The Design for Distancing: Reopening Baltimore Together project will soon materialize in the Waverly commercial district.

For the past three months Waverly Main Street has been working with Yountz Design and Steam-Ad, to identify potential installations that will positively affect local businesses in the short and medium term. The final project submission to the city is full of sleek and innovative potential installations, and include updates to the Waverly Commons lot and Brentwood Avenue. Also requested are temporary improvements to the front of the Boulevard Theatre and district-wide signage to add a pop of color, a WMS branding opportunity, and most importantly, a series of suggestions for visitors on best practices during the COVID pandemic.

The colorful Waverly D4D installations are attractive and bright and should help to drive socially distanced foot traffic to the WMS district and provide additional outdoor dining space for nearby restaurants.

With a $1.5 million investment from Baltimore City’s COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Initiative, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced in June that the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) and the Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) would lead Design For Distance, a tactical urban design initiative intended to help small businesses reopen without compromising public health. The effort encompassed selected districts across the city, including current and former Main Streets, Retail Business Licensing Districts (RBLD), and Arts & Entertainment Districts.

The process paired selected  districts with a design team, and collectively, along with guidance from BDC and NDC, installations were created specific to the needs of each individual district.

Project installations are expected to begin in November 2020 with an exact date still to be determined; but be on the lookout for bright new installations popping up in Waverly!