Downtown

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

A large group of teenagers were involved in a fight near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore on Monday afternoon, with several of the teens taken into custody, police said. One police officer was injured responding to the brawl when she fell after chasing one of the teenagers, scraping her legs and knees on the ground, Baltimore Police spokesman Detective Vernon Davis said. Witnesses said dozens of teens were involved in the fight, which started about 3:15 p.m. on the plaza in front of the Gallery on Pratt Street.

The 19-year-old man charged with fatally stabbing Dennis Lane allegedly told investigators that his girlfriend had instructed him to kill her father and his fiancee, specifying the number of times each was to be stabbed in the throat - 10 for him and 15 for her. Jason Anthony Bulmer charging documents In a conversation at school hours before the Ellicott City blogger and businessman was killed, Jason Anthony Bulmer said, 14-year-old Morgan...

Since 1901, Annapolis residents and downtown workers have been dropping off letters and buying stamps at the brick Georgian Revival-style post office on Church Circle. But not for much longer. A vote by the state's Board of Public Works on Wednesday seals the eventual fate of the post office. The state is buying the office for $3.2 million, with eventual plans to use the building for government offices. "The state saw an opportunity to retain the historic value of the building, particularly because it's in the footprint of other state-owned facilities.

As someone with a vested interest in the health and prosperity of downtown Baltimore and the west side of downtown in particular, I appreciate that Exelon Corp.is committed to maintaining Constellation Energy Group's employment presence in Baltimore, and perhaps even increasing it. I do hope Exelon will choose to keep its offices in the core business district of downtown where, as Kirby Fowler points out in his recent commentary ("Exelon's place downtown,"...

Ironic that the very day that Dan Rodricks attacks Pat McDonough for his candid and truthful assessment of gang crime downtown ("Conflicting realities collide downtown," May 24), The Sun buries on page 4 the attack by 20-30 "unruly" teens at the 7-Eleven at Light and Pratt streets - the heart of the Inner Harbor in the middle of a workday! Say what you want, Mr. Rodricks, but facts are facts, and Baltimore is not typical of other cities. You want to feel secure walking around town?

D owntown Baltimore has entered the new decade from a remarkable position of strength, in spite of the recessionary drag on the economy in 2009. Approximately 113,000 people work in downtown Baltimore, 16th in the country for job density. Downtown's primacy as a business center was further solidified by the recent decision of the accounting firm RSM McGladrey to relocate 300 employees to the city from the suburbs. Downtown's residential population of more than 40,000 ranks us seventh in the country, ahead of other dynamic downtowns in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Portland and Washington, D.C. And there were more than $4 billion worth of downtown projects under way in 2009.

A security guard working an overnight shift at the Bank of America building in downtown Baltimore was shot and killed early Saturday when police said he tried to quell a dispute over a woman that erupted between a friend and several other men who had just left a nightclub. Police identified the guard as James Ball, 38. He had worked for Wackenhut, a private security company hired by the building's owners. He died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center shortly after being shot twice, at least once in the chest, according to police.

Downton Towson has had trouble keeping retail in recent years, but a new tenant is giving hope of a shopping resurgence. Trendy clothing and knick knack store Urban Outfitters is moving to York Road in the old space once occupied by Hudson Trail Outfitters. The store is slated to open in time for the holiday shopping season. It will be the second store in the area. There is also a location in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  Headquartered in Philadelphia, Urban Outfitters targets “urban-minded" young people - aged 18 to 30-years-old.  The retailer is known for its "kitschy tee-shirts and accessories.” Urban Outfitters will spend $2 million to renovate the building in Towson.   “We expect its arrival to this location to elicit an extremely positive and profound effect, as complementary retail uses will want to take advantage of its widespread popularity and destination-store appeal," said Ryan Wilner, a principal with KLNB Retail, which brokered the deal.

In the discussion of the downtown crime problem by Del. Pat McDonough and The Sun's Dan Rodricks , there is an important missing link ("Sailabration brings out the mobs," June 19). When the link is considered, one can see that they are both right! They are discussing two different areas. Delegate McDonough is talking about downtown Baltimore and Mr. Rodricks is talking about the Inner Harbor. As someone who has lived in the central business district for the past six years, there is only one reason that I'm there - namely, the harbor.

Top state officials will decide Wednesday whether to buy the Annapolis post office on Church Circle to use it for government offices. The Board of Public Works -- comprised of the governor, comptroller and treasurer -- will vote on spending $3.2 million to buy the building. Appraisals for the building at 1 Church Circle range from a low of $950,000 to a high of $3.55 million, according to the state. The property is less than one acre and the building is 13,058 square feet.

