We will look this week at the soaring real estate frauds and corruptions in US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones and Master Plans drawn during Clinton era MOVING FORWARD with no one being told what goals are -----this is the importance of having those same pols for life-----our Congressional, Maryland Assembly, and Baltimore City Hall crony pols in office for 20-30 years. CANNOT GET RID OF THEM because they are that Robber Baron 5%. If one educated on overseas Foreign Economic Zone developments these several decades in Asia and Latin America the headlines from those nations read as today's in Africa and US ---now the nations installing Foreign Economic Zones. Chinese, Malaysian, Indian nations all reported a GANGS OF NEW YORK TAMMANY HALL where real estate became the realm of NO-HOLDS BAR. Throughout rural societies in these Asian nations the 99% of peasant land owners, small business people, local leaders were brushed aside as these POLITBUROS were installed calling it COMMUNISM......rule by committee. See where Baltimore and Maryland gets its RULE BY COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS? All this local gangland real estate grabbing was driven by the Chinese, Indian, Malaysian global 1% simply appointing their own governance locally as POLITBURO MEMBERS. None of this had anything to do with elections are the local peasants having a voice---it was GANGLAND takeover of all real estate in those areas slated to be made into FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES.
I speak constantly with real citizens in Baltimore communities who are absolutely flabbergasted at the level of the same as above in our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones---LIKE BALTIMORE. The terms to describe what occurs in all our communities under the guise of DEVELOPMENT has the same components as in Asia----the global 1%----in Baltimore's case global Johns Hopkins and its Baltimore Development Corporation literally sets the tone in communities to FIGHT FOR A PLACE AT THE TABLE and a 5% to the 1% do just that----it's a fight---NO- HOLDS BAR. If you are a CITIZEN wanting to instill US Rule of Law and people's rights as CITIZENS you are labelled a trouble-maker----a radical----crazy----and either pushed out of all community development groups and we even have people having their life and welfare threatened. The name of the game in Baltimore is----GET OUT OF THE WAY IF YOU ARE NOT ON TEAM GLOBAL JOHNS HOPKINS AND GLOBAL WALL STREET.
Below we see an article of the same occurring in Nigeria----one of the older Foreign Economic Zones built under Clinton---the key to investment they say is get rid of cumbersome regulations---consolidate agencies no doubt into a quasi-developmental agency like BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT---and get rid of those pesky radicals. Now Africans don't mess around----if they are pushed out of their own communities, nations losing lands and power they become those armed militias fighting global Wall Street installed dictators--how are those dictators any different than our government pols FOR LIFE? Americans are a few decades from these kinds of civil unrests----but it is being staged NOW.
'The bureaucratic process of allocation and registration of charges on land is an impediment to real estate development. The lackadaisical attitude to work is the major cause of undue delay at the land registry. Oftentimes, a developer's application would pass from office to office over several weeks and by the time the necessary approval is obtained, he may have lost his source of funding or incurred huge interest on loan obtained for development. This may disrupt the developer's business plan and result in exorbitant cost of construction and high price for the developments'.
Nigeria: An Analysis Of The Challenges And Prospects In Real Estate Development In Nigeria
Last Updated: 22 January 2015
Article by Emmanuel Ekpenyong
Strachan Partners
As a developing country, Nigeria's real estate sector ("the sector") is evolving at a tremendous pace. Governments at all levels are more aware of the role of real estate development on the growth of their respective territories. Nigeria's budding sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, power, tourism have provided a veritable platform for the sector to thrive. Government agencies and private companies now have policies to assist their staff own a home. It is prudent for employers to build their own estate to accommodate their employees rather than pay them housing allowance throughout the period of their employment. Consequently, real estate companies and professional real estate developers are on the rise. However, challenges facing the sector have hampered it from realizing its true potentials.
The bureaucratic process of allocation and registration of charges on land is an impediment to real estate development. The lackadaisical attitude to work is the major cause of undue delay at the land registry. Oftentimes, a developer's application would pass from office to office over several weeks and by the time the necessary approval is obtained, he may have lost his source of funding or incurred huge interest on loan obtained for development. This may disrupt the developer's business plan and result in exorbitant cost of construction and high price for the developments.
Besides, bribery and corruption have a negative effect on the sector. There are instances where developers who have not satisfied the preconditions for allocation of land are granted allocation while those who are qualified are denied. Low compliance to regulatory and environmental laws is the cause of the incessant reports of collapsed buildings and other ecological problems. Some staff of regulatory bodies prefer to take bribe rather than ensure that developers obtain the requisite permits and conform to statutory construction standard.
Furthermore, the volatile devaluation of the naira is a cause for concern to developers. Some foreign developers peg the cost of construction and the value for selling developments on land in United States dollars ("US dollars") while they charge their clients the naira equivalent. These developers would encounter no hassles if the purchase price of the developments paid in naira can be converted to the anticipated equivalent in US dollars. But the unstable price of crude oil and the continuous fall in the naira often results in a loss for the developer.
Also, there is a limited source of funding for developers in Nigeria. Since real estate development is capital intensive, it is inevitable that developers would need external support to finance their project. But the huge interest rate of commercial banks is a turn-off to most developers. The long list of developers on the waiting list for Federal Mortgage Bank loans and other Federal Government loans is discouraging. There is little awareness on alternative source of funding and procedure for obtaining foreign loans for real estate development. Though the recent Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company established to bridge the funding of residential mortgages gives stakeholders in the sector a glimmer of hope, its effect is yet to be felt.
The duplication of roles between state and federal regulatory bodies is a stumbling block in the smooth running of the real estate development. For instance in the Federal Capital Territory, a developer within the territory may apply to the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service ("FCT Fire Service") for a Fire Service Design Permit and still be accosted by the Federal Fire Service for the same permit. In the same vein, a developer may obtain an Environmental Impact Assessment Report ("EIA Report") from Abuja Environment Protection Board ("AEPB") yet the National Environmental and Regulations Enforcement Agency ("NESREA") may still approach the developer on the same subject matter.
In addition, the current insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria is a bane to real estate development. The activities of the notorious boko haram religious sect have slowed down construction work in that region. This is because developers are reluctant to invest in states where they are uncertain of returns on investments. Purchasers and investors are also wary of investing in states that are not economically viable and likely to be deserted.
Similarly, in some states, there are no clear procedures for the legal incidents associated with real estate development. For instance, in the Federal Capital Territory, there is no procedure for registration of easements on an allocated land. This may create problems for a purchaser who may not know the nature of encumbrances on a piece of land land before acquiring it. Again, in some states, there is no procedure for exercise of government's power of eminent domain over a portion of land allocated to a developer.
Luckily, the government, its agencies, the financial sector, local and foreign investors and even developers are taking deliberate steps to mitigate the effect of these challenges on the sector. The Federal Government of Nigeria has put in place policies and tax holidays to encourage investment in the sector and partnered with neighboring countries to curb the menace of the boko haram sect. To remove bureaucracy, bribery and corruption associated with land development, most states have established a specific agency to regulate the entire land process. Nigerian law allows developers to sell developments on land in a foreign currency to checkmate the devaluation of the naira. The increase in foreign investment in the sector is a huge relief. Many foreign investors have reduced their risk by partnering with local developers and land owners to fund real estate projects. It is inevitable that as the sector matures, its procedures will be well-defined.
In spite of the challenges facing real estate development in Nigeria, the sector has huge employment opportunities, investment potentials and guarantees returns on investments. In the face of dwindling allocation and limited resources, the Nigerian government has successfully collaborated with private companies to develop housing projects and public infrastructures. The Federal Government's target of about $68.1 billion fresh foreign direct investment ("FDI") from 8 newly licensed free zones creates a new business opportunity for international businesses to invest in Africa's fastest growing market.
___________________________________________
This is what ALWAYS HAPPENS when a nation's global 1% pretends those citizens they send overseas as MERCHANTS OF VENICE do so-----remember, the only real MERCHANTS OF VENICE are the global old world 1%----not you or me----or that 5% to the 1%---so here we have what looks like a Nigerian or other African nation 1% sending its citizens' abroad with tales of creating businesses and they are literally abandoned -----many are homeless in a nation they know little about. This happens because ----Chinese global 1% wanted to get markets in a Nigeria and the Nigerian 1% wanted to get rid of strong, local leaders----so China allows Nigeria to send these folks overseas and Nigeria allows China room in their markets.
China does the same to its community leaders they want out------and so too does US----this is what I call BEING THROWN UNDER THE BUS-----it is not real ---there is no intentions of success. Now this is happening to our American citizens---black, white, and brown.
Firm planning overhaul of Cross Street Market in Federal Hill walks away
Merchants and customers react after Caves Valley Partners announces it has decided not to renovate Cross Street Market. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video)
Natalie ShermanContact Reporter
The Baltimore Sun
The firm planning to overhaul Cross Street Market in Federal Hill has backed out.The firm that signed an agreement with the city to renovate and manage Cross Street Market in Federal Hill said Wednesday it would walk away from the deal, a decision made after mounting opposition from merchants and neighbors.
The decision by Caves Valley Partners to unwind the November agreement dashed hopes for any near-term upgrade to the neighborhood institution and drew mixed reactions Wednesday.
Some said they were disappointed, but others breathed a sigh of relief that merchants facing higher rents and a 10-month disruption during construction would remain in business.
"We're very happy," said Anna Epsilantis, the owner of Big Jim's Deli, who helped organize a rally to draw attention to the merchants' plight last week that drew hundreds.
But Henry Reisinger, owner of Fenwick Choice Meats, who has worked in the market for more than 40 years, called it a "sad day," since it's not clear what — if anything — will happen now.
"I wasn't 100 percent in favor of [the plan] but … nobody was oblivious to what has to change," he said. "What's Plan B? What are you going to do now?"
The neighborhood has long called for improvements to Cross Street Market, which is dark, has maintenance needs and is increasingly troubled by vacancies. But some worried Towson-based Caves Valley would bring national chains and vendors focused on alcohol, an unwelcome presence in a neighborhood weary of bars.
Arsh Mirmiran, a Caves Valley partner, said the developer wasn't going to "force it."
"When the goal is to do something … that creates an amenity in an area and there's an outcry saying we don't want that type of amenity, then why beat your head against the wall?" he said. "Sometimes you take a loss and you move on."
Worried about future, Cross Street Market merchants ask for compensation
Caves Valley's exit from the agreement comes after more than two years of negotiations. It is effective March 1, said Baltimore Public Markets Corp., the nonprofit that runs the city's markets.
The organization is regrouping to come up with a plan that has "the best interests of both the community and merchants in mind," said Stacey L. Pack, the nonprofit's spokeswoman.
"This came as a little bit of a surprise to us," she said. "We're definitely working on the action plan now."
Under the administration of former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the city wanted the private sector to take a greater role at public markets in some neighborhoods, as a way to inject more money and life into the institutions.
In 2015, the city invited bids from developers to renovate and run Cross Street in Federal Hill, home to a public market since 1846.
The decision came after years of complaints from neighbors, as well as inquiries from Caves Valley, a big player in South Baltimore, with apartments at 1111 Light Street and a $275 million-plus mixed-use development called Stadium Square underway in nearby Sharp-Leadenhall.
A spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh, who inherited the agreement from her predecessor, declined to make her available for an interview. Pugh said in a statement the markets "play a critical role in Baltimore's future."
"Public-private collaborations will be key, and I want to see Cross Street Market become what the community wants and certainly deserves," she said.
City Councilman Eric Costello, who represents the area and previously led one of its neighborhood associations, said he was "profoundly disappointed and really sad."
He said he's not sure what happens next.
"This was a very complex deal," he said "The likelihood of putting a similar deal … together — there's a very low probability of that. This was our opportunity."
Caves Valley, working with Scott Plank's War Horse LLC at the time, was the only firm that responded to the city's 2015 request for proposals. Its plan called for adding windows and changing tenants to house a family-oriented mix of eateries, vendors offering a mix of fresh meat, produce and coffee, and seasonal pop-ups, akin to markets in other cities, such as Seattle and San Francisco.
Negotiations dragged on, as War Horse withdrew and the city and the developer struggled to come up with terms that would make the market financially viable.
The final deal, which the Board of Estimates approved in November, would have led to a $6.5 million renovation, including $2 million in public funding, starting this spring.
Caves Valley, through an affiliate, had agreed to make $10,000 monthly payments to the markets corporation and split profits 50-50 after repaying its bank loan and receiving an 8 percent return on its initial investment. The lease was good for 15 years and could have been extended for up to 50.
But the firm still needed a liquor license from the General Assembly for the market.
A draft bill circulated by members of the General Assembly late last week was too restrictive, Mirmiran said.
The legislation would have limited liquor sales at the market to beer and wine for at least two years after it reopened and forbidden alcohol sales after 11 p.m. It also would have imposed a $50,000 annual fee for the liquor license.
In contrast, the Horseshoe Casino pays $15,000 a year for its unique round-the-clock liquor license.
Del. Luke Clippinger, one of the people who worked on the draft, said the legislation tried to balance neighborhood concerns and allow Caves Valley to operate.
Clippinger said the bill could have been amended. There was already a provision to reduce the fee to $10,000 if the market purchased and extinguished two other liquor licenses in the area.
"It is without question deeply disappointing," he said. "I think that everybody is going to need to take some time and determine what comes next, but I think there's no question that the market is in need of renovation."
Neighbors said there is widespread agreement that the market building, which dates to the 1950s, needs an upgrade. Vacancies have mounted, with stalls allowed to sit empty in anticipation of redevelopment. About 17 businesses have stalls there, employing about 70 people. At least one vendor left within the last few weeks.
Tia Boyd, who works nearby and comes to Cross Street Market every day, was there Wednesday to go to The Sweet Shoppe with her son, Kamron Batson, 9.
"I am so happy that they're not closing because it's very important for people to have jobs," she said. "All the people when it closed here were going to be out of a job."
Elizabeth Homer, 75, who has lived in Federal Hill for more than 30 years, said she is hopeful Caves Valley's exit presents a do-over opportunity.
Homer said there wasn't enough input from merchants and neighbors before the deal was signed. A market regular, Homer was worried Caves Valley would turn it into a food hall focused on drinking, with prices that would drive out some of its current clientele.
"It's a great gathering spot for an urban community," she said. "If you gentrify it beyond belief, that doesn't happen anymore and you really lose something."
Bob Merbler was more pessimistic.
He's a longtime Federal Hill resident who is treasurer of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association and sat on an advisory committee focused on the market.
Neighbors wanted merchants to be treated fairly, but he said some of the opposition was short-sighted and didn't take into account the realities of development.
He said he was disappointed, but sympathetic especially given the "nastiness" of recent discussions.
"Federal Hill and the city as a whole is a loser as a result of this," he said. "There should have been a way to make this work."
___________________________________________
Global Johns Hopkins is adamant there will be no public space in BLOOMBERG FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE #2 NORTH AMERICA----so what is upgrading a cherished, community food market becomes impossible unless an outside global developer is tied to the upgrade. It would take a few million to upgrade this market that tons of citizens frequent---that much money falls out of pockets at Baltimore Board of Estimate meetings.
I listened to the details of this development-----you see a sanitized version here in our local media----it is tied with these NO-HOLDS BAR tactics in this case by COSTELLO AND BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT BILL COLE. Cole got to head Baltimore Development because he has shown a decade or two of doing whatever it takes to get people off land---to get permits or zoning----to get an identified global investor on any piece of Baltimore property they want. This means killing the voices of dissent----pay-to-play to build ground for what is bad policy for a community---it means in this case CREATING A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR A LONG-TERM VENDOR INSIDE CROSS STREET MARKET just to get a LIQUOR LICENSE. This developer wanted yet ANOTHER BAR establishment in a Federal Hill community maxed with bars. This is why community citizens fought the development--they want to keep CROSS STREET THAT FOOD MARKET.
'But Henry Reisinger, owner of Fenwick Choice Meats, who has worked in the market for more than 40 years, called it a "sad day," since it's not clear what — if anything — will happen now'.
Everything in development has to be 21ST CENTURY----so the tie to global markets here is Germany----our uptown center pushed out all our long-term small business owners and filled uptown with global restaurants and bars. That is all we see in development that is not global Johns Hopkins and Wall Street finance. This occurs because the Master Plan of the entire CITY CENTER OF BALTIMORE being a global Johns Hopkins corporate campus with global 1% and their 2% coming and going needs HOSPITALITY ONLY.
