Russell Street

Baltimore's Board of Estimates is being asked by the Baltimore Development Corp. to approve the multi-million dollar sale of city-owned land off Russell Street to a group of casino investors led by Caesars Entertainment Corp. The spending board will also be asked at its next meeting to approve the terms of a ground rent agreement pertaining to the city-owned land where the group plans to build its casino. Maryland law requires the land under the casino to be owned by the city. According to the board's agenda, prepared by Comptroller Joan Pratt's office, CBAC Gaming LLC will pay $1.2 million per acre to Baltimore for several parcels of land: 1501-1525, 1601-1625, 1629-1631, 1633-1643 and 1645-1725 Warner Street; 2102 Oler Street, 2104 Worcester Street, 2119 Haines Street and "the associated street beds.

Baltimore will hire a recruitment coordinator to look for city residents who can help fill the 1,700 jobs expected to be created by the construction and operation of the new casino. The city's Board of Estimates authorized the temporary position Wednesday. It will pay up to $60,000, plus benefits, for 12 months of work. The position is being funded by the casino operators, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the agreement with the casino, expected to open next year along Russell Street near the stadiums, represents a "commitment to make local residents aware of and give them access to the casino's jobs.

THE PROBLEM -- Motorists traveling south on Russell Street toward the Baltimore-Washington Parkway were greeted by a sign near Hamburg Street warning that cars in the right lane must exit at Interstate 95, even though there is no such restriction. THE BACKSTORY -- Ron Wilner of Baltimore e-mailed Watchdog: "Those in the know have rightly ignored this sign for over a year, but the harm is that out of town motorists are forced to do lane shifting unnecessarily which confuses and slows traffic.

Baltimore's Board of Estimates is being asked by the Baltimore Development Corp. to approve the multi-million dollar sale of city-owned land off Russell Street to a group of casino investors led by Caesars Entertainment Corp. The spending board will also be asked at its next meeting to approve the terms of a ground rent agreement pertaining to the city-owned land where the group plans to build its casino. Maryland law requires the land under the casino to be owned by the city. According to the board's agenda, prepared by Comptroller Joan Pratt's office, CBAC Gaming LLC will pay $1.2 million per acre to Baltimore for several parcels of land: 1501-1525, 1601-1625, 1629-1631, 1633-1643 and 1645-1725 Warner Street; 2102 Oler Street, 2104 Worcester Street, 2119 Haines Street and "the associated street beds.

The developer of a sports-themed office and recreation complex proposed for a blighted stretch of waterfront south of M&T Bank Stadium said yesterday that he hoped to nearly double the amount of office space originally planned for the $250 million project that city officials hope will transform the Russell Street corridor. Cormony Development, the lead developer of Gateway South, showed a city design panel preliminary plans that include 1 million square feet of office space, an increase from the 600,000 originally proposed.

I CHUCKLED AT a recent news story about Russell Street's deplorable condition. City officials are worried that people arriving from Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and those attending ballgames, will get a bad impression of Baltimore as they enter downtown on this thoroughfare. Hey, what about us Baltimoreans? I've been traveling Russell Street for 50 years and it was always a downer, a depressing entrance to a city that deserves a clean and welcoming driveway. I believe that first impressions are lasting, and Russell Street is an excellent reason not to visit Baltimore.

City officials want to bring the charm back to Baltimore, and they want to begin with Russell Street, one of the city's most used and bumpy roads. Yesterday, they announced plans to reconstruct the 1 1/2 -mile stretch of road from Interstate 95 south to the city line -- fixing potholes, improving road conditions and making the city's southern entrance more welcoming with stone-covered medians, landscaping and lighting. City officials say they worry that as tourists arrive from the airport and as people drive into town for conventions and ballgames, they get a poor first impression.

There appears to be a new wrinkle with each assessment of the baseball stadium under construction at Camden Yards.The latest involves a realignment of Russell Street, which may allay fears of that major artery becoming a target for foul balls. The park is being designed to fit into the neighborhood, but hopefully not as a traffic hazard.As the new facility rises, it has become obvious that the third base side and Russell Street are cozy companions. The height of the structure does not appear to be sufficient to keep all baseballs within the building, but two generally unknown variables should have an effect.

Greyhound Lines and the city are focusing on sites along a three-block stretch of Russell Street just south of Ravens Stadium in Southwest Baltimore as the location for a new central bus terminal. Greyhound has been searching for a new location in or near downtown for more than a year, after Mayor Martin O'Malley scuttled a proposal to build a terminal north of Penn Station. The company's lease on its terminal on West Fayette Street expires in less than three years, and the property's owner, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, wants to redevelop the site as part of the Westside Renaissance project.

