Key Highway

A former industrial parcel on Key Highway in South Baltimore will be the site of a seven-story residential and retail project called Riverside Lofts, if developer Mark Shapiro can get the design and financing approvals he needs to move ahead with construction. Shapiro is scheduled today to present preliminary plans for the project to Baltimore's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel. They call for a building with a Walgreens store on the first level and 100 to 120 apartments above.

You might pass by 1352 Key Highway thinking it just another high-tech Inner Harbor office building. Slow down next time and take a good look at what might be one of the most unusual residences in Baltimore. The property, notable for its opaque glass exterior, is a show-stopper with five levels, four of which feature floor-to-ceiling windows. As one-half of a townhouse duplex built in 2009, the east-facing structure is constructed of stucco, metal, brick and, naturally, glass. "It shows like a model home.

As of 9 a.m., traffic was slow on I-95 southbound near Key Highway, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on I-97 northbound near Quarterfield Road in Anne Arundel County, I-95 southbound near Route 100 in Howard County, and I-95 southbound near Route 212 in Howard County. Debris in the road was blocking traffic on I-83 northbound near Shawan Road. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead.

This summer, the citizens of Baltimore and the surrounding region have experienced two special multi-million-dollar events that consumed the Inner Harbor area for days. Each one took a lot of planning and cooperation. Each one was entertaining for those who attended. Local newspaper and TV coverage was full of both. National and international media paid attention to both. Thousands of photos have and will appear on Facebook and Flickr and be e-mailed. YouTube videos will continue to be posted all year.

Here's the part where you tell me how wrong (or how right!) I was on a review. This week's bar review is about The Feisty Goat on Key Highway, which opened in August. From the review: The "Feisty Goat is an agreeable sports bar, adequate for sports fans looking for a no-frills atmosphere to watch a game. But, it could use some improvements in service, atmosphere and variety. " The rest of the review is here . Is it fair? Have you been to the Feisty Goat and pet its namesake, which hangs above the cash register?

A fortress of tony condominiums and townhouses now stands on the grounds of the old Bethlehem Steel shipyard at the base of Federal Hill. The city's Fire Department Repair Facility down the road is slated to be sold for more waterfront residential development. And cargo vessels long ago gave way to the pleasure boats that now dock at the Baltimore Museum of Industry's adjoining sailing school. The Lynch brothers, owners of General Ship Repair Corp., see the writing on the wall. One of the few remaining industrial outfits on Key Highway's Inner Harbor rim, the fourth-generation family business is eyeing a move to Canton after nearly 80 years at its present location.

For years, South Baltimore residents have thought a key piece of city property on the Inner Harbor was destined to become yet another high-rise, blocking even more of their shrinking view of the water. But Mayor Sheila Dixon is changing course, saying that the site will become much-needed waterfront parkland. The decision ends a plan announced by city officials more than two years ago to offer developers the city Fire Department's repair facility on Key Highway - a plan that set off alarm bells in a community increasingly separated from the harbor by squat townhouses and condominiums.

Architect Paul Marks has probably worked on the design of more buildings along Baltimore's Key Highway corridor than anyone else in town. His projects have included the HarborView pier homes, the Ritz Carlton Residences, the Lutheran Center and his own home overlooking the harbor. Based on the sheer volume of work alone, one might call him the King of Key Highway. So it should come as no surprise that the design firm Marks founded in 1967 now has offices along Key Highway as well - in the old "King Syrup" building, no less.

When Olympic beach volleyball came to Key Highway this year, the NBC cameras panned west toward the Inner Harbor and east toward Fells Point. But they never faced south to capture the highway's grit: old waterfront warehouses, office buildings and torn-up road.To a number of entrepreneurs, developers and museum executives, though, the 83-year-old industrial highway is downright eye-catching. In the 10-block stretch between Covington and Lawrence streets, they see the possibility of a Gold Coast of restaurants, bars and stores.