'In a few weeks, Crossbar der Biergarten will open its industrial steel doors, welcoming in Federal Hill residents and other patrons to kick back at genuine Oktoberfest tables and sip German beers beneath the twinkle of lights strung under a glass ceiling'.
Crossbar licensing a small victory for business in Federal Hill
After several years of negoitation with the local neighborhood association, Crossbar der Biergarten is close to opening in Federal Hill.
(Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun video)
Sarah MeehanContact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun
The owners of Crossbar der Biergarten made major concession to bring their business to Federal Hill.In a few weeks, Crossbar der Biergarten will open its industrial steel doors, welcoming in Federal Hill residents and other patrons to kick back at genuine Oktoberfest tables and sip German beers beneath the twinkle of lights strung under a glass ceiling.
Looking around the nearly complete beer garden, it's hard to see the compromise that has been poured into the place in the four years since it was first proposed. It has taken two liquor licenses, multiple hearings before city commissioners and courts, changes to construction plans, hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours of negotiations with residents concerned about adding more bar stools to a neighborhood they feel already has more than its share.
Crossbar received the seal of approval it needed to open at 18 E. Cross St. when the Baltimore Board of Liquor License Commissioners unanimously supported its liquor license transfer Thursday.
It was a small victory for business following a major defeat earlier this week. Caves Valley Partners backed out of plans to redevelop Cross Street Market, leaving a number of Federal Hill residents worried about the message a vocal contingent is sending to those looking to invest in Federal Hill.
Garrett Schiche, vice president of the South Baltimore Neighborhood Association, sees different priorities among the varied demographics in Federal Hill: lifelong residents, those who moved to the neighborhood when it was first gentrifying two decades ago, and those who arrived in the past five years.
"Those people have different perspectives on what they want in the neighborhood and what they want out of the neighborhood," he said.
Their conflicting visions for the neighborhood came to a head when Caves Valley proposed a major overhaul of Cross Street Market that would have updated the run-down facility and added new merchants, while doing away with some longtime tenants like Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood. The plans drew fiery criticism from some neighbors, as well as demands from current market merchants for compensation and lower rents. In a matter of months, the private-public partnership between the city and Caves Valley fell apart.
Firm planning overhaul of Cross Street Market in Federal Hill walks away
Councilman Eric Costello doesn't think other developers will touch the market because the profit margins are so slim.
"I'm absolutely devastated by the Cross Street Market news," he said. "This was our opportunity to get this right, and the deal is now terminated."
Arsh Mirmiran, a partner in Caves Valley, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
"People see so much potential for this area, for the peninsula," Schiche said. "And a lot of people just get really frustrated with the barriers that factions of the neighborhood put up toward progress, and being completely unreasonable with it, too."
The $6.5 million redevelopment of the market is not the first time a business owner has withdrawn.
The owners of Michael's Cafe in Timonium proposed bringing their concept to a vacant lot on the corner of Charles and Cross streets in 2013. The restaurant group backed out after residents protested the restaurant, citing parking and capacity concerns.
"The only lever you have to push on at the liquor board or anywhere else is to try to constrain capacity," said Michael Murphy, president of the South Baltimore Neighborhood Association.
Restricting capacity was one concession Crossbar's owners made. The project was met with hostility when it was first proposed in 2013. Beth Whitmer, president of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, said Brian McComas, a partner in Crossbar, approached her following the first round of negotiations and said he wanted to start with a clean slate.
Costello, who was previously president of the neighborhood association helped craft the memorandum of understanding that was ultimately signed. He said it's among the most restrictive in the city. It limits the bar's capacity, stipulates a 50-50 food and drink sales ratio and keeps the kitchen open until at least 10:30 p.m. daily. The neighborhood association voted 26-3 to support it on Sunday.
"Quite frankly we're pretty pleased with it," Whitmer said. "He conceded a lot. It's a very tight [memorandum of understanding]. He was willing to do that to make this work."
Crews are putting finishing touches on the space, previously four buildings that were consolidated under one roof.
That glass roof wasn't originally in the plans. An open-air area would have accounted for about half the building, but those plans were rejected by the city's zoning board. Construction, originally projected to cost $1.2 million, rang in at $1.5 million between adding the roof and delays, McComas said. A second liquor license and court costs added more than $500,000.
Like Michael's, the major concern surrounding Crossbar was its propensity to transform into a "megabar" — a club-like venue packing in hundreds of patrons during late-night hours. Although the building can safely house more than 300 people, the owners agreed to restrict Crossbar's capacity to 155.
"We did that as a show of good faith to show that we're good operators," McComas said.
Only one person voiced opposition at the most recent hearing; the board approved the liquor license unanimously.
"It's been a long road," Josh Foti, a partner in the project, said after the liquor license hearing. "We're very happy."
McComas said it was worth it.
"We love Federal Hill. We think that that is the premier neighborhood in Baltimore, and we were far enough in it that we weren't giving up," he said. "In light of what just happened in the Cross Street Market, we were far enough into it that we weren't going to turn back. We know it's going to be a good addition to the neighborhood. In the end, even most of the people that weren't in favor of it, we think they're going to come to embrace it."
As for Cross Street Market and future projects, residents say they're not sure where to go from here.
"We as a neighborhood need to learn to negotiate and understand what 'give and take' means a little more," Whitmer said.
______________________________________
Baltimore's city liquor agency is known for decades as one of the most corrupt in a state known to be most corrupt in the nation and look who was at the lead of this liquor board when our good citizens and business owners were being MUSCLED OUT-----LARRY HOGAN NOW GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND. So, while pretending to protect our small businesses no matter whether running as Republican or Democrat they are all tied to ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE GLOBAL FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE. As soon as Federal Hill citizens came out in protest over and over to the point of developer backing down----HOGAN LEAVES HIS LIQUOR BOARD LEAD----and there is a need to replace all his appointees we are told because they are all corrupt. Know what? So will be the ones these city senators appoint----they will simply be pay-to-play for their own political needs.
In the meantime we have a city of citizens absolutely harmed with liquor store policies. Whether loading them in low-income communities dealing with drug and alcohol addictions or here we see good small, local business people being Shanghai'd of liquor license and what was a vendor location in Cross Street market renting for $10,000 a month.
THAT IS A BIG RENTAL FEE----WHERE IS THE MONEY FROM THAT TO UPGRADE THIS FACILITY?
Here we see Ferguson who is COSTELLO on a state assembly level -----if Costello was pushing this development policy complete with liquor license scandal so too was Ferguson----now it becomes HOGAN'S FAULT.
'Ferguson said he would support changing the bill to give the liquor board appointment authority to the city. “I think, at this particular moment in time, it makes a lot of sense, given the fierce community opposition. Hopefully we can avoid this in the future by having a more locally-driven process,” he said'.
Whether HOGAN---FERGUSON----COSTELLO----from Baltimore City Council ----to Maryland State Assembly ----to state businessman appointed to a liquor board----none of them would be moving on these development projects if not driven by global Johns Hopkins and its Baltimore Development Corporation.
Each time Baltimore citizens protest and do it right they win but Baltimore's 5% to the 1% are pushing 99% of citizens to not protest---don't do economic disruption----all those doing this are GLOBAL WALL STREET PLAYERS.
City senators block Hogan liquor board nominees, demand replacements
Michael Dresser and Pamela WoodContact Reporters
The Baltimore Sun
City senators block Hogan liquor board nominees, demanding he name replacements.The conflict over the direction of the city liquor board deepened Monday as a Senate committee refused to confirm three of Gov. Larry Hogan's appointees as commissioner and a powerful senator introduced legislation that could force him to appoint new members.
Meanwhile, Hogan withdrew the name of his lone appointee as an alternate commissioner. That appointee, Harvey E. Jones, was the only one of the Republican governor's board appointees who had not drawn opposition from senators.
Jones is known as a close political associate of Sen. Joan Carter Conway, the Baltimore Democrat who led the opposition to the other three appointees and who is sponsoring the legislation.
Conway, a member of the Senate Executive Nominations Committee, moved Monday to reject the three Hogan appointees, Benjamin Neil, Doug Trotter and Elizabeth Hafey. After a lengthy discussion, senators decided to postpone action until the panel's next meeting to give Hogan time to withdraw the appointments or come to an agreement with Baltimore's all-Democratic Senate delegation.
City senators said their constituents are up in arms about the direction in which Hogan's appointees have taken the board.
"They say they're too business-friendly -- don't adequately respect the communities, the establishments serve," said Baltimore Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden.
The delegation sent a letter to the committee unanimously opposing the governor's appointees, who have been making decisions in an acting capacity since Hogan appointed them last year.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who earlier had said he had no problem with the governor's appointees, backed his senators once they made their opposition clear. Miller, a Calvert County Democrat, said the dispute was a result of Hogan's failure to communicate with the city delegation and urged the governor to open discussions with them.
Hispanic business owners complain of unfair treatment "I'm sure the matter can be resolved amicably," he said.
Hogan spokesman Matthew A. Clark said the governor had named three "highly qualified candidates." He said one of them, Hafey, had been praised by Conway for her credentials.
"Yet, despite the strong resumes offered by Ms. Hafey and all of the appointees, the executive nominations committee chose to single out some members of the four-person board, politicizing the process," Clark said.
Nevertheless, Clark said the administration looks forward to working with the committee. He did not say what action the governor would take on the nominations.
Conway said she is adamant that the current Hogan appointees are unacceptable, and she took steps to block the governor from making new recess appointments that wouldn't pass Senate muster. Her bill would force Hogan to appoint new liquor board members before the session is over.
“As a courtesy to him, I’m saying – the Baltimore City Senate delegation is saying -- give us some new liquor commissioners," she said. "But obviously, you know that didn’t sit well with them.”
Without her bill, Conway said, Hogan might wait to appoint new members until after the General Assembly finishes its 90-day session in April. Then they would get to serve until next year’s General Assembly session, when senators would have a chance to review and confirm them -- or not.
“It’s a way of trying to get him to appoint them before we leave session, so we can make a decision of whether they are appropriate,” said Conway. She chairs the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, which will review the bill.
Conway said the liquor board members have made poor decisions that have left residents frustrated, including overturning decisions from the prior liquor board and shortening suspensions.
“Baltimore City is in an uproar over the decisions that they have been consistently making since they have been appointed by the governor,” Conway said.
Conway said she’s also considering changing the bill entirely so that it would take the liquor board appointment authority away from the governor and putting it in the hands of the mayor and City Council.
She said she has the votes to pass the bill, and if it’s vetoed, “I have the votes to overturn it.”
Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat whose district includes the bar-heavy neighborhoods of Fells Point and Federal Hill, said he’s heard from hundreds of constituents frustrated by the liquor board and its “pro-licensee” tilt.
“The perception of the liquor board is that it has not had a balanced approach to its decision-making process,” he said.
When the liquor board appointees appeared before senators in a hearing a week ago, “I don’t think they made their case fully to move forward,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he would support changing the bill to give the liquor board appointment authority to the city. “I think, at this particular moment in time, it makes a lot of sense, given the fierce community opposition. Hopefully we can avoid this in the future by having a more locally-driven process,” he said.
______________________________________________
Locust Point is slated to be a mirror of Canton as regards PORT TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT ---there is no intention of keeping a community with citizens ---it will be one big coastal Foreign Economic Zone industrialized area and there will be no FT MC HENRY because old world MERCHANTS OF VENICE WERE THE BRITISH NAVY FORT MC HENRY WITH BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR was fighting---and yet there is association leadership pretending to be working for the community all bucking to be next in line for an appointment to BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT or CITY COUNCIL for doing anything these global developers say.
UnderArmour wants to set aside a large parcel of real estate in a valuable area of Locust Point and call it AN ATHLETIC FIELD FOR THE KIDS-----what kids say REAL LOCAL CITIZENS----there are no children in this area and the only people using the field are mostly brought in from Montgomery County by UnderArmour to make it appear used by community.
REAL citizens trying to get these associations working as legally required-----doing business in ways not corrupt----bringing in any semblance of public interest development are called CRAZY-----one activist calls it BALLS. What she is saying is this---she places herself in this association whether they like it our not and fights to the end to make them follow Rule of Law.
AND SHE IS SOMEONE WHO WOULD NEVER GET TAPPED FOR BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OR BALTIMORE CITY HALL.
If the corruption and fraud is not there none of this development would occur because NONE OF THE CURRENT CITIZENS WANT THIS DEVELOPMENT.
Officers and Board of Directors
The leadership of the Locust Point Civic Association is comprised of five elected officers including President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary and Recording Secretary. There are 10 at-large Board members rounding out the Board of Directors.
The Officers and Directors are:
President: Greg Sileo
Vice-President: Harry Stinefelt
Treasurer: Sarah Swiger
Corresponding Secretary: Ginny Rajnes
Recording Secretary: Justin Grossman
Locust Point Civic Association
Locust Point Civic Association
February 24 at 1:42pm
Some additional information from the Bozzuto Development team regarding the (PDI) project: "The parking on both sides of Beason will be available on non-working hours. We will not taking up parking areas on non-working hours. We will only utilize Beason St under our allowed hours per the ROW permit, 9am-3pm daily.
We will make sure incoming trucks will not idle on Beason St, or around the homes adjacent to these homes. We will likely have the trucks wait on the northern section of our site. Prior to 3pm daily, we will remove all material and equipment off Beason and move it to one of our blocks, or on Richardson between Beason & alley C where we have a full closure(grass road), for staging overnight. We will also sweep the street as we move out of the road closure daily. We will not leave any material or equipment to interfere with any parking. We will install the temporary road closure barricades just prior to 9am daily. We would hope that the residents vehicles would me moved prior to 9am daily."
___________________________________________
We are not being negative we are talking REALITY -----talking about REAL development goals in Baltimore's PORT COMMUNITIES---is not negative.
Old Dominion and McCormick manufacturing closed in Baltimore not only for gentrification but because they manufacture and sell DOMESTICALLY/LOCALLY----and as we discussed Foreign Economic Zones only allow manufacturing that is EXPORTED WITH NO RETAIL. All of Port of Baltimore from Canton around to Dundalk/Locust Point will be one great big cargo docking with longshore cranes to lift cargo onto global ships with rail yards and crude oil and natural gas terminals even if pols pretend they are not coming to our port. This picture of an old industrial community of blue collar workers will not be in this future---these homeowners will be forced out of their homes. Yet Baltimore pols and Baltimore Development sell the idea these community associations are having INPUT INTO DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
That football field promised by an UnderArmour for a HIGH SCHOOL ON FEDERAL HILL is not a structure that will remain---it is not permanent so every development issue geared towards the poor---seniors---children---is temporary as they MOVE FORWARD.
Jul 20, 2015
Locust Point: Exploring Baltimore’s Neighborhoods
Matt Bracken and Kalani Gordon 0 Comment Maryland, Neighborhoods of Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun
American flags affixed to the front of several rowhouses on Latrobe Park Terrace blow gently in the light breeze. The adjacent park on this 85-degree, mid-June afternoon is active – at the dog park, on the playground equipment, around Banner Field. We’re just a few miles from the heart of downtown, but everything about this scene in Locust Point feels suburban.
“We have a retired police officer on my street,” says Will Jovel, the Locust Point Civic Association’s design review chair, “and he said while he was on duty, they called [our neighborhood] ‘Mayberry.’”
