Developer Howard Chambers is spearheading a six-story, $6.5 million apartment, office and restaurant project at the vacant Mount Vernon building where his great-grandfather once ran one of Baltimore’s oldest design firms.
Chambers says he will break ground on 1010 North Charles St. between November and March of next year, adding 35 market-rate apartments behind and above it as part of the 47,000-square-foot project. The building will feature a mix of studio and one-bedroom units, with an average size of 640 square feet. Residents will have access to a rooftop patio.
The building will contain a 2,850-square-foot restaurant with outdoor dining. The type of eatery remains wide open, Chambers says. The building’s second floor will be turned into office space. Chambers says he is still working on the final configuration of the building.
1010 N. Charles St. was once the headquarters of 108-year-old design firm,
The H. Chambers Co., which moved to Baltimore office building Montgomery Park in 2006. It most recently housed Bath Time Inc., a showroom containing high-end faucets and other bath hardware that closed four years ago.
The Mount Vernon Belvedere Association, The Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation and the city’s planning department have all signed off on the project. Engineering studies are underway.
Mount Vernon’s many transportation options make 1010 North Charles an attractive location for apartments, Chambers says. “Right next door there are 14 Zipcar spaces, the bus line to and from Hopkins, the train station to and from D.C. is three or four blocks north of the site, so apartments make a tremendous amount of sense.”
Mount Vernon has
attracted more interest from developers as enrollment at the University of Baltimore has grown from 5,000 to 7,000 in the past five years. Since UB doesn’t have dorms, many of those students are clamoring for nearby apartments. Plus, Chambers thinks 1010 North Charles will attract hospital workers from Mercy Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Hospital, as well as faculty from University of Baltimore's new law school building set to open next month.
Writer: Amy Landsman;
[email protected]
Source: Howard Chambers, president of 1010 North Charles LLC