25th Street Station
Encyclopedia
25th Street Station is a proposed mixed use development to be located in the Remington
and Charles Village
neighborhoods of central Baltimore. It received final design approval from Baltimore's Planning Commission on December 16, 2010, and will commence construction in early 2011, with a 2012 opening. The development will include 330000 square feet (30,658 m²) of retail space, including a Walmart
and Lowe's
as anchor tenants, with an array of smaller retailers and 70 apartments. As of October 2011 construction of 25th Street Station has not begun yet and the Lowe's will no longer be an anchor.
The proposed site is bounded by West 25th Street to the north, Maryland Avenue to the east, West 24th Street to the south, and the CSX Railroad line to the west.
, north of Baltimore; it had been in operation for 15 years. During fall 2009, it was announced that Anderson intended to sell the property to a developer, who would construct a Lowe's
home improvement store, a supermarket, other retail spaces and apartments. (However, Anderson still has a dealership cluster in Hunt Valley, selling both GM and Honda vehicles.) On February 26, 2010, the Baltimore Sun revealed that a Walmart
store would join Lowe's
as an anchor tenant. On October 17, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported that Lowe's decided to drop out of the 25th Street Station project and that construction hasn't begun due to "court challenges," however the loss of Lowe's was reported to not put the project in jeopardy.
Heated debate about the merits and drawbacks of the developer's plans continued throughout most of 2010. The project was granted design approval by the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel (UDARP) in October 2010. Public hearings and meetings concerning the project were held by the Planning Commission and City Council. The City Council
approved the Planned Unit Development ordinance in November 2010. The final design and a minor amendment were approved by the Planning Commission on December 16, 2010.
The approved plans that emerged from months of intense debate by elected and appointed officials, residents, community associations, business groups and other interested parties are substantially different than the initial renderings. One of the main early criticisms was the project's haphazard siting of buildings that gave the project a suburban feel. Nearly all of the buildings in the approved plans now are built right up to the sidewalk, have entrances onto the sidewalk, and are faced with brick or other materials reminiscent of the area's historical character. A number of public infrastructure improvements such as street reconstruction, traffic calming measures
, bike lanes
and signage will all be undertaken in conjunction with the development.
Remington, Baltimore
Remington is a neighborhood in northern Baltimore bordered to the north by Hampden, Wyman Park, and Johns Hopkins University and to the east by Charles Village. The southernmost boundary is North Avenue and the long southwestern boundary is formed by Falls Road in the I-83 corridor...
and Charles Village
Charles Village, Baltimore
Charles Village is a neighborhood located in the north-central area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It is a middle-class area with many single-family homes that is in proximity to many of Baltimore's urban amenities. The neighborhood began in 1869 when of land were purchased for development...
neighborhoods of central Baltimore. It received final design approval from Baltimore's Planning Commission on December 16, 2010, and will commence construction in early 2011, with a 2012 opening. The development will include 330000 square feet (30,658 m²) of retail space, including a Walmart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
as anchor tenants, with an array of smaller retailers and 70 apartments. As of October 2011 construction of 25th Street Station has not begun yet and the Lowe's will no longer be an anchor.
The proposed site is bounded by West 25th Street to the north, Maryland Avenue to the east, West 24th Street to the south, and the CSX Railroad line to the west.
Project History
Anderson Automotive, a car dealership, currently occupies the 11-acre site where in the development will be built. In mid-2009, General Motors informed Anderson that they planned to discontinue selling automobiles at that location, ending a 90-year relationship there. Anderson subsequently announced that it would also relocate its Honda dealership from Howard & 25th Streets to Hunt Valley, MarylandHunt Valley, Maryland
Hunt Valley is an affluent unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along Highway 145 off Interstate 83. Loch Raven Reservoir...
, north of Baltimore; it had been in operation for 15 years. During fall 2009, it was announced that Anderson intended to sell the property to a developer, who would construct a Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
home improvement store, a supermarket, other retail spaces and apartments. (However, Anderson still has a dealership cluster in Hunt Valley, selling both GM and Honda vehicles.) On February 26, 2010, the Baltimore Sun revealed that a Walmart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
store would join Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
as an anchor tenant. On October 17, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported that Lowe's decided to drop out of the 25th Street Station project and that construction hasn't begun due to "court challenges," however the loss of Lowe's was reported to not put the project in jeopardy.
Opposition and Support
Opposition to the project centered on the inclusion of Walmart as an anchor tenant and the potential impacts of big box retail on smaller, mom-and-pop stores in historic business districts. Residents in the neighborhoods surrounding the development voiced concerns about the inevitable increase in traffic, noise, and light pollution the high-intensity uses would bring. Still others were concerned that the shopping center's actual design was too suburban in nature and not suitable for an dense, urban environment. Support for the project focused on the construction and permanent jobs that the development would create, and the convenience of being able to shop inside city limits, when many city residents are forced to drive to the surrounding suburbs to shop at comparable stores.Heated debate about the merits and drawbacks of the developer's plans continued throughout most of 2010. The project was granted design approval by the Urban Design and Architectural Review Panel (UDARP) in October 2010. Public hearings and meetings concerning the project were held by the Planning Commission and City Council. The City Council
Baltimore City Council
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its nearly 700,000 citizens. Baltimore has fourteen single-member City Council districts and representatives are elected for a four-year term. To qualify for a position on the Council, a person must be...
approved the Planned Unit Development ordinance in November 2010. The final design and a minor amendment were approved by the Planning Commission on December 16, 2010.
The approved plans that emerged from months of intense debate by elected and appointed officials, residents, community associations, business groups and other interested parties are substantially different than the initial renderings. One of the main early criticisms was the project's haphazard siting of buildings that gave the project a suburban feel. Nearly all of the buildings in the approved plans now are built right up to the sidewalk, have entrances onto the sidewalk, and are faced with brick or other materials reminiscent of the area's historical character. A number of public infrastructure improvements such as street reconstruction, traffic calming measures
Traffic calming
Traffic calming is intended to slow or reduce motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve the living conditions for residents as well as to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming...
, bike lanes
Segregated cycle facilities
Segregated cycle facilities are marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists from which motorised traffic is generally excluded...
and signage will all be undertaken in conjunction with the development.