Latrobe Park Terrace (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Cars parked at the Locust Point Marine Terminal on New Year’s Day 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Dec. 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
March 2000: With the influx of new high-tech businesses, real estate values of row homes such as these in Locust Point have been appreciating lately. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
The Banner Route, a Charm City Circulator line, along Fort Avenue in Baltimore. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
Shawn Reichenberg and Joe Kelly are pictured outside Haubert Street rowhouses in Locust Point on March 28, 1982. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
Employees at Amstar Corp.’s Domino sugar plant on Locust Point picket during a wildcat strike on January 15, 1980. Workers returned to their jobs the next day. (Baltimore Sun photo by Walter M. McCardell)
Nov. 2003: William Marshall of Marshall’s Contracting, works on a cornice in the 1300 block of Andre St. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun staff)
Nov. 2003: This is an abandoned grain elevator which looms above homes at E. Clement & Towson St. Locust Point is an up-and-coming neighborhood, with high-end condo/townhouse development underway for several industrial refurbishments, including this elevator. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point. (Chiaki Kawajiri)
Sept. 12, 2000: Developer Bill Struever kayaks from the Tide Point office complex his company is building in Locust Point to a meeting in Canton. (Perry Thorsvik/Staff)
Two Locust Point residents continue an anti-expressway campaign in front of City Hall on Feb. 11, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
Nov. 20, 2003: Marvin Bohle sweeps the sidewalk in front of his home on Reynolds St. as his dog, “Angel” looks down the street from the porch. Bohle worked 33 years as a grain operator at the grain elevator company behind him, which has been closed about 3 years. (Algerina Pern/Baltimore Sun)
Pre-game ceremonies at Ole Reistad Field on Fort Avenue in Locust Point on May 30, 1950. (Baltimore Sun photo by Leroy Merriken)
The Under Armour headquarters in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A look into Bethlehem Steel’s Locust Point ship building plant on June 16, 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
The dog park at Latrobe Park and Banner Field in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A Locust Point soccer team faces an Italian club on Feb. 11, 1963. (Baltimore Sun photo by Paul Hutchins)
Banner Field at Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A view of a mammoth grain building in Locust Point that members of the civic association in 1974 said spoiled the view of Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Drudging operations alongside the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on Sept, 12, 1958. (Baltimore Sun photo by Ellis Malashuk)
A ship passes by Fort McHenry on March 13, 1954. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
Jumping into the Patapso off Locust Point on Aug. 20, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Joe DiPaola)
Ships adjacent to SIlo Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, 2015)
War of 1812 defenders at Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Fort McHenry fireworks on Sept. 17, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert Kniesche)
2001: Fireworks mark the beginning of the year 2001 at the Inner Harbor. This view is from Locust Point. (Steve Ruark, Baltimore Sun)
A crowd at Fort McHenry watches drills on June 9, 1968. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Stacey Bruce, 17, shows off a McDonald’s crab cake served as the Fort Avenue location in Locust Point on July 9, 1992. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
Seven waterskiing enthusiasts from Florida skim past Fort McHenry in one of a series of exhibitions they put on along the route to World’s Fair in N.Y., on Aug. 5, 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Coast Guard members are on duty at Fort McHenry on April 2, 1942. (Baltimore Sun photo)
An aerial view of Fort McHenry on August 26, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
Flames sweep over an unused coal pier on the north side of Locust Point on Oct. 5, 1970. (Baltimore Sun photo by William Hotz)
Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
A banner showcasing the neighborhood as ‘Locust Point’ overlooks Fort Avenue. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
The Locust Point fire house is pictured on July 6, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert K. Hamilton)
March 31, 1998: Freight cars in Locust Point bask in the late afternoon sun on Thursday. The photo was from an aerial perspective. (Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
The Locust Point firehouse is reopened on Aug. 15, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
Silo Point at Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Sept. 14, 95: Pictures at the Procter & Gamble Locust Point plant which is being shutdown after 65 years of operation. (Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Mar 4, 2000: Locust Point has coexisted with heavy industry for decades. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
June 26, 2002: Zack Sinsky fishes with friends on a beautiful sunset evening at Tide Point pier. (Monica Lopossay Riesser, Baltimore Sun)
April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point, converted to luxury condominiums offices under a plan by local developers. (Chiaki Kawajiri, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Dec. 1, 2003: View of Ft. McHenry and the Key Bridge from the top of the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Scenes from the Locust Point Festival at Latrobe Park on Sept. 12, 1977. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
The Locust Point Marine Terminal South is pictured on April 21, 1988. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Welder Bill DiDomenico and helper Keith Horton work in the first Fort McHenry tunnel section at Locust Point. (Baltimore Sun photo by Weyman Swagger)
An aerial view of the B&O at Locust Point on Sept. 27, 1946. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
Below deck, loaders carry bananas to the cranes at the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on February 22, 1959. (Baltimore Sun photo by Richard Stacks)
A ship is abandoned on the sand bar at Locust Point on Aug. 10, 1930. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
A truck leaves Locust Point on Feb. 3, 1983. (Baltimore Sun photo by Irving H. Phillips Jr.)
A view of American Sugar Refining Co. in Locust Point in 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Locust Point
» Border streets: Lawrence Street, Patapsco River,
» Neighboring areas: Locust Point industrial area, Riverside
In this idyllic South Baltimore community, the median home price is $349,000. More than 83 percent of the population – which also includes neighboring Federal Hill and Riverside – between the ages of 16 and 64 are employed. Five years ago, a national consumer-finance website named Locust Point the safest large neighborhood in Baltimore.
It’s home to Under Armour, Domino Sugar and Phillips Seafood. McHenry Row, Silo Point and other recent developments have drawn droves of young Baltimoreans to the neighborhood. Bars, restaurants and shops are spread throughout the area, but not ubiquitously so.
All of which begs the question: Does Locust Point have any problems?
“Parking, traffic, density,” says Greg Sileo, president of the Locust Point Civic Association. “When you have big developments that are being planned, the question is how is it going to impact parking and how is it going to impact traffic.”
Minor inconveniences aside, Locust Point stands out among Baltimore neighborhoods for its modern amenities and historical charms. Fort McHenry, located at the eastern-most point of the peninsula, is known for its defense of the harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, events which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The neighborhood’s public elementary/middle school is named for the composer.
Damian O’Connor, a history buff and LPCA board member, was drawn to Locust Point by the Fort, where he works. A year ago, he decided to move from Catonsville to the neighborhood. “I told people I’m moving to the city, and they said, ‘Oh, you’re going to be hearing police sirens all the time.’ You never hear police sirens. What you hear are train whistles and boat horns.”
Two marine terminals – South Locust Point and North Locust Point – call the neighborhood home, as does the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway. For decades, port workers and employees at factories like Domino Sugar and Bethlehem Steel settled on the local streets, many of which are named for War of 1812 figures.
The juxtaposition of Locust Point’s blue-collar roots and present-day wealth/gentrification present some challenges for Jovel when it comes to the aesthetic concerns of development. He’s played a key consulting and communications role in changes to Latrobe Park, acquiring funds from Under Armour and other organizations to beautify the area. Much of the work was done in advance of the Star-Spangled Spectacular.
The next bullet point on Jovel’s design-oriented agenda is replacing a historic-yet-dilapidated bath house near Banner Field with a “really nice field house that’s kind of looking forward and paying respect to what was there historically.”
“I think [the neighborhood] was in a transition when it went from post-industrial to where we are now,” Jovel says. “Now it’s continuing a transition. I think more and more, new is kind of bridging with the old, and we’re getting along better and better every year. The new appreciate everything that the old have to say. When people describe the old bathhouse to me and birthday parties they had there, stuff like that, [I think], ‘Man that’s great, I wish I had the same amenity for my kids.’ I think everyone’s learning a lot about the history and where Locust Point came from, but also where we go from here and maybe guide some of the growth.”
Sileo, meanwhile, is keeping busy in his role as LPCA president, working with community stakeholders, local businesses, politicians, concerned citizens and developers on a variety of projects. Having spent five years in the mayor’s office and another three with the Maryland Department of Human Resources, Sileo – a city council candidate in the 11th district – is particularly concerned during our tour about the proposal to eliminate the Charm City Circulator’s Banner Route.
“A lot of people in Locust Point are really dissatisfied that the Banner Route is something that needs to be cut,” Sileo says. “We think we’re really underserved in The Point. We have one MTA bus that comes down the peninsula. It’s really inconsistent and comes down infrequently. Having that connection to other sites [throughout the city] is vital for us.”
Less than three weeks later, Sileo’s wish is granted. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces that the Banner Route will be saved.
Another win for a city neighborhood that seemingly has it all.
__________________________________________
GET OUT! Say Malaysian citizens to Foreign Economic Zone development and they are right.
The goal of all Foreign Economic Zones is to completely transform these regions removing all societal and historical connections to create a ONE WORLD 21ST CENTURY look on all zones around the world-----the same global restaurants----hotels----bars-----and city centers filled with global 1% and their 2% doing business in that Foreign Economic Zone.....there is no plan for 99% of sovereign citizens including in US cities like Baltimore---all the media is geared to hype the idea that development is coming along nicely for citizens----when 99% of citizens are shouting STOP THESE DEVELOPMENTS.
That is of course what citizens in Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, China were all shouting as real estate grabs simply told them to get lost
“If you compare apples to apples, we may be 30 to 40 percent behind Singapore, or maybe even a bit more,” he said. “And I think we’re easily 15 to 20 percent behind Jakarta and Bangkok.” Foreign buyers generally look for homes in Kuala Lumpur’s City Center, the state of Penang, a development zone called Iskander in Johor state, and the city of Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, said Herbert Leong, an associate director with Knight Frank Kuala Lumpur'.
Well it looks like America' upper middle if they can hold on to any wealth will need to look towards Malaysia for home-ownership and senior years---look they have citizenship and residency laws waiting for WE THE PEOPLE.
House Hunting in ... Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International Real Estate
By ALISON GREGOR MAY 28, 2014
Slide Show
Slide Show|11 Photos
A Bungalow in Teak and Stone
A Bungalow in Teak and StoneCreditDavid Hagerman for The New York Times
BALINESE BUNGALOW
$6.79 MILLION (21.8 MILLION RINGGIT)
This sprawling Balinese-style home, with about 9,000 square feet of living space and about 3,000 square feet of outdoor space, was designed by the prominent Balinese architect Yoka Sara and built in 2002. The home was created by Indonesian artisans over the course of three years out of old-growth Indonesian teak, Palimanan stone and sandstone, with terra-cotta roof tiles, said Shirley-Ann Joseph, an agent with Zerin Properties, which has the listing. It has five bedrooms and five bathrooms spread out over four levels, one of them subterranean, she said.
Floor-to-ceiling doors slide open to the grounds, which include a swimming pool with jets, a patio and water gardens with a dipping pool. Most interior doors are solid carved teak, and flooring is teak or marble, including Carrara. While the home is being sold unfurnished, the lights are included in the asking price, and all the beds are on carved platforms that are also included, Ms. Joseph said.
The main entrance is through an arched teak door with a facade of hand-carved leaves that leads into a double-height foyer with a towering white Palimanan-stone wall hand-carved on site with flowers and other motifs. On the right is a living room with teak crown molding and a curved ceiling covered in woven rattan mat, a signature design of the architect, Ms. Joseph said. Beyond the living room is the dining room adjacent to a Western kitchen with custom-made teak cabinetry, a Viking range and appliances by the New Zealand company Fisher & Paykel. From the dining room, stairs descend to a second kitchen for heavy-duty cooking with pungent spices — from its own herb garden right outside the door — as well as a gym and staff quarters.
Off the home’s foyer is a guest bedroom with a private terrace that descends to a massage room and water garden. The guest bedroom has a conventional bathroom and an outdoor bathroom with lava stone and sunken bath and shower. Stairs off the foyer lead to the second floor, which has a family room, a second bedroom and the master suite. The master suite has 20-foot ceilings and a balcony with views of the surrounding hills. With many carved wooden embellishments, the master suite also has a teak wardrobe designed by an Italian cabinetmaker. The master bathroom has Italian-designed teak cabinetry and a cast iron bathtub, along with the ornate Kohler nickel-finished faucets that are found throughout the home’s bathrooms. There is also an exterior bath, shower and garden.
The home’s third floor is a family room that could be converted to a bedroom. The space opens to the roof, which has an outdoor shower and stairs leading up to a large bale, or gazebo, and a rooftop swimming pool. The home sits on less than a third of an acre on a hilltop in western Kuala Lumpur and is landscaped with gardens of aromatic frangipani, evergreens and ponds with Arowana fish.
The fashionable Damansara Heights area, where the home is situated, is a 20-minute drive from central Kuala Lumpur. Originally a suburb developed for government employees several decades ago, the hilly neighborhood has grown increasingly pricey and exclusive in recent years, Ms. Joseph said. “Many older homes have been purchased and rebuilt into huge homes,” she said. “This suburb has attracted many politicians, corporate figures and royalty.”
While there are some local shops in Damansara Heights, most residents shop in neighboring Bangsar, which has malls, boutique shops and restaurants. Within a 15-minute drive of Damansara Heights are equestrian centers, golf courses, country clubs, international schools, parks and performing arts centers. Kuala Lumpur’s international airport is about 75 minutes away by car or a 30-minute ride on the train, Ms. Joseph said.
MARKET OVERVIEW
After remaining largely unscathed by the 2008 global real estate crisis, the Malaysian real estate market has been on fire since about 2011, with prices increasing roughly 30 to 35 percent through 2013, said Siva Shanker, the president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents. The government took some steps in 2012 to attempt to cool down the market, including implementing more restrictive lending standards and increasing real property gains tax, Mr. Shanker said.
“As a result of that, the number of transactions went down,” he said. “But strangely enough, home values still went up. And in 2013, that pattern repeated itself — the number of transactions fell by 10 percent, but values went up by 6 percent.”
Those trends are mostly being fueled by domestic home purchasers, many buying multiple homes, because foreign buyers make up only about 4 to 7 percent of the market, Mr. Shanker said. The trend of increasing prices is anticipated to continue, he said.
Many foreign purchasers disappeared from the market after the 2008 global real estate crisis, but Kuala Lumpur’s home prices tend to be lower than those in other large metropolitan areas in the Asia-Pacific region, so they haven’t disappeared altogether, Mr. Shanker said.
“If you compare apples to apples, we may be 30 to 40 percent behind Singapore, or maybe even a bit more,” he said. “And I think we’re easily 15 to 20 percent behind Jakarta and Bangkok.” Foreign buyers generally look for homes in Kuala Lumpur’s City Center, the state of Penang, a development zone called Iskander in Johor state, and the city of Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, said Herbert Leong, an associate director with Knight Frank Kuala Lumpur.
“Most buy condos for investment,” enjoying the rental revenue and capital appreciation, he said. “Foreigners working in Kuala Lumpur also enjoy living in Mont Kiara, a suburb outside the city center, due to the presence of international schools.”
Damansara Heights, where this home is situated, along with Kuala Lumpur’s established neighborhoods, such as Bangsar, Ampang Hilir, Valencia, Seputeh and Ukay Heights, are also popular with foreigners, said Previn Singhe, the principal of Zerin Properties.
Luxury homes in Kuala Lumpur generally range from about $405 per square foot to $780 per square foot, with residences branded by such entities as Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton costing even more, Mr. Leong said.
Detached homes can range from about $1.4 million to upward of $6.2 million, depending on the quality and size of the home, the lot size, and the location, Mr. Singhe said.
WHO BUYS IN MALAYSIA
Because of Malaysia’s historic and cultural ties with Singapore, Singaporeans make up the largest group of foreign home buyers in Malaysia, Mr. Shanker said. Beyond that, there are many Asian buyers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Indonesia, as well as Middle Eastern, American and British buyers, brokers said.
BUYING BASICS
There are some restrictions for foreign home buyers in Malaysia, including a general minimum purchase value that was doubled at the end of 2013, to 1 million ringgit, or about $310,000, Mr. Shanker said. (There is some slight variation in the minimum amount depending on the state, Mr. Leong said.)
Foreigners also need government approval to make a home purchase, though this is largely a formality, Mr. Leong said. Some foreign buyers take advantage of a government program called Malaysia My Second Home, which grants residency and other privileges to retirees from abroad, brokers said.
Purchases are subject to a stamp duty calculated on a graduated scale, and the Bar Office regulates legal fees also on a sliding scale, Mr. Leong said. Generally, buyers pay about 2 to 3 percent of the home’s sale price in stamp duty and fees, he said.
For this home, the legal fees and stamp duty would amount to 833,991 ringgit, or about $259,000, Ms. Joseph said.
__________________________________________
We talked of battles occurring in a predominately white neighborhood gentrified to middle-class now being taken by global corporate development----here is the other end of Baltimore --the northwest undergoing the same rough and corrupt development this time with black citizens losing out to what appears to be a largely Jewish community of citizens. Baltimore always seems to pit race and class against one another because---IT IS SEGREGATED THAT WAY. As this article states these NW communities did used to be mostly Jewish who moved out when Baltimore's industries died but all the real estate in these areas were kept by Jewish landlords and as we know it was all left to decay so we have the slum landlord problem and abuses.
