Baltimore's Inner Harbor is a frequent destination for big name musical acts or Orioles fans looking for a place to drown their sorrows, but for the next few years it is going to be one big construction zone. The architecture firm of Ayers Saint Gross has released renderings of the two different revitalization projects the downtown area will undergo and they are ambitious to say the least. The first project is an expansion of the convention center, a new hotel, and a new arena and will be one of the most expensive projects the downtown has ever seen. Total costs are expected to be $900M-$940M and about half of that will be financed by a public-private partnership. The remaining $400M will require public funding.
Here is a rendering of what the final product of phase 1 will look like from above.
The second phase of the project is a new water front park, complete with a pedestrian bridge from the north side of the harbor to the south. Paul Brady, a Baltimore blogger and travel writer, says, “The bridge would be pretty cool, but it seems unbelievable that it would actually happen. The convention center definitely needs a refresh and the green roof plays nicely to Baltimore’s urban farming/green scene. Not sure they need additional hotel capacity, though it’ll be close to the football and baseball venues!”
· Baltimore's Grand Plans For Inner Harbor [Architizer]