Baltimore developer seeks demo permission

The developers of a proposed mixed-use redevelopment project near downtown Baltimore reportedly have sought permission to demolish up to seven structures as a preliminary step in the project.

According to Baltimore Fishbowl, a project called The Compass, which has been under consideration since 2019, involves redeveloping 18 city-owned properties located west of Baltimore’s central business district. The $100 million project is described by backers as “a mixture of historic preservation and new construction.”

Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) and Baltimore-based lead developer Westside Partners LLC will take part in a May 9 public hearing  in a sign that the development group may be moving ahead with the on again-off again project.

Baltimore Fishbowl says the CHAP panel has a say in whether the developer will be allowed to either alter or tear down buildings as part of the project.

"As part of the review process required before the city will sell the properties, the developers must show a final design and construction phasing plan” because the properties are within a designated historic district," Baltimore Fishbowl says.

If given the green light for its plans, a development group let by Westside intends to buy the 18 land parcels for $4.5 million, according to Baltimore Fishbowl, which lists other project participants as Baltimore-based Vitruvius Co., Baltimore-based Mayson-Dixon Cos. and Pittsburgh-based Partnered, while San Francisco-based Gensler is the lead architect.

A second Baltimore demolition project also will be in front of the CHAP panel May 9. The same Baltimore Fishbowl report says CHAP will again examine plans to demolish the former Hendler Ice Cream Co buildings, one of which dates back to 1892.

The buildings, located in the Jonestown neighborhood southeast of downtown, have about 90,000 square feet of space, according to a National Historic Places registration form. The original building started as a cable car power plant and then became a theater before hosting Hendler from 1912 until the 1970s.

A 2019 report from the Maryland Daily Record says an attempted renovation of the building was halted suddenly that year after being hailed as a $45 million project that would convert it into a mixed use development.