What the MASTER PLAN for greater Baltimore and Maryland have in store for NW ---not simply Pimlico is one huge FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE from Owings Mill down to upper Park Heights---this NW sector of Baltimore. It appears this Pimlico and Mt Washington will be that global 1% and their 2% this time being Jewish----you can believe our Jewish 99% are not going to be winners any more than any other group. So, this looks to be Jewish vs black just as East Baltimore was Black vs white development. The point is this-----
IF WE KEEP IGNORING THE ASSAULT ON OUR BLACK CITIZENS AND THEIR NEED FOR INCLUSION---EVERYONE WILL BE EX-PATS HEADING TO CHINA OR MALAYSIA --THERE IS NO WINNERS IN ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE.
Baltimore City's Past Present and Future
NOW WITH PICTURES!! What does the future hold for Baltimore City? No one knows for sure. One way is to examine is to look at the past and present conditions, the other is to look at what's on the drawing board as far as new development. I will attempt to do both while at the same time throwing in my opinion. Sure, the Inner Harbor and its surrounding neighborhoods are nice, but they're aren't my focus. Check out old posts I have added pictures to them!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Say Goodbye to Pimlico and Park Heights as We Know Them
First a little bit of history of the Park Heights neighborhood. This neighborhood came up from the 1920s to the 1940s as Jews continued to migrate Northwest from East Baltimore. Park Heights just like Edmondson Village was a streetcar suburb. Park Heights thrived as a middle class Jewish community until the mid 1960s. As blacks migrated from the same slums as their Jewish cohort white flight in sued and by 1970 the neighborhood was almost entirely black. Edmondson Village has always been thought of as the poster child for block busting and complete racial turnover. In fact Park Heights did it in roughly half the time of Edmondson Village. Edmondson Village's turnover took 10 years (1955-1965) while Park Heights was 5 (1965-1970). Not only was Park Height's racial turnover quicker than Edmondson Village but it also decayed quicker. This my have little to do with the neighborhood itself. Since Edmondson Village changed earlier than Park Heights which gave it the ability to thrive as a black community. By the time Park Heights changed urban America was decaying faster than ever. The rise of the Black Panthers, The Building of interstate highways, public housing high rises, the MLK Jr. riots accelerated urban decay nationwide in the late 1960s through the 1970s. One thing that Park Heights always had in its favor was and is the Pimlico racecourse, home of the Preakness. But could the crown and jewel of the Park Heights community be holding it back? Read on and you may in for a shock.......
Photo From Google Earth
Park Heights has been a troubled neighborhood for close to 40 years now. Pimlico race course home of the famed Preakness and little else is easily its biggest attribute but it may be the biggest thing holding it back. There have been many proposals over the years to either build relocate or build more on the Pimlico site. I think that Pimlico should be relocated in a more desirable location for tourism. Some have said Pigtown for the new race course but I don't think it's a good idea to buy up Pigtown and destroy a neighborhood that has made so much progress in the past few years. People are right on the money when they say southwest of Downtown and the existing stadiums. I have four words to solve the issue: Carroll Camden Industrial Park. What better way to complement the new Gateway South development and the reconfigured Russel Street? The amount of vacant and underutilized land in that area is more than enough to build a new arena and services like hotels to go with it. It's near the blue line, the new Orange Line and MARC lines of mass transit as well.
Photo From Google Earth
Now back to Park Heights, like I said a minute ago the neighborhood is in bad shape. Violent Crime, Gangs, Drugs, AIDS lack of services on the public and private level and block after block of vacant dilapidated houses to name a few. However Park Heights has a lot that can and will be done to and it is poised to make a major come back in the not to distant future. As I mentioned before Pimlico racetrack would be moved and in its place would be a mix of offices and new housing. The Park Heights Master Plan created by the city says the site can accommodate 1,000,000 square feet of Office Space, 3000 to 5000 new jobs and 1,000 new housing units at the same time. Also the Park Heights Master Plan calls for a huge chuck of vacant housing to be redeveloped in the center of the neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood is in the worst shape 900 housing units 850 of which are vacant and rotting. In its place will be a brand new mixed income development with apartments, condos, town homes, and detached homes. The commercial nodes in the neighborhood will also be redeveloped with a full service grocery store, an Enoch Pratt Free Library, and better neighborhood services.
First lets talk public housing. There are two public housing developments in the Park Heights Neighborhood. Oswego Mall, a small row house development near Park Circle has got to go, the violence and drug activity has gotten out of control that redevelopment is the only alternative. In its place will be new market rate home ownership town homes. The homes surrounding Oswego Mall will instantly be stabilized a more desirable address.
The second public housing development is BelPark Towers, a 274 unit high rise located in the middle of a row house neighborhood. Although not nearly as violent as the previous HOPE VI developments this will be redeveloped in the same manor. In its place will be brand new town homes that are two levels stacked over top of one another making the structures four levels. They will be a mix of subsidized home ownership and public housing a 50-50 split to be exact. Traffic conditions may slightly improve with the new development as well. Nelson Avenue and Cordelia Avenue will now connect with each other which they don't as of right now when BelPark Towers was built. With town homes instead of a high rise apartment building the neighborhood will be back to scale.
Now lets talk Northern Parkway and transit oriented development(TOD). The Park Heights Master Plan suggests that there is limited TOD opportunities in the Park Heights neighborhood. I strongly disagree with this because I don't believe the Wabash Avenue corridor should remain industrial. I go into much further detail on my Wabash Avenue post. The Northern Parkway corridor in the Park Heights and Howard Park neighborhoods leaves something to the imagination. The road itself will be narrowed to two lanes to provide room for sidewalks and a bike lane. Streetscape enhancements will include asphalt pavement instead of cement, brick crosswalk, landscaped medians with neatly manicured plantings and flowers, and additional lighting both on either side of the street and in the medians. Back to TOD, Park Heights has the advantage of being served very nicely by both the Blue Line and the Green Line. Like I've said in almost all of my posts, I believe that these existing transit lines should be barried underground to improve the flow of traffic, higher rail speeds, and the freeing up of land at ground level for development. There is ample land for development in addition to Wabash Avenue, there is space on Northern Parkway throughout Park Heights and Howard Park.
The new development on the former Pimilico will have Northern Parkway frontage. Opposite what is currently the Pimlico racetrack is the Glen/Mount Washington neighborhood. There is very little development in Glen and Mount Washington that actually faces Northern Parkway but for very good reason. During the interstate planning and building era neighborhoods used limited access parkways to try to distance themselves from decaying neighborhoods. But with the new mixed use development I'm proposing I would like to see this swath of land developed as another mixed use development to compliment its counterpart to the south. One thing that is one the other side of Northern Parkway is the soon to be former Pimlico Middle School. This represents even more available land on this side of Northern Parkway.
Further down Northern Parkway is the Seton Business Park. It's all to obvious that this was built in the 1970s and today it's one of the ugliest Business Parks in Central Maryland. Redevelopment will transform this eyesore to an Office Park that will give Canton Crossing a run for its money.
Lastly I'd like to focus on social issues. Until now all I've talked about is physical redevelopment. Most importantly Park Heights has the one of the highest occurance of HIV and AIDS in the country, a large contributer to this is not sexual but dirty needles. It's no secret that drug addiction including herion is a major problem. One solution that I'm advocating is the needle exchange program. This is very controversial because critics say that it encourages drug use. I personally do not encourgae drug use and neither do the majority of politicians who are in favor of this. Needle exchange is the lesser ofd two evils,although it does nothing for the drug epidemic it does a lot to slow down the AIDS epidemic. It's the same people who turn their noses at the needle exchange program who try to stop condom give aways at high schools because it encourages teen sex. Condoms just like clean needles stop the spread of AIDS and teen pregnancy. Now that I've got babies on the brain I'd like to talk about the infant mortality rate. Park Heights has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. This has a lot to do with the environment their mothers are exposed to. Mothers don't have access to health care, fresh healthy food and are more likely to addicts which in turn makes their baby an addict. With the exception of addiction the health of the mother and the rest of the population can be solved almost exclusively by the physical redevelopment aspect. Physical redevelopment can usher better services like better grocery stores, free clinics, and WIC centers. Now lets talk education, the elementary schools score relatively well considering their city schools but are still pretty terrible. I did a post a while back on school construction so refer to that when it comes the school buildings themselves. When it comes to test scores and the high drop out rate I got nothing.
Education woes aside I think we can say goodbye to Pimlico and Park Heights as we know them and they won't be missed.
_______________________________________________
It's important for American citizens to understand the same corruptions as in China are mirrored in America-----China is third world developing nation with no Rule of Law-----America is a first world developed nation with the strongest history of Rule of Law and US Constitutional rights of citizens and yet-----America is acting just as any third world nation in real estate and corruption schemes.
China has a history of citizens getting in the way going missing---they get imprisoned for dissent ----rural land owners fighting the system were sent to Foreign Economic Zones where they were enslaved in global corporate factories-----
Below we see to who our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones are catering-----they know the money being laundered into America from Asian nations like China are filled with fraud and corruption and yet there will be NO ATTEMPT IN BALTIMORE to assure transactions are legal.
The Chinese politburo who are billionaires from these same schemes are now wanting to claw back wealth and finding its millionaires heading to Baltimore to flip houses ---to partner in global investment schemes in our communities where Baltimore citizens are simply trying to hold on to US Rule of Law and their rights as citizens. BLACK, WHITE, AND BROWN CITIZENS---getting fleeced by that same 5% to the 1% who don't care.
SHOW THEM THE MONEY THEY WILL DO ANYTHING GLOBAL WALL STREET SAYS----FIX BALTIMORE ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE ONE MESS.
November 8, 2013 - 9:23 pm .China's Latest Corruption Target: Overseas Real Estate
China’s corrupt officials and crooked businessmen have smuggled billions of dollars overseas, much of which has ended up in real estate in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom—particularly in high-end neighborhoods in London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Toronto. Now the Chinese government is embarking on a worldwide hunt to seize the properties with help from foreign governments, according to asset recovery and anti-corruption specialists.
This could present a serious problem for investors holding property in Chinese preferred markets such as Sydney and Melbourne. The Chinese are estimated to poor as much as $1B/yr into each market. Even a modest slowing of this flow could have a profound impact on values. I've mentioned on other threads how the FIRB virtually ignores foreign investors who circumvent FIRB requirements. A little prodding from China might just change that.
Abbott is pushing to complete a FTA with China that has been in the pipeline for some eight years. My guess is that if the Chinese are serious they certainly have the muscle to move the AU govt where ever they want.
'But the social impact of the skyrocketing housing market is a huge concern for the stability-obsessed country. The blatant disparities between wealthy homeowners with multiple properties and those who cannot afford rent highlight a deepening divide'.
The same is happening in US cities where partnerships are buying and building LUXURY high rises that sit mostly empty-----they are doing this in China as well----this is done to artificially inflate real estate values and rents so no one other than the global 1% and their 2% can buy real estate in those city centers in the future----
China's Crazy Real Estate Market: Is The Bubble Bursting?
By Michelle FlorCruz @mflorcruz On 02/01/13 AT 5:43 PM
Shao Tian first came to Beijing from her hometown of Nanjing in 2006 for university. After moving back home for a few years, she then moved permanently to Beijing in early 2011 to pursue a job offer from a foreign media company.
The 24-year-old went looking for a place to live that would fit within her budget. And that’s when her problems started.
While staying with a friend, Shao frantically scoured Beijing's tough, expensive real estate market. After several visits to apartments with substandard living environments, her patience was wearing thin; the places she had seen were barely livable, and still beyond her budget. Then she decided to meet a different real estate agent from the one she was using, and settled on an apartment unit that was 500 yuan ($80) above her initial budget. But it seemed like the best she could do.
“Just when I thought I was lucky to have found this second agent and agreed on a deal with him, he started calling someone to talk about the contract, and told me that was my ‘real direct agent’,” Shao recalled.
It was then that she was hit with additional fees that had never been negotiated, or even discussed, previously. She took the deal just to finally end her apartment hunt, and ended up paying three times one month’s rent in fees alone.
Two months later, an agent accompanied by a construction crew came in to convert the living room into another bedroom, or else Shao Tian and her roommate would face a 30 percent rent increase. They didn't really have a choice, and let the construction begin. With the additional roommate, rent decreased by just 100 yuan a month ($16).
Stories like this one have become increasingly common since 2009, when the $586 billion stimulus package passed by China’s government to counter the global economic crisis that began the previous year produced a real estate boom that hasn’t abated since. The result is that three years later, home rentals in large cities, including Beijing, have become increasingly out of reach for middle-class people.
On the other hand, commercial spaces are showing a slowdown, from the giddy boom years toward more reasonable rents. According to the Chinese unit of U.S. real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL), Beijing saw a slowdown in high-end office building demand during the fourth quarter of 2012, and the year as a whole was “relatively sluggish.” At 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, it was the slowest growth in rental prices for high-end offices in Beijing in the past three years. That slowing trend fits with the overall economic goals of the national government, which is trying to trade short-term gain for long-term stability.
“It was reported last quarter that a number of tenants handed space back to the market and in response, several landlords were willing to offer discounted rents or other incentives in order to attract what they deemed to be high-quality tenants,” the Jones Lang LaSalle report said.
But for those hoping for a drop in residential rents, the outlook for 2013 still is not good. Ryan Isip, a local director in China for Jones Lang LaSalle, said the forecast for this year is very positive -- for owners. According to the company’s 2012 fourth-quarter report, this year “the market will continue to favor landlords and is thus poised for more rental growth over the next twelve months.” The report, however, also highlighted that yields for owners are expected to maintain a downward trend, as a result of Beijing’s increasingly high property taxes.
The Paradox Of Empty Luxury Buildings
But China watchers aren't worried about falling yields. They are more concerned about the risk of a real estate bubble bursting in the country. After all, the very crisis that prompted the Beijing government to pass that stimulus package in 2009 began with a collapse of real estate prices in America. Now the government is trying to stop the inflation of real estate prices by cooling down the market.
In March 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao answered the call of the public, assuring that his government would keep fighting one of the factors behind booming prices: speculation. Wen told the media that to back off from the issue would “cause chaos in the real estate market.” The government slowed the purchases of homes in some cities by requiring larger down payments and introducing increased property taxes, and sent out eight teams of regulators to 16 provinces to check on the implementation of the new rules by local governments.
A month after Wen announced the government's commitment, the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS) showed a nationwide drop of housing prices by 0.71 percent compared to the previous year. When China’s top policymakers gathered in Beijing for a closed-door meeting, the Central Economic Work Conference, in late 2012, they agreed to continue the property control policies in 2013.
But then, there's corruption. Partly, it's a result of China’s laws being unable to keep up with the pace of development.
Creative Corruption
Just 30 years ago, the mere notion of Beijing’s skyline filled with privately owned skyscrapers and luxury apartments would have been incomprehensible. Though private ownership of homes and office buildings is now legal, land still belongs to local governments, and can only be leased (for long periods of time) to developers.
That adds another level of potential corruption, which contributes to distorted market values and inflated pricing. Local government officials often lease out the land to developers willing to pay more than the actual value, or to pay kickbacks. In turn, the cost of development goes up and must be made up by selling units at a higher rate.
Another trend among China’s wealthy is to purchase multiple properties as investments, in hopes of re-selling at an even higher price. This leads to a situation where many brand-new luxury buildings are only half occupied, but are still unaffordable.
China’s central government has begun stepping in in recent years, rolling out new policies including bans on third-home purchases and restrictions on mortgage borrowing, as a way to tighten controls on a runaway market. In addition to government policies, increased government-subsidized housing was planned for low-income citizens.
A high-profile push to build affordable homes for the millions of Chinese who no longer have reasonable options began in 2010. The program aims to build 36 million units by 2015. The effort is spearheaded by Li Keqiang, the successor to outgoing Premier Wen, which ensures the plan will continue to be a priority in 2013. Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 820 billion yuan ($160 billion) was invested in the program last year.
The plan is not bulletproof. An investigation into a local government official, Zhai Zhengfeng, former housing bureau director in Zhengzhou, found that his family had amassed 29 new apartment units, 11 of which were intended to be part of the affordable housing plan.
Circumventing housing laws can take creative forms. Gong Aiai, 49, known in the Chinese blogosphere as “older house sister,” has been accused of using her position as deputy head of a local bank in northwestern China to obtain fake identity cards, one of which identified her as a Beijing resident, allowing her to buy high-end, profitable property in the nation’s capital.
According to the China Daily, Beijing police have canceled Gong's false ID and seized all of her assets in Beijing, including properties and cars. Additional investigations have been started in other Chinese provinces regarding her other properties.
All that, combined with the risk of a sudden downturn in the real estate market, has China’s central government anxious.
