After years of delay, Baltimore is moving to allow a prominent developer to build two residential towers along Key Highway - renewing community concerns about the future of the peninsula's vanishing waterfront.
If the City Council approves the zoning change, HarborView developer Richard A. Swirnow would be permitted to build a 26-story tower and could also proceed on an adjacent 17-story building west of the high-rise already on the site.
City officials say the proposed design is the best they have seen because it maintains better views of the water for surrounding residents and includes first-floor shopping to enliven Key Highway. Others argue City Hall is moving too fast to develop the site.
"The process is a runaway train," said City Council Vice President Edward L. Reisinger, who represents South Baltimore and who has fought against the project's expansion in the past. "As is, I do not support this."
Debate over the project is triggered partly by neighborhood concerns that development along Key Highway has blocked access to and views of the water. Others expressed a deep mistrust of Swirnow, who many say has reneged on past promises to the community.
Mayor Sheila Dixon jumped into the fray last year, withdrawing a similar zoning amendment favorable to HarborView and promising to provide public, open space near the development - an assurance she reiterated last week.
"We're not losing sight on that," Dixon said, arguing that opponents should not view the advancing zoning proposal as undermining her earlier promise. "I think the community is going to be extremely pleased."
The original design for the 26-story tower, Pinnacle II, was more monolithic and wide, obscuring more of the waterfront. The new design calls for the tower to be separated 100 feet from the 17-story Pinnacle I - which would appear to help maintain a sight line to the water. The plan also calls for retail along Key Highway to avoid the wall-like development that has taken place in the past.
Opponents note that current zoning already requires the towers to be spaced 100 feet apart.
"The development and the community groups are 100 percent in sync on the vision," said Frank Wise, vice president of HarborView Properties Development Company. "Frankly, I don't think anybody wants to see large waterfront spaces remain vacant forever."
