SENATOR Theatre RFP: So, what will it be, BDC?!

Last we heard the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) could be planning to make a recommendation on the future of The Senator Theatre as early as this Thursday, April 22, 2010 to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Given that WTMD suddenly withdrew their plan, the question hanging in the air is:

Will the BDC see sense and restart the process with hands-on guidance from historic theatre preservation and exhibition experts
or
will they try to sell the mayor on the remaining plan simply because, right now, that’s all they have left on the table?

Brief review of the situation:

• We requested, from the BDC, copies of the responses to questions they emailed to two historic theatre experts. This was denied access to responses since, although they did not include financial data, were deemed “confidential” by BDC leadership.
• Our letters  calling on Mayor Rawlings-Blake to step in and find out why the BDC is not actively engaging experts in hands-on evaluations of submitted proposals have been echoed in letters to the mayor from:
  • The National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • The Theatre Historical Society of America
  • Baltimore Heritage, Inc.
  • Preservation Maryland
  • Over 160 individuals using our online form.
• Two requests to Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s administration for a meeting regarding the situation have gone unanswered.
• The city already has around $1 million invested in this project – Is it going to be wasted?