Two companies battling over the future of South Baltimore’s Westport neighborhood are forging ahead with plans for their projects as a court date looms that could determine which one moves ahead and which one falters.
Monkton-based Stonewall Capital owns 43 acres of waterfront property off Kloman Street and is planning a major redevelopment that will add 1,500 new residential units, public green space and commercial and retail starts to the area. Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR), a company that wants to build a high-speed magnetic levitating train line that would get travelers from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., in 15 minutes, claims it needs the land for the proposed route.
BWRR filed a lawsuit last year seeking to acquire the Westport property through condemnation. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Ausby dismissed the case in August, ruling BWRR did not obtain the necessary approval from the mayor and City Council. BWRR claims it has condemnation power through a railroad franchise it acquired in 2015 and appealed the ruling. A panel of judges from the Court of Special Appeals will hear oral arguments on Feb. 1.