Of course, the economic benefits that a thriving property market has provided for China cannot be ignored. Increased infrastructure development, whether for affordable housing or not, equals more jobs, booming steel and cement industries, and increased revenue in taxes for local governments. And home living standards have improved not only for those who can afford luxury, but also for those in government-subsidized housing units, now better than those that cities previously built.
But the social impact of the skyrocketing housing market is a huge concern for the stability-obsessed country. The blatant disparities between wealthy homeowners with multiple properties and those who cannot afford rent highlight a deepening divide.
I speak constantly with real citizens in Baltimore communities who are absolutely flabbergasted at the level of the same as above in our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones---LIKE BALTIMORE. The terms to describe what occurs in all our communities under the guise of DEVELOPMENT has the same components as in Asia----the global 1%----in Baltimore's case global Johns Hopkins and its Baltimore Development Corporation literally sets the tone in communities to FIGHT FOR A PLACE AT THE TABLE and a 5% to the 1% do just that----it's a fight---NO- HOLDS BAR. If you are a CITIZEN wanting to instill US Rule of Law and people's rights as CITIZENS you are labelled a trouble-maker----a radical----crazy----and either pushed out of all community development groups and we even have people having their life and welfare threatened. The name of the game in Baltimore is----GET OUT OF THE WAY IF YOU ARE NOT ON TEAM GLOBAL JOHNS HOPKINS AND GLOBAL WALL STREET.
Below we see an article of the same occurring in Nigeria----one of the older Foreign Economic Zones built under Clinton---the key to investment they say is get rid of cumbersome regulations---consolidate agencies no doubt into a quasi-developmental agency like BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT---and get rid of those pesky radicals. Now Africans don't mess around----if they are pushed out of their own communities, nations losing lands and power they become those armed militias fighting global Wall Street installed dictators--how are those dictators any different than our government pols FOR LIFE? Americans are a few decades from these kinds of civil unrests----but it is being staged NOW.
'The bureaucratic process of allocation and registration of charges on land is an impediment to real estate development. The lackadaisical attitude to work is the major cause of undue delay at the land registry. Oftentimes, a developer's application would pass from office to office over several weeks and by the time the necessary approval is obtained, he may have lost his source of funding or incurred huge interest on loan obtained for development. This may disrupt the developer's business plan and result in exorbitant cost of construction and high price for the developments'.
Nigeria: An Analysis Of The Challenges And Prospects In Real Estate Development In Nigeria
Last Updated: 22 January 2015
Article by Emmanuel Ekpenyong
Strachan Partners
As a developing country, Nigeria's real estate sector ("the sector") is evolving at a tremendous pace. Governments at all levels are more aware of the role of real estate development on the growth of their respective territories. Nigeria's budding sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, power, tourism have provided a veritable platform for the sector to thrive. Government agencies and private companies now have policies to assist their staff own a home. It is prudent for employers to build their own estate to accommodate their employees rather than pay them housing allowance throughout the period of their employment. Consequently, real estate companies and professional real estate developers are on the rise. However, challenges facing the sector have hampered it from realizing its true potentials.
The bureaucratic process of allocation and registration of charges on land is an impediment to real estate development. The lackadaisical attitude to work is the major cause of undue delay at the land registry. Oftentimes, a developer's application would pass from office to office over several weeks and by the time the necessary approval is obtained, he may have lost his source of funding or incurred huge interest on loan obtained for development. This may disrupt the developer's business plan and result in exorbitant cost of construction and high price for the developments.
Besides, bribery and corruption have a negative effect on the sector. There are instances where developers who have not satisfied the preconditions for allocation of land are granted allocation while those who are qualified are denied. Low compliance to regulatory and environmental laws is the cause of the incessant reports of collapsed buildings and other ecological problems. Some staff of regulatory bodies prefer to take bribe rather than ensure that developers obtain the requisite permits and conform to statutory construction standard.
Furthermore, the volatile devaluation of the naira is a cause for concern to developers. Some foreign developers peg the cost of construction and the value for selling developments on land in United States dollars ("US dollars") while they charge their clients the naira equivalent. These developers would encounter no hassles if the purchase price of the developments paid in naira can be converted to the anticipated equivalent in US dollars. But the unstable price of crude oil and the continuous fall in the naira often results in a loss for the developer.
Also, there is a limited source of funding for developers in Nigeria. Since real estate development is capital intensive, it is inevitable that developers would need external support to finance their project. But the huge interest rate of commercial banks is a turn-off to most developers. The long list of developers on the waiting list for Federal Mortgage Bank loans and other Federal Government loans is discouraging. There is little awareness on alternative source of funding and procedure for obtaining foreign loans for real estate development. Though the recent Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company established to bridge the funding of residential mortgages gives stakeholders in the sector a glimmer of hope, its effect is yet to be felt.
The duplication of roles between state and federal regulatory bodies is a stumbling block in the smooth running of the real estate development. For instance in the Federal Capital Territory, a developer within the territory may apply to the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service ("FCT Fire Service") for a Fire Service Design Permit and still be accosted by the Federal Fire Service for the same permit. In the same vein, a developer may obtain an Environmental Impact Assessment Report ("EIA Report") from Abuja Environment Protection Board ("AEPB") yet the National Environmental and Regulations Enforcement Agency ("NESREA") may still approach the developer on the same subject matter.
In addition, the current insecurity in the Northern part of Nigeria is a bane to real estate development. The activities of the notorious boko haram religious sect have slowed down construction work in that region. This is because developers are reluctant to invest in states where they are uncertain of returns on investments. Purchasers and investors are also wary of investing in states that are not economically viable and likely to be deserted.
Similarly, in some states, there are no clear procedures for the legal incidents associated with real estate development. For instance, in the Federal Capital Territory, there is no procedure for registration of easements on an allocated land. This may create problems for a purchaser who may not know the nature of encumbrances on a piece of land land before acquiring it. Again, in some states, there is no procedure for exercise of government's power of eminent domain over a portion of land allocated to a developer.
Luckily, the government, its agencies, the financial sector, local and foreign investors and even developers are taking deliberate steps to mitigate the effect of these challenges on the sector. The Federal Government of Nigeria has put in place policies and tax holidays to encourage investment in the sector and partnered with neighboring countries to curb the menace of the boko haram sect. To remove bureaucracy, bribery and corruption associated with land development, most states have established a specific agency to regulate the entire land process. Nigerian law allows developers to sell developments on land in a foreign currency to checkmate the devaluation of the naira. The increase in foreign investment in the sector is a huge relief. Many foreign investors have reduced their risk by partnering with local developers and land owners to fund real estate projects. It is inevitable that as the sector matures, its procedures will be well-defined.
In spite of the challenges facing real estate development in Nigeria, the sector has huge employment opportunities, investment potentials and guarantees returns on investments. In the face of dwindling allocation and limited resources, the Nigerian government has successfully collaborated with private companies to develop housing projects and public infrastructures. The Federal Government's target of about $68.1 billion fresh foreign direct investment ("FDI") from 8 newly licensed free zones creates a new business opportunity for international businesses to invest in Africa's fastest growing market.
___________________________________________
This is what ALWAYS HAPPENS when a nation's global 1% pretends those citizens they send overseas as MERCHANTS OF VENICE do so-----remember, the only real MERCHANTS OF VENICE are the global old world 1%----not you or me----or that 5% to the 1%---so here we have what looks like a Nigerian or other African nation 1% sending its citizens' abroad with tales of creating businesses and they are literally abandoned -----many are homeless in a nation they know little about. This happens because ----Chinese global 1% wanted to get markets in a Nigeria and the Nigerian 1% wanted to get rid of strong, local leaders----so China allows Nigeria to send these folks overseas and Nigeria allows China room in their markets.
China does the same to its community leaders they want out------and so too does US----this is what I call BEING THROWN UNDER THE BUS-----it is not real ---there is no intentions of success. Now this is happening to our American citizens---black, white, and brown.
Firm planning overhaul of Cross Street Market in Federal Hill walks away
Merchants and customers react after Caves Valley Partners announces it has decided not to renovate Cross Street Market. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun video)
Natalie ShermanContact Reporter
The Baltimore Sun
The firm planning to overhaul Cross Street Market in Federal Hill has backed out.The firm that signed an agreement with the city to renovate and manage Cross Street Market in Federal Hill said Wednesday it would walk away from the deal, a decision made after mounting opposition from merchants and neighbors.
The decision by Caves Valley Partners to unwind the November agreement dashed hopes for any near-term upgrade to the neighborhood institution and drew mixed reactions Wednesday.
Some said they were disappointed, but others breathed a sigh of relief that merchants facing higher rents and a 10-month disruption during construction would remain in business.
"We're very happy," said Anna Epsilantis, the owner of Big Jim's Deli, who helped organize a rally to draw attention to the merchants' plight last week that drew hundreds.
But Henry Reisinger, owner of Fenwick Choice Meats, who has worked in the market for more than 40 years, called it a "sad day," since it's not clear what — if anything — will happen now.
"I wasn't 100 percent in favor of [the plan] but … nobody was oblivious to what has to change," he said. "What's Plan B? What are you going to do now?"
The neighborhood has long called for improvements to Cross Street Market, which is dark, has maintenance needs and is increasingly troubled by vacancies. But some worried Towson-based Caves Valley would bring national chains and vendors focused on alcohol, an unwelcome presence in a neighborhood weary of bars.
Arsh Mirmiran, a Caves Valley partner, said the developer wasn't going to "force it."
"When the goal is to do something … that creates an amenity in an area and there's an outcry saying we don't want that type of amenity, then why beat your head against the wall?" he said. "Sometimes you take a loss and you move on."
Worried about future, Cross Street Market merchants ask for compensation
Caves Valley's exit from the agreement comes after more than two years of negotiations. It is effective March 1, said Baltimore Public Markets Corp., the nonprofit that runs the city's markets.
The organization is regrouping to come up with a plan that has "the best interests of both the community and merchants in mind," said Stacey L. Pack, the nonprofit's spokeswoman.
"This came as a little bit of a surprise to us," she said. "We're definitely working on the action plan now."
Under the administration of former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the city wanted the private sector to take a greater role at public markets in some neighborhoods, as a way to inject more money and life into the institutions.
In 2015, the city invited bids from developers to renovate and run Cross Street in Federal Hill, home to a public market since 1846.
The decision came after years of complaints from neighbors, as well as inquiries from Caves Valley, a big player in South Baltimore, with apartments at 1111 Light Street and a $275 million-plus mixed-use development called Stadium Square underway in nearby Sharp-Leadenhall.
A spokesman for Mayor Catherine Pugh, who inherited the agreement from her predecessor, declined to make her available for an interview. Pugh said in a statement the markets "play a critical role in Baltimore's future."
"Public-private collaborations will be key, and I want to see Cross Street Market become what the community wants and certainly deserves," she said.
City Councilman Eric Costello, who represents the area and previously led one of its neighborhood associations, said he was "profoundly disappointed and really sad."
He said he's not sure what happens next.
"This was a very complex deal," he said "The likelihood of putting a similar deal … together — there's a very low probability of that. This was our opportunity."
Caves Valley, working with Scott Plank's War Horse LLC at the time, was the only firm that responded to the city's 2015 request for proposals. Its plan called for adding windows and changing tenants to house a family-oriented mix of eateries, vendors offering a mix of fresh meat, produce and coffee, and seasonal pop-ups, akin to markets in other cities, such as Seattle and San Francisco.
Negotiations dragged on, as War Horse withdrew and the city and the developer struggled to come up with terms that would make the market financially viable.
The final deal, which the Board of Estimates approved in November, would have led to a $6.5 million renovation, including $2 million in public funding, starting this spring.
Caves Valley, through an affiliate, had agreed to make $10,000 monthly payments to the markets corporation and split profits 50-50 after repaying its bank loan and receiving an 8 percent return on its initial investment. The lease was good for 15 years and could have been extended for up to 50.
But the firm still needed a liquor license from the General Assembly for the market.
A draft bill circulated by members of the General Assembly late last week was too restrictive, Mirmiran said.
The legislation would have limited liquor sales at the market to beer and wine for at least two years after it reopened and forbidden alcohol sales after 11 p.m. It also would have imposed a $50,000 annual fee for the liquor license.
In contrast, the Horseshoe Casino pays $15,000 a year for its unique round-the-clock liquor license.
Del. Luke Clippinger, one of the people who worked on the draft, said the legislation tried to balance neighborhood concerns and allow Caves Valley to operate.
Clippinger said the bill could have been amended. There was already a provision to reduce the fee to $10,000 if the market purchased and extinguished two other liquor licenses in the area.
"It is without question deeply disappointing," he said. "I think that everybody is going to need to take some time and determine what comes next, but I think there's no question that the market is in need of renovation."
Neighbors said there is widespread agreement that the market building, which dates to the 1950s, needs an upgrade. Vacancies have mounted, with stalls allowed to sit empty in anticipation of redevelopment. About 17 businesses have stalls there, employing about 70 people. At least one vendor left within the last few weeks.
Tia Boyd, who works nearby and comes to Cross Street Market every day, was there Wednesday to go to The Sweet Shoppe with her son, Kamron Batson, 9.
"I am so happy that they're not closing because it's very important for people to have jobs," she said. "All the people when it closed here were going to be out of a job."
Elizabeth Homer, 75, who has lived in Federal Hill for more than 30 years, said she is hopeful Caves Valley's exit presents a do-over opportunity.
Homer said there wasn't enough input from merchants and neighbors before the deal was signed. A market regular, Homer was worried Caves Valley would turn it into a food hall focused on drinking, with prices that would drive out some of its current clientele.
"It's a great gathering spot for an urban community," she said. "If you gentrify it beyond belief, that doesn't happen anymore and you really lose something."
Bob Merbler was more pessimistic.
He's a longtime Federal Hill resident who is treasurer of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association and sat on an advisory committee focused on the market.
Neighbors wanted merchants to be treated fairly, but he said some of the opposition was short-sighted and didn't take into account the realities of development.
He said he was disappointed, but sympathetic especially given the "nastiness" of recent discussions.
"Federal Hill and the city as a whole is a loser as a result of this," he said. "There should have been a way to make this work."
___________________________________________
Global Johns Hopkins is adamant there will be no public space in BLOOMBERG FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE #2 NORTH AMERICA----so what is upgrading a cherished, community food market becomes impossible unless an outside global developer is tied to the upgrade. It would take a few million to upgrade this market that tons of citizens frequent---that much money falls out of pockets at Baltimore Board of Estimate meetings.
I listened to the details of this development-----you see a sanitized version here in our local media----it is tied with these NO-HOLDS BAR tactics in this case by COSTELLO AND BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT BILL COLE. Cole got to head Baltimore Development because he has shown a decade or two of doing whatever it takes to get people off land---to get permits or zoning----to get an identified global investor on any piece of Baltimore property they want. This means killing the voices of dissent----pay-to-play to build ground for what is bad policy for a community---it means in this case CREATING A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR A LONG-TERM VENDOR INSIDE CROSS STREET MARKET just to get a LIQUOR LICENSE. This developer wanted yet ANOTHER BAR establishment in a Federal Hill community maxed with bars. This is why community citizens fought the development--they want to keep CROSS STREET THAT FOOD MARKET.
'But Henry Reisinger, owner of Fenwick Choice Meats, who has worked in the market for more than 40 years, called it a "sad day," since it's not clear what — if anything — will happen now'.
Everything in development has to be 21ST CENTURY----so the tie to global markets here is Germany----our uptown center pushed out all our long-term small business owners and filled uptown with global restaurants and bars. That is all we see in development that is not global Johns Hopkins and Wall Street finance. This occurs because the Master Plan of the entire CITY CENTER OF BALTIMORE being a global Johns Hopkins corporate campus with global 1% and their 2% coming and going needs HOSPITALITY ONLY.
'In a few weeks, Crossbar der Biergarten will open its industrial steel doors, welcoming in Federal Hill residents and other patrons to kick back at genuine Oktoberfest tables and sip German beers beneath the twinkle of lights strung under a glass ceiling'.
Crossbar licensing a small victory for business in Federal Hill
After several years of negoitation with the local neighborhood association, Crossbar der Biergarten is close to opening in Federal Hill.
(Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun video)
Sarah MeehanContact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun
The owners of Crossbar der Biergarten made major concession to bring their business to Federal Hill.In a few weeks, Crossbar der Biergarten will open its industrial steel doors, welcoming in Federal Hill residents and other patrons to kick back at genuine Oktoberfest tables and sip German beers beneath the twinkle of lights strung under a glass ceiling.
