Clipper Mill:Preservation At Its Best

The remains of the old Clipper Mill has quickly become Baltimore's most sought after and most hidden address at the same time. The reason being is that Clipper Mill has gotten back to its roots as a Mill Village with a mix of uses including residential, retail, and office space. Given the success of Clipper Mill, one can't help but wonder if other old Mills in the Hampden Woodberry Area should have been better preserved or if there are other undiscovered Mill remains in the Woodberry Outback.

Clipper Mill came into existence around the Civil War as people from the South and Appalachia flooded Baltimore looking for work. Clipper Mill, which specialized in melting iron and producing machines and the Mount Vernon Cotton Mill. The site of the Mount Vernon Cotton Mill is now the Pepsi Bottling Plant opposite Clipper Mill. These Mills (twelve total) could not house the thounsands of workers who migrated to Baltimore. Thus began the early building boom of Hampden-Woodberry. Most of the detached housing built at the time was spread out and can be found mostly in Woodberry with a few amongst the Hampden Row Homes.

After the Civil War, Clipper Mill and its industrious Neighbors did not see a reduction in numbers of workers migrating from the South and Appalachia nor did those who came Pre-Civil War, leave. This explains the Southern Appalachian twang of the Baltimore Accent and why it's still so prevalent in Hampden today. Although work in the Mills slowed a little bit after the Civil War there was plenty to go around, in fact a second Migration Boom occurred during the United State's entry into World War I. Like clockwork, when the second Migration Boom Occurred, so did another Building Boom. This time, the new housing was denser Row Homes in what is present day Hampden and Medfield Heights. The current lay out of these Neighborhoods hasn't changed much since their inception during World War I.

Unlike the Civil War, Clipper Mill did not keep the jobs that were added for World War I. However, the Roaring 20s kept the Machines of Clipper Mill running. The Great Depression, for a short time brought Clipper Mill to a screeching halt. During the 1930s unemployment sky rocketed but by the mid to late 1930s Clipper Mill geared up and staffed up for World War II. World War II provided a brief healthy period for Clipper Mill and its cohort. Once World War II ended the 1950s and 60s spelled the end of Clipper Mill and Hampden Woodberry as we know it.

The Mount Vernon Cotton Mill was redeveloped as a Pepsi Bottling Center and the JFX (I-83) separated Clipper Mill and Woodberry from Hampden. Since Hampden Woodberry's employment base came from the Mills that had closed they went into rapid decline. Clipper Mill was left to rot, but was that a bad thing?

I should say not! For several reasons, one Batimore has a tendency to demolish way too many of its buildings, two preservationists have a hard time finding buildings to restore in Baltimore, and three Clipper Mill, except for a small fire in the 1960s has remained unchanged since its heyday. In the early 2000s, when Hampden's resurgence had been in full force for several years, developer Struever Brothers, Eccles and Rouse (SBER) saw Clipper Mill and saw a vision and they took that vision across the JFX and the Woodberry Light Rail Station.

Now SBER isn't some fly by night developer or some national conglomerate who only knows "Baltimore's Harbor", SBER has a huge stake planted in Baltimore's Future and they know a good investment when they see one and they saw one; in Clipper Mill. Clipper Mill has seen a rebirth a mixed use development as Condos, Town Homes, Single Family Homes, Offices, and a small Retail Component. The old Mill has been restored to her former glory and a new Village has grown up around it. If I were a developer I'd be wishing that more of the Mills of the Old Hampden Woodberry had been preserved given the success of Clipper Mill and the general ugliness of the Industry along the JFX. Meadow Mill, a small textiles plant east of the JFX was converted into a large Gym. If I could turn back time, I'd turn the Mount Vernon Cotton Mill into a development similar to Clipper Mill, perhaps with a larger Retail Component. If Pepsi were to relocate its bottling plant it could be redeveloped as such. As for Clipper Mill, I can say with certainty that's Preservation at its Best.

East Baltimore Midway:Rebuilding an Entire Neighorhood

Surprisingly, in a City like Baltimore where there are close to 15,000 vacant homes and thousands more vacant lots, there aren't but a handful of neighborhoods that I would take a demo crew to demolish the neighborhood. Even in some of Baltimore's most devastated neighborhoods, there are parts that are in great shape and are very much worth saving. In Upton there's Marble Hill, in Middle East there's the "Preservation Zone" below Hopkins near Patterson Park, Barclay there's everything west of Calvert St., there's Historic Homestead in Coldstream Homestead Montebello, and even in Park Heights there's Historic Park Circle.

