Seawall: Responsible Developers for Baltimore's Artists and Educators

It’s not often that a development company is talked of fondly.  They have a history of being the bad guys in everything from made-for-TV movies to real life, but in the last few years Seawall Development Company has made its mark as a developer actively seeking to do good by the community and environment.

Seawall’s first big project, which opened last year, was a renovation of a vacant warehouse building now called Miller’s Court. The building serves to unite educational non-profits and teachers, most of whom are part of the Teach for America program, in a huge multipurpose building. Donald and Thibault Manekin, the father son team that run Seawall, recognized long ago that Baltimore is flooded with new teachers every year unfamiliar with the city and in need of an affordable apartment, and created Miller’s Court to meet this need. It is meant to be an educational community, where teachers can live around others that share their interests, and have the use of resources unique to such a specific building. There are common areas among the apartments in Miller’s court, and rather than playing pool or watching TV like one might find in a college dorm, the tenants have access to copiers and other office equipment that makes it easier to work at home. Similarly, the non-profits that work out of the building have the entire basement to use and share as they need it. While educational non-profits in the building have private offices, some work directly with students, teaching debate or videography for example, and sometimes require more space. The basement is filled with moveable walls, that will customize a space for a small group project, or a large parents meeting, resources are abounding.

In addition to its socially responsible design, Miller’s Court is a LEED certified green building, making it one of very few in Baltimore following Clipper Mill (an apartment building hosting such businesses as Woodberry Kitchen, Baltimore’s premier farm to table restaurant), and MICA’s new dormitory, the Gateway.

Miller’s Court is a milestone for the company, but what is next might prove even more ambitious. In addition to renovating another building into non-profit space and apartments, they have just bought a building affectionately known as the Coat Factory. Adjacent to the Copy Cat building in the Station North Arts District, the Coat Factory has been vacant for decades, letting decades worth of 20-somethings sneak in through windows and take coats or suits or thread, all which were left behind when the factory moved on. Seawall, after talking to a panel of local artists, have decided to make this building into artist studios, and apartments with studio space. There is a similar artist housing buillding in the works down the block, called the City Arts Building, but without the input of the people they are trying to provide for, the small, seperated rooms weren't designed for optimum usability. Many artists need large loft apartments to live and work in to save money, and it seems the Coat Factory project should hit the mark.

Seawall has also been in contact with a few groups, mainly the Annex Theater and the Red Room collective, about building to suit a compound that could house several arts organizations working together, a kind of cultural Mecca, though this project's future is still unclear. Now that Seawall has made their mark in the education and arts fields, will they give specialized attention to specific groups, or continue with large-scale projects like Miller’s Court and the Coat Factory? We’ll see what happens next.