Believing in a better downtown Baltimore
The challenges Baltimore faces are not new, highlighting what’s broken is not discovery, and Baltimore’s position today is not where she will be tomorrow.
We, the collective “we,” can make our city whatever we want her to be. For the first time in more than 50 years, I can see the city I dreamed of as a child. One where every family has food, parents have good paying jobs, and each generation does better than the last. Not in a Pollyanna, “can’t we just all get along?” type of way, but a “let’s roll up our sleeves and work together on solving challenges and increasing economics,” kind of action.
As president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and a lover of our city, I wake up every morning with the intention of making downtown Baltimore a destination of choice. I’m talking about all of downtown, not just one of Downtown’s neighborhoods — Central Business District (CBD), Bromo, Harbor East, Federal Hill, etc.
Study the evolution of cities and metropolitan areas and you will see the growth of fragmented office, residential and retail mixtures.
Shift happens; where department stores once thrived is now a hub of art and theater. Where offices dotted the skyline is now a thread of apartment conversions.
And where underdeveloped waterfront property was, is now bustling with business and retail.
There’s a place for sports, arts, culture, offices and restaurants. At this moment, we have an opportunity to build on our strengths, grow the residential population, expand retail and better connect all of downtown’s assets.
As we focus on the traditional CBD, you see an area going through a renewal with more federal, state and local money committed to its growth than in my lifetime. Corporations like Truist, M&T Bank, Ballard Spahr, PNC, Fearless, CBRE, Design Collective, Gallagher Evelius & Jones, and Wells Fargo are doubling down by renewing leases, serving on boards and investing money and action behind their words. The downtown business ecosystem is larger than just any one neighborhood.
Organizations referenced in David Tufaro’s letter to the editor each had a myriad reasons for choosing one neighborhood over another (“DLA Piper move continues neglect of central business district,” Sept. 4).
There is a history of pitting different downtown Baltimore neighborhoods against one another. The reality is, many of those businesses are on our board, and their leaders believe in all of downtown. They’re committed to investing time, energy and resources, and locking arms to ensure the vitality of the core. They didn’t give up on downtown or the city. And we won’t either.
We are building on our assets. We have political will. We have corporate support. We have engaged neighbors. The CBD will look intentionally different in the next few years. Assets like the Arena, Superblock, Lexington Market, and Harborplace are pending.
We know that we can best tackle safety with the collective efforts of economic development and equitable enforcement. Join us in building on our strengths, creating a sense of place, and better connecting all our downtown assets.