East Baltimore Midway, is a different story. There's no Historic Housing Stock nor is the location optimal for Homesteading. The Urban Ills that have ravaged Rust Belt Citys across America are present and ramped in East Baltimore Midway. A lot of neighborhoods in Baltimore that are currently in rough shape still have some Community Amenities that, if used to their full potential, can bring back population (Union Square and Hollins Market are examples of this) but East Baltimore Midway does not have such amenities.

East Baltimore Midway was built out just after its annexation in the 1910s. Surrounding Industry had pushed the demand for housing for workers up North and thus began the "birth" of East Baltimore Midway. I'm not sure exactly how the name "East Baltimore Midway" came to fruition but I've seen it on the books for at least 40 years. It was among the first neighborhoods in East Baltimore to go through racial change in the 1940s and 1950s before "blockbusting" became popular.

In the early to mid 1960s, East Baltimore Midway had become one of East Baltimore's first Black Neighborhoods and perhaps the only one in North Baltimore. One thing to note about the geographics of East Baltimore is that it's considered East Baltimore on some maps, North Baltimore on others but I've never known it to be Northeast Baltimore. In the 1910s, just after annexation East Baltimore Midway was considered an outskirt of the City but is now considered "Inner City." Back to the 1960s, where much of that decade, East Baltimore Midway enjoyed a period of being a working class and healthy Black Neighborhood.

April 4th, 1968 changed everything in East Baltimore Midway and made for a new page in American History, an ugly page. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a preacher who advocated for equality between the races in a non-violent manner was shot dead from a Motel Balcony in Memphis. Within minutes of his death, his dream and words of peace were forgotten and riots broke out in Citys all across America. Baltimore was hit especially hard by riots and East Baltimore Midway was in the middle of it. White Flight accelerated and the impoverished Black Neighborhoods spread like wild fires.

Between the devistation of the MLK Riots of the late 1960s, the population loss of the 1970s, cocaine and HIV of the 1980s and the continued crime waves and population losses of the 1990s and 2000s East Baltimore Midway has become one of the City's most "scarred" Neighborhoods. Like I said in the beginning of this post, other troubled City Neighborhoods have "saving graces" that can bring about growth. East Baltimore Midway does not have that in its favor.

Today, in 2010, I would guesstimate the vacancy rate at 35% for East Baltimore Midway. That doesn't count the vacant lots which there aren't as many as in some cases. However, the housing stock both vacant and occupied is in shambles, the streets are dirty and unpaved, and the infrastructuree is crumbling. The chances of this neighborhood making a comeback are slim to none. Both from a financial and a practical standpoint, saving this neighborhood is not an option.

That means a complete tear down and redevelopment of the entire East Baltimore Midway Neighborhood. The "if you build it they will come" mentality will be applied to the redevelopment. And build it they will, the old East Baltimore Midway may lack certain community amenities but the new East Baltimore Midway will have an abundance of them. There will be a Public Square, Swimming Pool, Community Center with Internet Access, and a Playground for Children of all ages. If it's deemed necessary, East Baltimore Midway will get its own branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Librbary. Obviously, the income mix will be much broader with a 55% Market Rate Homeownership, 15% Market Rate Rental, 25% Affordable for Purchase, and 5% Affordable Rentals for Seniors. Denser Condos will be on the outer edges of the Neighborhood while larger town homes will be in the Center.

One hidden jewel the current East Baltimore Midway has is the Kirk Avenue Bus Storage. The Yellow Line will go up Greenmount Avenue with a stop at 25th St. serving East Baltimore Midway and surrounding communities. The Kirk Avenue Bus Depot, already owned by the MTA will be redeveloped as a Multi-Modal Transit Hub where Bus Routes start and stop instantly making East Baltimore Midway a draw all across the City and points beyond.

Well that just about does it for East Baltimore Midway, I apologize for not posting in a while but I'm back and better than ever! Stay Tuned!

New Posts Coming Soon

After camping for two weeks and being extremely bust at work, I can focus on blogging once again. I'm glad to have gotten emails and comments asking for new posts, it shows that people are interested and you won't have to wait much longer. Stay tuned!

