Baltimore’s Planning Commission to consider lifting height limit on Little Italy parcel to allow high-rise apartment building

One month after Baltimore’s Planning Commission approved legislation paving the way for construction of two high-rise buildings on the Inner Harbor shoreline, the panel will consider a request to lift the height limit on a parcel in Little Italy.

At its meeting on Jan. 25, the Planning Commission will consider a request to approve a City Council bill that would change the zoning for a parking lot at 301 S. President St. in Little Italy to allow for high-rise construction.

The proposed development site is on the east side of President Street between Fawn Street and Eastern Avenue, just north of the 24-story, 400-unit Avalon 555 President apartment building.

The lot is currently in a C-5-DE zoning district, a category that permits buildings up to 125 feet. City councilman Zeke Cohen introduced legislation last year, Bill No. 23-0472, that would make the parcel part of a C-5-DC zoning district, a category that puts no height limit on new construction.

A developer named Lou Madigan has been working with the owner of the President Street lot, identified in state land records as KL President Street LLC/President Street Ventures LLC of Newark, New Jersey, on a plan to build apartments there. The architect is Peter Fillat of FILLAT+ Architecture.

Madigan’s team unveiled preliminary plans last year to construct a 32-story apartment building on the property if city officials waive the current 125-foot height limit. The project has an anticipated construction cost of more than $200 million. Preliminary plans call for 276 apartments with street-level commercial space and some on-site parking.

Little Italy meeting

At a meeting of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association on Tuesday, city planner Caitlin Audette told residents that the commissioners will not be considering the specific proposal from Madigan and will not accept testimony about it. She said the council bill was drafted to change the zoning without a specific proposal or developer in mind. 

More than 50 people attended the meeting. Numerous speakers raised concerns about the impact of a high-rise building on their community, from potential traffic congestion and parking shortages to increased shadows and “wind issues.”

Audette said the commission considers approving a zoning change for two reasons: if city planners made a mistake in the current zoning designation, or if the area has changed so much that a zoning change would be justified.

Audette said city planners do not believe a mistake was made when the property was given a C-5-DE designation, and a 125-foot height limit, as part of the Transform Baltimore zoning code that went into effect in2017. She said one possible change might be the introduction of an east-west Red Line transit route through the area. A preferred route has not been announced, but preliminary studies indicate that the line could come close to the President Street lot.

Members of the Little Italy Neighborhood Association voted 32 to 20 last year to oppose a zoning change for the President Street lot. Members of another Little Italy organization, TOLICO (The Original Little Italy Community Organization) voted 18 to 0 to support the zoning change. After weighing the total number of votes from the two groups and other factors, Cohen decided to introduce the legislation, the LINA audience was told.

The rezoning process

Representatives from the development team weren’t present at the meeting on Tuesday. Audette had been invited to explain the rezoning process, what factors the planning commissioners will consider, and opportunities for public comment.

Many of the concerns raised at the LINA meeting were similar to those raised last month about the 32-story and 25-story apartment towers proposed for construction in place of the Light Street pavilion at Harborplace.

On Dec. 21, the planning commission approved three council bills needed by MCB Real Estate to move ahead with its redevelopment plans for Harborplace, including legislation that would waive the current height limit on the property it controls at Pratt and Light streets. A hearing of the council’s Economic and Community Development committee is set for Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. at City Hall.

During the Little Italy meeting, an architect who lives in the community, Andrew Watkins, showed the audience studies he prepared that indicate the degree to which a 32-story building on President Street would cast shadows over portions of Little Italy. He warned that the long shadows cast by the apartment tower in the winter will result in higher heating bills for Little Italy residents whose homes are affected.

The increased shadows mean that “we have less sunlight coming in for those who work from home, so it’s much less pleasant in the afternoon, a much less pleasant experience,” he said. In addition, “we have to heat our houses more. These are Civil War-era houses that need heating anyway. Now we’re going to have to heat them longer, more hours. It means…higher heating bills.” 

Scarlett Place resident Colleen Corrigan said she was concerned about the wind tunnel effect of a tall building, given her experience with high rises in Harbor East.

“I don’t believe there’s ever been a real comprehensive study of the wind tunnel that we have here,” she said. “On a given day, I have to hold onto a light post to get across the street. That’s ridiculous. We have more wind here and more wind tunnels than they have in New York – Fifth Avenue, Broadway, anywhere…If this study isn’t done properly, God knows what it’s going to be. We’ll live in the middle of a tornado.”

Several residents asked what happens if the council agrees to change zoning but the property owner sells to another developer. Cohen has been exploring the possibility of a deed restriction that includes a height limit and other language that could address concerns about a change in ownership of the property, Audette said.

After the Planning Commission’s Jan. 25 hearing on Cohen’s bill for the President Street parcel, the legislation is expected to move on to the City Council for consideration. Dates for the council hearings have not been announced.  

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article reported that the parcel is south of the Avalon building, when it is actually north of the Avalon building.