Proposals Submitted for Cross Street Market in Federal Hill
In December, SouthBMore.com announced that the Baltimore Public Markets Corporation (BPMC) would be releasing a request for proposals (RFP) to redevelop and operate the 31,800 sq. ft. Cross Street Market in Federal Hill. On January 5th that RFP was released with a deadline of March 5th.
As the deadline passed last week, BPMC received two proposals: one from a team comprised of local developers Caves Valley Partners (CVP) and War Horse LLC, and one from another group that BPMC Executive Director Robert Thomas described as just a design concept that did not complete all the requirements of the RFP.
A committee comprised of the BPMC Board of Directors and representatives from the Baltimore City Planning Department, Baltimore Development Corporation and the Baltimore City Law Department will be focusing their attention on the proposal from CVP and War Horse. The committee will begin reviewing the proposal and the development team will be presenting to the committee later this month.
“There is not a set time frame, but we are definitely pushing to get some things done and hopefully we can wrap up this process in about two months,” said Robert Thomas, Executive Director of of BPMC. If the proposal is not approved by the committee or if the entities are unable to work out a deal, another RFP would be released for Cross Street Market.
If approved, Thomas told SouthBMore.com there would be dialogue back and forth about a start date for the lease. He was hopeful that a “new market” could be enjoyed at Cross Street Market by fall.
CVP and War Horse held a meeting with representatives from the community in early February. Scott Plank of War Horse told the group that he has been in conversation with the City about Cross Street Market for more than a year and a half. War Horse is the owner and operator of Belvedere Square Market in North Baltimore as well as a market called The Hall in San Francisco.
Without divulging too many details of their proposal, they told the group that they would seek more windows and natural light in the market as well as common seating areas inside the market and potentially on the rooftop of the market and along the side. They plan on keeping the market open during any renovations and said they want to hear from the community throughout the process to find out what they want in “their” market.
CVP and War Horse are both very actively involved in South Baltimore development. CVP developed 1111 Light Street, Riverside Wharf and the former M&T Bank on Cross St. in Federal Hill. CVP has also recently started working on Stadium Square, a mixed-use development on three city blocks of Sharp-Leadenhall and South Baltimore.
War Horse is currently a partner at Anthem House, a mixed-use development that recently broke ground in Locust Point and will include 275 apartments and 19,000 sq. ft. of retail. War Horse also owns the former Rallo’s/Big Matty’s and rear parking lot across Lawrence St. from Anthem House. The property was recently approved for a transfer of the former Thornton’s liquor license.
In one of SouthBMore.com’s most popular Facebook posts of last year, readers were asked about what changes they would like to see at Cross Street Market. The most popular answers included better hours, better produce, more natural light, the addition of a pho place, the addition of a ramen place, the addition of an Atwater’s, and the addition of a bakery/bagel shop. Responses were also very complimentary about some of the existing establishments in the market, including Nick’s Seafood, Pop Tacos, Cheese Galore, Fenwick Meats, Steve’s Lunch, Bruce Lee Wings, and The Pretzel Twist.
