Local (Baltimore native) developer bought it. Claims he wants to make it more enticing and maybe more in line with the local-attraction stuff it had back in the day. People are somewhat optimistic since there’s no way it can get worse.

Discussion from last week

Stripmalls are deader than dead. If you use DC's The Wharf as a template, luxury residential, hotel, and boutique retail/eateries work. It helps if you have a concert venue. Not really a fan myself because the eateries are overpriced trash, but the tourists seem to like it and the place is always packed. In the case of Harborplace, a decent food hall with lots of local options would attract local dollars.

https://media.tenor.com/PaUEhA_Ga88AAAAM/pussycat-dolls-when-i-grow-up.gif

Thanks for the link. I hope he can pull it off!

The Wharf is also all private property including the streets and pedestrian streets off Maine Ave, which can cause issues sometimes…

>People are somewhat optimistic since there’s no way it can get worse.

Famous last words.

We already have Lexington Market like 3 mintues away as a food hall though. And federal hill and fells point have dozens of restaraunts. I don't feel like there is room for the inner harbor to be a foodie destination.

It was basically a strip mall of generic stores you could find in every city. Nothing unique was there to draw in natives and it essentially was just for tourists who were visiting the aquarium. It recently got bought out and the developer is trying to make it more original and enticing to locals

The people who go to Harborplace are not the same people who would go to those areas with the sorta exception of Fells Point. Residents of Downtown and UMMC workers are the vast majority of Lexington Market patrons. Residents of South Baltimore (or somewhere in the city/metro area) are the vast majority of Fed Hill restaurant patrons. Fells definitely caters to a tourist population to some degree, but given it's mostly bars and live music, it's not catering to families or bigger tourist groups in the same way. Yeah HP is dead but the actual Inner Harbor does still attract tourists and there are definitely days in the Spring/Summer when it is way more crowded than it should be when you consider Harborplace is basically nonexistent.

The lease has been sold and it will be re-developed.

In the beginning (the 80s) it was almost all local shops. A handful of retail anchors…Laura Ashley, the 80s version of The Limited…Phillips when it had 4 total locations

Over time, it changed to be rented to more regular retail…then the gallery opened. Maybe it was too much retail for the city at that stage

Nobody needs an I Told You So. Let people have hope and enjoy what they can in this hellscape of a timeline.

It would be nice to have more local restaurants in the inner harbor. I’d rather see them get the business than Shake Shack or Chik-Fil-A.

Oh boy, Lexington Market

I own a business downtown. I emailed the developer expressing interest in the renewed space. Never heard back.

I think you mean "enclosed" malls. Strip malls have Walmart and Costco stores and are doing fine across America.

Sculpture garden that becomes its own draw like AVAM

Did you forget to attach a bag full of money?

Also Federal Hill has a food hall.

The Wharf also has not-crazy pricing on their underground parking. The parking fees around Inner Harbor are bananas.

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a wonderful pocket of local charm

it’s the s’mores trailer that really does it for me

Definitely too much retail at the time, especially in an area where locals didn’t want to bother going to shop since it involves too much hassle with parking, etc. They can go to the same stores with a 20 minute drive up 83.

There’s not generic stores in there. There were speciality stores in there. T

It’s 35 dollars to park at the wharf and that’s the low end

It’s been redone

A fair point

Stopped in before Christmas, they did a good job with it. Still has a ways to go

Good to know, I have to get down there

You basically just described harbor east which is like 3 blocks away.

Personally I think it needs to bring local businesses in either as permanent fixtures or as a rotating showcase. Make it something locals and tourists can enjoy.

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>Nothing unique

Having a sculpture Chessie looking in on the harbor from the second story exterior of Harborplace felt "right" to me.

For real I’ll find baltimore parking $5 an hour, it was $15 an hour at the place I parked in the wharf

Well you let the people know your secret spot, parking panda lol

Lol I may be remembering the rate wrong. I was there for 3/4 hours and spent $45 on parking. Im just saying DC parking is without a doubt more expensive than Bmore parking

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Such a weird change to see in my life time. It's county stuff, but to see both Owings Mills Mall and Westview Malls change to these strip malls with a handful of anchor stores has been interesting. And I see this a lot when a travel.

Not yet, anyway. We inherently can't have one until something is developed for us to shit on in the first place, so that's a positive.

