City releases plan for ‘Inner Harbor 2.0’

By the city that brought you the Inner Harbor, here comes “Inner Harbor 2.0.”
The Baltimore Sun reports on a city plan to “restore pizazz” to a section of the Inner Harbor relatively close to that other section of the Inner Harbor that was the recent beneficiary of $107 million in tax increment financing.

The “Inner Harbor 2.0” plan calls for constructing a pedestrian bridge to connect Harbor East with Federal Hill, turning Rash Field into a grassy park and squaring Light Street to link McKeldin Plaza to the harbor amphitheater. Other elements include a kayak launch, bike share program and urban beach, featuring a floating swimming pool.

The Waterfront Partnership and the Greater Baltimore Committee funded the Inner Harbor 2.0 plan, which was put together by architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross, which is based in Tide Point adjacent to the Under Armour campus.
How much will “Inner Harbor 2.0” cost? That’s anyone’s guess at this point, so long as anyone’s guess includes lots of zeroes. From the Sun:

The plan, which could take as many as 30 years or more to implement, does not carry a price tag. The designers acknowledged that their proposals would not be inexpensive.

Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun.