The landscape of downtown Baltimore has experienced a substantial shift with the closing of the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, a significant establishment that served both tourists and city residents for years. As reported by WMAR-2 News, the hotel, featuring over 300 rooms and located adjacent to the Baltimore convention center, shuttered on New Year's Eve, leaving 69 employees without jobs.
With this closing, the Sheraton has added to the series of blows to the Harborplace area, which has already seen the departure of popular outlets like H&M, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and The Cheesecake Factory set to leave by the end of the month, according to a detailed account by WBAL-TV. The impact extends beyond the eroded business landscape, as Morton's The Steakhouse, located within the Sheraton, also closed its doors.
Local city resident Robert Gunn expressed dismay over the closure, saying, "I think it's a terrible setback for downtown, especially since the Sheraton has always been very pivotal to the Orioles, being a block away from Camden Yards," in an interview featured in the WBAL-TV coverage. Demonstrating the broader apprehension within the business community, Tyra Myricks, owner of the Caribbean fusion restaurant Waiting to Oxtail at Harborplace, voiced concern about what these difficulties portend for smaller entities if even large corporations are struggling to sustain operations.
Despite the recent setbacks downtown, Kevin Seawright, Baltimore Development Corporation's chief financial officer, maintains a degree of optimism, asserting that Baltimore will continue to attract talent and businesses, the Sheraton's closure does not diminish the city's potentials for those willing to invest but what remains clear is the urgency for economic revitalization and the hope another hotel will replace the Sheraton, as this would be in the city's economic interest, he told WBAL-TV. Jennifer Vey of the Greater Baltimore Committee echoed a sentiment that while the city is certainly facing a challenging moment, the future remains bright, especially given the abundance of cultural and architectural assets, and a significant new development project on the horizon for the Inner Harbor area.