The Rotunda:Waiting for Redevelopment

The Rotunda, located in the northern outskirts of Hampden either needs some major redevelopment. Otherwise, I fear its fate will won't be pretty. I know this because my Home Town and Current City is Columbia. I see some parallels with Columbia's Wilde Lake Village Center with the Rotunda. Wilde Lake had a Giant a little smaller than the Rotunda's. Wilde Lake's Giant closed in 2006 after 39 and a half years in business because it refused to expand and compete with newer Grocery Stores (mostly other Giants), it has yet to be replaced nor has there been a viable redevelopment plan. Despite Wilde Lake Giant's poor business before it closed Wilde Lake was almost completely leased out. After its closing, merchants have been leaving at an alarming rate draining what little vitality is left in the ailing Center. Like Wilde Lake, pre 2006 the Rotunda is anchored by a Giant Supermarket which is small dingy and outdated. Worse than that, new or renovated Supermarkets have popped up in neighboring communities. A Shoppers has opened in the newly expanded Mondawmin Mall, a Giant (much bigger and better) has opened in Waverly, the Superfresh a few blocks away has completed a renovation as has the Safeway in Charles North, and a Supermarket is planned with the Lowes on the soon to be former grounds of the Anderson Automotive Site in Remington. Can you see the writing on the wall? I know I can.The Building the Rotunda currently occupies was built in 1921 to house the headquarters of the Maryland Casulty Company. 50 years later it became the Neighborhood Shopping Mall that we see in the picture above us. Almost 40 years later not much has changed, except the vacancy rate which has sky rocketed and the vitality of the Center which has plummeted. The four story structure, in addition to the Giant is home to a Rite Aid, the newly reopened Rotunda Cimenatheque, a Hair Cuttery, a Radio Shack, a Dry Cleaners, an Optician, a Book Store a Craft Store, Casa Mia Pizzeria, and a few other Shops a (I haven't been able to find a current tenant roster so I'm going from memory from when I took these pictures)
These have popped up recently as the Charm City Diner and TCBY have closed. Plans for the owner of Cafe Hon to open the "Coffee Cart" in the Rotunda were scrapped. Perhaps the best thing to happen to the Rotunda was it bring purchased by the Hekemain Corp. Hekemain wasted no time in coming with an ambitious redevelopment plan. Original plans included a new Giant, the Rotunda Cinematheque, and several new taller buildings with upscale ground floor retail, apartments, condos, and a hotel.
Now perhaps the worst thing to happen to the Rotunda, at least in recent memory; the economy.
When the economy went bust so did any redevelopment plans for the Rotunda in the near future. Hekemain has remained firm in their commitment to eventually redeveloping the Rotunda though it might be scaled back, more recent plans show that the Hotel and Condos were scrapped.
In the mean time, what is Hekemain doing to keep existing tenants? The only two existing tenants shown in redevelopment plans are the Giant and the Cimenatheque. When Hekemain purchased the Center did have the intention of not renewing leases when redevelopment was full speed ahead? If that was the case, Hekemain had better re-shift its thinking because all the new stores they were in talks with will have to wait for actual redevelopment. So Hekemain since you're stuck with the Rotunda in its current form for a while what are you doing to keep your existing tenants?The Giant, in addition to the Mall Entrance has another set of doors directly leading directly to the parking lot. That puts the remaining tenants in a bind. My visits to the Rotunda outside the Giant is a virtual Ghost Town. Hekemain is right that redevelopment is the only option for the Rotunda but how can the Rotunda retain its smaller tenants when the anchor tenant doesn't draw traffic into the Mall? I think a short term fix would be to seal off the outside doors to the Giant. This would force Giant Shoppers into the Mall and may lead to boost in patronage of other businesses. I could also see this back firing and Giant would see a decline leading to further drainage of the Center's vitality. So what's the short term solution? I really don't know. Hekemain could show some good faith to struggling tenants who owe back rent (assume there are any) by forgiving their debts. Other than that, I don't see much else that can be done right now besides waiting out the recession. Speaking of waiting out the recession, Giant has promised to relocate to its new building when redevelopment takes place making my projection of Giant leaving the Rotunda completely false. In this instance I'm glad I was wrong. And as far as Hekemain is concerned they WILL redevelop the Rotunda in due time and it will look great. The sign wasn't meant to be interpreted this way but more shops are on the way. Hekemain still wants to bring in new upscale tenants to the redeveloped Rotunda. Even without the Condos and Hotel there will still be several hundred Apartments and Offices and Hekemain is in talks with a large Book Store. Seeing as there's already a Barnes & Noble in Charles Village I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's a Borders. The Rotunda will rise again!