This Week's Baltimore Deal Sheet
The Maryland Stadium Authority Board of Directors approved 15K SF of new office leases in The Warehouse at Camden Yards at its June meeting, the Baltimore Business Journal reports. The property still has 50K SF needing tenants.
Finding tenants for that space presents a challenge given the Baltimore office market's struggles. During the first quarter, the Baltimore metro suffered a net occupancy loss of nearly 164K SF, according to JLL research.
While the Baltimore city office market expanded its net occupancy by 62K SF — after five consecutive quarters with losses — only some submarkets within the city experienced an increase in occupancy.
The city's southeast neighborhoods were the primary beneficiaries. According to JLL's research, offices in Baltimore's southeast neighborhoods gained as a result of corporate relocations from the suburbs, such as S3 Shared Service Solutions subleasing more than 29K SF at 1501 South Clinton St. in Canton.
Office space in the city's Central Business District, the location of the Warehouse, remains a tougher sell. In Q1, the CBD posted a total vacancy rate of 18.5%. That figure was 12.2% in the city's southeast submarket, a median of 15.6% across Columbia's three submarkets and 6.6% in Annapolis.
Despite the turmoil, some office properties in downtown Baltimore lured significant new tenants. Corporate Office Properties Trust last month said it signed law firm Semmes, Bowen & Semmes to a two-floor lease at 250 West Pratt St., just across from The Warehouse.
LEASES
Reveille Grounds, a nonprofit coworking operator dedicated to active military, veterans and their families, signed a 7K SF lease at 1401 Severn St. in Baltimore's Carroll-Camden area, Commercial Observer reported. The 100K SF building, branded as Gaslight Square, is owned by Equity Warehouse. The company bought it in 2020 and launched a series of renovations to the building's amenities and systems.
DEVELOPMENT
Baltimore-based equitable housing startup Parity plans to celebrate the completed restorations of its first two homes — out of a scheduled 96 rehabilitations — on Thursday in Baltimore's Harlem Park neighborhood.
Parity acquires and rehabilitates abandoned properties as affordable homeownership opportunities for residents of historically redlined neighborhoods. Parity expects to overhaul more than 200 homes across Baltimore in the next few years.
"The completion of these first two homes is both a milestone for our community's journey and a proof of concept for our innovative 'development without displacement' model," Parity founder Bree Jones said in a statement. "Today we demonstrate that there is a different and better way to rehabilitate historic homes in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in a way that empowers those communities and creates affordable homeownership pathways for local residents."
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Sharp-Leadenhall residents and neighbors from nearby communities objected to a proposed zoning change allowing Workshop Development to build a 160-unit apartment complex at 810 Leadenhall St., The Baltimore Banner reports. In a memo in April, the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development called the proposal “appropriate for its proximity to public transportation.”
FINANCING
Bayview Asset Management LLC, an affiliate of Bayview PACE, announced a $2M Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy loan to finance renovations of a medical office building in Columbia. Mortgage holder Oceanview Life and Annuity Co., also an affiliate of Bayview Asset Management LLC, plans to use the debt to replace and upgrade HVAC equipment at the complex, consisting of six two-story medical buildings totaling 252K SF.
PERSONNEL
Baltimore-based commercial real estate development and management company St. John Properties hired Emily Pate as development manager. A Maryland-certified civil engineer, Pate formerly worked as a project manager for Bohler Engineering.
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Keith O. Hinder Jr. joined law firm Womble Bond Dickinson's real estate group in Baltimore. Hinder's duties include representing clients in commercial real estate transactions, such as purchasing, selling, financing, developing and leasing commercial properties. He previously worked at Niles, Barton & Wilmer.
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Chasen Cos. promoted Connor Mewbourne to chief construction officer. Mewbourne's responsibilities now include strategic oversight of all construction projects across the firm’s portfolio. Mewbourne must plan and direct the company's construction objectives, delivery timelines and budgets.