Looking around the nearly complete beer garden, it's hard to see the compromise that has been poured into the place in the four years since it was first proposed. It has taken two liquor licenses, multiple hearings before city commissioners and courts, changes to construction plans, hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours of negotiations with residents concerned about adding more bar stools to a neighborhood they feel already has more than its share.
Crossbar received the seal of approval it needed to open at 18 E. Cross St. when the Baltimore Board of Liquor License Commissioners unanimously supported its liquor license transfer Thursday.
It was a small victory for business following a major defeat earlier this week. Caves Valley Partners backed out of plans to redevelop Cross Street Market, leaving a number of Federal Hill residents worried about the message a vocal contingent is sending to those looking to invest in Federal Hill.
Garrett Schiche, vice president of the South Baltimore Neighborhood Association, sees different priorities among the varied demographics in Federal Hill: lifelong residents, those who moved to the neighborhood when it was first gentrifying two decades ago, and those who arrived in the past five years.
"Those people have different perspectives on what they want in the neighborhood and what they want out of the neighborhood," he said.
Their conflicting visions for the neighborhood came to a head when Caves Valley proposed a major overhaul of Cross Street Market that would have updated the run-down facility and added new merchants, while doing away with some longtime tenants like Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood. The plans drew fiery criticism from some neighbors, as well as demands from current market merchants for compensation and lower rents. In a matter of months, the private-public partnership between the city and Caves Valley fell apart.
Firm planning overhaul of Cross Street Market in Federal Hill walks away
Councilman Eric Costello doesn't think other developers will touch the market because the profit margins are so slim.
"I'm absolutely devastated by the Cross Street Market news," he said. "This was our opportunity to get this right, and the deal is now terminated."
Arsh Mirmiran, a partner in Caves Valley, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
"People see so much potential for this area, for the peninsula," Schiche said. "And a lot of people just get really frustrated with the barriers that factions of the neighborhood put up toward progress, and being completely unreasonable with it, too."
The $6.5 million redevelopment of the market is not the first time a business owner has withdrawn.
The owners of Michael's Cafe in Timonium proposed bringing their concept to a vacant lot on the corner of Charles and Cross streets in 2013. The restaurant group backed out after residents protested the restaurant, citing parking and capacity concerns.
"The only lever you have to push on at the liquor board or anywhere else is to try to constrain capacity," said Michael Murphy, president of the South Baltimore Neighborhood Association.
Restricting capacity was one concession Crossbar's owners made. The project was met with hostility when it was first proposed in 2013. Beth Whitmer, president of the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, said Brian McComas, a partner in Crossbar, approached her following the first round of negotiations and said he wanted to start with a clean slate.
Costello, who was previously president of the neighborhood association helped craft the memorandum of understanding that was ultimately signed. He said it's among the most restrictive in the city. It limits the bar's capacity, stipulates a 50-50 food and drink sales ratio and keeps the kitchen open until at least 10:30 p.m. daily. The neighborhood association voted 26-3 to support it on Sunday.
"Quite frankly we're pretty pleased with it," Whitmer said. "He conceded a lot. It's a very tight [memorandum of understanding]. He was willing to do that to make this work."
Crews are putting finishing touches on the space, previously four buildings that were consolidated under one roof.
That glass roof wasn't originally in the plans. An open-air area would have accounted for about half the building, but those plans were rejected by the city's zoning board. Construction, originally projected to cost $1.2 million, rang in at $1.5 million between adding the roof and delays, McComas said. A second liquor license and court costs added more than $500,000.
Like Michael's, the major concern surrounding Crossbar was its propensity to transform into a "megabar" — a club-like venue packing in hundreds of patrons during late-night hours. Although the building can safely house more than 300 people, the owners agreed to restrict Crossbar's capacity to 155.
"We did that as a show of good faith to show that we're good operators," McComas said.
Only one person voiced opposition at the most recent hearing; the board approved the liquor license unanimously.
"It's been a long road," Josh Foti, a partner in the project, said after the liquor license hearing. "We're very happy."
McComas said it was worth it.
"We love Federal Hill. We think that that is the premier neighborhood in Baltimore, and we were far enough in it that we weren't giving up," he said. "In light of what just happened in the Cross Street Market, we were far enough into it that we weren't going to turn back. We know it's going to be a good addition to the neighborhood. In the end, even most of the people that weren't in favor of it, we think they're going to come to embrace it."
As for Cross Street Market and future projects, residents say they're not sure where to go from here.
"We as a neighborhood need to learn to negotiate and understand what 'give and take' means a little more," Whitmer said.
______________________________________
Baltimore's city liquor agency is known for decades as one of the most corrupt in a state known to be most corrupt in the nation and look who was at the lead of this liquor board when our good citizens and business owners were being MUSCLED OUT-----LARRY HOGAN NOW GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND. So, while pretending to protect our small businesses no matter whether running as Republican or Democrat they are all tied to ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE GLOBAL FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE. As soon as Federal Hill citizens came out in protest over and over to the point of developer backing down----HOGAN LEAVES HIS LIQUOR BOARD LEAD----and there is a need to replace all his appointees we are told because they are all corrupt. Know what? So will be the ones these city senators appoint----they will simply be pay-to-play for their own political needs.
In the meantime we have a city of citizens absolutely harmed with liquor store policies. Whether loading them in low-income communities dealing with drug and alcohol addictions or here we see good small, local business people being Shanghai'd of liquor license and what was a vendor location in Cross Street market renting for $10,000 a month.
THAT IS A BIG RENTAL FEE----WHERE IS THE MONEY FROM THAT TO UPGRADE THIS FACILITY?
Here we see Ferguson who is COSTELLO on a state assembly level -----if Costello was pushing this development policy complete with liquor license scandal so too was Ferguson----now it becomes HOGAN'S FAULT.
'Ferguson said he would support changing the bill to give the liquor board appointment authority to the city. “I think, at this particular moment in time, it makes a lot of sense, given the fierce community opposition. Hopefully we can avoid this in the future by having a more locally-driven process,” he said'.
Whether HOGAN---FERGUSON----COSTELLO----from Baltimore City Council ----to Maryland State Assembly ----to state businessman appointed to a liquor board----none of them would be moving on these development projects if not driven by global Johns Hopkins and its Baltimore Development Corporation.
Each time Baltimore citizens protest and do it right they win but Baltimore's 5% to the 1% are pushing 99% of citizens to not protest---don't do economic disruption----all those doing this are GLOBAL WALL STREET PLAYERS.
City senators block Hogan liquor board nominees, demand replacements
Michael Dresser and Pamela WoodContact Reporters
The Baltimore Sun
City senators block Hogan liquor board nominees, demanding he name replacements.The conflict over the direction of the city liquor board deepened Monday as a Senate committee refused to confirm three of Gov. Larry Hogan's appointees as commissioner and a powerful senator introduced legislation that could force him to appoint new members.
Meanwhile, Hogan withdrew the name of his lone appointee as an alternate commissioner. That appointee, Harvey E. Jones, was the only one of the Republican governor's board appointees who had not drawn opposition from senators.
Jones is known as a close political associate of Sen. Joan Carter Conway, the Baltimore Democrat who led the opposition to the other three appointees and who is sponsoring the legislation.
Conway, a member of the Senate Executive Nominations Committee, moved Monday to reject the three Hogan appointees, Benjamin Neil, Doug Trotter and Elizabeth Hafey. After a lengthy discussion, senators decided to postpone action until the panel's next meeting to give Hogan time to withdraw the appointments or come to an agreement with Baltimore's all-Democratic Senate delegation.
City senators said their constituents are up in arms about the direction in which Hogan's appointees have taken the board.
"They say they're too business-friendly -- don't adequately respect the communities, the establishments serve," said Baltimore Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden.
The delegation sent a letter to the committee unanimously opposing the governor's appointees, who have been making decisions in an acting capacity since Hogan appointed them last year.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who earlier had said he had no problem with the governor's appointees, backed his senators once they made their opposition clear. Miller, a Calvert County Democrat, said the dispute was a result of Hogan's failure to communicate with the city delegation and urged the governor to open discussions with them.
Hispanic business owners complain of unfair treatment "I'm sure the matter can be resolved amicably," he said.
Hogan spokesman Matthew A. Clark said the governor had named three "highly qualified candidates." He said one of them, Hafey, had been praised by Conway for her credentials.
"Yet, despite the strong resumes offered by Ms. Hafey and all of the appointees, the executive nominations committee chose to single out some members of the four-person board, politicizing the process," Clark said.
Nevertheless, Clark said the administration looks forward to working with the committee. He did not say what action the governor would take on the nominations.
Conway said she is adamant that the current Hogan appointees are unacceptable, and she took steps to block the governor from making new recess appointments that wouldn't pass Senate muster. Her bill would force Hogan to appoint new liquor board members before the session is over.
“As a courtesy to him, I’m saying – the Baltimore City Senate delegation is saying -- give us some new liquor commissioners," she said. "But obviously, you know that didn’t sit well with them.”
Without her bill, Conway said, Hogan might wait to appoint new members until after the General Assembly finishes its 90-day session in April. Then they would get to serve until next year’s General Assembly session, when senators would have a chance to review and confirm them -- or not.
“It’s a way of trying to get him to appoint them before we leave session, so we can make a decision of whether they are appropriate,” said Conway. She chairs the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, which will review the bill.
Conway said the liquor board members have made poor decisions that have left residents frustrated, including overturning decisions from the prior liquor board and shortening suspensions.
“Baltimore City is in an uproar over the decisions that they have been consistently making since they have been appointed by the governor,” Conway said.
Conway said she’s also considering changing the bill entirely so that it would take the liquor board appointment authority away from the governor and putting it in the hands of the mayor and City Council.
She said she has the votes to pass the bill, and if it’s vetoed, “I have the votes to overturn it.”
Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat whose district includes the bar-heavy neighborhoods of Fells Point and Federal Hill, said he’s heard from hundreds of constituents frustrated by the liquor board and its “pro-licensee” tilt.
“The perception of the liquor board is that it has not had a balanced approach to its decision-making process,” he said.
When the liquor board appointees appeared before senators in a hearing a week ago, “I don’t think they made their case fully to move forward,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said he would support changing the bill to give the liquor board appointment authority to the city. “I think, at this particular moment in time, it makes a lot of sense, given the fierce community opposition. Hopefully we can avoid this in the future by having a more locally-driven process,” he said.
______________________________________________
Locust Point is slated to be a mirror of Canton as regards PORT TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT ---there is no intention of keeping a community with citizens ---it will be one big coastal Foreign Economic Zone industrialized area and there will be no FT MC HENRY because old world MERCHANTS OF VENICE WERE THE BRITISH NAVY FORT MC HENRY WITH BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR was fighting---and yet there is association leadership pretending to be working for the community all bucking to be next in line for an appointment to BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT or CITY COUNCIL for doing anything these global developers say.
UnderArmour wants to set aside a large parcel of real estate in a valuable area of Locust Point and call it AN ATHLETIC FIELD FOR THE KIDS-----what kids say REAL LOCAL CITIZENS----there are no children in this area and the only people using the field are mostly brought in from Montgomery County by UnderArmour to make it appear used by community.
REAL citizens trying to get these associations working as legally required-----doing business in ways not corrupt----bringing in any semblance of public interest development are called CRAZY-----one activist calls it BALLS. What she is saying is this---she places herself in this association whether they like it our not and fights to the end to make them follow Rule of Law.
AND SHE IS SOMEONE WHO WOULD NEVER GET TAPPED FOR BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OR BALTIMORE CITY HALL.
If the corruption and fraud is not there none of this development would occur because NONE OF THE CURRENT CITIZENS WANT THIS DEVELOPMENT.
Officers and Board of Directors
The leadership of the Locust Point Civic Association is comprised of five elected officers including President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary and Recording Secretary. There are 10 at-large Board members rounding out the Board of Directors.
The Officers and Directors are:
President: Greg Sileo
Vice-President: Harry Stinefelt
Treasurer: Sarah Swiger
Corresponding Secretary: Ginny Rajnes
Recording Secretary: Justin Grossman
Locust Point Civic Association
Locust Point Civic Association
February 24 at 1:42pm
Some additional information from the Bozzuto Development team regarding the (PDI) project: "The parking on both sides of Beason will be available on non-working hours. We will not taking up parking areas on non-working hours. We will only utilize Beason St under our allowed hours per the ROW permit, 9am-3pm daily.
We will make sure incoming trucks will not idle on Beason St, or around the homes adjacent to these homes. We will likely have the trucks wait on the northern section of our site. Prior to 3pm daily, we will remove all material and equipment off Beason and move it to one of our blocks, or on Richardson between Beason & alley C where we have a full closure(grass road), for staging overnight. We will also sweep the street as we move out of the road closure daily. We will not leave any material or equipment to interfere with any parking. We will install the temporary road closure barricades just prior to 9am daily. We would hope that the residents vehicles would me moved prior to 9am daily."
___________________________________________
We are not being negative we are talking REALITY -----talking about REAL development goals in Baltimore's PORT COMMUNITIES---is not negative.
Old Dominion and McCormick manufacturing closed in Baltimore not only for gentrification but because they manufacture and sell DOMESTICALLY/LOCALLY----and as we discussed Foreign Economic Zones only allow manufacturing that is EXPORTED WITH NO RETAIL. All of Port of Baltimore from Canton around to Dundalk/Locust Point will be one great big cargo docking with longshore cranes to lift cargo onto global ships with rail yards and crude oil and natural gas terminals even if pols pretend they are not coming to our port. This picture of an old industrial community of blue collar workers will not be in this future---these homeowners will be forced out of their homes. Yet Baltimore pols and Baltimore Development sell the idea these community associations are having INPUT INTO DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
That football field promised by an UnderArmour for a HIGH SCHOOL ON FEDERAL HILL is not a structure that will remain---it is not permanent so every development issue geared towards the poor---seniors---children---is temporary as they MOVE FORWARD.
Jul 20, 2015
Locust Point: Exploring Baltimore’s Neighborhoods
Matt Bracken and Kalani Gordon 0 Comment Maryland, Neighborhoods of Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun
American flags affixed to the front of several rowhouses on Latrobe Park Terrace blow gently in the light breeze. The adjacent park on this 85-degree, mid-June afternoon is active – at the dog park, on the playground equipment, around Banner Field. We’re just a few miles from the heart of downtown, but everything about this scene in Locust Point feels suburban.
“We have a retired police officer on my street,” says Will Jovel, the Locust Point Civic Association’s design review chair, “and he said while he was on duty, they called [our neighborhood] ‘Mayberry.’”
