When Lynnette and Eric Dodson opened Cuples Tea House on North Howard Street three years ago, in a block that now boasts a plant-based creamery, a vegan juice bar and a couple of art galleries, they hoped customers might find their way four blocks north from events at the CFG Bank Arena or even Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor.

But few do. The walk from the arena or elsewhere downtown can be less than inviting.

The intervening blocks of North Howard housed Baltimore’s mid-20th century department store district, an area that has decayed amid stalled redevelopment efforts.Graffiti marks buildings and parts of the street are closed to traffic for light rail trains that run past a discount liquor store, a couple of jewelers and mini-marts, scattered among boarded-up and metal-gated storefronts.

Such gaps riddle downtown Baltimore. Like many central business districts, it also struggles with crime and the loss of businesses, jobs and foot traffic in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which intensified remote work and online shopping habits.

Yet Baltimore has stable anchor institutions in health, education and government that still draw people downtown, along with strong demand for newly converted housing and other projects — big and small — that are underway or planned. And it boasts miles of waterfront open to the public and major attractions such as the Camden Yards stadiums and the National Aquarium.

Filling the gaps — developer P. David Bramble calls it “connecting the dots” — is critical, boosters say, to revitalizing downtown. Bramble, the managing partner of MCB Real Estate, is leading one of the city’s most anticipated projects in decades at the now mostly vacant Harborplace. He wants to raze the pavilions and rebuild with a mixed-use development that encourages a pedestrian-friendly downtown.Ideally, connections should exist among landmarks, from Harbor East and Harborplace to the stadium and casino district to CFG Bank Arena and University of Maryland BioPark, Bramble and others say.

“The question is, ‘How do we connect all these things to drive investment in between them and create connectivity?’ ” Bramble said. “You want it to feel like it’s one connected district, as opposed to pockmarked spaces.”

Right now, he said, “you don’t feel like you’re supposed to walk from one place to the next.”

People feel unsafe and tend to stay away when they see numerous retail vacancies and neglected alleyways, said Shelonda Stokes, president of the Downtown Partnership.

“We know our ground-level vacancy — we don’t have as much as we want there. And when you don’t, there are negative impacts to that,” Stokes said.

Businesses such as the Dodsons’ tea house are bringing signs of life to forlorn streets. Near the 400 block of North Howard, where they first opened Cuples and have since established Vinyl and Pages, a book and record store, next door, some older buildings have been redeveloped as apartments. The tea house and shop draw a mix of students and nearby residents, and even a few intrepid tourists.

“We have people drinking tea outside on Howard Street,” Lynette Dodson said. “Five years ago, you might not have envisioned that.”

Shows are selling out at the renovated and renamed CFG Bank Arena. A rebuilt Lexington Market has attracted minority-owned vendors who represent more than half the tenants.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore projects that at least $6.5 billion of private and public investment in housing, hospitality, entertainment and commercial real estate is expected to occur between 2018 and 2028 within a mile of the intersection of Pratt and Light streets. That includes $1.57 billion in completed projects, $1.86 billion under construction and another $3.1 billion planned.

Orioles CEO John Angelos, for example, has said he wants to redevelop the area around the state-owned Oriole Park at Camden Yards to attract more visitors. A nonbinding deal between the Orioles and the state announced in September as a prelude to a long-term lease would give the ballclub the right to work with private firms to develop parcels around the ballpark, including the warehouse and Camden Station.

“It’s time to re-imagine our downtown,” Bramble said. “The distress that downtowns are feeling across the country is presenting this amazing opportunity to say, ‘OK, what things can we do to make this amazing?’ ”

But, he said, developers must think beyond their own projects and collaborate on finding ways to connect attractions by improving pedestrian access, roadways, transit and safety. Making downtown more livable and accessible for work and recreation will take collective action, he added.

While such ideas take years to bring to fruition and require big public funding commitments, public and private sector leaders are laying groundwork. Some of those involved in informal discussions include leaders of the Downtown Partnership, the Orioles, the Ravens, the Maryland Stadium Authority, city and state agencies, the Greater Baltimore Committee, the University of Maryland Medical System, developers and others.

“We’re really thinking about connecting the dots, rather than just building dots,” Bramble said. “This really is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our city.”

Institutions such as UMMS have a vital role to play in such discussions, said Dr. Mohan Suntha, the system’s president and CEO. A longtime anchor of downtown’s west side, UMMS employs 25,000 and serves tens of thousands of patients and students.

As an employer concerned with housing and dining options for health care workers with round-the-clock schedules, UMMS understands the needs of the workforce that redevelopment must meet, he said.

“When we think about the re-imagining associated in the post-pandemic world,” Suntha said, “we know that health care is still going to be a disproportionate asset in this region.”

Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott has said city efforts to bolster downtown are just beginning to pay off, including tackling gun violence, finding more productive avenues for squeegee workers and attracting major concerts, sporting events and other activities.

