Building a neighborhood in S. Baltimore's Port Covington

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jul 15, 2005 by Jen DeGregorio

A Baltimore developer is polishing plans to build nearly 1 million square feet of mostly residential space in South Baltimore's Port Covington neighborhood, an industrial landscape east of the Hanover Street Bridge.

Developer Covington Partners LLC sees vast potential on a six- acre swath of land that separates a Wal-Mart and Sam's Club from a planned marina.

It's the last really significant waterfront property in the city, said John N. Bowers Jr., a principal of Covington Partners. Anything that is waterfront is in high demand.

The land, which Bowers said Covington Partners is attempting to purchase from Baltimore developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, sits on the shores of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.

The city Department of Planning is working on a master plan to guide development on the Middle Branch west of the Hanover Street Bridge.

The plan would govern a massive 50-acre development proposed by the Henrietta Corp. for the area's Westport neighborhood, where the defunct Carr-Lowrey glass factory, former Baltimore Gas & Electric building and other properties would be changed into a new neighborhood dubbed Inner Harbor West.

I think the city has taken a couple of steps to encourage development here, Alfred W. Barry III, president of development consulting firm AB Associates Inc., said of the Middle Branch plan.

Port Covington would not be governed by the Middle Branch plan. But the plan's prescribed transformation of nearby Westport's now- decrepit shoreline would bring more demand for a townhouse-and- condominium development at Port Covington, Bowers said.

Our team looked at this site as a place with terrific access to the office employment market downtown - with water views, Barry said.

The planned market-rate development would be mixed use, although the portion of retail and office locations would be small compared to the residential portion.

Preliminary sketches for housing predict about 625 units to house more than 1,000 residents.

The first phase of the project would be two 15-story towers with ground level retail, totaling about 500,000 square feet, Bowers said.

During the second phase, about 200,000 square feet would be constructed for three-and-four-story townhouses, and construction would begin on about 3.5 acres of new piers.

The third and final phase would construct a 20-story tower of more than 200,000 square feet on one of the completed piers.

Planning officials said the goals seemed rather lofty.

During a work session with the Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel yesterday, planners asked Covington Partners to come up with some variations on the original design that would include more open space and less disparity between building heights.

The pier tower would likely block views for people in the smaller townhouses, panel members said, although they were generally enthusiastic about developing the site.

We wanted to steer development around there, said Otis Rolley III, director of the city planning department. We want density there, and there isn't a fear of heights because there isn't a neighborhood there that would be impacted.

Covington Partners would have to resubmit plans for final approval to the city planning department as well as get approval from other state and city agencies.

If all goes well, Bowers said the first phase of the project would be under way by this time next year, with the whole project completed in about five years.