The massive crater on West Centre Street caved in at the end of April, and since then crews have been busy working to fix the sinkhole. Work to repair a 72-inch sewer line, a 33-inch storm drain, BGE lines, and an 18-inch water main is expected to take until at least mid-October.
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Keeping the block shut down, and customers away from local businesses.
"People just can't find us, like our Uber drivers can't find us, it's just been kind of a cluster," said Cultured Bar Manager, Molly Mcnulty.
Mcnulty works at one of 15 venders inside Mount Vernon Marketplace. With the construction and repairs happening right across the street, some of the shops inside are feeling the pinch.
Now they want to reclaim the block.
"We wanted to do something to take back the streets and create an event that promoted not only the businesses in the Mount Vernon Marketplace, but local artists and artisans," said Will Glass, Owner of Taps Fill Station.
So they got together with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, and some other sponsors, and planned Parkfest, a block party to celebrate the area.
"I think people are excited to have an event that sort of looked away from the construction and looked toward the exciting part of Mount Vernon," Megan Isennock with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore said.
And support the local companies hurt the most.
RELATED: Lengthy repairs to keep West Centre Street closed
"We're gonna have three bands, three DJs, 40 artists and venders on the street, and a fully operational market, so unlike other street fests, it's not only outside it's inside too."
Parkfest runs from 12-8PM Saturday at the corner of West Centre Street and Park Avenue. Organizers hope to make this block party an annual event.
WMAR Staff contributed to this report.
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