Harborplace

The property consists of two pavilions, each two stories in height; one along Pratt Street, the other on Light Street. The pavilions house a range of stores and restaurants, some of which once sold merchandise specific to Baltimore or the state of Maryland, such as blue crab food products, Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens merchandise, Edgar Allan Poe products, and University of Maryland Terrapins clothing.

Harborplace was designed by Benjamin C. Thompson and was built by The Rouse Company near the former Light Street site of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company's steamship terminal and docks. Because the land was owned by the city and was in an area designated as a park in the city charter, a citywide referendum was required to proceed with the project, championed by then Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer. ^[1] The amendment "limited the size of any project there to the top of the U.S.S. Constellation docked in front of the Pratt Street pavilion."^[2]

Harborplace opened on July 2, 1980, as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore.^[3] The Baltimore "festival marketplaces" became an "architectural prototype, despite opening several years after Quincy Market," attracting both local residents and out-of-town visitors, and spawning a series of other similar projects: Waterside in Norfolk, Portside in Toledo, and even non-waterfront projects like Philadelphia's Gallery at Market East, Washington's Pavilion at the Old Post Office, and Richmond's Sixth Street Marketplace.^[4]

On the weekend of July 1, 2005, Harborplace celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ceremony featuring Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Baltimore Mayor Martin J. O'Malley, and Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Association (BACVA) president Leslie R. Doggett.^[5]

A Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium museum opened in the Light Street Pavilion on June 26, 2012,^[6] and closed in May 2020.^[7]

General Growth Properties (GGP) acquired Harborplace from the Rouse Company in 2004 as part its $12.6 billion acquisition of the company.^[8]

In November 2012, the property was sold to Ashkenazy Acquisitions for $100 million.^[9] Renovations were announced in 2015 ^[10] and ended in 2018, three years later than expected.^[11]

On June 3, 2019, the Baltimore Business Journal reported that as of May 30, 2019, Harborplace was placed into court-ordered receivership and that Ashkenazy Acquisitions lost both management and ownership of Harborplace as a result. Deutsche Bank cited Ashkenazy's default on its loan, a $1.13 million judgment against them for "failing to maintain in good order and repair" the common areas, and that "multiple vendors" had been unpaid for months. The BBJ reported that the Baltimore Circuit Court had appointed IVL Group, LLC of Montclair, NJ to manage, maintain, lease, provide security for Harborplace, the receivership order also authorizes IVL Group to seek a new buyer.^[12]

In April 2022, the Baltimore development firm MCB Real Estate entered into an agreement to purchase Harborplace.^[13] The deal was finalized by the Baltimore City Circuit Court in December 2022.^[14]

On October 30, 2023, MCB Real Estate announced a proposal to tear down the existing pavilions and replace them with a 32-story and a 25-story apartment building, two commercial and retail buildings, and another retail building with an amphitheater.^[2] To proceed, the project would require a charter amendment to allow residential development, rezoning changes, and an amendment to the city's urban renewal plan governing the Inner Harbor,^[15] which was approved by Baltimore voters in 2024.^[16]

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