Putting Up the Ritz

Vail. South Beach. Maui . . . Baltimore? We’re Charm City’s biggest fans, but one of these things is really not like the others.
  How did our decidedly un-glamorous mid-Atlantic port town wind up in such beautiful company and land a Ritz-Carlton residences project? Midtown Group principal Jack Cayre, the project’s developer, says the luxury brand’s arrival was all about the chunk of land located at the base of Federal Hill on Key Highway.
  “As developers say, we fell in love with the dirt,” says Cayre. “So we did our market studies, and it turned out all the numbers were right. We have the ‘who’s who’ of Baltimore knocking down our doors.” Cayre won’t drop names, but does confirm that future residents will include professional athletes from the Ravens and Orioles, CEOs from local investment banks, and D.C. politicians; there’s even a persistent rumor that Oprah Winfrey, an anchor with WJZ-TV from 1978 to 1983, is taking a unit. If she hasn’t, she’d better move fast: 70 percent have already been sold.
  The $225 million development (shown above in an artist’s conception) is slated for completion in October; current plans call for 192 units, priced from $1.2 to $5
million, with rooftop terraces, marble floors, and miniature private lawns. The marina has deepwater slips that can accommodate 100-foot yachts.
  So what do we have in common with those other vacation destinations? “The Ritz-Carlton isn’t just about vacation,” Cayre says. “It’s a lifestyle.”
  “We’re a different animal than those other cities,” explains Nadya Workman, a realtor with Long & Foster specializing in Baltimore’s waterfront. “It isn’t vacationers and world travelers buying the Ritz-Carlton. It’s local people. Baltimore has more money than it gets credit for.”
  The city’s benefiting from a growing reputation as an executive luxury hub, which begets more upscale investment (note that the Four Seasons has finally begun construction in Harbor East).
  Plus, there’s that Oprah buzz! And we asked. We begged.  Is she coming? Cayre wouldn’t bend. “I really can’t say anything about the rumor,” he states firmly.
  Looks like we’ll just have to buy a $5 million penthouse and find out for ourselves.