As I've said in previous posts a Neighborhood is only as strong as the retail that serves it. It least that's the outsider, the passer by or quite possibly the potential home buyer may think to themselves. Which brings me to Forest Park, a cluster of neighborhoods with plush park lands, beautifully maintained Single Family Homes without inflated price tags, a Golf Course, Lake Asburton, and Historic Dickeyville. It also holds the title of being an African American Neighborhood with a large middle class and upper middle class population, something that's rare in Baltimore. When one travels down Liberty Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard he/she will think they're in a poor neighborhood Why? Because the retail that they see is what is found in poor African American Neighborhoods and it's kept up as such. It's almost insulting to Forest Park residents that because they're African American "stereo type retail" has dominated their neighborhood. True, the retail there is used but that doesn't mean retail that supports the entire population can't fit in as well, after all there are plenty of vacant storefronts.
Forest Park has always had middle class routes, when it was built as a suburban Jewish enclave in the earlier half of the 20th century. It was more expensive than the row homes of Lower Park Heights but less expensive than the larger Single Family Homes of Upper Park Heights. Street cars had a very brief history here before it was made quite clear that the personal vehicle would be the dominate way of transportation for Forest Park. Although Forest Park had a suburban land scape its main streets were much more urban in nature than its counterparts built at the same time. There weren't miles of shopping centers with a sea of parking lots which had just become fashionable during that time frame. Forest Park's Main Streets were exactly that, Main Streets.
Forest Park's Racial turnover was not nearly as quickly and urgent as its neighbors, it was very gradual. White residents were much more accepting of their black neighbors than in other communities. It began in the late 1950s and spanned all the way into the mid 1970s. In Edmondson Village it made a complete racial turnover from 1960-1965 and Lower Park Heights from 1965-1970. Both of these neighborhoods have much larger and denser populations than Forest Park making the speed of their turn over that much more shocking. Those neighborhoods fell victim to blockbusting while Forest Park was less privy to it. As Forest Park became an all Black neighborhood its retail slowly began to shift. It remained a Middle Class neighborhood but still the retail dynamic began to shift downward. At the same time rental developments had begun aging and requiring more and more maintenance which land lords weren't providing. In 2001, Forest Park suffered its biggest blow to date with the closing of the Super Pride at Liberty Heights and Gwynn Oak Avenues leaving Forest Park without a Grocery Store.
Today Forest Park's retail sector is a hodge podge of "stereo typical black stores." They include Fried Chicken joints, Lake Trout, Ribs, Dollar Stores, Pawn Shops, Check Cashing Places, Pawn Shops, Bail Bondsman, No name Cell Phone Outlets, Beauty Supply Outlets, Auto Part Outlets and "urban clothing and shoe stores." Although there appears to be a market for these types of stores there's much to be done to improve their facades. Better signage, tree/hedge plantings, new awnings, getting rid of bars on the windows and doors etc.
Now most of Forest Park is still middle class. These businesses don't cater to them. They tend cater to the rental developments that have deteriorated over the years. These developments have also scared off petential home buyers because they don't think the neighborhood is safe.
Many buildings along Liberty Heights are two to three stories tall with retail on the ground floor and the other floors vacant. This is where some of the larger businesses can go due to their need for large square footage. Still others can take over multiple units that are vacant. Others will find the perfect foot print without much construction. Now what everyone's been waiting for; the businesses I see fit for Forest Park. First of all I see Forest Park as a "Retail Destination" that draws from other neighborhoods including the County.
Trader Joes (Old Super Pride), Dick's Sporting Goods, Pier 1 Imports, Filene's Basement, Barnes and Noble, Cold Stone Creamery, PF Changs, Bennigans, Outback Steakhouse, Bone Fish, Olive Garden, Men's Warehouse, Banks, Staples, Hallmark Gold Crown, The Apple Store, and FYE.
On the residential side there are many rental developments that need redevelopment to breathe new life into Forest Park and reenforce the safety of the neighborhood.
Well there you have it, a neighborhood's only as strong as its retail and Forest Park is due for a steroid injection.
Just a few short blocks east of Howard Park Town Centre lies Forest Park Town Centre. The execution of this plan will be a lot more involved than that of its neighbor to the west. Forest Park Town Centre is located at the poorly planned intersection of Liberty Heights, Berwyn, Forest Park Avenue, and Garrison Boulevard. Along with redevelopment and improvements to buildings, the traffic patterns will be adjusted to ensure a smoother traffic flow.The Retail selection in Forest Park lackluster at best. Then again the adjacent housing stock is distressed at best. This post is not dedicated to the housing stock, it is about the Retail selection and the need for improvement in the blocks surrounding Liberty Heights Avenue and Garrison Boulevard. The residences that are distressed along Liberty Heights however will be discussed.
The only way to make sense out of any redevelopment plan is to look at the roads and see if changes will be made there. In this case, changes will be made to the roads in question so they will be discussed first. Berwyn Avenue will not go below Liberty Heights as it does now. Garrison Boulevard will be the only way to get to Liberty Heights. If travelling north on Garrison all traffic will bare right to stay on Garrison as Berwyn will now be closed. Also Forest Park Avenue will be realigned to make for one intersection at Garrison instead of the two not being even like they are now. By simplifying the traffic pattern in the heart of Forest Park it will flow much more smoothly.
Another casualty of the traffic reconfiguration is Liberty Elementary School. As part of my plan to introduce New School Construction to the City while reducing the surplus of seats will be tear down the current building and rebuild the School (renamed Forest Park Elementary) on Liberty Heights where its current intersection with Berwyn Avenue is. Forest Park Elementary will house the population of Liberty Elementary and two other Neighboring Elementary Schools and will look like the above photo.Most existing Retail will be torn down as it is dated and blighted. In order to introduce New Retail to Forest Park the buildings that house it must also be new. The new Walgreens is a perfect example of this. In addition to new Retail, there should be apartments located above. New Retail should be include but not be limited to; Starbucks, Bob Evans, Pizzeria Unos, Banks (not check cashing). a Dry Cleaners, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Five Guys, Ritas, and Dollar Tree. In other words convenience Retail. The Rite Aid and GNC will be located in New Buildings.
Also to be included with the residential redevelopment is Liberty Post Apartments and a few stray garden Apartments along Liberty Heights between Howard Park Town Centre and Forest Park Town Centre they will be replaced with more fitting higher density Apartments. If there is a concentration of Single Family Homes along Liberty Heights that have gone vacant, they can also be torn down and redeveloped with a higher density Apartments as well.
Well that concludes my plan the Forest Park Town Centre, keep in mind this is a very focused area this post concentrates on and this isn't all that needs to be done in Forest Park. There will be future posts regarding the Forest Park area as a whole and redevelopment that needs to take place. Stay tuned!
