About a year ago, the owners revised the design and mix of uses, scaling it back from 800,000 square feet and 50 stories to 600,000 square feet and 40 stories. They also abandoned the idea of condos amid the housing slump. Revised plans call for a 270-room hotel and about 300,000 square feet of office space and street-level shops.
The owners have been operating the site between South and Commerce streets as a parking lot.
When it comes time to court tenants, "We would start all over," McCoy said. "We're in an era many of us haven't seen in a generation in terms of people's ability to see forward where their business is going."
A city official said yesterday that he would not expect any large, speculative development to proceed in the current economy.
But "my sense is Baltimore is better positioned than a lot of places to withstand the recession and come out with some positive results," said Thomas J. Stosur, acting director of the city's Department of Planning. "We may be able to have some projects move forward that others will not, because of the proximity to Washington, D.C.," and because the area's housing market has not suffered as badly as other parts of the country.
One large, mixed-use project in Locust Point, anchored by a Harris Teeter supermarket, came to a halt after construction financing fell through. But work is set to resume next week, the developer said yesterday.
Developer Mark Sapperstein said he was able to get construction financing because he had signed several tenants for the project. He expects a January opening for a 65,000-square-foot office building, which is now half-leased, and a July or August 2010 opening for the 250 apartments and retail, including Harris Teeter, two banks and a Greene Turtle restaurant.
"Even with the market the way it is, we've had a tremendous amount of interest," he said.
Despite the challenges of financing and attracting tenants, UrbanAmerica finds itself in a comfortable position to ride out the turmoil, McCoy said.
The company, which has not sought a construction loan for the hotel-office project, given its early stage, has no construction debt on the Pratt Street land but does have income from the parking lot, McCoy said. Still, he believes the tower eventually will be built there.
"I can't imagine what else would really work there," he said. "It's such a fine site. It certainly deserves a maximum use of the site and the views and the waterfront location."
