City House Charles is the newest completed development project by City House in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. This 8-story adaptive reuse development located at 1001 N. Charles Street began in 2019 when the property was purchased by Landmark Partners from the previous owner.

 

This historic property has had many lives dating back to the 1850s when it was first built as a home, later becoming a pharmacy, restaurant, lunch counter and patent medicine business. In 1991 the most recent owner, Don Davis, reopened the property as Central Station, one of the first LGBTQ+ bars in the city. In 2003 Davis purchased the neighboring bar Stagecoach at 1003 N. Charles Street and combined the two spaces to create Grand Central. This beloved LGBTQ+ bar and nightclub stayed open for nearly 30 years before closing its doors in 2019.

 

As part of the property’s recent redevelopment, ownership persevered to maintain the building’s architectural features so as to preserve its historic integrity and cement the building as a focal point along the Charles Street corridor. Landmark Partners worked diligently alongside community partners such as Baltimore Heritage to ensure community input on the project was thoughtfully considered.

 

Alongside preserving the property’s history, one of the primary goals in this redevelopment project was to ensure the building allowed for interaction with the Mount Vernon neighborhood and community. The owners want the building to be an engaging and welcoming corner on Charles Street therefore the building features open store fronts for the ground floor commercial space as well as community artwork by local artist Kelly Walker on display in the lobby.