City officials grant final approval to 414 Light St. apartment tower
Oct 10, 2014 - Kevin Litten,
Baltimore Business Journal
Questar Properties Inc. on Thursday won architectural approvals for the 44-story, 392 unit ultra-luxury apartment tower it's proposing for the southwest corner of Light and Conway streets.
The approval was a major hurdle for the Pikesville-based company, which wants to get the
$140 million project under construction early next year. The 500-foot skyscraper will also be seen as a landmark addition for downtown and the Inner Harbor, becoming the tallest apartment building in the city and offering a level of luxury offered in other large cities, but not yet in Baltimore.
Given the tower's potential to transform the skyline and set a new standard for the bleakly landscaped Light Street, Urban Design and Architecture Review Panelists had been tough on the project when it came before the group in August.
Thursday's meeting was a complete turnabout, helped in part by the addition of Chicago landscape architect Ted Wolff, who charmed the panel with his polished presentation style and a plan for the building's base that panelists said was a major improvement on previous presentations.
"The change is so refreshing and so reassuring," said panelist Gary Bowden. Panelist Judith Meany agreed, declining to even offer any criticism of the revamped proposal: "I don't even want to pick at it," she said.
One of the most harshly criticized elements of the original landscape plan was a stair design that led up to the building's entrances. Wolff changed out the sloping, diagonal stairs for a more traditional design that features gently sloping sidewalks nearby for handicap access.
Due to regulations related to the potential for flooding at the Inner Harbor, Questar is required to build any street-level retail or residential entryways at a minimum of two feet above ground level.