The DSB and A&R concept is an upscale one and calls for the creation of a skyscraper containing 120 rental apartment units, 60,000 sf of retail space, and a 250-room hotel component. All signs indicate that the project's offerings would be in great demand. According to Delta Associates' Mid-Year 2004 Apartment & Condo Report, the city's stabilized class A apartment vacancy rate is a low 1.1%. And, citing a dearth of hotel rooms in the area to accommodate coveted conference attendees at the upgraded 1.2 million-sf Baltimore Convention Center, local authorities have been cheering the Design Advisory Panel's recent approval of a proposed 750-room Hilton Hotel to anchor the meeting complex; thusly, the lodging portion of the 500 E. Pratt St. plan will likely be greeted warmly, as well.

Before the high-rise proposal came to the fore, other developers had put forth a variety of ideas for how to utilize the land. At one time, there were plans to make the site the headquarters of a law firm, and before the high-rise idea, another team had planned to develop the site as Lockwood Place, a three-story shopping center where a slew of big-name retailers had already signed on to occupy 60% of the space. That plan, of course, has now been scrapped.

The Design Advisory Panel has expressed its interest in the DSB and A&R project by requesting a few alterations to the design. The panel is scheduled to meet again on August 5. The college, while receptive to the proposal, has not yet given it a definitive thumbs-up. Officials from David S. Brown Enterprises and A&R Development Corp. were unavailable to respond to GlobeSt.com inquiries by deadline.