After more than a decade of planning and construction, Baltimore’s newest waterfront attraction is finally open.
More than 100 people gathered on Thursday to watch public officials and the park’s builder cut the ribbon for Point Park, a 4.5-acre public space just west of the new T. Rowe Price headquarters at Harbor Point, featuring sweeping views of the harbor and downtown skyline.
The Beatty Development Group, master developer of the 27-acre Harbor Point community, created the park at a cost of about $22 million. iO studio is the landscape architect. The land is currently still owned by an affiliate of the developer but ownership will be transferred to the City of Baltimore in “a matter of weeks,” according to Jonathan Flesher, Beatty’s Vice President for Development.
The park will be maintained and programmed by the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks and the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. It will be open the same hours as other city parks – from dawn to dusk.
As part of the opening ceremony, visitors watched performances by Native American dancers from several tribes in North America, including a representative from the Akwesasne territory near the U. S.-Canada border.
Speakers also acknowledged the Native Americans who once lived on the land now occupied by the mixed-use Harbor Point development, including members of the Piscataway, Susquehannock and Lumbee tribes.
Point Park’s primary feature is a large open lawn designed for active or passive recreation and special events. The area is surrounded by a waterfront promenade that connects Harbor Point, Harbor East and Fells Point.
Brooke Lierman, the Comptroller of Maryland, said Point Park is intended to be an amenity for the entire city, not just people in the immediate area.
“I know it will be an important meeting place for residents from all over the city, including Fells Point, including Perkins, including Oliver,” Lierman said. “We want people to feel welcome here.”
“At Rec and Parks, we’re excited to welcome Point Park into our inventory,” said agency Chief of Staff Jacia Smith. She called it “a park for the people that’s inclusive, that’s welcoming, that gives a nod to everything that is great about Charm City.”
Laurie Schwartz, president of the Waterfront Partnership, predicted it will be a popular spot to watch the city’s Inner Harbor fireworks displays.
“To me, this park represents not only an incredible new gem on the waterfront but the best view of the waterfront from any vantage point,” she said.
Point Park was an opportunity “to do development the right way and make something special for Baltimore that not only is for Baltimore but becomes a part of its story,” said Max Beatty, Director of Operations for the Beatty group.
“Ultimately what it’s about is the people who are going to live here, eat here, visit here,” Beatty said. “That’s the goal – to create great places.”
