a city to watch

photo by Mitro Hood

Baltimore is one of "America's Best Cities for Design."

Almost.

According to a Baltimore Sun report by architecture critic Ed Gunts, we just missed being a top ten city the likes of San Francisco, Portland, New York, Chicago, and Boston - which all made the list.

Gunts writes that, "The independent survey by RMJM Hillier, a large architectural firm based in New York, ranks cities in terms of how well they are designed for "architecture, sustainability and transit."

Not having a top notch transit system was one of our weak points and, apparently we're behind the curve when it comes to adopting sustainable building design.

But, in naming Baltimore as a "city to watch," the report said that we, "have demonstrated a strong sense of design intelligence and are well positioned to become [a] future force on the national scene."

-Mike Evitts

blueprint for prosperity

The Brookings Institution has launched something it calls the Blueprint for American Prosperity, a policy initiative to improve the health of the country's metropolitan areas (which it defines as, "old and new suburbs, and even exurban and rural areas that, by virtue of their interwoven labor and housing markets, share common economic destinies").

According to Brookings, "Maryland has three of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas —Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia — which alone account for 89 percent of the state’s population, 89 percent of the state’s jobs, and 90 percent of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).

"All six of Maryland’s metros constitute 95 percent of the state’s population, 95 percent of the state’s jobs, and 94 percent of the state’s GDP."

Looking at those numbers helps you understand why Brookings has deemed metropolitan areas so important: they represent the bulk of this country's economic output. (It also makes me wonder why exactly the Philly district extends into Northern Maryland.)

So the institution is putting out whitepapers and advocating policy that will promote new investment, entrepreneurship, diversity, and sustainability.

-Mike

fast cities

fast company photo/illustration by peter funch

The magazine Fast Company has named Chicago and London its 2008 cities of the year, praising them for their vibrancy and diversity as much as the strengths of their economies.

Chicago has been on our minds a lot lately. In the past three years, Partnership staff has taken several trips there to meet with local officials and see how they do things. For example, the Pratt Street redesign was inspired, in part, by Michigan Avenue. And Chicago has a lot to teach us about greening initiatives and how to make the most of public space.

Reading the Fast Company article, I was struck by the similarities between that city and ours. Obviously the scale is different. And Chicago can have an 'aw shucks' midwesterness about it.

But both cities convey a strong sense of place rooted in historic buildings and ethnic neighborhoods. Both have been quietly thriving outside of the attention that's typically paid to more glamorous places like New York or LA. And both are nurturing of creative energy, whether it's applied to entrepreneurialism or art.


The article contains the following quote about Chicago, but I've had people share similar observations with me about Baltimore:

"Sitting in a restaurant, you can hear the buzz of conversation - the discussion of innovative ideas. Driving downtown, you can see the cranes - the creation of an even greater community. It's living, breathing progress."

-Cheryl Rosner, CEO of TicketNow, as quoted in Fast Company

Before you accuse me of being overly generous to charm city, I should point out that it's not just me drinking the kool aid. Others are on to the good stuff that's happening here (check out the Rolling Stone post on Baltimore's scene, for example).

I was just in New York - the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to be exact. It's the epicenter of hipness, but when people found out where I'm from all they wanted to talk about was Baltimore, its scene, how they're thinking of moving here, or they have friends who just have.

So take that, Chicago.

-mike

appreciating employees

For the second year now, we're hosting Employee Appreciation Week - a great excuse to get outside during the work day. I don't care how rich or powerful you may be, everybody appreciates free ice cream and pizza.

We had a great day on Center Plaza this afternoon as you can see in these photos.

The next event is a happy hour tomorrow at the Blue Door Bar (the plaza bar at Power Plant Live). There'll be a complimentary buffet courtesy of Mex, and cheap drink specials.

Hope to see everyone there.

-mike

women and leadership

This week we kicked off the new Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) and an impressive group of executives joined us for a chic party, presentations by women entrepreneurs, and a private screening of the new Sex & the City movie.

The idea behind the initiative is pretty simple, and it came to us from our members. For some time we've heard from businesswomen who want new ways to connect with their peers (other than traditional networking). And, ultimately, they'd like to provide meaningful support to women trying to enter the workplace and work their way up.

We were fortunate to have Mayor Dixon as a speaker and guest for the evening. Including the Mayor, the top four elected officials in Baltimore are women. That fact, and the overwhelming support Hillary Clinton had in her near-miss presidential run are testaments to how far women have come in terms of being seen as leaders.

On the other hand, there is still a sense that women aren't yet equal with men in the business world. This certainly is true when it comes to the pay rates. The salary gap has narrowed, but nationally men still make more than women for comparable work. You could also credibly argue that cultural bias hindered Hillary Clinton's chances in the Democratic primary. And then there's the strong encouragement we got to create the WLI in the first place.

This week's WLI kick off felt like the start of something big, and we hope everyone will consider getting involved. Our next event will be this fall. We're still working out the details, but we can promise this... it will be fun, educational, and it just might change the world.

-mike

vegas, baby

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Normally, that’s a smart move. But we’re hoping that’s not the case with the International Council of Shopping Centers’ (ICSC) annual Global Retail Real Estate Convention we attended recently.

With more than 50,000 attendees, this is the Mecca of retail recruitment. National retailers, real estate brokers, and developers make the trek each year to find the perfect location for that next retail expansion.

For the past seven years, The Partnership and Baltimore Development Corporation, in conjunction with local sponsors, have hosted a booth at the trade show. The main purpose, pure and simple, is to bring more shops and restaurants to Baltimore.

We go to ICSC armed with an arsenal of stats and data. More often than not, we're introducing people to the real Baltimore for the first time (not the wild west version they may have seen on TV). And, across the board people are impressed, and surprised, by what the data shows.

As we just released in the latest State of Downtown Baltimore Report, Downtown has 114,000 employees, 38,000 residents, and 20,000 students. Not to mention millions of visitors each year. We rank 7th in the country for population density, 15th for employment density, and 9th for the number of households earning $75K or more -- which puts us in a peer group with places like Denver and Boston.

So instead of hitting the casinos we spent our time in Vegas reviewing demographics, courting potential redevelopment opportunities, and marketing available retail spaces. We had formal meetings with more than 30 companies, some of which we’re trying to bring here. Others are here already, but we hope they’ll expand to additional locations.

It often takes years to bring a new retailer into a market and we work with them throughout the entire process, introducing them to local developers and real estate brokers, helping match the business with the right location, and assisting with building permits, signage, or marketing… whatever it takes.

After decades without much in the way of shopping, Downtown is re-emerging as a retail destination. When Filenes Basement opened last year it marked the return of department stores to Downtown. SuperFresh has opened in City Center. Lockwood Place and Harbor East are thriving. So, too, are retail corridors in Downtown’s adjacent neighborhoods like in Mount Vernon, Federal Hill, Locust Point.

Despite a slow national economy, the pace of Downtown retail openings should pick up. Whether or not these new deals started in Vegas, opening retail in Downtown is no gamble.

-nan

smart stadia

M&T Bank Stadium seen from Federal Hill park. (photo by Frank Klein)

If you're a lacrosse fan, chances are you at least considered making the trip to the NCAA final tournament at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. In it's infinite wisdom, the NCAA has moved a tournament that drew record crowds here in Baltimore the past few years. I can't fault them for trying to grow the sport and attract new regional fans.

But it's dumb to hold this event at Foxboro. Here's why...

If you look at Google's satellite image you can see that they built that thing in the middle of nowhere.

You can't walk to it. There are no shops or restaurants. Just forest and fields, interrupted by a sea of parking lots.

They did something similar with FedEx Field where the Redskins play. And I just don't get it.

Isolated stadia are bad developments. They eat up undeveloped land, require extra costs to build infrastructure and utilities, aren't well connected to mass transit, and they minimize spin-off revenue because there aren't any shops, restaurants, or other businesses where event-goers can spend their money.

And this isn't just my opinion. Studies by the Urban Land Institute among others have calculated the increased economic and environmental advantages that you get with a Downtown facility over a rural one.

So this weekend, instead of 50,000 people walking from their hotel or the harbor, stopping at Cross Street or one of the other nearby shopping / restaurant districts, you'll have traffic congestion, some parking lot tailgating, and the opportunity to spend way too much on a stadium hot dog because that's the only choice you'll have.

-mike