You’ve never parked at the Wharf, then? I easily paid more there than I have in Baltimore parking at the harbour. I often paid $15 or less. Use an app, don’t rely on the prices on the spot once you get down there.

You’re absolutely correct. I’ve been down to the wharf several times and the parking is always more expensive than when I’ve needed to park at the harbour.

If only the harbor was swimmable, would be a GREAT idea to make it into a park like Sandlot used to be. When Sandlot was lost for that building, I feel like a community feel to the area went away and it became industrial again

$38 for 8 hours during the week. $45 on weekends. I work there every day

$45 is on the weekends or concert days

I work at my company office there too. It’s $35 at the garage by the Pendry

Makes sense as I went to a concert, my only time being to the wharf though so only experience I can base off of

I feel like anything that attempts to be modern or futuristic will quickly look dated, as Harborplace feels today. The developer should tear out all the concrete and instead create a timeless mix of brick-based construction (think Camden yards’ warehouse) reminiscent of the harbor’s original commercial uses. Instead of a massive pavilion, it could be a number of historic looking structures set about like a village with modern amenities inside. See bearings.earlybaltimore.org for inspiration. And if we interspersed some large trees with adequate grass and space it could be a distinctive and authentic natural-feeling downtown-adjacent space. Ideally when the water is safe enough there could be a beach space too.

Not easy to walk to either of those from the aquarium. It can be done but most of the tourist crowd isn’t going to go that far especially with kids and strollers

Generic speciality stores that can be found in any touristy area of any city in the region

Seriously. Every other developer that this property has changed hands with since the early 80s has ended up doing the exact same thing. Which is letting the place fall further into disrepair and then selling to the next highest bidder.

I LOVED going to HarborPlace as a kid and it saddens me that it’s gotten the way it has, but like 90% of the problem with the place? Since its heyday? Lack of security in and around the entire property.

People stopped going when they started getting mugged and robbed on the regular. That in turn decreased foot traffic and eventually, over time, stores started shutting down because there wasn’t enough business and when the foot traffic further decreased, the stores and restaurants started getting robbed on the regular and that further decreased foot traffic and sales and we’ve been stuck with this mess ever since.

And EVERY DEVELOPER, every single one, has done the same thing. Tried to put new stores in, but barely any freaking security to keep costs down and it’s just History repeating over and over again.

IMPO They should turn one of the buildings into a youth/harbor community center. With free recreation/library/study areas, maybe a social services express office/job training type of deal, a visitors center for tourists, like a functioning community center.

Keep the other shopping and food. Maybe add a small local theater (not movie theater, like an actual small theater for plays or live music acts)

A girl can dream.

Whatever the case, I get why other commenters are saying “don’t jinx it” but honestly?

You’re just being realistic. I swear sometimes it’s like the place is cursed.

It’s just not Baltimore. All the Rouse developments around the country have suffered the same fate.

I agree with you, sir. Even Columbia Mall seems to be slowly transitioning into a strip mall. As someone who grew up in the old-school enclosed malls, it is kind of sad that they are obsolete.

I parked at The DC Wharf underground garage once last year for around 4 hours and had to pay $45. I will not be parking there again.

But the Wharf has decent public transit access and you can walk to and from it and actually feel safe.

The DC subreddit would like a word. The closest metro stops to the wharf are SW waterfront and L’enfant

I park for free a couple of blocks away from The Wharf...using street parking after 6pm ;) (shows at the anthem are the only reason I go there)

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Take that leaky ass Convention center with it when it goes.

*Caveat : Had friends worked Otakon before the DC move. They had to play musical chairs with the Art show/auction stuff because of various substances dripping into the rooms. Been a few years since I spoke to them, don't remember if they said rain/sprinklers or other plumbing - considering the bathrooms were perpetually stopped up.

Museum space. Smithsonian has millions of things packed away in store rooms gathering dust. Get it out and show it off! Rotate exhibits every two years.

Far as I know, there's nothing as big as the National Air and Space museum for water. Lets have a genuine Maryland skipjack dock there for tours. Blue crab or oyster "farm" attached to the Aquarium, see their lifecycles live and inperson. Native plants and pollinators exhibit.

I can fit you in right after the ribbon cutting ceremony for Baltimore's comprehensive multimodal transit network with multiple rapid rail lines.

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I can fit you in when I start caring