BALTIMORE | Mechanic Theatre | 350 FT | 32 FLOORS | 240 FT | 22 FLOORS

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Demolition to start on crumbling Mechanic Theatre by fall

David S. Brown Enterprises Ltd. is about three months away from demolishing the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, the first major step in the hotly anticipated apartment tower project planned for the corner of Baltimore and Charles streets.

David S. Brown obtained a demolition permit in March, and company chairman Howard Brown said in an interview that plans are being developed to perform a huge excavation project after the theater is torn down.
“The demolition will probably take about three months and then from there we’ll excavate down a couple of floors and then start to bring the building up in phases,” Brown said. “You’ll start seeing it come out of the ground about six or seven months” after the demolition.

Brown plans to rebuild the oddly configured Mechanic garage into a highly functioning underground structure. The excavation and parking garage plans are complex because it will be worked around the subway line that runs beneath. The design ensures the 32-story, 476-unit apartment tower’s massive weight will not place pressure on the subway tunnel.

One of the reasons the project has generated so much excitement among advocates for downtown is that it will clean up what’s seen as one of the mostly highly visible corners in the city and provide more activity on Hopkins Plaza. It also contains enough retail space for a big-box store in an area that has struggled to find large blocks of space for big retailers.

Brown said he’s still in talks with retailers, but signing a lease for the space isn’t key to moving the project forward.

“I may have to build it without a tenant,” Brown said. “Either you’re going to build it and they will come or you’ll have to wait around for years.”

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