A hotel and office skyscraper planned for one of the last prime undeveloped parcels at the Inner Harbor is on indefinite hold, a victim of the recession, the project's developer said.
But UrbanAmerica, the developer and owner of the parking lot near Harborplace at 300 E. Pratt St., still intends to build the tower once the economy shows signs of recovery.
That's according to Richmond S. McCoy, president and chief executive of the New York-based real estate private equity firm that had hoped to have construction of one of the city's largest skyscrapers under way by now. It initially called for condos priced at $720,000 and up.
"At the very least, we need to see a stop in job loss for a couple of quarters, perhaps that would bring some stability back to the economy, and the major financial institutions need to get underpinnings," McCoy said. "Until that happens, we certainly won't be moving forward with any project there."
Commercial development in Baltimore and elsewhere has slowed amid the credit crunch, with many developers abandoning or scaling back plans. The slump is expected to keep the commercial real estate market depressed this year, according to a forecast released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors.
Another proposed mixed-use tower at the Inner Harbor, slated for a parking lot at 414 Light St., has also faced delays. In 2006, Philadelphia-based developer ARCWheeler proposed a 59-story skyscraper housing a hotel, condos, loft homes, offices and shops between the Hyatt Regency and InterContinental Harbor Court hotels. It's the former site of a McCormick & Co. spice factory.
Yesterday, an ARCWheeler partner said a revised design calls for minimal residential units but still includes up to 500,000 square feet of office space, a 250-room hotel and ground floor retail. Contracting with a signature tenant is taking longer than anticipated, said John Voneiff, the partner.
"Things remain on hold in anticipation of" that, Voneiff said in an e-mail. He said pre-construction work is continuing.
UrbanAmerica's Pratt Street site, which has been vacant since 1990 and once housed the News American building, was acquired in August 2006 for $28 million in a partnership with Baltimore developer Doracon LLC. At that time, the partners planned a $250 million project with 300 condos; a 250-room, five-star hotel; and 40,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.
