Baltimore Development Corp. considers three downtown proposals

The Baltimore Development Corp.’s board weighed three pitches to develop two city-owned properties downtown during its meeting Thursday, but it’s unknown what recommendations were made regarding the proposals.

Staff presented two bids for the property at 109-111 Lexington St. The six-story building is in rough shape, primarily because of a hole in the roof. The exposure to the elements has caused algae to grow on the floor and exposed the rest of the building to mold.

But two firms apparently found the building, which has an appraised value of $250,000, enticing as a redevelopment opportunity.

Okoro Development proposes a mixed-use redevelopment of the property. That plan includes converting the building into 3,000 square feet of retail space, six office units and 12 market-rate apartments. The development investment from that proposal is estimated at $1.7 million.

Yalcin Development and Neighborhood Development Co. have proposed transforming the building into 22 market-rate apartments, rentable ground-floor “living room space” and the addition of a seventh floor. The anticipated investment for the project is $4.5 million.

Developer 104 Park LLC was the only interested firm in the property at 104 Park Avenue on downtown’s Westside. The property was one of 16 city-owned properties included in the request for proposal.

The appraised value of the building, which dates to 1920 and is considered contributing to the Market Center Historic District, was set at $53,000. The Baltimore Development Corp. staff estimated the investment in the building by the developer would be just shy of $500,000.

The interested development team includes Kevin Scott, owner of Benedetto Haberdashery, and Jody Davis, of Jody Davis Designs, both of whom already have locations in the city.

Their proposal for the two-story, 2,046-square-foot building includes ground-floor retail and market-rate apartments.

The pluses and minuses of all three proposals were discussed in a closed session of the board meeting Thursday morning.

Susan Yum, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Development Corp., declined to discuss any recommendations the board made to the mayor about the proposals.

“Closed-session board decisions are not considered public information as they are recommendations to the mayor. It isn’t until we are executing an (exclusive negotiating period) that it becomes public information,” Yum said.