Charles Village Projects: News and Updates

On Thursday, September 29, 2005, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse (SBER) celebrated the official ground-breaking for Village Commons. This momentous event is the pinnacle of over five years of hard work by the Development and Construction team in conjunction with the neighborhood and the city. On hand to participate in the festivities were Mayor Martin O’Malley, Charles Village Civic Association President Beth Bullamore, NAACP President Bruce Gordon, Johns Hopkins University Vice President James McGill, Citibank President Harry Goff and SBER’s equity investor partner Canyon Johnson Urban Funds (CJUF) co-founders Bobby Turner and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Under gray skies, hundreds listened as the Mayor welcomed CJUF to Baltimore and said how pleased he was to have “Earvin Johnson and Bobby Turner BELIEVE in Baltimore and are working with one of the city's finest real estate development companies, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse." Earvin Johnson commented on “Mayor O'Malley's vision and his gift for bringing people together [to] make a positive impact in this neighborhood.”

The exterior design of SBER's The Olmsted project was approved March 30th by the City's Urban Design and Review Advisory Panel (UDARP). In giving its approval for the project's design, UDARP commended the design team for improving the design to better reflect the neighborhood's characteristics and for the progressive nature of the environmentally sustainable design. Prior to making its presentation to UDARP, SBER presented this revised design to the North Charles Village Planned Unit Development Design Review Committee. Many of the comments made by the PUD-Design Review Committee were later incorporated.

The exterior design of SBER's Charles Village East Side project was approved August 19th by the City's Design Advisory Panel (DAP). In giving its approval for the project's final design, the DAP commended the design team for its responsiveness in accommodating the suggestions and recommendations of both the DAP and the North Charles Village Planned Unit Development Design Review Committee. This design had come about only through multiple, constructive discussions with the PUD-Design Review Committee. The end result was a strong letter endorsing the project's design.