After telling tenants they plan to close Baltimore’s Harborplace pavilions after the July 4 holiday and then after Labor Day, the leaders of MCB Real Estate are now saying the two pavilions will stay open through the New Year’s holiday.
Tenants say they have been told by MCB, which owns the two pavilions at Pratt and Light streets, that the company now intends to keep the buildings open for the rest of the year while officials finalize plans for a $900 million demolition-and-replacement project they’re planning.
MCB officials announced plans on Oct. 30, 2023, to tear down the Harborplace pavilions to make way for a mixed-use development containing two high-rise apartment buildings, offices, shops, restaurants and open space.
To help keep the Inner Harbor area active while they firm up their plans and secure financing, MCB officials offered to lease space to “short term” tenants who agree to vacate the premises on short notice when the company is ready to begin construction.
MCB co-founder and managing partner P. David Bramble initially pledged that his company wouldn’t demolish the 46-year-old Harborplace pavilions until it had secured financing for the replacement buildings.
But MCB officials said during a “Subcontractor Outreach Event” in June that the company planned to tear down the Harborplace pavilions as part of the first phase of its construction project and that it was aiming to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 — now less than two weeks away.
The first phase is called the Inner Harbor Park and Promenade Project, and it involves rebuilding portions of the waterfront promenade and 22 to 23 acres of shoreline.
Maryland’s General Assembly has approved more than $65 million of public funds for that work, which will affect city-owned waterfront property from the Maryland Science Center around to the National Aquarium. Portions of the Inner Harbor promenade will be raised about three feet as a precaution against rising sea water levels.
MCB officials say they need to tear down Harborplace, even before securing financing for the replacement structures, because the pavilions were constructed above utility lines, storm drains and other underground infrastructure that is being rebuilt as part of the larger ‘Park and Promenade’ initiative funded by the state.
Also targeted for demolition in this phase are two pedestrian bridges connected to the pavilions, one that spans Pratt Street and one that spans Light Street. MCB has applied to the city for permits to start work on Phase One as early as mid-October.
An MCB official, Managing Director of Marketing Jarnell Swecker, did not respond substantively to an email request for information about the company’s plans for Harborplace. She answered with a 12-word reply: “I will see if the team wishes to respond on this one.”
More than a dozen tenants remain
Some Harborplace tenants have left recently, including Made in Baltimore and its BOOST (Black Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy) Boutique annex, but more than a dozen are still operating in the two pavilions.
One of the remaining tenants, the CollegiateLuxe HBCU Store, has expanded at Harborplace by moving into the space vacated by Made in Baltimore while retaining its previous space.
Most tenants in the Light Street Pavilion are open Wednesday through Sunday. Tenants in the Pratt Street Pavilion are permitted to stay open seven days a week.
Welcome news for tenants
MCB’s decision to keep the pavilions open until the first quarter of 2027 came as welcome news for some of the tenants who are still open.
Larry Poncho Brown, the co-founder and curator of the sprawling Creatively Black Baltimore art exhibition, the largest tenant in the Light Street Pavilion, had written an article in The Baltimore Times in May stating that the space would close in September to make way for MCB’s development and that organizers were exploring plans to move to another Inner Harbor location, the World Trade Center Baltimore office tower at 401 E. Pratt St.
With 12,000 square feet of space in the old Ripley’s Believe It or Not location, Creatively Black Baltimore opened on Sept. 28, 2024, to present the work of African American artists from the Baltimore-Washington area – close to 500 works of art by dozens of artists. MCB provided the space, and the result has been described as “the largest regional exhibition of Black art.”
Larry Brown’s partners in Creatively Black Baltimore are Baltimore Times publisher Paris Brown, who is also co-founder of the art venture, and Joy Bramble, the founder, publisher emeritus and owner of The Baltimore Times and the mother of MCB manager partner P. David Bramble. They have moved ahead with efforts to open an exhibit on the 27th floor of the World Trade Center, known as the Top of the World observation level, and plan an event to launch the new exhibit next month.
Larry Brown said on Wednesday that MCB’s decision to stay open for the rest of 2026 gives Creatively Black Baltimore three more months to showcase the work of African American artists at Harborplace while enabling his group to complete its transition to the new location. In effect, he said, it gives Creatively Black Baltimore two downtown locations for a limited time.
“They were rumored to shut down in September of 2026 and now they’ve pushed it to January of 2027,” he said of Harborplace’s closing. He said he’s grateful for the nearly two years that Creatively Black Baltimore has been on view and for the extra three months it’s getting.
“African American artists have had a challenge of finding wall space in Baltimore,” he said. “I can remember when African American artists couldn’t get into Artscape. This has been a way to address that.”
