Baltimore has many, many vacant properties. This isn't stopping the City from constructing more at an exponential rate that rivals the Hubble Constant.

Meanwhile, the Senator Theater is on its last breath, if the reports are accurate.

Then there's Woodberry, what was a multi-generational pleasure for local residents. Here is a great wooded area that would make an invaluable park that is being threatened with bulldozing by Loyola College. (Or construction is underway. Sorry, not sure.)

The City can't build the stadium Loyola wants in Sowebo. It couldn't possibly build it near the Senator. It has to be Woodberry. Nevermind that Woodberry would make a terrific park which would make Baltimore a more attractive place to live in/invest in.

How about that avalanche of new properties? Baltimore's construction craze during a time of excess capacity puts more pressure on the more architecturally pleasing buildings in Baltimore that are now vacant. (A short list: That great corner building at Maryland and Read. No, I don't have the time to research the name of 'that building'. There's also classic architecture that is now vacant in the downtown area. There's no shortage of great buildings along Charles Street now in danger.)

Take a look at the new condo medium-high-rise near the Meyerhoff. (Opposite of Quiznos.) How many lights do we see on at night? The answer: "not many".

It sure looks like the new construction is a systematic approach towards destroying all the architecture in Baltimore which gives it a unique urban identity. In other words, the lunatics who run Baltimore City government are destroying Baltimore completely and replacing it with some version of Towson or Laurel.

Another property that suggests the destruction of Baltimore is by design is that new monstrosity on Charles Street between Chase and Preston Streets. All around are properties in a very elegant block of the City. This is where foot traffic would love to stroll. From those magnificent buildings that surround Charles and Preston Streets you could stroll South (sorry, it's uphill), eventually encountering the insurance building just north of the Belvedere. On the other side of the street you have the great block that contains the Brewer's Art.

However, just about all the properties in this once magnificent block are now vacant, in danger. So, what does the City do here? Rather than filling those great buildings with people who are committed to making this a great city, it sanctions the development of a monstrous apartment/condo supplier with all the visual aesthetics of a Wal-Mart. That new condo monstrosity is in violent opposition aesthetically with the rest of the block, as if to signify the imminent destruction of the urban qualities of that block entirely. By the way, how many of those monstrous condos are being sold?

Ergo, the new real estate construction is essentially designed to replace Baltimore with a much more painful and cheesy version of it. How will that affect the value of the new properties?

Will it be more desirable in ten years to invest in one of those new condo units when Baltimore looks even more downtown Laurel/Towson? No. That's the insanity of this. The new properties are designed to fail.



* * *

If the City were to reverse course and follow a more rational approach to urban development it would:

1. Preserve Woodberry, turn it into a park. Every great city has a few parks.

2. Preserve the Senator. Surround it with businesses that contribute to foot-traffic and are generally sound.

3. Build Loyola's stadium in an economically disadvantaged part of town like Sowebo. That stadium can be part of a revitalization project that Loyola can use for self-promotion purposes.

4. Immediately stop building new properties. It is time to put some people in them.

5. Preserve local architecture.

Ultimately, the success or failure of those new properties depends on how much foot-traffic Baltimore can generate. If only the City were working on how to get people to stroll up and down Charles Street, working, shopping and socializing. That would fill those vacant properties like nothing else can.