You don’t have to look so far! We have a great example of what a repurposed powerhouse could be just a few hours away, in a similar locale. In Baltimore’s Inner Harbor they rehabbed a powerhouse and put it to use as a retail and dining building. It is/was remarkably similar to ours in many ways (same kind of brick exterior, massive outer shell, muktiple smokestacks, etc.) but the difference is that they actually moved on their project in a timely manner. It is now the crown jewel of their expanded, revamped Inner Harbor.

If city’s administration had had the conviction and will to get it done 10-15 years ago, we could be enjoying a really great addition to our lifeless waterfront. It’s hard to believe that such a stunning waterfront is basically dead. Before the pandemic it was mostly dead in the evenings and weekends, but now it is an everyday thing. Sad, really. So much missed potential.