Plans to develop the Olmsted lot, the empty lot on the southeast corner of St. Paul Street and 33rd Street, are still waiting to move forward.
Hopkins purchased the lot from the original developers, Canyon Johnson Urban Funds and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, in the spring of this year.
So far, the University has not made significant progress on plans for developing the lot.
"We have not yet established time tables for the development of the property, as we have yet to go through a planning process to lead to such decisions," Jim McGill, the senior vice president for finance and administration, wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
The preliminary contents of any development proposal would mirror the plans laid out by Struever Bros. prior to the sale of the property.
These plans had been formulated in consultation with Hopkins and the Charles Village community.
"The long-term plans remain to have at least two elements that the community and the University have been hoping to have on that corner: some additional retail businesses that would enhance and enliven the neighborhood and a parking garage," Dean Paula Burger wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
"The 'centerpiece' of this project is still unknown."
Burger also noted that the state of the economy was a constraint on the University's ability to move forward.
When Hopkins originally purchased the Olmsted lot, community leaders voiced concern about the University's poor record of taking the opinion of the wider Charles Village community into consideration.
"With other Hopkins-owned property near the University, the Hopkins Square property in particular, the developers, the Cordish Company Team, have not been particularly open and respectful of the community in terms of the community's concerns and wishes," Ralph Moore, a Charles Village resident and husband of Dana Moore, the president of the Charles Village Civic Association, said in April.
McGill reaffirmed the Hopkins' desire to accommodate the concerns of the Charles Village community as it develops the lot.
"We are committed to . . . meeting the University's objective, as well as the community's, I believe, to enhance the livability and attractiveness of Charles Village, just as the opening of Charles Commons and the shops along the east side of the 3200 block of St. Paul Street have done," he wrote.
"We will work with the Charles Village community in design and configuration of whatever we ultimately do on the property."
Students were also interested in what developments took place at the Olmsted lot.
"I think if the school is going to have a parking lot there, students should have preferential access or a discounted rate.," sophomore biology major Hannah Kwak said.
"In terms of retail space, we could use more of a mix of food options. Especially healthy options, like a Jamba Juice."
Ben Frison, a senior civil engineering major, said. "It would be nice to see an open-court indoor plaza where people can relax."
Tim Maubrey, a sophomore history major, had another idea.
"I think a bicycle rental company would be really useful, and help students get further off-campus," he said.
"The school could also choose to build more housing, seeing how crowded it is with the freshmen this year."
