Planning Commission could remove height restrictions to allow construction of skyscrapers in Little Italy

A month after Baltimore’s Planning Commission approved a bill paving the way for two high-rise buildings on the Inner Harbor’s shoreline, the commission will consider a request to lift height restrictions on Little Italy’s zoning. I will do it.

At its Jan. 25 meeting, the Planning Commission will consider a request for approval of a city council bill to rezone a parking lot at 301 President Street in Little Italy to allow for high-rise construction.

The proposed development site is located on the east side of President Street between Fawn Street and Eastern Avenue, just south of the 24-story, 400-unit Avalon 555 President Apartment Building.

The site is currently in a C-5-DE zoning district, a category that allows buildings up to 125 feet in height. Councilman Zeke Cohen introduced a bill last year (Bill No. 23-0472) that would make the parcel part of the C-5-DC Zoning District. This zone is a category that does not impose height restrictions on new construction.

A developer named Lou Madigan is working with the owners of the President Street property, identified in state land records as President Street LLC/President Street Ventures LLC of Newark, N.J., to develop the property there. Plans are underway to build apartments in the city. The architect is Peter Fillat of FILLAT + Architecture.

Last year, Madigan’s team announced preliminary plans to build a 32-story apartment building on the site if city officials waived the current 125-foot height limit. Construction costs for the project are expected to be more than $200 million. Preliminary plans call for 276 apartments with street-level commercial space and on-site parking.

little italy meeting

At Tuesday’s Little Italy Neighborhood Association meeting, City Planner Caitlin Audette told residents that commissioners have not considered any specific proposal from Madigan and will not accept testimony about it. . She said the Assembly bill was drafted to change the zoning without any specific proposal or developer in mind.

More than 50 people attended the meeting. Many speakers expressed concerns about the impact tall buildings will have on local communities, from potential traffic congestion and lack of parking to increased shadowing and “wind issues.”

Audette said the commission is considering approving the zoning change for two reasons. One is when city planners make a mistake in the current zoning designation, or when the area has changed sufficiently to warrant a zoning change.

Audette said city planners made a mistake when giving the property a C-5-DE designation and a 125-foot height limit as part of the Baltimore Transformation Ordinance that took effect in 2017. He said he had not thought about it. She said one possible change could be the introduction of an east-west Red Line transit route through the area. A preferred route has not been announced, but preliminary studies suggest the line could approach the President Street site.

Little Italy Neighborhood Association members voted 32-20 against rezoning the President Street site last year. Members of another Little Italy organization, TOLICO (Original Little Italy Community Organization), voted 18-0 in favor of the zoning change. The LINA audience was told that Cohen decided to introduce the bill after weighing the total number of votes cast by the two groups and other factors.

Zoning process

Representatives from the development team did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. Mr. Audette had been invited to explain the rezoning process, the factors considered by planning commissioners, and opportunities for public comment.

Many of the concerns raised at the LINA meeting were similar to those raised last month about the 32- and 25-story apartment towers proposed to replace the Wright Street Pavilion at Harbor Place.

On Dec. 21, the Planning Commission approved three legislative bills necessary for MCB Real Estate to move forward with its plans to redevelop Harborplace. It also includes a bill that would exempt the company-managed property at Pratt and Wright streets from current height restrictions. A public hearing of the city’s Economic and Community Development Committee is scheduled for February 13th at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall.

During the Little Italy meeting, Andrew Watkins, an architect who lives in the area, presented an audience survey he had created showing the extent to which the 32-story building on President Street would cast a shadow on parts of Little Italy. Indicated. He warned that the long shadows cast by high-rise apartment buildings in winter will increase heating costs for Little Italy residents whose homes are affected.

More shadows mean “for those working from home, there’s less daylight, making afternoons much less pleasant and an even less pleasant experience.” Plus, “We have to heat our house more. These are Civil War-era houses, so we need heat anyway. Now we have to heat it for even longer, which means…higher utility bills.” Become.”

Scarlet Place resident Colleen Corrigan said she was concerned about the wind tunnel effect of high-rise buildings, based on her experience with high-rise buildings in Harbor East.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a truly comprehensive study of the wind tunnels here,” she says. “One day, you have to hold on to a telephone pole to cross the street. It’s ridiculous. We have more wind here than New York, and we have more wind tunnels. On Fifth Avenue, on Broadway, everywhere…this study If this is not done properly, only God knows what will happen. We will be living in the middle of a tornado.”

Several residents asked what would happen if the City Council agreed to the zoning change but the property owner sold to another developer. Audet said Cohen is exploring the possibility of deed restrictions that include height limits and other language that could address concerns about changing ownership of the property.

Following the Planning Commission’s Jan. 25 public hearing on Cohen’s bill regarding the President Street zoning, the bill will move to the City Council for consideration. A date for the City Council hearing has not been announced.

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