Little Italy, nestled at the foot of the Jones Falls Expressway close to the Inner Harbor, has been a low-slung quarter of rowhomes, family restaurants and ravioli church suppers for as long as most people can remember.
While the neighborhood’s narrow streets and formstone facades have endured, its denizens watched warily as nearby warehouses and lumber yards morphed into condos, offices and some of the most luxe dining in the city.
Now, investors hoping to capitalize on the growth of Harbor East plan a crop of new projects in Little Italy, placing the neighborhood itself on the cusp of change and leaving people torn between wanting improvements and worrying the area will lose its homey charm.
