<p>On my visit to the Homewood Campus last summer, I noticed a huge open lot across from the Charles Commons area. I was told that it was owned by a private party who did not have the funds to develop it. I was wondering if any current JHU students or Baltimore residents could tell me if there have been any developments in the situation. Is JHU considering purchasing the lot for student life, or other facilities?</p>
<p>I’m personally going to lobby President Elect Ronald Daniels to commandeer the empty lot for the purposes of converting into a space that can be utilized by Charles Village and Hopkins community.</p>
<p>The Olmstead Condominiums have been set back about 1 or 2 years due to current market conditions, inability to secure funds from real estate investors, shaky demand for apartment complexes in that area.</p>
<p>[The</a> Olmsted Charles Village - Condominiums in Baltimore Maryland at Mount Vernon](<a href=“http://www.olmstedcondominiums.com/home.html]The”>http://www.olmstedcondominiums.com/home.html)</p>
<p>JHU should consider converting the field in the time being into something useful for the community. A football field or a picnic area would be nice. Right now, it’s just an empty plot of land waiting to be developed. A terrible eyesore in the community.</p>
<p>Is this the one across from the dining hall at charles commons?</p>
<p>Yeah, its across the street from Charles Commons and from the Village Lofts apartments. My understanding is that the same company was in charge of all three projects. Charles Commons and Village Lofts were finished on time, but the Olmstead has been delayed. It was originally intended to be condos, then redesigned as apartments. I haven’t heard anything new about construction there since the end of the summer.</p>
<p>It all depends on money. Brody has already mentioned that their investments are down 20% this year, and that they are just fortunate enough to cover all operating costs without delaying any current projects. Also, there’s the 3 billion + dollars generated from that donation campaign. Let’s just hope that not all of the money gets channeled to the medical campus again.</p>
<p>I went to lacrosse camp there two years ago and it was all cleared. The only thing was a few trash cans and dumpsters, and a random yellow bulldozer.</p>