Baltimore economic development officials are moving ahead with plans to redevelop a blighted waterfront industrial area in the city's Fairfield section - property dotted with oil tanks, a scrap yard, and a petroleum distribution business.

The city is working on agreements to acquire and sell portions of the 23-acre site to three private companies. The companies - Allied Contractors, Inc., Baltimore Scrap Corp. and Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC - have submitted proposals to redevelop different sections of the land. Each of the companies, and a fourth firm that has since said it does not want to take part in the redevelopment projects, were selected in May 2006 following a public bidding process for the land.

"It's an area with good transportation access that, because of the aesthetics, I think, has been overlooked," said Doug Schmidt, a principal with Chesapeake Real Estate. "The main thing you see is not the water, it's the tanks from the oil terminal."

Chesapeake is hoping to create more than 300,000 square feet of warehouse space on about 8.7 acres of land, and Schmidt said he has been talking to several companies interested in leasing space at the site.

Fleet Transit Inc., a petroleum distribution company based at 3400 Fairfield Road that was to be the fourth redevelopment firm, has withdrawn its plans from the city. Fleet initially wanted to expand its business onto the whole 23-acre site, but the city only set aside about seven acres for the company's expansion.

Fleet President Kevin McNeil said the company decided not to move ahead with its plans on the smaller site.

Allied has submitted a proposal to develop Fleet's land, and Chesapeake has asked the city to take over the land Allied would give up in exchange for Fleet's property.

Andrew Frank, formerly of the Baltimore Development Corp. and now deputy mayor for neighborhood and economic development, said during an April 18 BDC discussion of the proposal he believes relocating the land to Allied and Chesapeake will result in higher tax revenues for the renewal area.

"This is a much better outcome," Frank said.