The developer of a fire-ravaged Mount Vernon building is in the final stages of getting city permits to begin construction as soon as next month.
The building at 800 N. Charles contained
Donna's, Indigma, MyThai, and several offices. Indigma will open temporarily across the street until its original home is ready. And Donna's Co-Owner Alan Hirsch says
he plans to reopen the restaurant with a wine bar and tapas menu.
The Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation has given developer Dominic Wiker the OK to proceed with the design. Final demolition will begin this week and construction will begin later this summer, he says.
Wiker said in a statement that he expects to have a better idea of the number of tenants in the building by the end of July.
The new structure will feature a few contemporary touches, says Steven Shen, chairman of the architectural review committee of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association. It will include a skylight and an all-glass entrance. It will also house a patio on the fifth floor.
Last year's five-alarm fire gutted the building and took out the roof.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Dominic Wiker; Steven Shen, Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association