Downtown Baltimore’s future hinges on connecting destination spots
In a video conference call this week with The Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, the CEO of Oak View Group was bullish on the future of downtown Baltimore. That wasn’t especially surprising since Oak View’s CFG Bank Arena has gotten off to an auspicious start with concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles, and more major acts to come — along with some positive reviews for the revitalized venue.
Granted, optimism isn’t exactly uncommon in the sports and live entertainment industry, but when it came time to discuss what Baltimore’s business district needed to succeed, Tim Leiweke, who once served as general manager of the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, didn’t take the free kick to go after crime fighting or trash pickup. He wasn’t scanning the field for big tax breaks or handouts. His first goal was to see a lot of other businesses flourishing alongside the arena, preferably providing job opportunities for city residents, who struggle to find good-paying work now. That, he said, is what he and his partners want most to see happen.
Call it a matter of “connecting the dots,” or, perhaps better put, the destination spots. We need to fill in the spaces in between the big attractions, like CFG Bank Arena, which draws customers who have driven (usually from the suburbs) to major events (with big ticket prices). They park in a garage, walk into the arena, and then walk right back to their car and drive home when the night is done. How much better if these same folks could arrive early and eat out somewhere along the way, or stay later and stop between attractions for a drink, walking along well-lit, bustling and — yes — safe streets? That’s what Oak View’s CEO envisions. And that’s exactly the right philosophy for downtown right now.
Just look around. The city already has some solid destination attractions. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, the National Aquarium at Baltimore, the Hippodrome Theatre have all survived the COVID-19 pandemic intact. But the number of small businesses serving their patrons outside their walls has been shrinking. There are any number of reasons for this, including the city’s
ongoing struggle with gun violence and the rise of at-home and hybrid work schedules as office towers no longer bring as many workers to downtown. Yet there are also hopeful signs of a reversal. The planned redevelopment of Harborplace, once the centerpiece of the Inner Harbor, is front and center. But so is the Baltimore Orioles’ push for a ballpark district like Atlanta’s The Battery, a mixed-use entertainment district supporting apartments, bars, restaurants and hotels. Add the renovated Lexington Market to that list as well and let’s not forget Harbor Point and Harbor East. The focus now should be on connecting those points by working on the blocks in between, which will benefit both residents and tourists.
While the downtown area should be welcoming to all, including the city’s young people, tourism plays a prominent role in the region’s economic health, as it does in a lot of cities, from Miami to the District of Columbia to New York, Philadelphia and Boston. This isn’t about neglecting distressed neighborhoods far beyond the scenic waterview, it’s about using what assets this city already has to create opportunities that can benefit
all of Baltimore in new jobs, higher wages and tax receipts that can finance improved public schools and other vital services. Downtown revitalization plans don’t always succeed. The city’s latest effort to redevelop the westside’s Superblock is a $155 million gamble but surely one well worth taking as it, too, can help connect the dots.
Without risk there can be no reward. In the 1970s, a lot of people thought redevelopment of an old steamship terminal and local docks into a waterfront tourist attraction was nothing short of insanity. Yet The Rouse Company and city leaders moved forward and made history with the opening of Harborplace in 1980. And let’s not forget that the knocks against the city, including crime, were just as present then as they are today. Times change, of course. Baltimore needs more than a couple of retail pavilions and a walkway to fuel a second renaissance but perhaps what Tim Leiweke can see all the way from the West Coast should be equally obvious to Charm City’s naysayers: Progress is being made and block by block or maybe inch by inch, those dots are going to get connected.