Baltimore has never been a big condo town, and at the time of the last market downturn, some of the most well publicized failures (think Harborview) were condo developments that had gotten ahead of themselves and the market. With that history, you’d think that developers this time around would be a little more cautious.
Not bloodly likely. The city is currently expecting ground breaking on hundreds of new condominium units, and has hundreds currently under construction. From the incredibly high-end units at the Four Seasons and the Ritz Carlton, to the more modestly priced units on Water Street, most of the cranes visible on the city skyline are building residential units. Two sixty-story towers are planned for Guilford Avenue between City Hall and the Standard Oil Building, and another mega tower is planned for the old McCormick site on the Inner Harbor, which will be a mix of ground level commercial, a hotel, and condominiums. Streuver Brothers is gamely building condos on Charles Street in Midtown and on Saint Paul Street in Charles Village. The word on the street is that these non-MLS offerings are not moving well.
Developers defend this ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ attitude in the name of BRAC, the military base closure commission, that promises thousands of new jobs in Maryland at bases just to the north and just to the south of Baltimore. They say that lots of condos can be expected to offer reasonably priced housing to these workers and everything will be grand. Just grand.
I think a little more healthy skepticism would better serve the city, and their personal financial condition. Time will tell.
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