Work began in recent weeks on the infrastructure for 247 townhomes by Ryan Homes at the One Westport development in the Westport neighborhood of South Baltimore. The townhomes are phase one of a development by Stonewall Capital on a 43-acre waterfront parcel on the Middle Branch.

Stonewall Captial sold the 11.2-acre Parcel B of the development to H&H Rock, a land developer working to create townhome pad sites for Ryan Homes. Ray Jackson of Stonewall Capital said he expects vertical construction to begin on the townhomes in the first quarter of 2025 with the completed homes being delivered in the spring or summer.

Read more at SouthBmore.

A new bar and lounge called Vessel opened on the third floor of the ROOST Baltimore hotel and apartment building in Baltimore Peninsula. Vessel is a new concept from Method Co., the parent company of ROOST Baltimore.

The opening of Vessel follows coffee shop Little Wing, another Method Co. concept, which opened in the building in July.

Read more at SouthBmore.

Buy, sell, trade, and repair guitar shop Galactic Guitar Exchange opened this month at 1133 Light St. in Federal Hill. Galactic Guitar Exchange relocated from Joppatowne and fills a vacant space that was previously Minuteman Press.

Owner Ryan Ellis started Galactic Guitar Exchange three years ago at the Joppa Grand Market. Ellis has a background in jazz music and plays standup bass and guitar.

Read more at SouthBmore.

Second Chance, the Carroll-Camden Industrial Area-based nonprofit that has an architectural salvage and antique store, a deconstruction company, and a workforce development program, has purchased two additional buildings in the area to expand its store. Second Chance’s current store, offices, and classroom are at 1700 Ridgely St. It acquired 1300 W. Hamburg St. and 1025 W. Ostend to add a second store.

1025 W. Ostend St. is a 96,530 sq. ft. building on 134,949 sq. ft. of land that borders the Pigtown neighborhood. It was formerly the home of Indusco. A Maryland cannabis company was planning to move into the building and began demolition, but the deal fell through.

Read more at SouthBmore.

New smoothie shop The Smoothie Garden has opened at 905 Light St. in Federal Hill. The retail space was previously a vape shop.

The Smoothie Garden is a new business from Montana Logan who previously owned childcare centers. She described herself as someone who “starts diets and doesn’t finish them.” Understanding the need for more healthy and all-natural foods, she had a vision for her new business after seeing the available storefront in Federal Hill. Logan also wants to see kids eating healthy foods at a younger age.

Read more at SouthBmore.

A new coffee shop called The Stoop has opened at 784 Washington Blvd. in Pigtown. The retail space has been several different coffee shops over the years and was most recently Zeke’s Coffee before it closed in March.

The Stoop is a new business from Pigtown resident Paige Stamerro. The cafe is still “fueled by Zeke’s,” according to Stamerro, as its coffee drinks still use Zeke’s beans. The shop also sells Zeke’s one-pound bags of beans for customers to take home.

Food at The Stoop is provided by Baltimore’s Bluebird Bakery.

Read more at SouthBmore.

New soccer and lacrosse goals, as well as additional sports equipment, are coming to Riverside Park and Swann Park in South Baltimore. Banner Field at Latrobe Park in Locust Point will additionally be receiving repairs to its artificial turf playing surface. The new goals and equipment are being funded by a $23,708.49 South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP) grant while the turf repair will be done by Baltimore City Recreation and Parks (BCRP).

Jackson Fisher, who coordinates activities for the Friends of Riverside Park and who is also a long-time leader and member of the planning committee for South Baltimore Youth Soccer League (SBYSL), and Al Passarella, a board member and coach with SBYSL, took the lead in approaching SGBP about the new goals and field improvements. Riverside Park just underwent a $2,360,000 renovation to its sports fields, although they are not yet ready for permitted activities. SBYSL has been using Banner Field for many years and more recently expanded its programming to Swann Park.

Read more at SouthBmore.

A new mural has been added to a utility building at Elijah’s Park at the Baltimore Peninsula development. The colorful mural featuring different shapes was completed by muralists Jessie Unterhalter and Katey Truhn.

Unterhalter and Truhn have painted murals around the country. Their work in Baltimore includes a large mural at UNION Craft Brewing and on the Baltimore Convention Center.

Read more at SouthBmore.

A $14-million streetscape project on Warner St. in The Walk @ Warner Street entertainment district is scheduled to begin on September 9th. The three-block section of Warner St. connects Horseshoe Casino Baltimore to M&T Bank Stadium.

The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore ownership group of CBAC is leading the work and South Baltimore’s Plano-Coudon is the general contractor.

A representative from CBAC told SouthBMore.com: “The goal is to improve Warner Street and the walk between the stadium and the casino. When complete, Warner Street will have a new concrete surface, wider and new sidewalks, no overhead BGE lines, new water and sewer lines in the ground, a bike path, landscape area and new lights.”

All the improvements will take place on publicly-owned property. The entire project will take about 16 months and Warner St. will only be open for access from the casino garage and for emergency vehicles and pedestrian traffic.

While CBAC is leading the work, it will be reimbursed by Baltimore City funds and a state grant. Much of the city funds come from the Baltimore Casino Local Development Council which spends Casino Local Impact Grants generated from slot machines.

Read more at SouthBmoreBlog

Last week, BYB Prop Real Estate Partners led by Marcellous Butler, who is principal of the company and also the co-founder of floating hotel and home business FLOHOM, acquired Baltimore Yacht Basin in Baltimore Peninsula. Baltimore Yacht Basin is a marina located at 2600 Insulator Dr., adjacent to Nick’s Fish House, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Bridge, and the Locke Landing development.

BYB Prop Real Estate Partners acquired Baltimore Yacht Basin from the Port Covington Development team which is underway on a multi-decade, multi-billion dollar development in the neighborhood.

BYB Prop Real Estate Partners plans a complete tear down and rebuild of the marina to include approximately 150 boat slips, including 45 to 50 boat lifts, a ‘Retail Row’ pier with an event space, amenities, and potentially a coffee shop; and an area for recreational waters sports such as kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding. A number of FLOHOM luxury houseboats will also be available for short- and long-term rentals.

Read more at SouthBmore.

For the first time in two years, international soccer is returning to M&T Bank Stadium with a match between AC Milan and FC Barcelona on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. AC Milan and FC Barcelona are two of the most popular and storied clubs in the world.

FC Barcelona, which plays in Spain’s La Liga, is the second most popular team in the world, according to social media followers, just behind rival Real Madrid. FC Barcelona finished last season in second place in La Liga.

AC Milan is the current club of American star and Hershey, Pennsylvania native Christian Pulisic. Pulisic, the current U.S. Soccer’s Male Player of the Year, had a breakout season in Italy last year with 15 goals and nine assists across all competitions. AC Milan finished last season in second place in Italy’s Series A.

Read more at SouthBmore.

The 1600 block of Jackson St. in Riverside, which is nicknamed “The Greatest Street in America,” likes to have fun. Included in this fun is the addition of a new street sign on the block that honors two local sports stars: Lamar Jackson and Jackson Holliday. The “Lamar Jackson Holliday” St. sign can be found on the corner of Jackson St. and Randall St.

Lamar Jackson is of course the star, two-time MVP quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, and local fans are hopeful Orioles prospect and current Norfolk Tides player Jackson Holliday is the next Major League Baseball sensation. The 20-year-old Holliday has been named the #1 prospect in baseball and, after a short stint with the Baltimore Orioles earlier this season, analysts are predicting he’ll be promoted back to the big league club this season.

Gary Lam, who has been a resident of Jackson St. since 2003, took on the street sign project. Lam, a carpenter by trade, did his research to get the street signs made to the same specs as the Jackson St. sign and to find the right anchors for the light poll. He wanted to make sure the signs were durable, reflective, and made to last. He spent about $240 on the project and hung the final signs over 4th of July.

Read more at SouthBmore.

Hellenic Cables Americas will be building an approximately $300 million cable manufacturing facility at 3901 Asiatic Ave. in the Wagners Point industrial area in South Baltimore.

The long-vacant 38-acre property, just east of the Curtis Bay neighborhood, is expected to see construction at the end of this year. Hellenic Cables Americas is a subsidiary of Belgian-based company Cenergy Holdings

During the construction period, Hellenic estimates hiring approximately 200 people in trades related positions. An estimated 120 new manufacturing jobs will be created when the factory is fully operational, toward the end of 2026. An estimated 250 indirect jobs will be supported by various services during both the construction and operational periods.

Hellenic received a federal tax credit of up to $58 million from the Department of Energy as a Qualifying Advanced Energy Project.

Read more at SouthBmore.

Locke Landing in Baltimore Peninsula currently encompasses one of the biggest constructions sites in the area as townhomes and new apartment buildings are rising at rapid pace at the 25-acre residential redevelopment. One new aspect of the development is the reconvening of Light St. which currently ends at the 1900 block in Riverside/South Baltimore.

Light St. is one of the most well-known streets as it passes through the bustle of the Inner Harbor and Harborplace and the many restaurants in Federal Hill, including the Cross Street Market. The street previously stopped at a fence that cut it off from the CSX and MARC train tracks and the I-95 bridges.

Locke Landing is a 809-unit residential development by master developer 28 Walker. It replaces the former Locke Insulators industrial campus that was previously active from 1920 to 2017.

Read more at SouthBmore.

A 48,000 sq. ft. office building at 814 Light St. in Federal Hill has hit the market for $5 million.

The two-story brick building, which sits in the heart of Federal Hill at Light St. and E. Henrietta St. just two blocks from the Inner Harbor, was constructed in 1986. It was previously occupied by Salvation Army and served as the organization’s Central Maryland headquarters.

The property is listed by Jim Chivers, senior vice president of Gold and Company.

Read more at SouthBmore.