Designs for a public plaza in Harbor Point came in for questions Thursday, with members of the city's design panel asking developer Michael Beatty to return for another session before they sign off on the project.
Beatty Development Group is seeking approval to start its third building on the roughly 28-acre site between Harbor East and Fells Point. The first, the Thames Street Wharf offices that houses Morgan Stanley, sold for $89 million earlier this year. The second, a 20-story tower for energy giant Exelon Corp.'s regional headquarters is underway.
The third would be a 289-unit apartment building on Point Street, fashioned in burgundy and pumpkin pie brick with silver trim that rises to 17 stories at its tallest point. Beatty, who declined to estimate the project cost, said he hopes to complete it around the same time as the new Exelon tower in 2016.
"We really take seriously the importance of this building, not only how it fits into Baltimore, but how it fits into the context of Harbor Point itself," Beatty said.
Panelists said they generally liked the design, by Kevin Johnson of Ayers Saint Gross, of the big-windowed building with shops on the ground floor.
The plaza, to extend from new planned Point Street apartments to the water, came in for a tougher review.
The space, divided into several different terraces, is organized in two parts: a gray concrete plaza punctuated by trees and public art that would be created first, followed by grassy sections flanked by the Thames Street Wharf offices and a fourth, not-yet-settled building. The open space covers a partially underground parking garage.
"This is a public space. We want to pull people in," said landscape architect Richard Jones of Mahan Rykiel Associates.
But panelists said they are worried the area, as designed, will not be inviting. They raised questions about zig-zag paths that route pedestrians to the water indirectly; metal benches that would be hot in the summer and cold in the winter; and a 15-foot wall creating an alley-like route on the side of the Morgan Stanley building, among others.
"I'm happy that we're not relying so much on geometry," said panelist Richard Burns. "I still have some issues with the overall plan, as to whether it will be successful."
Panelist Judith Meany also asked what would happen to the second phase of the park if the market changes, and the fourth building – proposed as offices or apartments – is delayed.
Beatty said his team will review the comments. He said he expects the market to continue to drive development and the group hopes to break ground on the apartments this spring.
"There's always a collaborative process," he said. "We're full-speed ahead."
nsherman@baltsun.com