Latrobe Park Terrace (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Cars parked at the Locust Point Marine Terminal on New Year’s Day 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Dec. 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
March 2000: With the influx of new high-tech businesses, real estate values of row homes such as these in Locust Point have been appreciating lately. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
The Banner Route, a Charm City Circulator line, along Fort Avenue in Baltimore. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
Shawn Reichenberg and Joe Kelly are pictured outside Haubert Street rowhouses in Locust Point on March 28, 1982. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
Employees at Amstar Corp.’s Domino sugar plant on Locust Point picket during a wildcat strike on January 15, 1980. Workers returned to their jobs the next day. (Baltimore Sun photo by Walter M. McCardell)
Nov. 2003: William Marshall of Marshall’s Contracting, works on a cornice in the 1300 block of Andre St. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun staff)
Nov. 2003: This is an abandoned grain elevator which looms above homes at E. Clement & Towson St. Locust Point is an up-and-coming neighborhood, with high-end condo/townhouse development underway for several industrial refurbishments, including this elevator. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point. (Chiaki Kawajiri)
Sept. 12, 2000: Developer Bill Struever kayaks from the Tide Point office complex his company is building in Locust Point to a meeting in Canton. (Perry Thorsvik/Staff)
Two Locust Point residents continue an anti-expressway campaign in front of City Hall on Feb. 11, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
Nov. 20, 2003: Marvin Bohle sweeps the sidewalk in front of his home on Reynolds St. as his dog, “Angel” looks down the street from the porch. Bohle worked 33 years as a grain operator at the grain elevator company behind him, which has been closed about 3 years. (Algerina Pern/Baltimore Sun)
Pre-game ceremonies at Ole Reistad Field on Fort Avenue in Locust Point on May 30, 1950. (Baltimore Sun photo by Leroy Merriken)
The Under Armour headquarters in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A look into Bethlehem Steel’s Locust Point ship building plant on June 16, 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
The dog park at Latrobe Park and Banner Field in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A Locust Point soccer team faces an Italian club on Feb. 11, 1963. (Baltimore Sun photo by Paul Hutchins)
Banner Field at Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
A view of a mammoth grain building in Locust Point that members of the civic association in 1974 said spoiled the view of Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Drudging operations alongside the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on Sept, 12, 1958. (Baltimore Sun photo by Ellis Malashuk)
A ship passes by Fort McHenry on March 13, 1954. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
Jumping into the Patapso off Locust Point on Aug. 20, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Joe DiPaola)
Ships adjacent to SIlo Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, 2015)
War of 1812 defenders at Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Fort McHenry fireworks on Sept. 17, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert Kniesche)
2001: Fireworks mark the beginning of the year 2001 at the Inner Harbor. This view is from Locust Point. (Steve Ruark, Baltimore Sun)
A crowd at Fort McHenry watches drills on June 9, 1968. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Stacey Bruce, 17, shows off a McDonald’s crab cake served as the Fort Avenue location in Locust Point on July 9, 1992. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
Seven waterskiing enthusiasts from Florida skim past Fort McHenry in one of a series of exhibitions they put on along the route to World’s Fair in N.Y., on Aug. 5, 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Coast Guard members are on duty at Fort McHenry on April 2, 1942. (Baltimore Sun photo)
An aerial view of Fort McHenry on August 26, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
Flames sweep over an unused coal pier on the north side of Locust Point on Oct. 5, 1970. (Baltimore Sun photo by William Hotz)
Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
A banner showcasing the neighborhood as ‘Locust Point’ overlooks Fort Avenue. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
The Locust Point fire house is pictured on July 6, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert K. Hamilton)
March 31, 1998: Freight cars in Locust Point bask in the late afternoon sun on Thursday. The photo was from an aerial perspective. (Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
The Locust Point firehouse is reopened on Aug. 15, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
Silo Point at Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Sept. 14, 95: Pictures at the Procter & Gamble Locust Point plant which is being shutdown after 65 years of operation. (Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Mar 4, 2000: Locust Point has coexisted with heavy industry for decades. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
June 26, 2002: Zack Sinsky fishes with friends on a beautiful sunset evening at Tide Point pier. (Monica Lopossay Riesser, Baltimore Sun)
April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point, converted to luxury condominiums offices under a plan by local developers. (Chiaki Kawajiri, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Dec. 1, 2003: View of Ft. McHenry and the Key Bridge from the top of the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
Scenes from the Locust Point Festival at Latrobe Park on Sept. 12, 1977. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
The Locust Point Marine Terminal South is pictured on April 21, 1988. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Welder Bill DiDomenico and helper Keith Horton work in the first Fort McHenry tunnel section at Locust Point. (Baltimore Sun photo by Weyman Swagger)
An aerial view of the B&O at Locust Point on Sept. 27, 1946. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
Below deck, loaders carry bananas to the cranes at the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on February 22, 1959. (Baltimore Sun photo by Richard Stacks)
A ship is abandoned on the sand bar at Locust Point on Aug. 10, 1930. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
A truck leaves Locust Point on Feb. 3, 1983. (Baltimore Sun photo by Irving H. Phillips Jr.)
A view of American Sugar Refining Co. in Locust Point in 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Locust Point
» Border streets: Lawrence Street, Patapsco River,
» Neighboring areas: Locust Point industrial area, Riverside
In this idyllic South Baltimore community, the median home price is $349,000. More than 83 percent of the population – which also includes neighboring Federal Hill and Riverside – between the ages of 16 and 64 are employed. Five years ago, a national consumer-finance website named Locust Point the safest large neighborhood in Baltimore.
It’s home to Under Armour, Domino Sugar and Phillips Seafood. McHenry Row, Silo Point and other recent developments have drawn droves of young Baltimoreans to the neighborhood. Bars, restaurants and shops are spread throughout the area, but not ubiquitously so.
All of which begs the question: Does Locust Point have any problems?
“Parking, traffic, density,” says Greg Sileo, president of the Locust Point Civic Association. “When you have big developments that are being planned, the question is how is it going to impact parking and how is it going to impact traffic.”
Minor inconveniences aside, Locust Point stands out among Baltimore neighborhoods for its modern amenities and historical charms. Fort McHenry, located at the eastern-most point of the peninsula, is known for its defense of the harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, events which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The neighborhood’s public elementary/middle school is named for the composer.
Damian O’Connor, a history buff and LPCA board member, was drawn to Locust Point by the Fort, where he works. A year ago, he decided to move from Catonsville to the neighborhood. “I told people I’m moving to the city, and they said, ‘Oh, you’re going to be hearing police sirens all the time.’ You never hear police sirens. What you hear are train whistles and boat horns.”
Two marine terminals – South Locust Point and North Locust Point – call the neighborhood home, as does the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway. For decades, port workers and employees at factories like Domino Sugar and Bethlehem Steel settled on the local streets, many of which are named for War of 1812 figures.
The juxtaposition of Locust Point’s blue-collar roots and present-day wealth/gentrification present some challenges for Jovel when it comes to the aesthetic concerns of development. He’s played a key consulting and communications role in changes to Latrobe Park, acquiring funds from Under Armour and other organizations to beautify the area. Much of the work was done in advance of the Star-Spangled Spectacular.
The next bullet point on Jovel’s design-oriented agenda is replacing a historic-yet-dilapidated bath house near Banner Field with a “really nice field house that’s kind of looking forward and paying respect to what was there historically.”
“I think [the neighborhood] was in a transition when it went from post-industrial to where we are now,” Jovel says. “Now it’s continuing a transition. I think more and more, new is kind of bridging with the old, and we’re getting along better and better every year. The new appreciate everything that the old have to say. When people describe the old bathhouse to me and birthday parties they had there, stuff like that, [I think], ‘Man that’s great, I wish I had the same amenity for my kids.’ I think everyone’s learning a lot about the history and where Locust Point came from, but also where we go from here and maybe guide some of the growth.”
Sileo, meanwhile, is keeping busy in his role as LPCA president, working with community stakeholders, local businesses, politicians, concerned citizens and developers on a variety of projects. Having spent five years in the mayor’s office and another three with the Maryland Department of Human Resources, Sileo – a city council candidate in the 11th district – is particularly concerned during our tour about the proposal to eliminate the Charm City Circulator’s Banner Route.
“A lot of people in Locust Point are really dissatisfied that the Banner Route is something that needs to be cut,” Sileo says. “We think we’re really underserved in The Point. We have one MTA bus that comes down the peninsula. It’s really inconsistent and comes down infrequently. Having that connection to other sites [throughout the city] is vital for us.”
Less than three weeks later, Sileo’s wish is granted. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces that the Banner Route will be saved.
Another win for a city neighborhood that seemingly has it all.
__________________________________________
GET OUT! Say Malaysian citizens to Foreign Economic Zone development and they are right.
The goal of all Foreign Economic Zones is to completely transform these regions removing all societal and historical connections to create a ONE WORLD 21ST CENTURY look on all zones around the world-----the same global restaurants----hotels----bars-----and city centers filled with global 1% and their 2% doing business in that Foreign Economic Zone.....there is no plan for 99% of sovereign citizens including in US cities like Baltimore---all the media is geared to hype the idea that development is coming along nicely for citizens----when 99% of citizens are shouting STOP THESE DEVELOPMENTS.
That is of course what citizens in Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, China were all shouting as real estate grabs simply told them to get lost
“If you compare apples to apples, we may be 30 to 40 percent behind Singapore, or maybe even a bit more,” he said. “And I think we’re easily 15 to 20 percent behind Jakarta and Bangkok.” Foreign buyers generally look for homes in Kuala Lumpur’s City Center, the state of Penang, a development zone called Iskander in Johor state, and the city of Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, said Herbert Leong, an associate director with Knight Frank Kuala Lumpur'.
Well it looks like America' upper middle if they can hold on to any wealth will need to look towards Malaysia for home-ownership and senior years---look they have citizenship and residency laws waiting for WE THE PEOPLE.
House Hunting in ... Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International Real Estate
By ALISON GREGOR MAY 28, 2014
Slide Show
Slide Show|11 Photos
A Bungalow in Teak and Stone
A Bungalow in Teak and StoneCreditDavid Hagerman for The New York Times
BALINESE BUNGALOW
$6.79 MILLION (21.8 MILLION RINGGIT)
This sprawling Balinese-style home, with about 9,000 square feet of living space and about 3,000 square feet of outdoor space, was designed by the prominent Balinese architect Yoka Sara and built in 2002. The home was created by Indonesian artisans over the course of three years out of old-growth Indonesian teak, Palimanan stone and sandstone, with terra-cotta roof tiles, said Shirley-Ann Joseph, an agent with Zerin Properties, which has the listing. It has five bedrooms and five bathrooms spread out over four levels, one of them subterranean, she said.
Floor-to-ceiling doors slide open to the grounds, which include a swimming pool with jets, a patio and water gardens with a dipping pool. Most interior doors are solid carved teak, and flooring is teak or marble, including Carrara. While the home is being sold unfurnished, the lights are included in the asking price, and all the beds are on carved platforms that are also included, Ms. Joseph said.
The main entrance is through an arched teak door with a facade of hand-carved leaves that leads into a double-height foyer with a towering white Palimanan-stone wall hand-carved on site with flowers and other motifs. On the right is a living room with teak crown molding and a curved ceiling covered in woven rattan mat, a signature design of the architect, Ms. Joseph said. Beyond the living room is the dining room adjacent to a Western kitchen with custom-made teak cabinetry, a Viking range and appliances by the New Zealand company Fisher & Paykel. From the dining room, stairs descend to a second kitchen for heavy-duty cooking with pungent spices — from its own herb garden right outside the door — as well as a gym and staff quarters.
Off the home’s foyer is a guest bedroom with a private terrace that descends to a massage room and water garden. The guest bedroom has a conventional bathroom and an outdoor bathroom with lava stone and sunken bath and shower. Stairs off the foyer lead to the second floor, which has a family room, a second bedroom and the master suite. The master suite has 20-foot ceilings and a balcony with views of the surrounding hills. With many carved wooden embellishments, the master suite also has a teak wardrobe designed by an Italian cabinetmaker. The master bathroom has Italian-designed teak cabinetry and a cast iron bathtub, along with the ornate Kohler nickel-finished faucets that are found throughout the home’s bathrooms. There is also an exterior bath, shower and garden.
The home’s third floor is a family room that could be converted to a bedroom. The space opens to the roof, which has an outdoor shower and stairs leading up to a large bale, or gazebo, and a rooftop swimming pool. The home sits on less than a third of an acre on a hilltop in western Kuala Lumpur and is landscaped with gardens of aromatic frangipani, evergreens and ponds with Arowana fish.
The fashionable Damansara Heights area, where the home is situated, is a 20-minute drive from central Kuala Lumpur. Originally a suburb developed for government employees several decades ago, the hilly neighborhood has grown increasingly pricey and exclusive in recent years, Ms. Joseph said. “Many older homes have been purchased and rebuilt into huge homes,” she said. “This suburb has attracted many politicians, corporate figures and royalty.”
While there are some local shops in Damansara Heights, most residents shop in neighboring Bangsar, which has malls, boutique shops and restaurants. Within a 15-minute drive of Damansara Heights are equestrian centers, golf courses, country clubs, international schools, parks and performing arts centers. Kuala Lumpur’s international airport is about 75 minutes away by car or a 30-minute ride on the train, Ms. Joseph said.
MARKET OVERVIEW
After remaining largely unscathed by the 2008 global real estate crisis, the Malaysian real estate market has been on fire since about 2011, with prices increasing roughly 30 to 35 percent through 2013, said Siva Shanker, the president of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents. The government took some steps in 2012 to attempt to cool down the market, including implementing more restrictive lending standards and increasing real property gains tax, Mr. Shanker said.
“As a result of that, the number of transactions went down,” he said. “But strangely enough, home values still went up. And in 2013, that pattern repeated itself — the number of transactions fell by 10 percent, but values went up by 6 percent.”
Those trends are mostly being fueled by domestic home purchasers, many buying multiple homes, because foreign buyers make up only about 4 to 7 percent of the market, Mr. Shanker said. The trend of increasing prices is anticipated to continue, he said.
Many foreign purchasers disappeared from the market after the 2008 global real estate crisis, but Kuala Lumpur’s home prices tend to be lower than those in other large metropolitan areas in the Asia-Pacific region, so they haven’t disappeared altogether, Mr. Shanker said.
“If you compare apples to apples, we may be 30 to 40 percent behind Singapore, or maybe even a bit more,” he said. “And I think we’re easily 15 to 20 percent behind Jakarta and Bangkok.” Foreign buyers generally look for homes in Kuala Lumpur’s City Center, the state of Penang, a development zone called Iskander in Johor state, and the city of Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, said Herbert Leong, an associate director with Knight Frank Kuala Lumpur.
“Most buy condos for investment,” enjoying the rental revenue and capital appreciation, he said. “Foreigners working in Kuala Lumpur also enjoy living in Mont Kiara, a suburb outside the city center, due to the presence of international schools.”
Damansara Heights, where this home is situated, along with Kuala Lumpur’s established neighborhoods, such as Bangsar, Ampang Hilir, Valencia, Seputeh and Ukay Heights, are also popular with foreigners, said Previn Singhe, the principal of Zerin Properties.
Luxury homes in Kuala Lumpur generally range from about $405 per square foot to $780 per square foot, with residences branded by such entities as Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton costing even more, Mr. Leong said.
Detached homes can range from about $1.4 million to upward of $6.2 million, depending on the quality and size of the home, the lot size, and the location, Mr. Singhe said.
WHO BUYS IN MALAYSIA
Because of Malaysia’s historic and cultural ties with Singapore, Singaporeans make up the largest group of foreign home buyers in Malaysia, Mr. Shanker said. Beyond that, there are many Asian buyers from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Indonesia, as well as Middle Eastern, American and British buyers, brokers said.
BUYING BASICS
There are some restrictions for foreign home buyers in Malaysia, including a general minimum purchase value that was doubled at the end of 2013, to 1 million ringgit, or about $310,000, Mr. Shanker said. (There is some slight variation in the minimum amount depending on the state, Mr. Leong said.)
Foreigners also need government approval to make a home purchase, though this is largely a formality, Mr. Leong said. Some foreign buyers take advantage of a government program called Malaysia My Second Home, which grants residency and other privileges to retirees from abroad, brokers said.
Purchases are subject to a stamp duty calculated on a graduated scale, and the Bar Office regulates legal fees also on a sliding scale, Mr. Leong said. Generally, buyers pay about 2 to 3 percent of the home’s sale price in stamp duty and fees, he said.
For this home, the legal fees and stamp duty would amount to 833,991 ringgit, or about $259,000, Ms. Joseph said.
__________________________________________
We talked of battles occurring in a predominately white neighborhood gentrified to middle-class now being taken by global corporate development----here is the other end of Baltimore --the northwest undergoing the same rough and corrupt development this time with black citizens losing out to what appears to be a largely Jewish community of citizens. Baltimore always seems to pit race and class against one another because---IT IS SEGREGATED THAT WAY. As this article states these NW communities did used to be mostly Jewish who moved out when Baltimore's industries died but all the real estate in these areas were kept by Jewish landlords and as we know it was all left to decay so we have the slum landlord problem and abuses.
What the MASTER PLAN for greater Baltimore and Maryland have in store for NW ---not simply Pimlico is one huge FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONE from Owings Mill down to upper Park Heights---this NW sector of Baltimore. It appears this Pimlico and Mt Washington will be that global 1% and their 2% this time being Jewish----you can believe our Jewish 99% are not going to be winners any more than any other group. So, this looks to be Jewish vs black just as East Baltimore was Black vs white development. The point is this-----
IF WE KEEP IGNORING THE ASSAULT ON OUR BLACK CITIZENS AND THEIR NEED FOR INCLUSION---EVERYONE WILL BE EX-PATS HEADING TO CHINA OR MALAYSIA --THERE IS NO WINNERS IN ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE.