The Maryland Stadium Authority on Thursday approved minor Russell Street modifications near Oriole Park at Camden Yards to clear the way for a deal under which downtown Baltimore would host an Indy Racing League event in 2011. The modifications are expected to include reducing the size of a median strip and making drainage improvements. The idea is to allow the stadium area to accommodate the race. A pit area is slated to be adjacent to the ballpark. The work approved Thursday is expected to cost $1.5 million to $2 million.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake writes that a vote for Question 7 is a vote for Baltimore schools and that it will allow a world-class casino to be built on Russell Street ("Question 7 keeps the money in Md. " Oct. 11). Last I checked, Baltimore already owns that right and is really only getting table games out of this closed door deal with the big three, Gov. Martin O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. She conveniently left that out. So how did Ms. Rawlings-Blake get to be part of the inside and become such a staunch gambling supporter?

Streets throughout Baltimore will be closed temporarily Saturday for the 2012 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival, which includes a 26-mile marathon, a half-marathon and a 5K race. According to the organizers, here is a list of street closures and approximate times. Organizers say that final decisions about when to open and close streets will be made by police officers at various intersections. They say there also may be "rolling stops," which means an officer may allow vehicles to proceed when there is a gap between runners.

A car caught fire shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 295 north just before the road turns into Russell Street in the city, giving off smoke and closing the right lane of the highway, a city fire dispatcher said. Traffic was passing on the left side and the burning vehicle was on the right shoulder as of about 2:15 p.m., officials said. Fire engines 14 and 55 responded to the scene, which was expected to be cleared shortly, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Traffic on Interstate 95 in Baltimore was snarled for more than two hours Thursday morning after a truck spilled wet concrete across three northbound lanes and the Russell Street exit ramp, police said. Sgt. Kirk Perez, spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, said the spill near exit 52 occurred shortly before 10 a.m., when a mixing truck from Hamilton Trucking in Columbia began leaking. Maintenance crews from MdTA with shovels and a street sweeper scrambled to remove the wet, gray slick before it hardened, as traffic backed up about 3 miles.

The following parking restrictions will be implemented on Saturday, October 15, 2011: ∙ Linwood Avenue from Eastern Avenue to Fayette Street 12:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. ∙ Eastern Avenue (north side) from Linwood to Patterson Park Avenues 12:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. ∙ Boston Street (north side) from Aliceanna Street to Lakewood Avenue 2:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. ∙ Lancaster Street from President Street to Central Avenue 4:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. ∙ 33rd Street from Hillen Road to Guilford Avenue 4:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ∙ Eutaw Street (west side)

Several downtown roads used as part of the Baltimore Grand Prix racetrack will be closed this weekend at night to allow removal of materials, according to the Baltimore Department of Transportation. Friday night to Saturday morning — from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. — Russell Street will be closed at Camden Street, Pratt Street will be closed from Charles Street to South Street, and Light Street will be reduced to one lane between Lee and Pratt streets. Saturday night to Sunday morning — from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. — Pratt Street will be closed between Paca and Howard streets.

A fight over whether to remove 11 billboards on Russell Street ended last week before it ever really began, but the issues raised by city officials still loom as large as the signs themselves. M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of Baltimore Development Corp., raised questions that went beyond the usual refrain of outdoor advertising as a visual blight on the landscape. Seasoned local activists against billboards said it was the first time they could remember a high-ranking city official declaring that "a forest of billboards" could discourage tourism and obstruct economic development in a city desperately counting on both.

Baltimore will hire a recruitment coordinator to look for city residents who can help fill the 1,700 jobs expected to be created by the construction and operation of the new casino. The city's Board of Estimates authorized the temporary position Wednesday. It will pay up to $60,000, plus benefits, for 12 months of work. The position is being funded by the casino operators, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the agreement with the casino, expected to open next year along Russell Street near the stadiums, represents a "commitment to make local residents aware of and give them access to the casino's jobs.

Baltimore's party is over - and it was a grand one. A Grand Prix one, to be exact. But now it is time to put the carpet and the furniture back where they belong. Even before the last fan made it home from Baltimore's inaugural three-day IndyCar racing festival Sunday evening, the city and race organizers had begun the daunting task of removing 16 grandstands, several miles of concrete barriers topped with fencing - plus countless tents - in order to open downtown streets and sidewalks for the beginning of the workweek.

As Grand Prix officials are making final preparations for this weekend's race, traffic is backing up. You say you still have to work Friday, when the downtown congestion and closings will be at their peak? If you're coming from the north, west or due east, there shouldn't be much problem. But coming in from the south - from Anne Arundel, eastern Howard or Southwestern Baltimore County - could be a challenge. Light Street, Interstate 395 and Russell Street will all be closed Friday.