Antero Pietila
2008-02-06 08:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

It speaks volumes about corruption in this city of “The Wire,” “The Corner” and “Homicide” that downtown Baltimore’s center of prostitution and drug peddling is located just steps away from police headquarters and City Hall. Yet law enforcers ignore it. That surely explains a lot.

I have never quite figured out how The Block works. Recent reports suggest that a rough element has taken over and that crack and heroin have never been more prevalent on The Block than now. Many johns don’t even go to The Block except to score drugs through addicted girls, those reports allege.

So where are Mayor Sheila Dixon and other politicians who are so worried about “The Wire” sullying Baltimore’s image? They are missing in action. It’s easier to rail against a fictional television show than to deal with a real-life issue that involves campaign contributors, from strip bar operators to property owners to lawyers.

The Block of Bangkok, Thailand, is called Patpong. A single investor owns the area, which in the daytime is a vibrant financial hub. Come night, it teems with men. Some go to massage parlors and love hotels, others attend sex shows.

Perhaps that kind of a mixed use of real estate works in Bangkok, but it does not work in Baltimore. That’s why The Block must go. Now.

The current real estate distress presents a splendid opportunity to refashion The Block into something resembling Philadelphia’s South Street, an entertainment district bringing life into downtown instead of sleaze. The city and real estate interests should use this downturn to buy properties whenever they become available so that The Block can be squeezed out of existence.

The reason why action is needed now is that the whole surrounding area is in a flux. Baltimore City Community College is about to seek proposals for the reuse of what is left of its campus along Lombard Street. One part has already been redeveloped into offices and retail. The remaining classroom building may come down next. The real estate is just too valuable.

Next door, a stretch of bars and clubs called Power Plant Live! is doing well. It is across a plaza from Port Discovery, an education and entertainment center for children.

Only two blocks of Gay Street separate these attractions from The Block, and the sight is not pretty. While a 31-story condominium building known as 414 Water Street reports respectable sales, nearly everything else nearby is vacant. This represents a tremendous redevelopment opportunity for a risk-taking entrepreneur who can recognize the potential of this next natural extension of the Inner Harbor.

When the real estate market perks up again, the whole district from that area to Pennsylvania Station is poised for a takeoff. Many anchors are already in place. Scattered conversions of old office and manufacturing buildings into apartments are inviting more investors because the downtown rental market is doing well. Mercy Hospital is expanding. And the pending sale of two blocks of The Baltimore Sun’s real estate along Calvert Street presents further opportunities.

All this offers real potential for the kind of downtown renaissance that Baltimore has not seen in decades. Getting rid of The Block would truly be a catalyst.

Antero Pietila is a Baltimore Examiner columnist. He can be reached at hap5905@hotmail.com.