Can a high-stakes, high-tech real estate development spur real economic growth" The opening of any new hotel carries a certain amount of optimism and symbolism. That went double for the March debut of Sagamore Pendry, the latest high-end hotel to open in Baltimore.
It wasn?t just the luxurious look of the 128-room hotel?complete with a steakhouse, whiskey bar, outdoor pool, and nods to horse racing, a reference to Maryland?s history of raising thoroughbreds?that made news. The building, once featured on the television show Homicide, part of the string of true-crime dramas that have given many an unsavory impression of the city, has a certain symbolic resonance, and its renovation is a signal things are changing.
It?s a sentiment the company, Sagamore Development, has channeled for Port Covington, a $5.5 billion waterfront development plan and one of the nation?s largest real estate projects. Located on the Patapsco River, this new city-within-a-city is viewed by many backers and Baltimoreans as a catalyst to raise the city?s profile and build a 21st-century economy. Bankrolled by Kevin Plank?the hometown entrepreneurial success story and billionaire founder of Under Armour, the athletic-apparel giant and owner of Sagamore?and public funding, this site isn?t just a massive investment in infrastructure, industry, and waterfront property, though it?s definitely all those things. It includes 2.5 miles of restored waterfront, 40-plus acres of new parks, 14.1 millio...