Redevelopment or not, Mayor Scott wants Harborplace pavilions torn down

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said he wants the Harborplace pavilions torn down — regardless of whether the developer behind the reimagining is ready to build.

“They have to go,” Scott said at The Banner’s annual Impact Maryland event Wednesday.

“We have to remind ourselves of something: Those pavilions have been outdated for 20 years,” Scott said. “We also have to be honest. Shopping malls are dead. So, yes, this should be demolished.”

MCB Real Estate, the Baltimore-based firm that bought Harborplace out of receivership, is securing financing for its ambitious redevelopment of the Inner Harbor area. Demolition was originally expected to take place this year, but it’s unclear when that might happen.

Alexandra Hughes, spokesperson for MCB, has previously declined to answer questions about the developer’s timeline. She did immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

In an interview onstage with the mayor, Banner City Hall reporter Emily Opilo asked if demolishing Harborplace would create vacant land downtown, similar to the former Morris Mechanic Theatre site.

“Yes, technically, it could be a risk,” he replied.

But he said demolishing the pavilions would make the site more attractive for investment. He compared the situation to Baltimore’s vacant housing crisis.

“We don’t need another vacant in the city of Baltimore,” Scott said. “We don’t need another place that we know is dilapidated, where things can happen, where things maybe can fall or collapse.”

Growing up, Scott said, the Inner Harbor was never welcoming for someone like him, a Black boy raised in the Park Heights neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore.

“Even though we lived in Baltimore, we were literally told that we should not and could not go there,” Scott said.

The new Harborplace will change that, he said.

Scott also doubled down on reconfiguring Pratt and Light streets, regardless of what happens with Harborplace and when. More people are moving downtown, he said, and the area should prioritize walkability and families — not suburban commuters.

In a nod to MCB, Scott said its fundraising work isn’t finished.

The firm unveiled its plans for a redeveloped Harborplace almost three years ago, drawing up a design that included retail space, restaurants, a park, an amphitheater and even a gondola.

It also committed to adding as many as 900 housing units, a detail that won voters’ approval in 2024, despite outcry from some residents that Harborplace should not be controlled by a private developer.

The plan hinges on securing at least $500 million in private investment, plus another $400 million from government sources. MCB is expected to receive one of the largest tax breaks in city history from Baltimore’s spending board as soon as this month.