Apartment tower at former Della Notte site in Harbor East expands

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A proposed apartment tower on the former Della Notte restaurant site in Baltimore’s Harbor East neighborhood increased in height, and is now a 23-story project plus a roof deck and expected to cost $130 million.

The Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel on Thursday approved the new schematics for the building, which now will stand 265 feet tall and provide 380 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space.

The project also will involve Mo’s Seafood restaurant; Richard Manekin, partner at developer WorkShop Development Inc., said a deal for that property is expected later this month.

Initially the project, proposed by WorkShop Development in 2015, called for a 16-story tower, with 243 apartments and 7,000 square feet of retail.

Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, has also come on board and will operate as a co-developer and provide property management and financing once an agreement with WorkShop is finalized.

“From WorkShop’s perspective it was important to get this project done,” Manekin said.

The building, currently labeled 800 Fleet Street on renderings, will be Avalon branded. An official name has not been decided but internally the project is being called “Avalon Harbor East.”

The proposed project in Harbor East will be AvalonBay’s third in the Baltimore metro area but first in the city proper.

“We feel this is a major (urban) market we need to be in,” said Martin J. Howle, senior vice president, development at AvalonBay.

The luxury apartments will be market-rate development, and the rent is expected to average $2,000 per month. Amenities will include a pool, bike room and fitness center.

David Bookhout, development director of AvalonBay Communities, said the company is known for “resort level amenity packages.”

The project, which WorkShop initially envisioned breaking ground in the first quarter of 2016 and delivering late this year, is now on track to break ground in the second quarter of 2018. It’s expected to take 18 months to two years to deliver the building.

Members of the design panel expressed some minor concerns about the design of the building, but generally were on board with architecture firm hord|coplan|macht’s design.

“I think it’s a really nice start,” panel member Rich Burns said.