‘You can see everything from here’
Key Highway apartment building is the latest entrant to the city’s waterfront market
The new apartment building is long and slim, constructed on a strip of formerly vacant land between a Digital Harbor High School and Key Highway, facing Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
“That means you’re never far from a window,” said Jeneece Chaplin, property manager for Bainbridge Federal Hill, the latest entrant into the city’s waterfront apartment market. “There’s tons of natural light.”
She said that will be a big selling point for the building that just begun leasing after years of planning. The building shape, less than 100 feet wide, also may reflect the developer’s efforts to maximize increasingly scarce land amid an upscale rental building spree in hot neighborhoods.
Multiple buildings have opened around the harbor in recent years, including the Anthem House in Locust Point and the 414 Light Street tower downtown — both of which can be seen from Bainbridge’s 8th floor terrace.
The $65 million building’s apartments feature a modern, industrial look, with gray cabinets, stainless steel appliances and quartz counter tops in the studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. A small number of townhouses with their own entrances on Key Highway also are included in the project.
In all, there are 39 floor plans for the 224 apartments in the building at 1100 Key Highway, an odd parcel that was owned by Harborview L.P., the townhouse and condo community across the street. The apartment developer acquired the property for nearly $10.4 million in late 2017.
The first two floors of the eightstory structure are partially underground due to the sloping terrain.
“It’s a unique site,” said Laurie Bonner, the area vice president for Bethesda-based Bainbridge. “There are lots of amenities, like a twostory gym. … There are decks with fantastic views of the harbor and Federal Hill. There are lots of community spaces.”
A handful of people have rented apartments since leasing began in the past two weeks. Units are listed at $1,900 to $3,800 a month, far below some of the fanciest penthouse units offered in other buildings. Given the competition, Bainbridge is offering free rent for six weeks for those who move in this month.
Any new residents still might have to navigate around some construction, as the project isn’t quite done.
But many of the spaces are complete, such as a game room, a dinner party room, business center, conference room, living room and a set of terraces. A small triangular-shaped pool that is no more than 3 feet deep is wedged into one outside space, which Chaplin referred to as the “aqua lounge.”
Most common areas have a nautical theme, with wall art featuring the harbor, the port and all the ships that pass through.
That makes sense, Chaplin said. “You can see the harbor here,” she said gesturing to the view from a terrace. “You can see the cruise ships and even the Key Bridge. You can see everything from here.”