His efforts to develop a Grand Hyatt next to Camden Yards stalled, Peter G. Angelos might have found another spot at the Inner Harbor to build a hotel and possibly offices and shops.
Sources said yesterday that Angelos is negotiating to lease or buy a Light Street parking lot that used to be the site of McCormick & Co. One source put the price tag at $18 million.
The McCormick property was razed and sold in 1988 to the Rouse-Teachers Land Holdings Inc., an affiliate of the Columbia-based developer. The company had considered building an office tower before the recession of the early 1990s.
A Rouse spokesman said no deal has been signed, though the company would consider selling, leasing or developing 414 Light St. itself if the right project was proposed.
"We've owned it a long time, and we've looked at a lot of uses," said David L. Tripp, the spokesman. "A hotel or mixed-use project would really solidify the Inner Harbor."
An Angelos associate, Tom Marudas, was not available to comment.
The city's top economic developer, M. J. "Jay" Brodie, agreed that the location near the water and the Convention Center makes it a good site for a large hotel and mixed-use development. He said there is enough room in the hotel market for 1,000 more rooms, in addition to the 750 under construction in Inner Harbor East at H&S Property Development Corp.'s Marriott Baltimore Waterfront.
In fact, he said, some are counting on more rooms. The Shriners, for example, have committed to bringing 30,000 conventioneers to town in the summer of 2005 on the promise of enough space.
Top-tier office space in the central business district is getting scarce as well, he said.
Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said he has not seen a plan for the site or confirmation that a deal is in the works. He said the city would consider assistance such as tax breaks if Baltimore officials were presented with a proposal for the site.
Hotels are among the hardest real estate projects to finance because of their heavy dependence on a good economy to fill them each night. Lenders fear an oversupply of rooms.
It's unclear what snagged Angelos on the Hyatt project next to the convention center on a city-owned parking lot, another prime spot for which Baltimore officials supported a hotel.
Angelos lost exclusive negotiating privileges for that site in April. At the time, a spokesman for Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Angelos said they were optimistic that a deal could be reached.
