MCB Taps Gensler To Lead Design Of Harborplace, 'Baltimore's Postcard Image'

MCB Real Estate has hired architecture firm Gensler to lead the design team tasked with shaping the redevelopment of Baltimore's iconic Harborplace, after the developer closed on the property less than 30 days ago.

In addition to Gensler, the design team includes Baltimore-based firms Sulton Campbell Britt & Associates, BCT Design Group and Unknown Studio.

MCB expects the design team to start developing a blueprint for the overhaul this month, a process that includes findings detailed in a community engagement report that MCB Real Estate released this week. The developer announced it closed its deal to acquire the property out of receivership June 21.

“With the property now in hand, we are thrilled to announce the design team who will work with MCB and hear from the community on what Harborplace can be," MCB Managing Principal P. David Bramble said in a statement. "People like to count Baltimore out. This project will show what we, as a city, are capable of — and showcase the best of Baltimore for our own families, Marylanders across the state, and to the entire world."

Gensler, the world's largest architecture firm, has contributed design services to various high-profile projects, including the Jackie Robinson Museum, the new Terminal One building at JFK International Airport and China's tallest building, Shanghai Tower. 

“Harborplace is Baltimore’s postcard image. It should visually capture what we are most proud of about our city and how we want to be known in the world — a place where all of our people can enjoy the iconic Inner Harbor and the first place we should all want to share with visitors to our city,” Vaki Mawema, managing director and principal of Gensler’s Baltimore office, said in a statement. 

The community engagement report informing design decisions, titled The First Thirty Days, includes recommendations from the developer's first public forum in June, from a dinner meeting with a handful of community leaders and from residents online. 

Residents told the developer they want a renewed Harborplace that is inclusive, safe and affordable, according to the report. Residents also offered specific suggestions, including a restaurant with a "blue-collar Baltimore crab house vibe."

MCB started its community outreach process in May, gathering input from residents about their vision for the now largely vacant 42-year-old Harborplace retail pavilions.

When it opened in 1980, Harborplace was a focal point for transforming the Inner Harbor from decaying docks into a waterfront attraction for residents and tourists.  

During the ensuing decades, Harborplace lost its luster under a succession of corporate owners and eventually fell into disrepair. Its decline accelerated during Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.'s checkered ownership of the pavilions. 

The pavilions then languished in receivership for years until a Baltimore Circuit Court judge approved the sale of the property to MCB Real Estate late last year.

In March, Bramble told Baltimore's Downtown Partnership that MCB's plans to redevelop the site involved two phases. The first phase, which he called the interim phase, meant finding short-term tenants. The second phase, he said, would focus on attracting long-term tenants. 

Previously Bramble said plans for overhauling Harborplace would focus on retail offerings that online retailers can't provide. That means offering unique experiences, a return to what the pavilions were known for in their heyday.   

"We see that people want experiences, they want something unique, they want something you can't order online, and that's the kind of experience we think the retail associated with this project will bring," Bramble told radio station WYPR in May. "The kind of stuff you do because you want to go there, not because you could get it at the mall or order it on Amazon."