The title of next Belvedere Square has already been claimed by David Tufaro and his plans to redevelop Whitehall Cotton Mill in Hampden. But, if a development team including former Under Armour executive Scott Plank have their say, the city-owned Cross Street Market in Federal Hill could be next in line.
According to the Baltimore Business Journal, Plank and Arsh Mirmiran of Caves Valley Partners are partnering on a proposal to run the market. Plank, the brother of Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, knows about operating Belvedere Square-style markets after investing in Belvedere Square itself in 2012. For its part, Caves Valley Partners already runs developments in South Baltimore. On Friday, Mirmiran directed a Twitter user to “see Belvedere SQ for inspiration and execution” of their vision for Cross Street.
They’ll submit their bid to the city along with another currently-undisclosed private operator and anyone else who wants to bid during a formal process. That process could begin as soon as this week.
The city is looking for a private operator to take control of the 170-year-old market, which was last renovated in 1952. The news about the Cross Street proposal came out as Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced changes to the governing board that oversees the city’s six public markets, including making Downtown Partnership of Baltimore President Kirby Fowler head of the board.
Though it’s early in the process at Cross Street, it seems like the Belvedere Square concept is something the Federal Hill Hospitality Association is onboard with:
