Johns Hopkins University owns the 98-unit Blackstone Apartment Building at 3215 N. Charles St., which it acquired in 2006. In October 2019, the University announced that all of the students living in these apartments will be asked to vacate at the end of their current lease, all of which terminate on May 31, 2020. The building is slated for conversion into a 115 room hotel to be owned by Johns Hopkins but operated by New York based developer “Hospitality 3”.
The Blackstone, which includes a mix of Studio, One-Bedroom, Two-Bedroom and Three-Bedroom apartments houses over 200 students who will need to enter the private rental market next summer, which is expected to add a boost to rental demand, and presumably rental rents next year.
Johns Hopkins University only has enough on-campus housing for first year students and a limited number of second year students, forcing all others to find off-campus housing.
The leasing cycle for this market usually begins in earnest February 1st and is quite active up until spring break, usually the second week in March. It is suggested that Landlords in Charles Village be particularly mindful of this anticipated pick up in demand this coming winter.
Co-Star and others have reported that the vacancy rate for apartments in North Baltimore City spiked up to 6% in 2018 and has been steadily declining in 2019 (now 5%) as new apartment renters moving into Baltimore have exceeded the number of new and renovated apartments coming on-line. This increased demand coupled with Johns Hopkins removal of housing for over 200 students should make for a brisk leasing season, including a nice bump in rental rates in 2020.
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