STV’s steadily growing landscape architecture practice recently celebrated several significant project milestones in Baltimore City.
Building on STV’s extensive portfolio of civil engineering and infrastructure design services at Baltimore Peninsula, the team is providing landscape architectural services for various projects across the development. Concurrently, the team recently secured a contract with the Helping Up Mission to perform landscape architectural services for a new multi-use park in Baltimore’s Jonestown neighborhood.
“STV’s landscape architecture team is reshaping Baltimore’s urban fabric with a spectrum of services, bringing a holistic approach to urban design that resonates across diverse projects,” said Addison Palmer, vice president and business unit leader in our Baltimore office. “From streetscapes and parks to residential courtyard design, the team’s versatility underscores STV’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions as a full-service consultant for the ever-expanding needs of our clients.”
The 235-acre Baltimore Peninsula, surrounded by the Patapsco River in South Baltimore, stands as one of the largest urban renewal projects in America. Within this expansive redevelopment, one noteworthy project is Locke Landing, a residential neighborhood unfolding on the 25-acre grounds of the former Locke Insulators 1920 factory. On the northern section of this site, Greystar is spearheading the development of two five-story, multi-family apartment buildings totaling 420 units.
Locke Landing Preliminary Site Plan
For over a year, STV has played a pivotal role in activating outdoor spaces for this project, providing landscape architecture services and amenity deck design for three major outdoor areas. The east building features an at-grade courtyard with grill stations and shade structures surrounding a central lawn, providing areas for gathering and play, all seamlessly connected to the building’s ground-floor amenity spaces and courtyard-facing units. Meanwhile, the west building boasts an enclosed courtyard featuring an outdoor fireplace on the second floor and a pool terrace with waterfront views.
In this complex, multi-phase project, our team has collaborated closely with developer Greystar and architect Hord Coplan Macht. The project recently entered the final stages of the approval process and is poised for imminent construction commencement.
(3) East Building South Courtyard Plan. (4) East Building South Courtyard Section>
“At STV, our team has traditionally focused on streetscapes, parks, and plaza spaces,” said Heather English, who leads the landscape architecture group in STV’s Baltimore office, drawing on her extensive background in streetscape improvements and forest conservation for infrastructure programs with the Maryland State Highway Administration. “We are excited to expand our portfolio into residential courtyard and amenity deck design with the Locke Insulators Redevelopment and a similar recent project at Somerset Homes.”
Beyond the Locke Insulators Redevelopment, the landscape architecture team is supporting other projects at Baltimore Peninsula. This includes streetscape improvements to East and West Cromwell Street as well as Insulator Drive. Their comprehensive design involves tree planters filled with lush native plant species, site furnishings, and hardscape scoring patterns, setting the tone for major aesthetic improvements in the area.
Insulator Drive Section>
South of the Locke Insulators site, STV’s landscape architecture team is servicing Nick’s Fish House, an established crab restaurant on the waterfront. The firm is redesigning the parking lot and creating a clean street edge, ensuring a better layout to accommodate the anticipated increase in residents and workers, and supporting a land swap between two adjacent parcels to enhance their development potential in forthcoming phases.
Meanwhile, at the heart of Baltimore’s historic Jonestown district, STV was recently selected to contribute to the development of a transformative multi-use park in collaboration with the Helping Up Mission (HUM), a non-profit organization providing comprehensive recovery programs for people experiencing homelessness, poverty or addiction. The new park at 1100 East Baltimore Street will serve as a vital link connecting the Helping Up Mission’s Men’s Center and Center for Women & Children, two addiction treatment centers in close proximity to the site.
“At the heart of this project lies the aim to forge a connection between HUM’s two campuses, advancing the organization’s mission to combat addiction and homelessness by expanding their essential programs and services from diverse indoor amenities, including a library, arts room, and various communal spaces, to the outdoors – a pivotal placemaking endeavor,” English said.
STV recently kicked off the first phase of the project, conducting design charettes with the client to craft an illustrative concept plan for the 1.77-acre site’s initial redevelopment. The envisioned park design may include a multi-purpose field, picnic areas, pollinator and vegetable gardens, a small amphitheater, walking paths, perimeter fencing, and a restroom facility. In the subsequent phase, STV will secure applicable entitlements and prepare landscape architecture and civil engineering design documents necessary to obtain approvals and permits for the project’s progression.
1100 East Baltimore Street Park Concept Plans
“Both Greystar and HUM are new clients to STV that we were able to connect to thanks to our extensive experience providing civil engineering and entitlement services in Baltimore,” said English. “These projects underscore the recognition from clients in the region who value our extensive repertoire and adept navigation of intricate, large-scale developments across diverse projects and disciplines.”
These projects join the long list of programs STV’s landscape architecture team has supported in Baltimore over the years, including the University of Maryland BioPark, Somerset Homes Development and Park Heights Redevelopment.
Additionally, our track record in Maryland has allowed STV’s landscape architecture group to grow beyond the Mid-Atlantic region. Collectively, the team is licensed in ten different states – Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina, and Texas – and is well-equipped to support a diverse range of projects, providing comprehensive services in land development, site and civil design, and environmental design.