Marcus Lipsey / June 27, 2023
Terri Harrington is senior vicepresident at MacKenzie CommercialReal Estate Services in Baltimore.
What is your all-time favorite project?
Silo Point in Locust Point. Only a visionary like Pat Turner would convert a grain elevator into condos where residents embrace living next to railroad tracks and salt piles. This project was a catalyst for future development to come in Locust Point, which has made it a destination for not only residents, but office users as well. Empty-nesters who have moved out of the surrounding counties and first-time homebuyers all call Silo Point their home. This project was a catalyst for future development to come in Locust Point, which has made it a destination for not only residents, but office users as well. Empty-nesters who have moved out of the surrounding counties and first-time homebuyers all call Silo Point their home. The project is an anchor building in what has become one of Baltimore’s most successful “live, work, and play” neighborhoods.
What would you do if given a chance to reinvent Harborplace?
Harborplace is the welcome mat to what we call the “CBD” [central business district] and sits at the door front of three of the office buildings that are likely going to have large vacancy blocks in the future. A redevelopment of the site is critical to the success of all of downtown not only for business, but for bringing visitors back to the city. If I could reinvent Harborplace, and money wasn’t a factor, I would demolish the pavilions that create a wall from the harbor to downtown. I envision open green space for outdoor entertainment with mixed-use, low-rise buildings creating a marketplace of trendy, local restaurants with outdoor seating and local retail reflective of the culture of our city. At the entrance, I would have a big ol’ sign with something like, “Welcome to Baltimore — Where the Vision Begins Again”.
If you had a dinner party, which three real estate professionals, living or dead, would you invite?
The late Mayor William Donald Schaefer. While not a “real estate professional,” he oversaw the placemaking of so many great real estate projects during his leadership in the city.
Then an invitation to none other than James Rouse. I had a brief stint as a “Rouseketeer” doing leasing in the Columbia VillageCenters. As I sold his vision for a number of years, it would be great to hear about it from him firsthand. I would also ask what he would do to turn around Harborplace — his creation that put Baltimore on the map.
Last invite goes to developer Mark Sapperstein. He has managed to amenitize downtown with McHenry Row and Canton Crossing by developing mixed-use projects with destination retail and big box stores. His projects have resulted in new business for the city not only in retail, but in office — reversing a trend of businesses moving to the suburbs. I have watched him skillfully acquire and develop property through the relationships he establishes in the neighborhoods where he does his work. Any conversation with Mark is always interesting.
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