WHEN AHMAD Kabiryousefi learned he had to move his Burger King restaurant from Charles and Fayette streets in Baltimore, he thought he found an ideal replacement location less than a block away.

A six-story building at 8-12 E. Fayette St. offered nearly as much room for a restaurant as his current location in the base of the One Charles Center office tower.

It was highly visible.

And because it was close to his location, the restaurant owner wasn't afraid of losing customers as a result of the move.

"I have many loyal customers," he said. "I don't want to lose them. They don't want to lose me."

Kabiryousefi acquired the building in January and has begun renovating it for his proposed restaurant. But his project is in doubt as a result of a city plan to build a parking garage on the same block.

Baltimore's City Council is considering legislation that would authorize the city to acquire properties and build a garage "in the vicinity of Charles and Fayette streets," to add parking spaces in the central business district. The Planning Commission this year approved a bill that would allocate $10 million for a 500-car garage in that area.

Although an exact location for the garage has not been set, Baltimore's Public Works Department has commissioned an architectural firm, Murphy & Dittenhafer, to suggest ways to build a garage in the block bounded by Charles, Fayette, Lexington and St. Paul streets.

Preliminary plans call for buildings along Charles and St. Paul streets to be spared from demolition and for midblock buildings to be acquired to make way for the garage. Historic facades may be incorporated into the garage but tenants and owners would be displaced.

Besides 8-10 E. Fayette St., affected buildings most likely would include: the A. J. Billig Auctioneers building at 16 E. Fayette St.; the former Junker Hotel, now the Prince Jewelry Building at 20-22 E. Fayette St.; a three-story building at 24-26 E. Fayette St.; the Schloss Building at 5 E. Lexington St.; the Pattison & Gahan Building at 7 E. Lexington St.; the Gault Building at 9 E. Lexington St.; and the Supplee Building at 11 E. Lexington St.

Kabiryousefi is one of several property owners who have written to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke to voice opposition to the plan. They say the threatened buildings are occupied and architecturally significant and shouldn't be sacrificed for parking if other sites are available.

Kabiryousefi's situation is particularly ironic because he wouldn't have purchased property in the threatened block if he could stay in his location. He said he's leaving One Charles Center because its owner, attorney Peter G. Angelos, wants to renovate it. Only after acquiring the Fayette Street building did he learn about the garage.

Kabiryousefi is adversely affected because he has agreed to move out of One Charles Center by April 2. He's investing $1.5 million to create the new restaurant and hopes to open it by mid-July. But if the city moves ahead with its garage plans, he said, he would be unable to proceed and at least 35 employees would lose their jobs.

In addition, he said, his company has a Burger King in Ellicott City. To help reduce unemployment in the city, he hires Baltimore residents and shuttles them to Ellicott City by van. If he loses his downtown base, he said, he might not be able to continue operating the shuttle.

An engineer and urban planner by education, Kabiryousefi said he's also concerned that the Fayette Street block is not a good location for a garage.

"I don't think it's going to be desirable for the city," he said. "These are historic buildings. This intersection is a bus stop with heavy traffic. It's going to create a lot of accidents."

Despite the protests, city officials are moving ahead with design work on the garage. Plans will be presented today to Baltimore's Design Advisory Panel. But none of the properties can be acquired unless City Council approves legislation authorizing the acquisitions.

For now, Kabiryousefi is proceeding with his renovation. He has hired the firm of Gant Hart Brunnett to redesign the building to contain a two-level restaurant and upper-level office space for his business and others. He also asked Baltimore's preservation commission to designate the building a landmark, so his project would be eligible for preservation tax credits.

"I hope they change their minds," he said of the garage planners. "We've spent so much money so far, we can't go back. I'm praying they're not going to stop us."

The Baltimore Architectural Foundation will sponsor a free public forum on the city's plans to raze downtown buildings for parking garages at noon April 14 at the Johns Hopkins University's Downtown Center, Charles and Saratoga streets.

Pub Date: 3/18/99