Since 2024, “we have had thousands of people coming to see Creatively Black Baltimore” and now even more will be able to see it at its new location, he said. “Without MCB, none of this would have happened.”
Juniet Ozturk, an owner of Angeli’s Pizzeria on the second level of the Light Street Pavilion, said he’s looking forward to being open at Harborplace until New Year’s Eve, if possible.
He said Angeli’s was exceptionally busy last weekend, when the weather was good and the South Africa Springboks played the New Zealand All Blacks in a rugby game that drew more than 68,000 fans to M&T Bank Stadium — the largest crowd ever gathered for a rugby match in North America. He said Angeli’s was also busy when 14 tall ships visited Baltimore during the Sail250 Maryland and Airshow Baltimore extravanganza in June.
Ozturk said Angeli’s has other locations but he’s eager to stay open as long as he can at Harborplace: “We are enjoying it,” he said on Sunday. “The last three days have been terrific…As long as they need us, we are here.”
Janelle Dickerson, an assistant store manager at IT’SUGAR in the Pratt Street Pavilion, said her business is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and has no end date. Featuring candy and novelty gifts, it was one of the busiest stores at Harborplace over the weekend.
“It seems like everybody who’s still here is staying as long as they can,” Dickerson said.
Update on other tenants
In a recent survey of tenants at Harborplace by Baltimore Fishbowl, representatives for several businesses said they have firm days to leave the pavilions. But most of the Harborplace tenants, as Dickerson indicated, said their owners want to take advantage of the fact that they’re still open at Harborplace and they intend to stay as long as possible.
Here is a look at the plans of other Harborplace tenants, as of earlier this week.
- Cuples Tea House (www.cuplesteahouse.com, @cuplestea) and Vinyl and Pages (@vinylsnpages): Owners Lynnette and Eric Dodsonsaid in July that they planned to vacate Harborplace at the end of summer. They’ve now posted graphics at Harborplace that say that “The Last Pour” for Cuples Tea House will be Sept. 26 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and that “Everything Must Go” days for both businesses will be Sept. 28, 29 and 30. “We close our Harborplace store September 30, 2026,” the Dodsons said on Instagram. “Thank you for an amazing ride.” Hours for the side-by-side businesses are: Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. On Sept. 28, 29 and 30, they will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cuples Tea House has scheduled pop-up events every Thursday in September at Rash Field Park and on Sept. 25 and 26 at Baltimore Comic Con at the Baltimore Convention Center. In addition, its wares are now available at Boyd Cru Wines, Maryland’s first Black-owned winery, at Savage Mill in Howard County.
- Life in Charm City, featuring Baltimore-themed clothing and souvenirs in the Pratt Street Pavilion: The final date is Oct. 25, an employee said last Sunday.
- Matriarch Coffee — Harborplace Café (matriarchcoffee.com), in the Pratt Street Pavilion: An employee said Matriarch Coffee plans to stay as long as it can. He said Matriarch has plans to move to a new location that’s currently under construction nearby on Pratt Street.
- Crystal Visions (@crystalvisionssig), a kiosk outside the Pratt Street Pavilion that features sunglasses and hats: No firm closing date.
- Neighborhoods Urban Goods, featuring Orioles and Ravens gear, mugs and other souvenirs in the Light Street Pavilion: No firm closing date. An employee said the store is expected to stay open at least until the end of October. It’s currently holding a 30-percent-off sale
- CollegiateLuxe HBCU Store (www.collegiateluxe.com) in the Light Street Pavilion, featuring apparel bearing logos from Morgan State and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities: No firm closing date. The store initially occupied space on the second level of the Light Street Pavilion. After Made in Baltimore vacated its space on the pavilion’s first level in June, it took over that space as well. With one of the prime spaces at Harborplace and the only two-story space, it plans to stay open as long as possible, an employee said.
- Supano’s Sports Bar and Grill Steakhouse (supanossportsbar.org) in the Light Street Pavilion: No firm closing date. An employee said he expects to know more by the end of September. According to its website, its kitchen hours are from noon to 1 a.m. daily, and its bar hours are from noon to 2 a.m. daily.
- Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls (www.masonslobster.com) in the Pratt Street Pavilion: No firm closing date but “maybe in November,” an employee said.
- Crepe Lena Ice Cream, Bubble Tea and Funnel Cake in the Pratt Street Pavilion: No firm closing date.
- Tobacco Etc. in the Pratt Street Pavilion: An employee said there is no firm closing date and the company wants to stay open as long as it can.
Several other tenant spaces weren’t open on Sunday but still have inventory or personal belongings on the premises. They include Bombay Beads and Readings by Mia, both in the Pratt Street Pavilion, and the B-360 Teen and Youth Center in the Light Street Pavilion.
