It also leaves a prominent city lawmaker embarrassed because a pet project that he believes is sorely needed in his community has failed.
"Those kids," Branch said, gesturing toward a group of young adults wearing black puffy jackets gathered near shuttered corner stores, "they don't have a place to go."
In 2001, when Branch secured an initial $500,000 chunk of state money, the project was one of many development ideas percolating around the Broadway East and Collington Square neighborhoods.
Hundreds of rowhouses were slated for destruction as part of the East Baltimore redevelopment project a few blocks away, and it seemed feasible that residents moving there would want to join a new gym.
The Rev. H. Walden Wilson II, the Israel Baptist pastor who built a reputation in the 1990s confronting drug dealers in the neighborhood, thought a gym would complement the social work his church was doing by providing a way for an underserved population to become healthier.
The pastor also had plans for a new 2,000-seat sanctuary and was eyeing a paved lot on the east portion of the 2101 E. Biddle St. property. With the new church built, he still is.
"We would love to use some of that land for off-street parking," he said.
With the first installment of state money on the table, the city in 2002 bought the building, using its assessed value as part of the matching funds required by state lawmakers and then adding the balance.
The deal was approved by O'Malley and the City Council, led by then-President Sheila Dixon, who is now mayor.
In May 2004, the city asked for proposals from real estate developers to turn the site into a gym.
But the request included a twist that officials said was not typical and made it difficult to meet conditions for using state bond funds: Instead of the city controlling the land, the property at 2101 E. Biddle St. would be "conveyed at a nominal cost to the developer selected."
The city's offer, outlined in the formal request, included the promise that state and city grants were available for the project but also said that private money would have to be used.
Lambda Development, a firm controlled by Lipscomb and former City Councilman Anthony J. Ambridge, was the only bidder and won the development rights for Hoop City. In their proposal, Lipscomb and Ambridge praised the public-private partnership, saying it would "set an example across the city and state as one to be emulated for the betterment of all."
