‘One Westport’ Waterfront Development Gets Subdivision Approval, Hopes to Start Construction in Summer

The One Westport mixed-use development received subdivision approval last week from the Baltimore City Planning Department. This moves the $500-million waterfront project by Stonewall Capital one step closer to starting construction.

Stonewall Capital owner Ray Jackson told SouthBMore.com, “This allows us to proceed with the master plan and allows our strategic partners to start their engineering and approvals.”

Jackson said construction will likely begin in the summer.

Stonewall Capital subdivided the 43-acre waterfront parcel in Westport into six development parcels. New Harbors will be Stonewall’s partner on a 300-unit affordable housing development at Parcel A, Ryan Homes will build 247 for-sale townhomes in Parcel B, and Woodfield Development will be the partner for a 350-unit apartment building with 40,000 sq. ft. of retail at Parcel C.

Jackson said he is in discussions with a few different groups for a parcel designated for a four-story, 100,000 sq. ft. innovation and office building with retail at Parcel D.

Parcel D will likely also have a free-standing waterfront restaurant in front of it. Jackson said he has been in conversations with a “national waterfront-oriented restaurant” for this parcel. He said it would be a similar concept to Nick’s Fish House.

A 14-acre public park will be constructed between Parcel B and Parcel C. This will be a public/private partnership between South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP), Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks, and Stonewall.

Parcel A will be on 4.2 acres and there will be two five-story buildings. One building will have 100 senior units and the other building will have 200 affordable units. There will be surface parking and one story of structured parking. This parcel will also have a pocket park.

Ryan Homes will bring in a development partner to build a new street grid on 11.2 acres for the townhomes. Some of the new blocks will be directly on the shore of the Middle Branch and some will be facing the new 14-acre park.

Buyers will choose from multiple models with three- and four-story options. Home options will be 16 ft. wide and 20 ft. wide. Buyers can choose from three- and four-bedroom layouts and most homes will have bonus recreation rooms or lofts. There are one- and two-car garage options, as well as the option to opt out of a garage for an additional storage or finished space. Homes will also have parking pads. Buyers can add second-story decks and rooftop decks to their homes.

The townhomes will start at around $350,000. Jackson said he has already seen a “tremendous response” for the homeownership opportunity at One Westport. He cited the waterfront and access to I-95, I-295, and the light rail as selling points for potential buyers.

Parcel C will be 3.7 acres. The retail on Woodfield’s 350-unit apartment building will face the new park and waterfront. There will also be an open courtyard facing the waterfront. It will have a parking garage in the building.

Parcel E, which will be a five-story, 250-unit apartment building, and Parcel F, which will be a five-story, 400-unit apartment building with possible retail, are both in Phase Two of One Westport.

One Westport also proposes green spaces along the waterfront with a .66-mile, 16 ft.-wide pedestrian trail that connects to the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network. This would connect with a proposed pedestrian bridge between Port Covington and Westport on the northern section of the parcel. The Port Covington Development Team, SBGP, the City of Baltimore, and the Parks and People Foundation received a grant to begin initial engineering on the bridge last year.

Kloman St. on the southern half of the parcel sits in-between the light rail tracks and CSX tracks. Stonewall is proposing moving Kloman St. east and using the current section of Kloman St. as a future green space with a trail.

Northeast Maglev, the group looking to bring the Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV) to the northeast corridor of the United States, wants to use a portion of the Westport parcel for its plan. Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR), the organization looking to construct the high-speed Maglev train between Baltimore and Washington, attempted to condemn Stonewall Capital’s waterfront property in August, but the case was dismissed by Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Jackson also said Stonewall is interested in seeing the existing Westport neighborhood get investment too, which is why he gave the development the name One Westport. He said Stonewall is supporting the Westport Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) “110 percent.”

Renderings courtesy of Ryan Homes

Rendering courtesy of WRT and Stonewall Capital 

Master Plan rendering for courtesy of Stonewall Capital and MRA

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.