Today the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Public Markets Corporation (BPMC) announced it has voted to enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Privilege (“ENP”) agreement for the redevelopment of the Cross Street Market with the team of Caves Valley Partners (CVP) and War Horse, LLC.
The vote comes after the BPMC reviewed responses to the Request for Proposals it issued in January for the lease and redevelopment of the city-owned property in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood.
“The ENP period gives us an opportunity to fully evaluate the details of the development team’s plan and proposed terms,” said Kirby Fowler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BPMC. “There is no doubt that we are all highly motivated to create a superior market venue for the community, on terms that are beneficial to both the City and the development team. We look forward to our further discussions on how to elevate the Cross Street Market experience.”
CVP and War Horse held a meeting with representatives from the community in early February. Scott Plank of War Horse told the group that he has been in conversation with the city about Cross Street Market for more than a year and a half. War Horse is the owner and operator of Belvedere Square Market in North Baltimore as well as a market called The Hall in San Francisco.
Without divulging too many details of the proposal, they told the group that they would seek more windows and natural light in the market as well as common seating areas inside the market and potentially on the rooftop of the market and along the side. They plan on keeping the market open during any renovations and said they want to hear from the community throughout the process to find out what they want in “their” market.
CVP and War Horse are both very actively involved in South Baltimore development. CVP developed 1111 Light Street, Riverside Wharf and the former M&T Bank on Cross St. in Federal Hill. CVP has also recently started working on Stadium Square, a mixed-use development on three city blocks of Sharp-Leadenhall and South Baltimore.
War Horse is currently a partner at Anthem House, a mixed-use development that recently broke ground in Locust Point and will include 275 apartments and 19,000 sq. ft. of retail. War Horse also owns the former Rallo’s/Big Matty’s and rear parking lot across Lawrence St. from Anthem House. The property was recently approved for a transfer of the former Thornton’s liquor license.
In one of SouthBMore.com’s most popular Facebook posts of last year, readers were asked about what changes they would like to see at Cross Street Market. The most popular answers included better hours, better produce, more natural light, the addition of a pho place, the addition of a ramen place, the addition of an Atwater’s, and the addition of a bakery/bagel shop. Responses were also very complimentary about some of the existing establishments in the market, including Nick’s Seafood, Pop Tacos, Cheese Galore, Fenwick Meats, Steve’s Lunch, Bruce Lee Wings, and The Pretzel Twist.
Portions of this article came from a BPMC press release.