The Port Covington Development Team on Friday, Oct. 5, was honored to receive the 2018 Sally Michel Award from the Parks & People Foundation for its commitment to provide more than 40 acres of publicly accessible green space across the entirety of the Port Covington peninsula.
The Sally Michel Award was created in honor of the late Sally J. Michel, a civic activist, former chair of the City of Baltimore’s Planning Commission and founder of Parks & People Foundation. Marc Weller, partner of Weller Development Company, accepted the award on behalf of the Port Covington Development Team at Parks & People Foundation’s eighth annual Picnic in the Park event on Oct. 5 in Baltimore.
“We are truly honored to receive this award from the Parks & People Foundation, an organization that we are thrilled to call a partner in our efforts to preserve and improve the environment surrounding Port Covington,” said Weller. “As we work to build Port Covington, we are committed to maintaining its spectacular waterfront views and creating green spaces that all Baltimore residents are eager and able to enjoy.”
Led by Weller Development Company, the redevelopment of Port Covington is one of the largest urban renewal efforts in America. At completion, this 25-year project is planned to include: up to 18 million square feet of new, mixed-use development; 2.5 miles of restored waterfront; and over 40 acres of parks and green space accessible by all in Baltimore City.
Founded in 1984, Parks & People is currently creating neighborhood parks and green spaces within a 10-minute walk of 60,000 city residents, providing over 100 greening groups with support for community gardens, and running after school and summer academic, environmental, and recreational programs for more than 1,100 children attending Baltimore City Public Schools. Its mission is to unite Baltimore through parks.
Port Covington is working collaboratively with the Parks & People Foundation, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, South Baltimore Seven (SB7) Communities, and the City of Baltimore to implement an 11-mile waterfront improvement plan along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River. Measures being examined for the stretch of waterfront include biologically engineered shoreline improvements, installation of a trash wheel, and the creation of a “waterfront district” with the goal of improving water quality, reinvigorating aquatic life, and improving the health and wellness of the surrounding communities.
For more information on Parks & People, visit www.parksandpeople.org.
About Port Covington & the Port Covington Development Team
Port Covington is a 235-acre master-planned, mixed-use redevelopment project, with a prime location on the waterfront in Baltimore City. As one of the largest urban renewal efforts in America, the redevelopment of Port Covington will have a fundamental and far-reaching positive impact on Baltimore, its economy and its future. At completion, this 25-year project is planned to include: up to 18 million square feet of new, mixed-use development; 2.5 miles of restored waterfront; and 40 acres of parks and green space accessible by all in Baltimore City. The Port Covington redevelopment is expected to generate thousands of new jobs, new businesses, better transit, more public parks, improved access to the waterfront, new space for manufacturing, fresh opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship and more for Baltimore City residents and its local workforce. The Port Covington Development Team is comprised of the various investors and stakeholders working together on the Port Covington project, including Sagamore Development, Plank Industries, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Weller Development, nationally known general contractors, world-class architects and designers, locally owned construction and development businesses, and Minority Business Enterprises and Women Business Enterprises.
About Weller Development Company
Weller Development is a privately-owned real estate development firm led by Marc Weller, a senior real estate executive with over 20 years of experience developing and building residential, commercial, and mixed-use real estate projects. Offering a unique and powerful range of expertise for all phases of development, Weller Development is the lead developer of Port Covington, a 235-acre mixed-use redevelopment project in Baltimore City that is one of the largest urban renewal efforts in the United States. For more information, visit www.wellerdevelopment.
