Work has been underway for a year at the One Westport development in the Westport neighborhood of South Baltimore. The 43-acre development by Ray Jackson’s Stonewall Capital takes place on a waterfront parcel on the Middle Branch where redevelopment was first planned in 2004.
Stonewall Capital got the land under contract in 2020 and then began planning the One Westport development. The project was slated to start in 2022, but was delayed due to a lawsuit by Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR), which sought to condemn the property in its attempt to construct a high-speed Maglev train track between Baltimore and Washington on portions of the Westport property. That lawsuit was settled in November 2023.
In 2004, Turner Development proposed a development at the Westport parcel with 2 million sq. ft. of office space, 300,000 sq. ft. of retail, and 2,000 residential units. The development never moved forward after the developer demolished the existing buildings and remediated some of the existing land. The property fell into foreclosure before finally being sold at auction to Sagamore Ventures in 2015.
Work has been underway for months on the relocation of Kloman St. which runs along the western border of the development parcel. Kloman St. sits on the southern half of the parcel in-between the light rail tracks and CSX tracks. Stonewall Development is moving Kloman St. east and using the current section of Kloman St. as a future green space with a trail.
Last year, Stonewall Captial sold the 11.2-acre Parcel B of the development to H&H Rock, a land developer working to create townhome pad sites for Ryan Homes. This first phase will have 247 townhomes. Some of the new blocks will be directly on the shore of the Middle Branch and some will be facing the 14-acre Westport Waterfront Community Park.
Grading is underway at the townhome parcel, new streets are being laid, and plumbing infrastructure is in the ground. Jackson told Baltimore Business Journal that model homes should be ready to show by November.
Westport Waterfront Community Park is a partnership between Stonewall Capital, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP), and private fundraising. Jackson said the park will add more amenities in different phases, but a green space will be created in the short term. Construction has not yet begun on this.
The master plan for the park shows a nature play space, event lawn, a Baltimore Black Sox tribute, a garden, trails, a cove, and a fishing pier.
Parcels C, D, E, and F of the development were originally slated for multiple apartments buildings and an office building and retail spaces, but now the focus has turned to more townhomes and two-over-two condominiums, which are two-story units in four-story townhomes. For phase two of the project, Jackson is projecting about 300 more for-sale housing units along with some retail buildings that could bring a coffee shop, service retail, a seafood restaurant on the water, and an additional seasonal waterfront concept.
A community clubhouse is also planned for phase two.
Discussing the pivot from office and multi-family to more townhomes, Jackson said last year, “The community has always wanted homeownership.” He also said apartment buildings are oversaturating the area and are too expensive to build with the current construction costs.
“We don’t want the land to sit vacant for 10 years,” said Jackson.
Parcel A will be an affordable housing complex by Sight Insight and the NHP Foundation. Jackson said it will be around 140 units of senior and affordable housing.
Along with the vertical development, One Westport will have a path system along the water. The Reimagine Middle Branch plan, a partnership between the City of Baltimore, SBGP, Parks & People Foundation, and James Corner Field Operations, is looking to improve the shoreline of the Middle Branch. Part of the plan is a reimagined Smith Cove park space directly east of One Westport. The plan also calls for new path systems throughout the Middle Branch and a walking bridge connecting Westport to Baltimore Peninsula.
