When is the back of a building more important than the front? When the building is a high-rise that will be seen from all directions, and the back forms a front door to the neighborhood where it will be constructed. And that's made the design process difficult for the developer and architects of Maryland Plaza, an 11-story apartment building planned for Baltimore's Mount Vernon historic district.
They were hoping to begin construction of the $17 million project this fall, after receiving approval from Baltimore's Design Advisory Panel in August. But Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, which also has design review authority, subsequently voted to withhold final approval, sending the architects back to the drawing board.
The decision was clearly a setback for the developer, who wants to add 153 apartments to the area without any city subsidy. But it was a commendable stance for the commission, charged with ensuring that new buildings in city historic districts are compatible with their surroundings.
At a time when Mount Vernon is finally coming out of its doldrums and attracting new investment, there's no reason to settle for anything but the best architecture.
Maryland Plaza is the proposed replacement for the vacant and fire-damaged Albert Gunther & Co. hardware store, a series of 1860s-era townhouses at the northeast corner of West Biddle Street and Maryland Avenue. Surrounding blocks are lined with richly detailed three- and four-story townhouses built more than a century ago.
The land is owned by University Properties, a University of Baltimore affiliate. The owner is working with developer Conrad Monts of the Washington Development Group and his architect, D.R. Brasher of Columbia.
Maryland Plaza would be Mount Vernon's first new high-rise in more than a decade. Many blocks of the neighborhood have tall buildings interspersed with townhouses. Some are gems, including the Belvedere, Stafford and Latrobe. Others are less appealing, lacking the detail and richness of their low-rise neighbors and causing them to stand out rather than fit in.
For Maryland Plaza, architect Ron Brasher and his colleagues proposed a tall, narrow building with a masonry skin, individual windows, a precast stone cornice and a "green roof" made of living materials. The building would occupy most of the site, and its entrance would be near Biddle and Maryland.
While the architects clearly tried to make the building compatible with its setting, the design presented to the preservation commission still can't be described as a comfortable fit for the area. In terms of materials, details and sheer visual interest, it just doesn't measure up. It's flat, boxy and blandly monolithic.
That gap in quality with neighboring structures was noted by several Mount Vernon residents who testified against the design during a three-hour hearing last month.
"This looks like a glorified public housing project," said Ann Razgunas, a resident of the nearby Symphony Hall condominiums. "I don't think anyone in this room is going to say that this building fits in," added Biddle Street resident Mark Panos. "A building that looks like Murphy Homes and the other buildings that just got imploded is not the way to go."
Back versus front
The most problematic side is the north wall, technically the rear of the building. But in many respects it would be the most visible side, seen by thousands of people driving downtown along Maryland Avenue every day.
The problem with the design is that this prominent, 11-story north side is mostly a blank wall. The middle area has windows set back in a courtyard, but the perimeter is windowless except for one vertical strip down the west side.
The developers say the north wall has few windows because the building is on the property line. They fear the owner of the neighboring property may someday want to put up an adjacent building, which could require the filling in of any windows on the party wall.
Limiting the number of windows might make sense if the north wall were less conspicuous. But Maryland Plaza will be a gateway to Mount Vernon and the central business district. A huge blank wall would make the worst possible impression.
The answer is for Monts, the developer, to confer with the neighboring property owner to see if an agreement can be reached on what might be built to the north, before construction begins on Maryland Plaza.
The owner is the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation. It operates a two-story garage on the property. According to treasurer Ernest Rafailides, the church has no immediate plans to redevelop the parcel but doesn't want to limit its options. He said church representatives would be happy to meet with Monts to seek a mutually beneficial solution.
Monts may discover that he can reach an agreement that would restrict the height of any future neighboring building. And by being the first on the block to build, Monts to a certain extent is in a position to dictate what will follow.
Lacking such an agreement, Monts could try other another strategy: setting the building back from the north property line, which would allow for windows. That might decrease the number of apartments per floor, or the building could have two or three additional floors to keep the number of apartments the same. It would be a taller and thinner structure, like the Dell House in Charles Village, but it would be better looking without the blank north wall.
Problems in the details
Other design concerns about Maryland Plaza range from use of materials to lack of detail at street level.
The developer has been exploring the idea of building the exterior walls out of concrete panels fabricated to look like bricks. Community representatives have said they would prefer real brick, which takes longer to put up but may be less expensive, and would be more appropriate for the historic district.
The building's coloration adds to its blandness. It's a combination of light brown and cream, two colors prevalent on the University of Baltimore campus. But many of Mount Vernon's most handsome buildings are deeper shades of brown or red.
Finally, Maryland Plaza lacks the human-scale details one finds on many midtown buildings. Part of the problem is that its ground floor has no grand spaces or retail activity. Apartments simply start on the street level and go up. That translates to a lack of variety on the facades.
This is unfortunate. Mount Vernon's best high-rises have a pronounced base, middle and top, created not just with color variations but with a change of materials and articulation of forms driven by the spaces inside. Maryland Plaza needs more scale and surface articulation so it will fit in better with its surroundings.
It's not impossible. Throughout midtown are many examples of tall buildings that are relatively simple in design but imbued with subtle detail. Examples include the old Alcazar hotel, Dakota apartments and Peabody Court hotel in Mount Vernon; Henderson House on Mount Royal Avenue and the Cecil apartments in Bolton Hill. All are essentially background buildings, but they have a degree of character and visual interest that Maryland Plaza lacks.
Part of the conundrum for the developers is that they've had to go through a two-tier design review process. If the architects change their plans now to satisfy the preservationists, they could end up with a building that would displease the Design Advisory Panel. But legally, the preservation commission is the final arbiter of right and wrong in Baltimore's historic districts.
If the preservation commission is really committed to getting a good building for Mount Vernon, it can't just say no to a proposal it finds unsatisfactory. It needs to take the next step and help guide the developers through the review process so they arrive at a successful conclusion. It can start by bringing Monts and the Greek Orthodox church representatives in for a discussion.
Mount Vernon needs buildings that enliven the street and the skyline. It already has its share of high-rises that do neither. The actions taken by Baltimore's preservation commission -- and the developer's response -- will go a long way toward determining whether Maryland Plaza will enhance the area or detract from it.