In 2004, The City of Chicago completed the transformation of 25 acres of surface parking lots and rail tracks into a world-renowned public park. Now Chicago’s beating heart, Millennium Park was born from a vision and leadership.
As the story goes, Mayor Richard Daley was sick of seeing a sea of parked cars from his dentist’s office that overlooked downtown. Daley understood that in the 21st century, the land between skyscrapers and the waterfront could become premier stomping grounds not for autos and industry but for families and tourists. He envisioned the park as a mighty economic engine. He knew Chicago’s civic leaders could change the face of the city by investing in it.
Daley formed a robust partnership that included the city’s departments of transportation and cultural affairs, the park conservancy, the Art Institute of Chicago and a consortium of artists, urban planners and architects. The park was funded by $270 million in public commitments, but the city also secured $220 million in private donations.
Twenty years later, Millennium Park remains an awe-inspiring backyard where Chicago’s residents commute, play with their children, see outdoor performances and admire their skyline. It hosts 25 million visitors a year generating billions of dollars for hotels, retailers and the city coffers.
I mention this because Baltimore’s public deserves the same from its leaders with the redevelopment of Harborplace. And so far, we haven’t seen it.
So far, our mayor, City Council and governor have been background cheerleaders for a proposal to build four private buildings, including two skyscrapers with luxury apartments, on the most valuable stretch of public land on the Patapsco River.
They have agreed to allow a single developer to violate zoning and the city charter. Yet they offer their constituents no vision, no masterplan and no framework for development. Other than state and federal money for reconstruction of the promenade and resilience planning, they make no financial commitment to improve public space for Baltimore’s existing residents.
David Bramble is a smart developer that cares about this city, and Baltimore’s residents are desperate to see anything over the current state of affairs at the pavilions. So, the current plan is likely to be halfheartedly approved by referendum in November.
But there is still an opportunity for Baltimore’s elected officials to show their spines and spearhead a much bolder project that can revive downtown.
Currently, Pratt Street, which sits behind Harborplace, remains a de facto east-west highway funneling vehicles from I-95 south to I-83 north. It is one reason for downtown’s demise. It is noisy, polluted and dangerous. Pratt Street chokes the harbor. It kills business.
That is why Bramble is smartly proposing to reduce the current number of travel lanes by 2, eliminate the Light Street spur altogether, and introduce bike lanes, transit connections and park space. He knows he can increase his land value and encourage retail and redevelopment across downtown via human connectivity.
Baltimore’s leaders, starting with the mayor, have a chance to take this traffic calming proposal a needed step further. They can do for Pratt Street what they should have done for Harborplace: They can turn it into a world-class public park for all of Baltimore’s residents.
This would start with the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Transportation taking the project’s soon-to-be-released traffic impact study and proposing how to close the street and reroute Pratt Street traffic altogether. It would then require other departments and organizations including the Department of Planning, the Downtown Partnership, the Waterfront Partnership, the Baltimore Development Corporation, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts to come together to develop a master plan for the site and its surroundings.
A master planning process would include feedback from residents across Baltimore’s neighborhoods. It would require elected officials to commit public dollars and raise private matches. It would result in an international design competition where the city solicits proposals from firms across the globe to best design our new backyard.
These proposals would put forth venues and public works that best capture the soul and vitality of the city. They might include outdoor amphitheaters, cable cars and pedestrian walkways, a magnificent central station for the redline, or larger-than-life sculptures and exhibits for families to engage with and admire. They might even incorporate the old pavilions!
And hey, they might be so awesome that they encourage a land swap; where the city allows Bramble to build over Pratt Street so this new public works can be built for the people and on the water.
The current plan for Harborplace can be saved. We just need vision and leadership.
Michael Snidal (mjs2267@caa.columbia.edu) is principal of Snidal Real Estate, a Baltimore-based construction and property management firm. He lives in Fells Point.