[citation needed] Many of even the poorer sections of the neighborhood feature three-story, early 20th-century rowhouses as the main housing stock; the Maryland Institute College of Art is within walking distance; and Penn Station lies at the south edge of the neighborhood, providing walking-distance access to Amtrak, Light Rail and MARC commuter rail service (the latter being of particular interest to those commuting to Washington, D.C.).

The real estate bubble of the 2000s caused Baltimore's housing prices to skyrocket, and drove home buyers seeking out cheaper areas on the upswing to the neighborhood.

These buildings have been in use recently as artist's studios and benefitted by the area winning the State of Maryland's first Arts and Entertainment District status under then-mayor Martin O'Malley.

A cluster of Korean establishments still exist in the lower part of Charles Village and the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

[5] In Maryland, the State Department of Business and Economic Development designates certain neighborhoods “arts and entertainment districts”, which confers three specific tax breaks.

[citation needed] Furthermore, as the neighborhood undergoes gentrification, Westnorth Studio owner Roy Crosse and Nancy Haragan, then executive director of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance expressed a concern in The Urbanite that, like SoHo in Manhattan before it, local artists and entertainers will be forced out of the neighborhood if a proper balance is not struck between redevelopment and the needs of artists and lower income residents.

[10] A 2006 Action Plan Report, prepared by Randall Gross / Development Economics, the Baltimore Neighborhood Collaborative, and Station North Arts & Entertainment, Inc., focuses on four key strategies: To strengthen positive image and identity, to establish commercial corridors, to provide housing options to attract new residents while preventing displacement of existing residents, and to encourage economic development.

The plan's ultimate goal is to transform the arts and entertainment district north of Pennsylvania Station into a $1 billion "cultural crossroads" for Baltimore.

[citation needed] An agreement with Hospitality Partners of Bethesda to construct the hotel in Penn Station was reached in 2009, with completion of the $9 million project scheduled for late 2010.