The top story on our site this week concerned one of Baltimore’s largest private real estate developers proceeding with some unique renovation plans for an empty Mount Washington church.
On Tuesday, Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation approved Blue Ocean Realty’s blueprint to restore and convert a vacant sanctuary at at 1700 South Road into a new company headquarters. The project would entail removing stained-glass windows and replacing them with clear ones, lowering window sills to let in more light, “encapsulating” two crosses outside, adding a new floor to the church and regrading a hill to make room for a new lobby.
The project doesn’t have an estimated cost yet. Once finished, the former church will fit 30 staffers, with some extra room for expansion.
“For us, this project is much more than an investment,” Blue Ocean president Jonathan Ehrenfeld told the commission. “It is a home. We are pulling out all the stops to bring this project to life.”
Here were the other most popular pieces on Baltimore Fishbowl this week: