Makeover Planned For Baltimore's McKeldin Square
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Expanding the Inner Harbor. After more than a decade of plans, McKeldin Square may be getting a major makeover.
Marcus Washington has more on the plan and the design.
It looks like a little island surrounded by traffic, but there are plans in place to make it more inviting to residents and tourists.
It's a location of trees, a water fall and concrete. But there are plans to change the scenery and surroundings of McKeldin Square in downtown Baltimore.
"Right now, it's an attractive space during a few months out of the year. But mostly, it's just a pass through," said Kirby Fowler, Downtown Partnership. "So how can we create a better space for everyone?"
Fowler says for the past decade these plans have been in the works--so has funding.
"The city is being helpful, there's no doubt about that. But about 70 percent of the funding for this project will come from non-city resources," he said.
The plan calls for moving four lanes on S. Calvert Street parallel to Light Street, in turn, opening up the entire area and connecting it to the Inner Harbor.
"It's trouble getting across that street because everybody flies around there," said Diana Burrows. "So I think it would be good."
The ultimate plan of the project--streets moved, extending what we know as the Inner Harbor.
"McKeldin Plaza specifically in addition to being a place where people go to congregate, where people go to have lunch midday, where visitors stop--it's also Baltimore's venue for peaceful assembly and gathering," said Richard Jones. "A place we can be proud of, that everybody can be proud of. A place that is uniquely Baltimore."
The first phase of the project, which does not include redirecting the traffic on S. Calvert Street, should take 18 months to complete. And WJZ is told there will be enough space for the ice rink that normally is in the area around Christmas time.
The next step in the project is to make a presentation before the design panel of Baltimore. If approved, construction would begin before the end of the year.
