Harborplace redevelopment nears fall start, pavilions set for demolition

MCB Real Estate and Whiting-Turner Contracting Company spent June 17 lining up subcontractors for Harborplace’s first phase, a sign that demolition at Light and Pratt streets is getting close as the long-delayed redevelopment moves toward a fall start. The outreach session at 1 East Pratt Street was aimed at bid opportunities tied to the site’s earliest work, not the towers and apartments that may come later.

The first phase is expected to tear down the existing pavilions and the pedestrian bridges connecting them, because the structures sit over utility lines, storm drains and other infrastructure that has to be rebuilt before anything new can rise.

The early contracts are geared toward the kind of work that gets overlooked in glossy renderings: promenade construction, bulkhead and marine infrastructure, heavy civil work, wet and dry utilities, landscaping, hardscaping and public-space improvements. The developer has not put out a firm construction-jobs estimate, though the project could create thousands of jobs.

The redevelopment is roughly a $900 million project expected to begin construction by fall 2026. Completed plans call for about 900 apartments, more than 200,000 square feet of commercial space and about 4.8 acres of public space, with a target finish around 2031. In April, Gensler Baltimore was named to lead the design team.

Harborplace opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the city’s waterfront renaissance, then slid into vacancy and political fight. The redevelopment got a 2024 push through Baltimore City Council action and a citywide ballot question, and it still faces criticism from the Inner Harbor Coalition over what kind of waterfront the city should allow. Since acquiring the property in 2023, MCB has called the plan “authentically Baltimore” and aimed at better access to the water and more walkable connections.