Robin Godwin: Plan Approved for 258-Unit Apartment Building on the 1900 Block of South Hanover Street

Wood Partners is planning a Phase Two of its Alta Federal Hill apartment project on the 1800 block of S. Hanover St. with a second apartment building on the 1900 block of S. Hanover St. The two blocks are divided between two properties that were acquired by developer Caves Valley Partners (CVP).

The properties are comprised of a former one-story warehouse at 1800 Hanover St. and the former Middleton & Meads property which occupies the entire 1900 block of S. Hanover St. and the western section of the 1800 block of S. Hanover St. CVP will begin to demolish the existing structures next month and will sell the properties to Wood Partners.

Middleton & Meads recently completed its relocation to Carroll-Camden Industrial Area.

Last July, Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA) approved Wood Partners for a six-story, 267-unit apartment building with a 367 parking spaces, a garage, and a 1,000 sq. ft. retail space on the 1800 block of S. Hanover St. The building design was presented to Baltimore City Planning Department’s Urban Design & Architecture Advisory Panel (UDAAP) this past June. Wood Partners told SouthBMore.com in June that it is hoping to break ground on Phase One this upcoming winter.

On the 1900 block of S. Hanover St., Wood Partners was approved last week by BMZA for a six-story, 258-unit apartment building with 370 parking spaces, a garage, and 1,000 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail. The project did not need any variances from BMZA, but did need a conditional use for the required height of the building.

The South Baltimore Neighborhood Association (SBNA) did not take a position on the project. President Michael Murphy told SouthBMore.com, “In general the project was supported by those in attendance but there were some concerns about the traffic impact.”

Wood Partners has not provided SouthBMore.com with additional details about when it intends to start construction on Phase Two.

At UDAAP in June, Wood Partners said they are hoping the new building on the 1800 block of S. Hanover St. will help calm down a very “vehicular-centric” S. Hanover St., which is also known as Route 2, a highway that continues south through Annapolis. There will be many plantings along the perimeter of the property, and both buildings will be set back 15 ft. from the curb. Both buildings will be separated by a new street that is a continuation of W. Wells St.

CVP Partner Arsh Mirmiran told SouthBMore.com in an email, “We are pleased with the outcome and are looking forward to continuing to work with Wood Partners to improve another prominent South Baltimore property. CVP has additional projects in South Baltimore including the redevelopment of the Cross Street Marketi and $300+ million, mixed-use projects Stadium Square.”

Scott Zimmerly, executive managing partner of Wood Partners, said in June that Wood Partners was attracted to the site because of its proximity to both Federal Hill and Port Covington. The site is a block from Port Covington, where a 235-acre development is getting underway by the Port Covington Development team.

Wood Partners is based in Atlanta and has a regional office in Rockville, MD.

These two apartment buildings add to a flurry of development activity along the Wells St. corridor in South Baltimore. Premier Storage Investors (PSI) has been approved for a 90,000 sq. ft., 820-unit storage facility to replace a one-story warehouse at 1900 S. Charles St. Construction began recently to convert 1900 Light St., a former slaughterhouse that was recently a curtain factory, into a 38,000 sq. ft. office and retail building, and the ownership of a historic five-story building at 1901 Light St. is hoping to partner with a developer to convert the building to more than 140 apartments.

In recent years, apartment building 1901 South Charles was built at the site of a vacant industrial property, apartment and retail building 2 East Wells replaced a warehouse, and Zero Fox renovated the vacant Pabst Castle into an office building. National Federation of the Blind is currently renovating parts of its 355, 000 sq. ft. facility and putting up to 100,000 sq. ft. of office space up for lease.

1800 and 1900 block of S. Hanover project site rendering from Wood Partners and Design Collective that was shared with SBNA