Can this long-awaited concert venue fill a gap in Baltimore’s music scene?

Baltimore has small settings where you can hear live music. It has big ones, too. But when it comes to midsize concert venues, the pickings are slim.

That’s set to change.

Originally slated for a 2021 opening, a 4,000-person venue called The Paramount Baltimore is now expected to debut by the end of the year. Construction was delayed first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the project’s financial troubles.

Just south of M&T Bank Stadium, The Paramount will add another entertainment option near the city’s stadium district, which also includes breweries, a Topgolf and a casino. It might also better position Baltimore’s live music scene to compete with the likes of Washington and Philadelphia, its backers have said.

A hard-hatted crew worked on the structure’s fourth floor via a cherry picker lift on a recent day as a truck pulled into the site. Workers said they didn’t know when work would be done, but the building appears to be nearing completion. The construction company shared photos of The Paramount’s interior on social media last month.

So far, however, the team behind the new venue hasn’t shared specifics.

Robert Goldstein, the project’s director, and Arthur Adler, of developer Caves Valley Partners, did not reply to requests for comment. Concerts are not yet being promoted, and it’s unclear when the inaugural show will take place.

The venue’s website says that it will open this fall. Last month, the Urban Land Institute promoted a tour of the venue, scheduling its debut for the “mid-fourth quarter 2026.” (That translates to roughly mid-November.)

The Maryland Institute College of Art is soliciting artwork, especially large-format pieces, for an exhibition that’s expected to open Nov. 1 at The Paramount. It’s unclear whether that will align with the venue’s opening.

The Paramount is part of a long-proposed vision to convert industrial acreage around Baltimore’s pro sports stadiums into an entertainment district. Caesars’ Horseshoe Casino opened in 2014, followed by TopGolf in 2022. Initial development plans also included retail spaces and a hotel, which have not come to fruition.

The state is finishing almost $500 million in upgrades both inside and surrounding M&T Bank Stadium. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is undergoing state-funded improvements, too, and the baseball club and the state could reach a deal next year that would pave the way for nearby development.

Checkerspot Brewing, which set up shop in the area eight years ago, got in on the “ground floor” of the area’s transition, said owner Judy Neff.

It’s unclear how many shows The Paramount will host, but organizers previously suggested building up to as many as 225 annually. Even if that estimate ends up being ambitious, it would mean plenty of busy — and boozy — nights for the brewery next door.

“Who doesn’t wanna come and get a beer before the show?” Neff asked.

The Paramount’s construction began in 2022, but was paused the following year. Contractors later said they had not been paid millions of dollars.

But the project received a boost last year from a novel form of financing called Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, known as C-PACE. That funding mechanism allows builders to access capital as long as their projects meet energy efficiency standards. The Paramount received a $26 million loan last year from Nuveen Green Capital that it will repay over 25 years.

Developers were “able to fill a gap in their capital stack” by using the C-PACE financing for the project, which will cost $86.2 million in total, according to Nuveen.

Baltimore has several smaller live music spots, such as the 1,500-person Nevermore Hall. Its stadiums occasionally host massive shows, including country singer Morgan Wallen’s recent concerts at M&T Bank Stadium, and the 14,000-person CFG Bank Arena is one of the nation’s busiest larger venues.

But The Paramount could be Goldilocks-sized. “We think it fills a niche,” Adler said in 2023.

He has likened it to The Anthem in Washington and The Fillmore in Philadelphia. Those venues hold a mostly standing crowd of between 3,000 and 6,000 people, offering a different experience from seated concert halls.

Baltimore’s Pier Six Pavilion is also midsize but is an open-air venue, limiting it to the warmer months. It hosts about 30 shows a year, substantially fewer than The Paramount’s aim.

Micah E. Wood, a Baltimore photographer and musician, had forgotten that The Paramount was on its way and believes that many in the music scene have, too.

Still, he welcomes anything that might combat a common gripe from local music lovers: that acts often skip Charm City in favor of D.C.

And popular Baltimore-based artists, such as Turnstile, Future Islands and Beach House, have limited venue options, Wood pointed out. Most locales are too small or too big.

“We have a lot of gaps,” Wood said of Baltimore’s venues, “and one of the gaps is that middle.”