Downtown Partnership

Some dozen Baltimore restaurants will be adding special soft-shell crab specials to their menus for Baltimore's fifth annual Soft-Shell Crab Celebration. The restaurant promotion , sponsored by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, will run May 24 through June 2. The participating restaurants include Alexander's Tavern, The Black Olive, Diamond Tavern, Grille 700, J. Paul's, Kona Grill , Miss Shirley's, Pabu, The Oceanaire, Phillips Seafood, Regi's American Bistro, Roy's, Ryleigh's Oyster, Ten Ten, Townhouse Kitchen & Bar and Vino Rosina.

Some dozen Baltimore restaurants will be adding soft-shell crab specials to their menus for Baltimore's fifth annual Soft-Shell Crab Celebration. The restaurant promotion, sponsored by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, will run May 24 through June 2. The participating restaurants include Alexander's Tavern , The Black Olive , Diamond Tavern, Grille 700 , J. Paul's , Kona Grill , Miss Shirley's , Pabu , The Oceanaire , Phillips Seafood , Regi's American Bistro , Roy's , Ryleigh's Oyster, Ten Ten , Townhouse Kitchen & Bar and Vino Rosina . On the eve of the 10-day celebration, Downtown Partnership and Vino Rosina will host a five-course soft-shell crab tasting featuring chef Jesse Sandlin's contemporary interpretations of classic recipes.

Baltimore's Downtown Partnership has hired former Harbor Bank of Maryland President Joseph L. Aston as its new director of business development, asking the 55-year-old banker to help capital-strapped small downtown businesses and attract minority merchants to downtown."

Downtown Towson is on the cusp of a building boom that will transform this suburban county seat into one of the most dynamic, cosmopolitan communities in Maryland. All the elements are in place for this transformation. Towson has two institutions of higher education, Towson University and Goucher College, that not only provide world-class learning but also a work force that stabilizes the commercial core. Residential developments like Towson Green will make sure the downtown area does not become a ghost town after sunset and on the weekends.

The Downtown Partnership announced yesterday that it has elected a new chairman - James L. Shea, managing partner of the downtown law firm, Venable, Baetjer and Howard. Shea replaces Frank P. Bramble, chairman of Allfirst Financial Inc. The partnership strives to improve and market the city's central business district. "I think the Downtown Partnership is well-positioned with a dynamic administration in City Hall to really tackle two major and very much related issues," Shea said. "One is the economic development of the downtown district, East and West sides, and the North Central corridor up Charles Street.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore gave H. Grant Hathaway, a NationsBank director, a lifetime achievement award for his leadership in helping to create the downtown management district and programs to improve safety and cleanliness in the area.Hathaway was one of eight individuals and companies to receive annual awards yesterday from the Partnership for finding a solution to a downtown problem or improving the quality of life there."We look for people who have made very significant contributions to downtown Baltimore usually personally or as a chief executive of a company," said Laurie Schwartz, president of the Partnership.

Six individuals, institutions and companies were honored yesterday for their contributions to the city by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, the business organization seeking to improve and market the city's downtown. Laurie Schwartz, the group's founder, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. Schwartz left the group in June to serve as deputy mayor for economic and neighborhood development. "We are thrilled to honor the dedicated and innovative minds that are working to make Baltimore a better place to live, work and play," said Michele Whelley, the new president of the partnership.

Six corporations and people were recognized last night at the annual meeting of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, a quasi-public economic development group, for their "outstanding efforts on behalf of downtown."The event, attended by several hundred people, was held at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore. Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke was the host."I am very proud of this year's winners and their dynamic efforts to make our city its best," he said. "The city joins Downtown Partnership in saluting their accomplishments."

BUSINESSES IN THE downtown special benefits district are complaining that center city looks seedy. They may be right, but a proposal to allow the Downtown Partnership, which manages the district, to borrow a million dollars or more for a needed facelift must be studied carefully.Laurie B. Schwartz, president of Downtown Partnership, says center city businesses are complaining about cracked sidewalks, crumbling curbs, unpainted crosswalks and broken benches. They want the district to have the power to borrow money to develop and implement a streetscape plan that would include new landscaping, sidewalk treatments, banners and other elements to give pedestrians a greater sense of being in a special place.

Baltimore has made progress on some of the worst problems facing companies in the central financial district, according to an annual assessment by a local business group, the Downtown Partnership. The local business group's annual report doesn't dwell on the loss of jobs and revenue due to the economic slump. But, officials acknowledge, the core business district still faces parking shortages, a lack of retail stores, unused and unfit buildings, uncollected trash and a perception of high crime.

Some dozen Baltimore restaurants will be adding special soft-shell crab specials to their menus for Baltimore's fifth annual Soft-Shell Crab Celebration. The restaurant promotion , sponsored by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, will run May 24 through June 2. The participating restaurants include Alexander's Tavern, The Black Olive, Diamond Tavern, Grille 700, J. Paul's, Kona Grill , Miss Shirley's, Pabu, The Oceanaire, Phillips Seafood, Regi's American Bistro, Roy's, Ryleigh's Oyster, Ten Ten, Townhouse Kitchen & Bar and Vino Rosina.

Developers converting older office buildings into apartments or building new complexes could get a significant tax break under a measure the Baltimore City Council approved Monday. The legislation is aimed at addressing a glut of vacancies in office buildings downtown, encouraging new or converted apartments in six other neighborhoods, and drawing new residents to the city. The list of requirements to qualify for the tax break is short: The development must be in one of the seven areas, must be a project involving at least 50 apartment units, and must have an environmentally friendly certification.

Downtown Baltimore gained 10,000 jobs in 2012 — after losing the same number of jobs in 2011, according to the annual State of Downtown report to be released Thursday by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc. "At the very least, this is a correction," said Kirby Fowler, the organization's president, who was skeptical of the loss reported in 2011. The same firm, Nielsen Co. LLC, calculated both this year's and last year's job numbers for the Downtown Partnership. There are 113,100 workers within a one-mile radius of the intersection of Pratt and Light streets, according to the report.

Dizzy with the thrill of a Super Bowl victory - and late-night revelry - Ravens fans spent Monday stocking up on purple gear and planning to close offices and pull children out of school for Tuesday's victory parade. Women heaped on purple rings and bracelets, couples slapped purple paint onto the family car and parents dragged children into school a few hours late, explaining they had stayed up late for the Super Bowl . From time to time, Marylanders marveled at the news that, for many, felt like a dream come true: After 12 years, the Ravens were again world champions.

Yet another downtown commercial building is being converted to apartments. The red-brick building at 300 Cathedral St., known as Odd Fellows Hall, is currently being refurbished by a Washington-based developer, Broadwater Capital LLC, the Downtown Partnership said in a statement Monday. The building will contain 59 market-rate apartments and will begin leasing next summer, the partnership said. It is situated between West Pleasant and West Saratoga streets. “There continues to be a significant demand for professionals to move closer to their work and 300 Cathedral's proximity to Baltimore's City Center, Mount Vernon and the Westside provides tenants a Class-A living space that is within walking distance to major businesses, the Inner Harbor, Medical Centers and local restaurants,”  said Ahmad Hajj, a principal with Broadwater Capital, in the partnership's statement . Broadwater purchased the 72,000 square foot building in September for $1.1 million, according to state tax records.

Nearly 1,000 market-rate apartments would be added to downtown Baltimore in the next few years if three projects announced in recent days are completed. "It seems like it all came to fruition this week, but we've been working for a year, year and a half, to get to this point," said Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, which launched a campaign in spring 2011 to encourage the conversion of underused downtown office buildings into residences. The newest plans include the renovation of one of Baltimore's most distinctive buildings, the conversion of a former department store warehouse and the overhaul of several buildings off a heavily trafficked city center corner.

CLARIFICATION A headline on Page 1A of yesterday's editions of The Sun said that homeless people were "booted" from a city street. While homeless persons interviewed by The Sun said they were forced to leave, the Downtown Partnership insisted in the article and again yesterday that its workers were merely clearing trash from the area. The headline should not have adopted one party's point of view.

Allfirst Financial Inc. chief executive Frank P. Bramble, elected last night as chairman of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, says he hopes to help Baltimore's fragmented business community work together more effectively to encourage development and address downtown's problems.Bramble, a Baltimore native, replaces RTKL and Associates Inc. Chairman and chief executive Harold Adams as chair of the nonprofit alliance of downtown business leaders. He was elected at the organization's annual meeting.

Baltimore's fifth annual Winter Restaurant Week has been announced for Jan. 25 through Feb. 3, 2013. During the 10-day event, participating restaurants will offer three-course fixed-price dinner menus for $30.13 or $20.13. Some restaurants will also offer a two-course lunch, consisting of an appetizer and entree, priced at $15.13. The prices do not include liquor, tax and gratuity. Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week is presented by Visit Baltimore and Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake intends to introduce legislation to the Baltimore City Council that would provide a 15-year tax break to apartment developments in downtown. The mayor announced the news at the annual meeting of the Downtown Partnership on Oct. 4. “The Mayor's office, Finance Department and Downtown Partnership developed a targeted 15-year tax credit program for newly-constructed and conversion residential projects in downtown,” Rawlings-Blake told the crowd near the end of her speech.