Following the trend to examine the University’s history amidst its 150th year anniversary, The News-Letter revisited publication records to examine the late expansionary period of the Homewood campus. Particularly, Hopkins’ vision of the neighboring Charles Village as an extension of campus life rather than solely a residential area dominated this transformation.
The Charles Village Project
In 2003, the University introduced plans to develop Charles Commons on the corner of North Charles and 33rd Streets as the beginning of Charles Village’s evolution. Designed to house more than 600 students, Charles Commons provided new housing options for upperclassmen (only freshmen lived in dormitories at this time), academic support spaces, dining facilities, conference rooms, a Barnes & Noble bookstore and a credit union. This multifunctional complex intended to create a bustling student network outside of the traditional Homewood campus boundaries. Charles Commons opened to students in Fall 2006.
Between 2003 and 2006, University publications wrote favorably on the project, framing the development as a crucial strategy to revitalize student life. A 2005 issue of JHU Engineering, the magazine for the Whiting School of Engineering at the time, visualized the anticipated student experience upon construction completion.
“[Students will] be sipping lattes in the Barnes & Noble bookstore, two stories tall and three times as large as the one it replaces in Gilman Hall. They’ll be dining with great views of Charles Village. They’ll be trying to decide whether to pump iron, shoot pool, challenge friends to computer games, practice music, do laundry, cook for a group, or even study—all in special rooms. Student groups—from clubs and fraternities to cultural and volunteer groups—will be conferring in comfy lounges,” the publication wrote.
The publication emphasized that Charles Commons served as the gateway to Charles Village and its development began a decade-long project, called “The Charles Village Project,” to transform the neighborhood into a “college town,” similar to places like Georgetown and Harvard Square. The University Board of Trustees appointed Baltimore-based contractor Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse (SBER), known for revitalizing urban neighborhoods throughout the city, for this project. Composed of community, business and non-profit representatives, the task force aimed to replace antiquated features, such as the University’s bookstore sitting in the basement of Gilman Hall, to create a large visible center for student activity, not unlike the modern Bloomberg Student Center (BSC).
While the plan centered on Charles Commons, the task force also aimed to create a retail and dining district on Saint Paul Street. Notably, at this time, most of the area included residential homes. The project tore down the 3200 block of St. Paul, for example, to make room for new construction; today, the area includes Honeygrow, CVS and other local restaurants.
Since the plan’s inception, University officials have sought student and community feedback. According to University Gazette archives, administrators, particularly the Coordinator of Community Affairs, held meetings with local residents to build support for the construction of Charles Commons. Early reporting suggests that community members were receptive and supportive to the reimagining of Charles Village; however, many residents had specific stipulations to the vision, as reported by The News-Letter at the time.
For example, residents of nearby blocks, including the 3200 block of Calvert Street and the unit block of East 32nd Street, expressed concerns regarding Charles Commons’ large height obstructing the neighborhood’s view and landscape. Some residents worried about the large number of students consolidated in a residential area designed for single-family units, including uncertainty about parking availability. Residents generally requested new building architecture to remain consistent with Charles Village with red bricks and tree-lined streets. In retrospect, these requests highlight a notable contrast with recent University developments, such as the BSC and the Stavros Niarchos Agora Institute (SNF Agora) buildings, that embrace modern, glass architectural styles.
Student reactions to the project were notably mixed. Some praised Charles Commons for its potential to build a connected campus community, documenting how upperclassmen dorms provide socialization opportunities in The News-Letter. Other students criticized the intended architecture of the Charles Commons building, regarding its similarity to the Homewood campus and lack of “tasteful flavor” in the wake of Charles Village’s reimagination. The same student wrote in the 2003 publication that Charles Commons would limit student independence in the form of full apartments (Charles Commons notably featured kitchenettes instead of full oven-kitchens), full-year leases and required meal plans.
Another student, Maany Peyvan, strongly emphasized that the University should factor in student interests when redesigning Charles Village in a 2005 News-Letter publication. Peyvan advocated for bars, movie theaters, fast food and retailers, including locations attractive to faculty for leisure. Notably, Peyvan rationalized the drastic shift by anticipating that the University will inevitably purchase apartments and homes in Charles Village within the decade to create a “Hopkins Village.” Indeed, in the following years, the University controversially acquired numerous residential properties in the area.
Property Acquisition in the 2000s
In 2009, the University bought 1.13 acres of land, then known as the Olmsted lot, on the southwest corner of St. Paul and 33rd Street (location of Nine East Apartments today). The University bought the land from Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund Charles Village LLC, a joint venture between Canyon Johnson Urban Fund II and SBER, for $12.5 million. SBER originally owned the site with the hopes of building a 12-story student apartment building, but the land was purchased by the University after the company faced financial troubles.
An article by the Baltimore Brew stated that a Hopkins official claimed that, while there were no plans of construction at the time of purchase, the site “felt it was important to buy it when it was available.”
In late 2012, the Vice President of Real Estate and Campus Services Alan Fish mentioned the possibility of utilizing the site for a hotel, claiming that would help local businesses and improve the quality of life for students. This proposal was met with diverse reactions, with some students being excited for the change, highlighting how this could alleviate the current student dissatisfaction with Charles Village while others criticized the plan to not have the students’ best interests at heart as they felt that the site could be utilized for other purposes.
In 2013, the University chose the real estate investment trust AH Realty Trust, formerly known as Armada Hoffler Properties, and Beatty, a real estate firm, to spearhead the “3200 St. Paul” project. The project aimed to occupy that space with more than 150 student apartments and a parking structure in addition to adding other types of businesses like grocery stores or a pharmacy.
This was met with backlash from the Baltimore community in March 2013 at the Saints Philip and James Catholic Church, where community members expressed their concerns regarding the possibility of chain retail stores replacing roles held by local businesses. One focus of this meeting was Eddie’s Market, a family-owned food store chain with multiple locations in Baltimore, who expressed grievances about the University considering a national supermarket chain as an option to occupy the lot. This dissatisfaction resulted in a petition against this change, garnering almost 1,800 signatures (according to data from March 9, 2013) from students, professors, and members of the Charles Village community. Eddie’s Market on St. Paul’s street was eventually shut down in 2020 after the owner Jerry Gordon chose to retire, with Streets Market being its successor.
Construction started in 2014 and ended in 2016. Notable locations include Nine East 33rd Apartments, which began accepting residents in August 2016, Honeygrow and a CVS Pharmacy. Over time, other restaurants that have opened include Japanese restaurant Kajiken in 2022 and Chinese restaurant Lao Sze Chuan in 2025. AH Realty Trust sold Nine East 33rd Apartments in a $75 million deal to HH Fund in late 2021.
Other purchases the University has made in the past few decades include the purchasing of Dell House, the parking space behind Dell House, former Seaton High School in 2003 and unused rowhouses on 29th Street in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2019. These purchasings have been criticized by Baltimore community members who have cited the University’s negligence in maintaining and utilizing these properties, as examined in a previous News-Letter investigation.
