REDEVELOPMENT OF FORMER MECHANIC THEATRE MOVING FORWARD:
ONEWEST, LLC FILES WITH BALTIMORE CITY FOR DEMOLITION PERMIT FOR MORRIS A. MECHANIC THEATRE
Finished project will create approximately 600 market-rate apartments and 150,000 square feet of complementary retail space
Baltimore, MD (May 1, 2012) – Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has been informed by OneWest, LLC, that it has filed with the City of Baltimore for a demolition permit for the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, located at 1 North Charles Street.
In place of the theatre, which has been vacant since 2004, OneWest has proposed the development of approximately 600 market-rate apartment units contained within two 30-story towers, combined with 150,000 square feet of retail space and an underground parking garage. The multi-use project will be managed by David S. Brown Enterprises, Ltd., that manages one of Downtown’s premier destinations, Lockwood Place, and recently attracted much-needed retail to the heart of the University of Maryland at Baltimore campus.
“There is no overstating the importance of redevelopment at this site,” said Kirby Fowler, President of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.
Originally opened in January 1967, the theatre gradually became obsolete because its design was unable to accommodate modern stage productions. Its closure was timed with the opening of the restored Hippodrome Theatre and, since then, the former Mechanic building has been empty and deteriorating at one of Baltimore’s most prominent intersections.
Charles Street is known as Baltimore’s Main Street, and the corner of Charles and Baltimore streets is the connecting point between Downtown’s east and west sides. Once exclusively an office district, the area is Baltimore’s fastest-growing residential neighborhood where the apartment occupancy rate is 97%.
“The OneWest plan will accomplish several important goals,” Fowler said. “It injects needed apartment space at a time when demand far outstrips supply. It will create a signature retail venue to meet the shopping needs of the most densely-populated office and residential district in the region. And, it creates a dynamic, transit-oriented presence where, for far too long, an obsolete and failing structure that has been a blight on the community.”
“OneWest, David S. Brown, and Arrow Parking have worked on this plan with Baltimore City officials and the community for several years, making multiple revisions based on the feedback they have received,” Fowler said. “With that important due diligence behind them, we support beginning the construction as soon as possible so that this important project can move forward.”
Downtown Partnership of Baltimore is a non-profit corporation creating a more vibrant Downtown community for businesses, property owners, residents, and employees. Through its many initiatives, Downtown Partnership improves Downtown’s quality of life by increasing investment, retaining business, solving transportation challenges, improving parks and green space, and creating workforce development opportunities. For more than 25 years, these programs have been good for Downtown and good for Baltimore.
