Charles Plaza, the sprawling 857-unit residential and retail complex at the heart of Charles Center, is in the early stages of a multi-year modernization that will eventually touch nearly every corner of the 33-acre downtown Baltimore district it anchors. Southern Management Companies and Workshop Development have begun the project with a $1 million first phase focused on building façades, signage and outdoor amenities, with that portion of the work slated to wrap up in early 2027.
According to Baltimore Fishbowl, later phases will expand into Charles Plaza's retail, office and public spaces, as well as its high-rise apartment towers, though no budgets or schedules for that later work have been disclosed. The complex, which has its main entrance in the 200 block of North Charles Street, includes three residential buildings collectively known as the Apartments at Charles Plaza: Charles Towers, Park Charles, and 39 West Lexington, the latter built inside the former Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. headquarters.
Southern Management has owned Charles Plaza since 1999, and the property remains the company's largest holding in Baltimore City, where it owns 11 properties totaling more than 2,400 apartments overall, per the same outlet's report. Streets Market serves as the development's anchor retail tenant, and Southern Management has retained MacKenzie Commercial to lead retail leasing going forward.
Grant Funding and City Backing Behind the Project
The modernization effort got a boost from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, which awarded Charles Plaza its first cluster façade improvement grant — part of an initiative that offers enhanced funding to multi-tenant commercial revitalization projects in concentrated areas capable of delivering what the program calls full-block impact. Gabrielle Duvall said the grant reflects the partnership's renewed focus on areas critical to downtown's future, the report notes.
The project also drew additional support from the Baltimore Development Corporation through Downtown RISE, Mayor Brandon Scott's initiative. According to the Baltimore Development Corporation, Downtown RISE is designed to support qualifying development and redevelopment projects across Downtown Baltimore, and the agency has advanced Harborplace and West Lexington as the first two proposed PILOT agreements under the program. The initiative itself was launched by Scott in collaboration with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and other stakeholders, according to Go Downtown Baltimore.
A Design and Construction Team Taking Shape
Three firms are handling the work on Charles Plaza's first phase: BCT Architects is leading design, Younts Design is developing new signage, and JC Porter Construction is serving as general contractor. Suzanne Hillman said Southern Management is committed to strategic investment in Charles Plaza to improve the environment for residents, tenants and patrons, the Baltimore Fishbowl report states.
Patrick Terranova said Charles Plaza serves as a nexus for downtown residents, workers and visitors along the historic Charles Street corridor, according to the same account. The broader goal of the modernization, per that report, is to strengthen Baltimore's central core and draw more activity to Charles Plaza and the surrounding corridor — a stretch of downtown that has long served as a residential and commercial anchor within the larger Charles Center district.