Harbor East is moving farther east with baker-cum-developer John Paterakis Sr.'s announcement Friday that he will break ground this summer on a new, mega-Whole Foods and later on a new residential/retail building across Central Avenue from the glittering mini-city he has almost single handedly built during the last 15 years. Things are bustling in that corner of the city, what with the planned construction of a new headquarters office tower for Exelon Corp. and a variety of other smaller scale residential, retail, office and hotel developments nearby.

Owner Haluk Kantar has big plans for his pizza-focused sports bar. Last April, he opened the first HomeSlyce Pizza Bar in Federal Hill. Six months later, a second location came downtown to North Charles Street, next to Mick O'Shea's. Kantar - who also owns the Turkish restaurant Cazbar in Mount Vernon - recently said Canton and Hampden are likely the next neighborhoods to get their own HomeSlyce. After the city, he wants to expand south to Columbia, College Park and eventually D.C. Kantar has ambitious plans for HomeSlyce, and based on a recent Saturday night at the downtown bar, it made sense why. The atmosphere was approachable and laid back, and never boring.

Mid-Atlantic Fine Furnishings Show Rug maker Michael Heilman will highlight the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Fine Furnishings Show , which will take place at Maryland State Fairgrounds on May 3-5. Heilman will use handheld rug-making tools dating from 1870 to 1970 during his demonstration. Tools from the “Blue Nose Rug Hooker” to the “Rumpelstiltskin Hand Speed Needle” will be used while Heilman creates new rugs. The event promises to be both educational and entertaining. Attend the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Fine Furnishings Show, May 3 - 5 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

We haven't had gangs of youth riding dirt bikes in the central business district recently, but before that it was commonplace. City Circuit Court Clerk Frank M. Conaway Sr., however, apparently doesn't think that was a problem ("Don't penalize city kids for riding dirt bikes," April 26). A year ago groups of 25 to 35 youths on dirt bikes would routinely come into downtown in the evenings and wreak havoc on residents. The noise from these vehicles, whose engines are not muffled, was astounding because it was amplified by the walls of nearby buildings.

Here we go again: City leaders want to invest more public dollars in the Inner Harbor ("Improving the city's 'playground,"' April 24). One would have thought had learned from the mistakes of the past. The Inner Harbor long has symbolized the wrong turn our city took in its economic development strategy. We have invested in high-profile projects that benefit a small segment of the population while neglecting ordinary residents and their neighborhoods. In 1970, before the Inner Harbor was redeveloped with enormous infusions of public money, 5.3 percent of Baltimore's housing units were vacant.

Granted, the announced move of Constellation Energy/Exelon's new Baltimore headquarters around the Inner Harbor's northeast corner is not a quantum jump. Constellation's present location at 750 E.Pratt St. is already on the edge of downtown, furnishing walk-up patrons for restaurants in Little Italy and other eastern neighborhoods. The new HQ will be less than a mile away. But it will pull more energy from the downtown core and shift the balance of activity further eastward. Downtown landlords, who have lost tenants in the economic downturn, were already concerned about the planned redevelopment of State Center in midtown Baltimore, on their northern flank.

Columbia Association is committed to serving every segment of the Columbia community, as it has for the past 40-plus years with its three award-winning fitness facilities, its indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor tennis facilities, golf courses, Columbia Ice Rink, and Columbia SportsPark/SkatePark. CA will continue to serve the entire health and fitness community, and as part of that commitment will expand its offerings with a new club overlooking Lake Kittamaqundi in the former Rouse Company headquarters downtown.

Westminster Downtown Restaurant Week continues through Saturday. Thirteen restaurants are offering fixed-price menus as part of the second annual dining promotion , which is being coordinated by the city of Westminster with local businesses. A list of the participating restaurants with links to menus is on the Westminster government website. #sigshell { padding: 10px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; } #sigheadshot{ float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; }

City leaders hope that by this time next year they'll have returned from Annapolis with funds to put toward making the Inner Harbor what its original designers intended it to be - "a playground for Baltimoreans. " "The city has changed so much since the original development of the Inner Harbor," said Laurie Schwartz, executive director of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore Inc., a nonprofit that manages and advocates for the city's waterfront. It's time to evaluate the Inner Harbor and decide what needs to be done to sustain it as a vibrant part of the city, she said.