Baltimore City's Past Present and Future
NOW WITH PICTURES!! What does the future hold for Baltimore City? No one knows for sure. One way is to examine is to look at the past and present conditions, the other is to look at what's on the drawing board as far as new development. I will attempt to do both while at the same time throwing in my opinion. Sure, the Inner Harbor and its surrounding neighborhoods are nice, but they're aren't my focus. Check out old posts I have added pictures to them!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Say Goodbye to Pimlico and Park Heights as We Know Them
First a little bit of history of the Park Heights neighborhood. This neighborhood came up from the 1920s to the 1940s as Jews continued to migrate Northwest from East Baltimore. Park Heights just like Edmondson Village was a streetcar suburb. Park Heights thrived as a middle class Jewish community until the mid 1960s. As blacks migrated from the same slums as their Jewish cohort white flight in sued and by 1970 the neighborhood was almost entirely black. Edmondson Village has always been thought of as the poster child for block busting and complete racial turnover. In fact Park Heights did it in roughly half the time of Edmondson Village. Edmondson Village's turnover took 10 years (1955-1965) while Park Heights was 5 (1965-1970). Not only was Park Height's racial turnover quicker than Edmondson Village but it also decayed quicker. This my have little to do with the neighborhood itself. Since Edmondson Village changed earlier than Park Heights which gave it the ability to thrive as a black community. By the time Park Heights changed urban America was decaying faster than ever. The rise of the Black Panthers, The Building of interstate highways, public housing high rises, the MLK Jr. riots accelerated urban decay nationwide in the late 1960s through the 1970s. One thing that Park Heights always had in its favor was and is the Pimlico racecourse, home of the Preakness. But could the crown and jewel of the Park Heights community be holding it back? Read on and you may in for a shock.......
Photo From Google Earth
Park Heights has been a troubled neighborhood for close to 40 years now. Pimlico race course home of the famed Preakness and little else is easily its biggest attribute but it may be the biggest thing holding it back. There have been many proposals over the years to either build relocate or build more on the Pimlico site. I think that Pimlico should be relocated in a more desirable location for tourism. Some have said Pigtown for the new race course but I don't think it's a good idea to buy up Pigtown and destroy a neighborhood that has made so much progress in the past few years. People are right on the money when they say southwest of Downtown and the existing stadiums. I have four words to solve the issue: Carroll Camden Industrial Park. What better way to complement the new Gateway South development and the reconfigured Russel Street? The amount of vacant and underutilized land in that area is more than enough to build a new arena and services like hotels to go with it. It's near the blue line, the new Orange Line and MARC lines of mass transit as well.
Photo From Google Earth
Now back to Park Heights, like I said a minute ago the neighborhood is in bad shape. Violent Crime, Gangs, Drugs, AIDS lack of services on the public and private level and block after block of vacant dilapidated houses to name a few. However Park Heights has a lot that can and will be done to and it is poised to make a major come back in the not to distant future. As I mentioned before Pimlico racetrack would be moved and in its place would be a mix of offices and new housing. The Park Heights Master Plan created by the city says the site can accommodate 1,000,000 square feet of Office Space, 3000 to 5000 new jobs and 1,000 new housing units at the same time. Also the Park Heights Master Plan calls for a huge chuck of vacant housing to be redeveloped in the center of the neighborhood. This part of the neighborhood is in the worst shape 900 housing units 850 of which are vacant and rotting. In its place will be a brand new mixed income development with apartments, condos, town homes, and detached homes. The commercial nodes in the neighborhood will also be redeveloped with a full service grocery store, an Enoch Pratt Free Library, and better neighborhood services.
First lets talk public housing. There are two public housing developments in the Park Heights Neighborhood. Oswego Mall, a small row house development near Park Circle has got to go, the violence and drug activity has gotten out of control that redevelopment is the only alternative. In its place will be new market rate home ownership town homes. The homes surrounding Oswego Mall will instantly be stabilized a more desirable address.
The second public housing development is BelPark Towers, a 274 unit high rise located in the middle of a row house neighborhood. Although not nearly as violent as the previous HOPE VI developments this will be redeveloped in the same manor. In its place will be brand new town homes that are two levels stacked over top of one another making the structures four levels. They will be a mix of subsidized home ownership and public housing a 50-50 split to be exact. Traffic conditions may slightly improve with the new development as well. Nelson Avenue and Cordelia Avenue will now connect with each other which they don't as of right now when BelPark Towers was built. With town homes instead of a high rise apartment building the neighborhood will be back to scale.
Now lets talk Northern Parkway and transit oriented development(TOD). The Park Heights Master Plan suggests that there is limited TOD opportunities in the Park Heights neighborhood. I strongly disagree with this because I don't believe the Wabash Avenue corridor should remain industrial. I go into much further detail on my Wabash Avenue post. The Northern Parkway corridor in the Park Heights and Howard Park neighborhoods leaves something to the imagination. The road itself will be narrowed to two lanes to provide room for sidewalks and a bike lane. Streetscape enhancements will include asphalt pavement instead of cement, brick crosswalk, landscaped medians with neatly manicured plantings and flowers, and additional lighting both on either side of the street and in the medians. Back to TOD, Park Heights has the advantage of being served very nicely by both the Blue Line and the Green Line. Like I've said in almost all of my posts, I believe that these existing transit lines should be barried underground to improve the flow of traffic, higher rail speeds, and the freeing up of land at ground level for development. There is ample land for development in addition to Wabash Avenue, there is space on Northern Parkway throughout Park Heights and Howard Park.
The new development on the former Pimilico will have Northern Parkway frontage. Opposite what is currently the Pimlico racetrack is the Glen/Mount Washington neighborhood. There is very little development in Glen and Mount Washington that actually faces Northern Parkway but for very good reason. During the interstate planning and building era neighborhoods used limited access parkways to try to distance themselves from decaying neighborhoods. But with the new mixed use development I'm proposing I would like to see this swath of land developed as another mixed use development to compliment its counterpart to the south. One thing that is one the other side of Northern Parkway is the soon to be former Pimlico Middle School. This represents even more available land on this side of Northern Parkway.
Further down Northern Parkway is the Seton Business Park. It's all to obvious that this was built in the 1970s and today it's one of the ugliest Business Parks in Central Maryland. Redevelopment will transform this eyesore to an Office Park that will give Canton Crossing a run for its money.
Lastly I'd like to focus on social issues. Until now all I've talked about is physical redevelopment. Most importantly Park Heights has the one of the highest occurance of HIV and AIDS in the country, a large contributer to this is not sexual but dirty needles. It's no secret that drug addiction including herion is a major problem. One solution that I'm advocating is the needle exchange program. This is very controversial because critics say that it encourages drug use. I personally do not encourgae drug use and neither do the majority of politicians who are in favor of this. Needle exchange is the lesser ofd two evils,although it does nothing for the drug epidemic it does a lot to slow down the AIDS epidemic. It's the same people who turn their noses at the needle exchange program who try to stop condom give aways at high schools because it encourages teen sex. Condoms just like clean needles stop the spread of AIDS and teen pregnancy. Now that I've got babies on the brain I'd like to talk about the infant mortality rate. Park Heights has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. This has a lot to do with the environment their mothers are exposed to. Mothers don't have access to health care, fresh healthy food and are more likely to addicts which in turn makes their baby an addict. With the exception of addiction the health of the mother and the rest of the population can be solved almost exclusively by the physical redevelopment aspect. Physical redevelopment can usher better services like better grocery stores, free clinics, and WIC centers. Now lets talk education, the elementary schools score relatively well considering their city schools but are still pretty terrible. I did a post a while back on school construction so refer to that when it comes the school buildings themselves. When it comes to test scores and the high drop out rate I got nothing.
Education woes aside I think we can say goodbye to Pimlico and Park Heights as we know them and they won't be missed.
_______________________________________________
It's important for American citizens to understand the same corruptions as in China are mirrored in America-----China is third world developing nation with no Rule of Law-----America is a first world developed nation with the strongest history of Rule of Law and US Constitutional rights of citizens and yet-----America is acting just as any third world nation in real estate and corruption schemes.
China has a history of citizens getting in the way going missing---they get imprisoned for dissent ----rural land owners fighting the system were sent to Foreign Economic Zones where they were enslaved in global corporate factories-----
Below we see to who our US cities deemed Foreign Economic Zones are catering-----they know the money being laundered into America from Asian nations like China are filled with fraud and corruption and yet there will be NO ATTEMPT IN BALTIMORE to assure transactions are legal.
The Chinese politburo who are billionaires from these same schemes are now wanting to claw back wealth and finding its millionaires heading to Baltimore to flip houses ---to partner in global investment schemes in our communities where Baltimore citizens are simply trying to hold on to US Rule of Law and their rights as citizens. BLACK, WHITE, AND BROWN CITIZENS---getting fleeced by that same 5% to the 1% who don't care.
SHOW THEM THE MONEY THEY WILL DO ANYTHING GLOBAL WALL STREET SAYS----FIX BALTIMORE ONE WORLD ONE GOVERNANCE ONE MESS.
November 8, 2013 - 9:23 pm .China's Latest Corruption Target: Overseas Real Estate
China’s corrupt officials and crooked businessmen have smuggled billions of dollars overseas, much of which has ended up in real estate in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom—particularly in high-end neighborhoods in London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Toronto. Now the Chinese government is embarking on a worldwide hunt to seize the properties with help from foreign governments, according to asset recovery and anti-corruption specialists.
This could present a serious problem for investors holding property in Chinese preferred markets such as Sydney and Melbourne. The Chinese are estimated to poor as much as $1B/yr into each market. Even a modest slowing of this flow could have a profound impact on values. I've mentioned on other threads how the FIRB virtually ignores foreign investors who circumvent FIRB requirements. A little prodding from China might just change that.
Abbott is pushing to complete a FTA with China that has been in the pipeline for some eight years. My guess is that if the Chinese are serious they certainly have the muscle to move the AU govt where ever they want.
'But the social impact of the skyrocketing housing market is a huge concern for the stability-obsessed country. The blatant disparities between wealthy homeowners with multiple properties and those who cannot afford rent highlight a deepening divide'.
The same is happening in US cities where partnerships are buying and building LUXURY high rises that sit mostly empty-----they are doing this in China as well----this is done to artificially inflate real estate values and rents so no one other than the global 1% and their 2% can buy real estate in those city centers in the future----
China's Crazy Real Estate Market: Is The Bubble Bursting?
By Michelle FlorCruz @mflorcruz On 02/01/13 AT 5:43 PM
Shao Tian first came to Beijing from her hometown of Nanjing in 2006 for university. After moving back home for a few years, she then moved permanently to Beijing in early 2011 to pursue a job offer from a foreign media company.
The 24-year-old went looking for a place to live that would fit within her budget. And that’s when her problems started.
While staying with a friend, Shao frantically scoured Beijing's tough, expensive real estate market. After several visits to apartments with substandard living environments, her patience was wearing thin; the places she had seen were barely livable, and still beyond her budget. Then she decided to meet a different real estate agent from the one she was using, and settled on an apartment unit that was 500 yuan ($80) above her initial budget. But it seemed like the best she could do.
“Just when I thought I was lucky to have found this second agent and agreed on a deal with him, he started calling someone to talk about the contract, and told me that was my ‘real direct agent’,” Shao recalled.
It was then that she was hit with additional fees that had never been negotiated, or even discussed, previously. She took the deal just to finally end her apartment hunt, and ended up paying three times one month’s rent in fees alone.
Two months later, an agent accompanied by a construction crew came in to convert the living room into another bedroom, or else Shao Tian and her roommate would face a 30 percent rent increase. They didn't really have a choice, and let the construction begin. With the additional roommate, rent decreased by just 100 yuan a month ($16).
Stories like this one have become increasingly common since 2009, when the $586 billion stimulus package passed by China’s government to counter the global economic crisis that began the previous year produced a real estate boom that hasn’t abated since. The result is that three years later, home rentals in large cities, including Beijing, have become increasingly out of reach for middle-class people.
On the other hand, commercial spaces are showing a slowdown, from the giddy boom years toward more reasonable rents. According to the Chinese unit of U.S. real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL), Beijing saw a slowdown in high-end office building demand during the fourth quarter of 2012, and the year as a whole was “relatively sluggish.” At 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, it was the slowest growth in rental prices for high-end offices in Beijing in the past three years. That slowing trend fits with the overall economic goals of the national government, which is trying to trade short-term gain for long-term stability.
“It was reported last quarter that a number of tenants handed space back to the market and in response, several landlords were willing to offer discounted rents or other incentives in order to attract what they deemed to be high-quality tenants,” the Jones Lang LaSalle report said.
But for those hoping for a drop in residential rents, the outlook for 2013 still is not good. Ryan Isip, a local director in China for Jones Lang LaSalle, said the forecast for this year is very positive -- for owners. According to the company’s 2012 fourth-quarter report, this year “the market will continue to favor landlords and is thus poised for more rental growth over the next twelve months.” The report, however, also highlighted that yields for owners are expected to maintain a downward trend, as a result of Beijing’s increasingly high property taxes.
The Paradox Of Empty Luxury Buildings
But China watchers aren't worried about falling yields. They are more concerned about the risk of a real estate bubble bursting in the country. After all, the very crisis that prompted the Beijing government to pass that stimulus package in 2009 began with a collapse of real estate prices in America. Now the government is trying to stop the inflation of real estate prices by cooling down the market.
In March 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao answered the call of the public, assuring that his government would keep fighting one of the factors behind booming prices: speculation. Wen told the media that to back off from the issue would “cause chaos in the real estate market.” The government slowed the purchases of homes in some cities by requiring larger down payments and introducing increased property taxes, and sent out eight teams of regulators to 16 provinces to check on the implementation of the new rules by local governments.
A month after Wen announced the government's commitment, the China Real Estate Index System (CREIS) showed a nationwide drop of housing prices by 0.71 percent compared to the previous year. When China’s top policymakers gathered in Beijing for a closed-door meeting, the Central Economic Work Conference, in late 2012, they agreed to continue the property control policies in 2013.
But then, there's corruption. Partly, it's a result of China’s laws being unable to keep up with the pace of development.
Creative Corruption
Just 30 years ago, the mere notion of Beijing’s skyline filled with privately owned skyscrapers and luxury apartments would have been incomprehensible. Though private ownership of homes and office buildings is now legal, land still belongs to local governments, and can only be leased (for long periods of time) to developers.
That adds another level of potential corruption, which contributes to distorted market values and inflated pricing. Local government officials often lease out the land to developers willing to pay more than the actual value, or to pay kickbacks. In turn, the cost of development goes up and must be made up by selling units at a higher rate.
Another trend among China’s wealthy is to purchase multiple properties as investments, in hopes of re-selling at an even higher price. This leads to a situation where many brand-new luxury buildings are only half occupied, but are still unaffordable.
China’s central government has begun stepping in in recent years, rolling out new policies including bans on third-home purchases and restrictions on mortgage borrowing, as a way to tighten controls on a runaway market. In addition to government policies, increased government-subsidized housing was planned for low-income citizens.
A high-profile push to build affordable homes for the millions of Chinese who no longer have reasonable options began in 2010. The program aims to build 36 million units by 2015. The effort is spearheaded by Li Keqiang, the successor to outgoing Premier Wen, which ensures the plan will continue to be a priority in 2013. Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 820 billion yuan ($160 billion) was invested in the program last year.
The plan is not bulletproof. An investigation into a local government official, Zhai Zhengfeng, former housing bureau director in Zhengzhou, found that his family had amassed 29 new apartment units, 11 of which were intended to be part of the affordable housing plan.
Circumventing housing laws can take creative forms. Gong Aiai, 49, known in the Chinese blogosphere as “older house sister,” has been accused of using her position as deputy head of a local bank in northwestern China to obtain fake identity cards, one of which identified her as a Beijing resident, allowing her to buy high-end, profitable property in the nation’s capital.
According to the China Daily, Beijing police have canceled Gong's false ID and seized all of her assets in Beijing, including properties and cars. Additional investigations have been started in other Chinese provinces regarding her other properties.
All that, combined with the risk of a sudden downturn in the real estate market, has China’s central government anxious.
Of course, the economic benefits that a thriving property market has provided for China cannot be ignored. Increased infrastructure development, whether for affordable housing or not, equals more jobs, booming steel and cement industries, and increased revenue in taxes for local governments. And home living standards have improved not only for those who can afford luxury, but also for those in government-subsidized housing units, now better than those that cities previously built.
But the social impact of the skyrocketing housing market is a huge concern for the stability-obsessed country. The blatant disparities between wealthy homeowners with multiple properties and those who cannot afford rent highlight a deepening divide.
RSS Feed
