By: Melody Simmons

Downtown Baltimore has 41,289 residents – the eighth most dense center city in the nation’s top 25 downtown areas, a report from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore says.

The number of residents downtown grew in 2010 by 3 percent over 2009 figures, which totaled 39,760, said Kirby Fowler, president of the partnership.

“It is encouraging,” Fowler said. “We are continuing to see the rental market rise because we want to fill up our buildings.”

The highest rents downtown are at 39 W. Lexington St., the former headquarters of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., where 19 of 20 penthouse apartments are rented at a cost of $2,500 per month, Fowler said.

The apartment vacancy rate downtown is 4 percent, according to the report, which was compiled by Nielsen Claritas, a national survey and data base resource.

“Most of our skyscraper, multi-family structures are rental, so it’s important for us to see them fill up,” Fowler said of the larger multi-family rental units that total 6,261 in the downtown area.

Overall, downtown Baltimore’s residential population has increased 11.6 percent since 2006. The downtown condo occupancy rate was 75.3 percent in 2010, slightly down from 76.3 percent in 2009.