Stokes sees plenty of bright spots. Besides major projects on the horizon, several thousand state employees are moving or have moved downtown from State Center in midtown. Business district employment was higher last year than the previous year and foot traffic is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Continuing development of residential units, through office conversions or new buildings, should help create a more mixed-use and stable downtown.

“You feel that momentum happening,” Stokes said. “Think about where we were three years ago.”

Part of that comes from businesses moving into vacant spaces. SECU, Maryland’s largest state chartered credit union, moved in June into the lobby of the Pandora building at 250 W. Pratt St.

The State Employees’ Credit Union of Maryland wanted a visible presence as more people return to offices and state employees’ workplaces move downtown, President and CEO David Sweiderk said at its opening.

“It was important for us to have a branch that’s centrally located in the business district supporting not only our current members, but prospective members,” Sweiderk said.

Meanwhile, Downtown Partnership programs such as BOOST and Operation Storefront are encouraging small business openings.

Bryan Robinson, an artist and owner of The Black Genius Art Show gallery and shop, jumped at the chance to open his first permanent site in December 2021. He was offered help through BOOST, designed to reactivate vacant space by helping minority entrepreneurs. But when he heard 106 N. Eutaw St. — close by the then-redeveloping Lexington Market — was available, he had misgivings about the clientele and environment.

“This probably was not the area I wanted to come into,”he said. “But then I realized the impact that business could do for the people of this community ... It wasn’t all about the sales. It’s mostly about the connections in the community. You can see it slowly changing the atmosphere.”

He believes his gallery has become a landmark, as he’s settled in along with neighboring businesses such as a pharmacy, jewelry shop and hotel. His shop features fellow artists and his work, designed to be hung up or worn. A couple of times a month, it hosts artists’ showcases or educational events.

“It’s become a staple in the neighborhood where people come by,” Robinson said. “It draws them in. It’s like, ‘Oh, this is a refreshing place to come.’ And they tell other people about it.”

At the Downtown Partnership, work is underway to fund and plan several initiatives aimed at increasing connectivity and walkability in the next few years. Under one plan, a small dog run across from the arena at Baltimore and Liberty streets will expand to a larger park with seating.

Shorter-term efforts have included replacing street lighting, cleaning up alleys — enlivening some with murals — and refreshing Metro stations and bus stops at Lexington Market and Charles Center. Vacant buildings have been reactivated with pop-up events, such as last spring’s Cherry Blossom Pop-Up Bar at 1 E. Baltimore St.

“We’re at a place where you really start to feel a shift,” Stokes said. “You have these ups and downs that are happening, and it feels like a net positive.”

According to rankings of U.S. downtowns’ post-pandemic recoveries, based on mobile phone data, Baltimore’s downtown had an 87% recovery rate this spring compared to spring of 2019. Baltimore ranked 11th out of 62 cities, with Salt Lake City first and San Francisco last, data compiled by the School of Cities at the University of Toronto showed.

“In general, places that did have tourist activity do really well,” said Karen Chapple, director of School of Cities. Additionally, in Baltimore, “there’s some sectors with essential workers that are located downtown.

“What cities need to be doing is looking towards making sure that their economies downtown have the sectors where people are going to be there every day,” Chapple said.

Thomas Bauer said the annual pop-up Christmas Village that his company produces at the Inner Harbor’s West Shore Park has succeeded and gained a following because of the waterfront and popularity of buying from local vendors.

But Bauer also has seen troubling changes downtown since launching the event in 2013. Harborplace struggled with mismanagement and a steady loss of tenants. Downtown lost big annual events such as Light City and struggled through pandemic shutdowns.

“It’s been a challenging time,” said Bauer, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based German American Marketing Inc. But “we made it through.”

His company, which holds similar events in Philadelphia, bet even bigger on downtown Baltimore this year with its first of what it hopes will be an annual Wine Village at West Shore Park. Some vendors fared better than others, he said, but the May event drew 80,000 people overall, with attendance growing each weekend.

“We saw a lot of positive feedback,” Bauer said. “It’s such a beautiful location by the water, and there’s so much potential in the city.”

When Baltimore native Adeirdra Campbell visited her former hometown last year from Atlanta, she saw a lot had changed in the 16 years since she’d moved. While office, retail and apartment towers had sprouted just east of the Inner Harbor in Harbor East, parts of downtown appeared faded. Harborplace had lost most tenants and the Gallery shops across Pratt Street were shuttered.

Still, she saw sparks of renewal and began believing Baltimore may be the right place to turn her childhood love of baking into a business. In February, backed by her family and personal savings, she signed a lease for former gallery space on Light Street in Federal Hill, a block from the Inner Harbor. At Buns and Roses, she specializes in Hungarian chimney cakes.

“Knowing that Baltimore is doing so much with the revitalization of so many areas that have been closed down for so long, or that they’re trying to ... bring people back to into the city, made it easier to want to come to Baltimore,” Campbell said. “I knew what the possibilities are for the city.”