended the event, where several speakers painted a rosy picture of downtown.
For decades, Baltimore’s Central Business District was the financial heart of the city, a place where lawyers, bankers, white collar workers and business executives came to work, supporting an ancillary economy of restaurants, delis, dry cleaners and more. To the west was a mixture of large department stores and smaller retail shops. Today, many of those businesses are gone, and some remaining businesses struggle to survive.
The residential population of downtown is growing as more buildings are converted into apartments and condos. But faced with competition from suburban office parks and new towers along the Inner Harbor, the Central Business District has struggled with vacancies and a loss of foot traffic — and that was before the COVID pandemic hit.
Harborplace, the twin pavilions of restaurants and shops in the Inner Harbor, was a tourist sensation when it opened more than 40 years ago but is mostly empty today.
Speakers at Thursday night’s event highlighted several positive developments, including the renovations of CFG Bank Arena and Lexington Market as well as the federal government selecting Baltimore as one of 31 tech hubs.
They also rallied behind an ambitious $500 million reimagining of Harborplace by the developer MCB Real Estate and its managing partner, P. David Bramble. But the designs have been questioned by some residents, and Bramble told The Baltimore Sun his vision would also need $400 million of public money.
In Shelonda Stokes, president of the Downtown Partnership, called the proposed redevelopment of Harborplace “game changing.”
Near the end of speech, Stokes acknowledged that property values downtown are likely to drop. As buildings continue to struggle with vacancies, that means less rental income, lower property valuations, and less revenue from the city’s property tax.
Stokes called declining property assessments the “single biggest threat” to downtown.
In addition to local officials, Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen spoke, as well as Gov. Wes Moore, who considers Baltimore his adopted hometown.
“We are going to invest in this city unapologetically,” Moore said, stressing the importance of downtown. “If we’re not willing to dream big, no one is going to dream big for us.”
Moore promised that generations of Marylanders would look back at this moment and recognize it as transformational. Baltimore has experienced false promises before, Moore said; residents are perpetually told success is right around the corner, but this time is different.
“This is our time to swing the bat. This is our time to win,” he said. “Unapologetically, and over and over again.”
giacomo.bologna@thebaltimorebanner.com
This story has been updated with the correct month of the 2024 primary election.
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Giacomo "Jack" Bologna covers business and development at The Baltimore Banner.
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