WHEN BALTIMORE'S American Visionary Art Museum first opened in November 1995, it was the nation's first permanent exhibit venue devoted exclusively to ''outsider'' art. People have flocked to view works by self-taught artists, making the Visionary Art Museum a popular Inner Harbor destination.The privately operated museum along Key Highway now faces a new challenge. It has won exclusive negotiating rights from the Baltimore Development Corp. to redevelop an abandoned five-story whiskey-barrel warehouse next door.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, traffic was slow on I-95 southbound at Key Highway, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic at Boston and Clinton streets in Baltimore City, Mount Carmel Road near Evna Road in Baltimore County, and I-97 southbound near Aviation Boulevard in Anne Arundel County. A disabled vehicle was blocking traffic on I-95 northbound near the Fort McHenry Tunnel. Traffic was slow on York Road at Lincoln Street in Baltimore County, due to emergency road work.

For the first time in a very long time, it felt good to come downtown to work and see Baltimore alive again. With Sailabration going on, it brought back fond memories of how great Baltimore was at one time, but as I leave and go home and make my way down Monroe Street, the scenery is a stark reminder that Baltimore is still on life support. But for now I rather enjoyed seeing ships moored at the docks even though they are not off-loading commerce. It still is a great feeling. Growing up in Baltimore and working here pretty much my whole adult life, it brought back a time when the bows of ships would overhang Key Highway and where the Sparrows Point shipyard built around the clock and Baltimore was a 24-hour city.

Baltimore will show off its biggest trucks Saturday and allow young residents to meet police officers, firefighters and others who drive the big rigs through city streets. The Biggest Big Truck Show brings about 20 vehicles to the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1415 Key Highway. Visitors can see, touch, even take a seat in many among the fleet of vehicles, including Big Bertha, Baltimore's largest tow truck, fire engine, motorcycles and a fireboat that will shoot up massive plumes of water.

Commuters who've begun using downtown streets because of lane closures on the Jones Falls Expressway might want to think about a backup plan for Thursday evening and Friday. The Baltimore Department of Transportation will close streets in the Mount Vernon neighborhood from 3 p.m. Thursday through midnight Saturday to accommodate the 95th annual Flowermart. Other city events this weekend will require detours as well. The Flowermart closures will be in effect on Charles Street from Centre to Read streets; Madison Street from St. Paul to Cathedral streets; and Mount Vernon Place from Cathedral to St. Paul streets.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for rain and a high temperature around 49 degrees. The low temperature is expected to be around 39 degrees with more rain tonight. TRAFFIC Here are today's morning traffic issues . FROM LAST NIGHT... Fire damages Elkridge motel, closes U.S. 1 : A two-alarm fire caused serious damage to a motel in Elkridge on Monday night, closing U.S. 1 for hours and drawing fire units from surrounding counties. Baltimore plans roundabout for Key Highway, Light Street crossing : City traffic engineers are working on the final design for a $7 million traffic circle at the intersection of Key Highway and Light Street.

City traffic engineers are working on the final design for a $7 million traffic circle at the intersection of Key Highway and Light Street. The roundabout — about half the size of the one in Towson — will replace the traffic lights at the gateway intersection that connects South Baltimore and the Inner Harbor near the Maryland Science Center . Construction could begin as soon as July. The intersection has long been a malfunction junction, with befuddled motorists and daredevil pedestrians mixing it up on a road surface scarred by old streetcar tracks.

Forget the red glare of those rock ets. Ditto the bombs bursting in air, or the twilight's last gleaming.The real hardship in getting to Fort McHenry is driving Key Highway.Francis Scott Key is probably doing 60 rpm in his grave. Let the British try to assail the fort by land this time -- the first wagon would throw an axle before it reached the Rusty Scupper.With its dips and convolutions, potholes, exposed cobblestones and abandoned railroad tracks, Key Highway has become the most jarring way in and out of Baltimore.

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