City Grill

Scott A. McGovern

Senior Associate

Design Collective President
AIA Baltimore

McGovern says the “stability” provided by the Biden administration is “having a very positive impact on design and construction in Baltimore.”

“Many projects that were put on hold during the late fall and winter have now been released and many sectors appears to be benefiting from it,” McGovern says.

He also highlighted a trend involving the repurposing of existing buildings. “As office uses are relocated to other areas of the city, their former historic buildings are finding new life as apartments, student housing, hotels and retail,” he says.

Meanwhile, multifamily housing is thriving in several spots across the city. “From large-scale ground-up projects to small boutique in-fill projects, apartment construction continues to fill a void in housing stock,” McGovern says. “Many new projects are incorporating ground-floor retail, which helps to enliven the streetscape and diversify the uses in a block.”

McGovern adds that he’s “not seeing much of a cooldown in any major sector.”