* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: President Dixon
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Informational Hearing - A Retail Assessment of Downtown Baltimore
FOR the purpose of requesting the Director of Retail Development of the Downtown Partnership, Inc., to brief the City Council on the findings of a recent retail market assessment of downtown Baltimore; and inviting representatives from the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Baltimore City Department of Planning, and the Charles Street Development Corporation to join the Council for a discussion of the Strategy Team's progress on the development of a comprehensive retail survey and marketing program for the City of Baltimore.
Body
Recitals
The Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Inc., Baltimore City Department of Planning, and the Charles Street Development Corporation have formed a Strategy Team to develop a comprehensive retail strategy and marketing program for the City of Baltimore, focusing primarily on downtown Baltimore and select neighborhood retail districts.
To facilitate the development of that strategy, the Team contracted with a consulting firm to undertake a retail market assessment to garner an overall understanding of the national retail market place and Baltimore's ability to participate in that marketplace, as well as to provide a foundation of data, information, and market realities on which to base an effective plan of action.
In part, the assessment showed that whereas Baltimore was once the commercial and industrial hub of the metropolitan area, in the past 50 years it has lost both jobs and population. What was once the hub now more closely resembles a target, with the waterfront a small bulls-eye of prosperity, surrounded by a wide ring of poverty and crumbling infrastructure, that is in turn surrounded by a ring of wealthy suburbs.
The study, by McDearman Associates, a local economic development consultant, shows that Baltimore's downtown now ranks 8th for wealth among major U.S. cities, that 40% of Baltimore's new housing in the last 5 years was in the downtown waterfront area, and that 3,145 households within a 1-mile radius of downtown earn more than $75,000 a year but when a 5-mile radius is reached, the median household income falls to $32,000 a year - the lowest among nearby suburban areas.
McDearman holds that "this demonstrates both the power of the wealthy suburban markets and the demographic decline that Baltimore City has outside the 1-mile radius of the center city. Baltimore's effort to attract national retail chains has been held back by factors that include: demographics that have only recently begun to become attractive to retailers; low rates of downtown employment; no large shopping district or mall; stiff competition from surrounding wealthy suburbs; easy access to high-end shopping attractions in New York, Philadelphia, and D.C.; poorly coordinated public transportation; the perception of crime; and lack of information about the Baltimore market.
Baltimore also has reason to be optimistic about our position to attract and support a strong retail base - the City is one of the nation's top downtowns; it meets many of the criteria that drives location placement by national retail chain locations in top tier cities; it has high population density and a high number of high income earners in the city center; it is meeting a demand for high-end residential units; it has a high hotel occupancy rate, and more hotels are planned for the near future; and it has the desirable authenticity of architecture, cultural, varied neighborhoods, and diverse ethnicity that is driving urban renewal in many major markets.
In order to fully effectuate a turn around in Baltimore's retail development, it is necessary to obtain a working knowledge of the entire picture of the City's surmountable weaknesses and appreciable strengths.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Director of Retail Development of the Downtown Partnership, Inc., is requested to brief the City Council on the findings of a recent retail market assessment of downtown Baltimore; and representatives from the Baltimore Development Corporation, the Baltimore City Department of Planning, and the Charles Street Development Corporation are requested to join the Council for a discussion of the Strategy Team's progress on the development of a comprehensive retail survey and marketing program for the City of Baltimore.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the President and Director of Retail Development of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Inc., the President and Director of Business Development of the Baltimore Development Corporation, the President of the Charles Street Development Corporation, the Director of Planning, the Commissioner of Housing, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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