MidAtlantic City Scoop: Construction Starts in Baltimore

City Scoop: Baltimore — Overall Construction Spending Expected to Grow by a Slim 1.2% This Year

Construction projects at Baltimore’s Harbor Point mixed-use development include a 17-story project called 1405 Point.

*RENDERING COURTESY OF AYERS SAINT GROSS*

Stantec has partnered with the city of Baltimore and Baltimore County to protect water resources, enhance transportation networks, prepare for climate-change impacts and help prepare children for the future workforce.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF STANTEC*

City Grill

Glenn Birx
Principal and Vice President
Ayers Saint Gross

Continued investment from public and private sectors across the city and region make it “an exciting time for construction in Baltimore,” Birx says. That excitement is especially clear, he says, in Harbor Point, where his firm is lead architect on a 17-story apartment building called 1405 Point.

Birx views the future as promising, with large initiatives on the horizon, such as the planned expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center. The expansion is in the design stage and may include a new arena and hotel. “This major project reaffirms the city’s commitment to being a player on the national and international stage,” Birx says.

Birx is optimistic about Johns Hopkins University’s HopkinsLocal initiative. The program draws on the university’s purchasing and hiring power as well as resources from its health system to expand opportunities for local businesses and residents.

In 2016, the program’s first fully operational year, Hopkins committed $55.5 million in construction spending to minority- and women-owned or disadvantaged businesses. “Hopkins is a big, unique part of the Baltimore construction outlook,” Birx says. “HopkinsLocal is a great model for reinvesting and making the area an even better place.”

Firm in Focus

Stantec
810 Glen Eagles Court, Ste. 300, Baltimore
MidAtlantic Leader: Ron Boyd, Senior Principal
Founded: 1954
Collaboration: Stantec has partnered with the city of Baltimore and Baltimore County to protect water resources, enhance transportation networks, prepare for climate-change impacts and help prepare children for the future workforce.

Stantec recently delivered the first segment of I-95’s express toll lanes to improve access, mobility and safety for drivers. The firm also completed water taxi facilities on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the Edmondson Avenue (US 40) historic bridge reconstruction and transit/bus improvement projects.

Stantec recently finished two school feasibility studies as part of Baltimore’s $1.5-billion 21st Century Schools Buildings Plan. The firm is nearing the design completion of the $65-million Patterson-Claremont School.

Stantec’s 24 MidAtlantic offices are also focused on the water sector and on climate-resiliency projects.