It's been decades since a fire burned out the once-bustling North Avenue Market, where more than 200 vendors hawked meat and seafood, produce and sandwiches. A bowling alley filled the second floor.
And now, say developers who own the distinctive building in a long-deteriorating stretch of midtown Baltimore, it's time for people to start coming back.
A development team that includes a longtime market landlord and the owner of the nearby Charles Theatre building has launched a $1 million project to restore the 1928 landmark, which was built to house the market.
Developers envision a market of a different sort. Plans call for an arts-focused mix of shops, eateries and offices that can become a gathering spot for Charles North, part of the city's emerging Station North arts district.
"You're going to come to North Avenue because it's unique," said Carolyn Frenkil, president of developer Center City Inc. "It may not have the fresh seafood and meats, but it will have the variety."
She said developers are talking with potential tenants. Possibilities for the partially renovated 60,000-square-foot space include a glass blowing company, a bookstore and a cafe.
The first new tenant, The Windup Space Bar & Arts Venue, opened Friday at 10-12 North Ave. and plans to offer up art shows, films and live music along with the cocktails.
"We want to make sure that whatever we do is consistent with arts and entertainment and the promotions of it," Frenkil said. "That's what the district is all about."
The market's revitalization comes at a time when the city is creating a vision and physical development plan for the 100-acre Charles North, bounded by St. Paul Street on the east, 21st Street on the north, Howard Street and Falls Road on the west and the Jones Falls Expressway on the south. Baltimore Development Corp. has hired a team of architects, land planners and real estate specialists to create a plan that would encourage private investment and development.
An initial presentation to a city design panel by the team, headed by BTA+ of Cambridge, Mass., and Matrix Settles of Annapolis and Arlington, Va., showed ideas such as a hotel and retail arcade connected to Pennsylvania Station, parks along the Jones Falls Valley, a 60-story tower with "live-work" condos, blocks of small shops and artists' studios, and a transformation of rundown North Avenue into a boulevard of shops and outdoor cafes.
