Keaton PetersBaltimore is planning new transit-oriented development near key train stations. The Baltimore Metropolitan Council has issued a request for proposals for private investment to create a Transit Oriented Development Implementation Plan for the West Baltimore Red Line Station area, where multiple transit services will converge.
The recently revived 14-mile Red Line is a light rail project to connect the Woodlawn area of Baltimore County through West Baltimore communities to downtown Baltimore, Inner Harbor East, Fells Point, Canton and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The West Baltimore station will serve as a key connection point between the Red Line, MARC commuter rail service and local bus routes.
Transit-oriented developments, or TODs, help cities expand housing options while improving mobility. Placing dense housing near transit hubs is intended to facilitate high ridership while offering future residents and commercial occupants the convenience and opportunities that come with being adjacent to light rail and bus lines.
The Red Line is designed to provide faster transit options along the heavily congested Route 40 corridor and create the first rapid transit line serving the Fells Point/Canton/Bayview corridor.
When completed, the line is expected to serve more than 40,000 riders daily and will include strategic tunnel sections along Cooks Lane, through downtown and Fells Point, allowing it to operate similarly to a subway with fast, reliable service.
The West Baltimore station area is a crucial junction in Baltimore’s evolving transit network. The Red Line will connect directly to the existing Light Rail, Metro Subway and MARC train services, helping to create a more comprehensive transit system for the region.
The TOD implementation plan will need to address how to integrate development around both the existing MARC station, which is being redesigned as part of Amtrak’s Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, and the future Red Line station. The planning effort will also need to coordinate with the West Baltimore United project, which received federal funding through the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program.
The Baltimore Metropolitan Council is seeking qualified firms with experience in transit-oriented development planning and implementation strategies. Proposals must be submitted by March 27, 2025. Questions from interested firms will be accepted until March 13, with answers to be posted on the BMC’s website by March 18.
The selected firm will be responsible for creating an implementation strategy that will guide development around the transit hub. More information is available in the RFP document on the council’s website.
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