South Baltimore Business Roundup

Two Food Vendors Close at Horseshoe Casino

Two vendors have closed in recent months at The Baltimore Marketplace at Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Those vendors are Heavy Seas Burger and B’more Chicken & Donuts. Heavy Seas was an original tenant of the The Baltimore Marketplace when the casino opened in August 2014 and B’more Chicken & Donuts replaced Tark’s Grill in September 2016.

The public relations team from Horseshoe told SouthBMore.com that a formal announcement will be made soon about the the vacant spaces.

Light Street Vapor Closes 

Light Street Vapor closed its second-story suite at 1001 Light St. in recent months. Light Street Vapor opened in Spring 2017.

Spin Scooters Come to Baltimore 

Baltimore now has a third dockless electric scooter company as Spin made its debut last week. The company, which now joins Lime and Bird in Baltimore, dropped 80 scooters off around the city. From The Baltimore Sun:

The company, which employs a full-time staff rather than freelance “chargers” as companies like Bird and Lime do, has identified Baltimore as a perfect market for its electric, rental scooters.

Also from the article:

JUMP, a bike-and-scooter rental company owned by Uber, also has been approved to join the pilot program. It’s unclear when JUMP plans to launch in Baltimore. JUMP spokeswoman Susan Hendrick said in an email the company had “nothing to announce” yet.

A plan to Lower Property Taxes in Baltimore City 

Mayor Catherine Pugh announced a plan to cut property taxes in her State of the City address. The current rate is $2.07 per $100 of assessed value. Mayor Pugh wants it lowered to $2.048 beginning in July and to $1.998 by 2021. From The Baltimore Sun:

Stephen J.K. Walters, a Loyola University Maryland economist, said the property tax breaks are a small contribution to making the city more competitive.

But, he said, the city would have to slash the rate in half to have real impact. As it is now, the city’s overall property tax rate of $2.248 per $100 of assessed value is about twice that of surrounding counties.

“Tinkering at the edges with pennies and nickles on the dollar does not get to the fundamental fact that you can go a few miles outside the city and investment is taxed much more lightly,” Walters said.

Walters said the last time the city taxed homeowners at 2 percent was 1971. The rate rose steadily between 1950 and 1975, when city officials increased taxes 19 times.

Baltimore’s property tax rate is about double of most surrounding counties.

In the proposed cut, a $300,000 house now paying $6,210/year in city property taxes would pay $5,994/year and a $500,000 house now paying $10,350/year would pay $9,990/year in 2021.

Fed Thrill Launches New Style 

Federal Hill-based Fed Thrill Sunglasses released a new frame called The Spartans. This style frame has a “more athletic wraparound style,” according to co-owner Matt Mindel.

This is the fifth frame style for the company. It joins the Fultons, Monuments, Porters, and Mavericks.

IMAX Screen at Science Center 

Maryland Science Center has upgraded its IMAX theater and will expand the films it can show. From a press release:

Maryland’s largest indoor movie IMAX® screen will now be screening the latest educational and Hollywood films in the world’s most immersive cinema experience— thanks to a complete IMAX digital upgrade of the Maryland Science Center St. John Properties IMAX Theater at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

With the new IMAX digital projection system and super-resolution imaging, the theater has access to a greatly expanded catalog of larger-than-life educational films and first-run Hollywood features it couldn’t screen with the previous celluloid-based system. In addition to the crystal-clear images from the new IMAX screen and projection system, all the seats have been reupholstered and a newly installed IMAX sound system will immerse audiences into the on-screen action like never before.

The renovated theater will be reopened to the public on March 7 for the premiere of the superhero blockbuster “Captain Marvel.” IMAX-only tickets will be available, and documentaries and feature films will be shown throughout the evening, seven days a week.

“For more than 30 years, our IMAX Theater has been integral to our mission, inspiring more than 10 million visitors with footage from inside the human body all the way to the international space station,” said Mark J. Potter, President and CEO of the Maryland Science Center. “Thanks to our IMAX digital upgrade, we can deliver the latest, most exciting IMAX content and a first-rate movie-going experience.”

FSK is Raising Money for STEAM with Fitness

This year, individuals can sign up for the Baltimore Running Festival on Team FSK and a small portion of the registration fee will go to Francis Scott Key Elementary Middle School. From WeAreFSK.org:

Baltimore Running Festival registration is open! Run for a Cause – Join Team FSK!

The Baltimore Running Festival works with a number of charity organizations, and this year FSK joins this group whose work it is to help others in our community and beyond.

Our goal is to leverage this opportunity to help raise money for our STEAM initiatives. We’re experiencing great momentum through successes like last year’s opening of our Weinberg Library and this year’s Makerspace.  We want to ensure this forward movement continues into our Elementary & Middle School classrooms, which serve children who live in neighborhoods throughout Baltimore City, not just Locust Point.

Team FSK is hosting a bootcamp class on May 17th to benefit the STEAM initiatives.

People can also donate directly to Team FSK and the STEAM initiatives. Information included on the page:

Our hope is that through working with the Baltimore Running Festival we’ll be able to support our faculty’s STEAM initiatives (STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics), giving our students experiences and opportunities to grow beyond the core curriculum. Examples of past initiatives include Middle School overnights to Echo Hill, the creation of our own Makerspace, purchases of laptops and tablets to support our classrooms and special theater programming in partnership with Single Carrot Theater. We want to continue this growth and ensure that every student has access to STEAM opportunities that pique their interests.

via https://www.southbmore.com/2019/03/18/south-baltimore-business-roundup-159/