This Week's Baltimore Deal Sheet
MacKenzie Contracting Co. will oversee tenant build-out for Haystack Oncology's new U.S. headquarters and laboratory research and development space at the City Garage Science & Technology Center, part of the $5.5B mixed-use Baltimore Peninsula development.
Haystack Oncology will occupy 20K SF at the 135K SF building at 101 West Dickman St. The company, founded by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, plans to relocate its employees from its facility in Remington to City Garage later this year.
“We are extremely familiar with and have deep experience in executing state-of-the-art medical and healthcare tenant build-outs and our team is ready to deliver a space that meets the specialized needs of Haystack Oncology,” MacKenzie Contracting Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Marty Cooper said in a statement.
The firm's City Garage space will feature an open office design with workstations, supporting offices, and specialized clinical diagnostic, research and sample processing labs.
The build-out also requires installing sophisticated mechanical and electrical systems to support Haystack Oncology's clinical-grade medical R&D testing. Those systems require specialized upgrades, including installing helical piles screwed into the ground to stabilize the building against the additional weight.
The 2015 transformation of City Garage, a former bus depot turned makerspace, was one of the first projects delivered at what was then called Port Covington. But by 2021, the building's owner, Sagamore Ventures, said it was partnering with South Duvall to reposition the building as lab space.
This spring, MAG Partners CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, whose firm now leads the Baltimore Peninsula development, said her team is pondering potential uses for office space in the Rye Street Market building due to the flagging office market.
Given the demand for lab space in the region, she said, MAG was experimenting with turning office space at that building into lighter lab space that doesn't require substantial investment in HVAC and electrical upgrades.
"It could be places for scientists and researchers to get together where they're trying new technologies and innovations in the life science, space or bioscience space," Gilmartin said in late April. "But we have the building here, and we've done the research, and we believe that we should dedicate a portion of this building to lab space."
DEVELOPMENT
A $155M proposal to redevelop part of what was once dubbed the Super Block suffered a setback Tuesday when Baltimore's Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation voted to withhold permission for Westside Partners LLC to raze five vacant buildings, the Baltimore Business Journal reports. Westside Partners told the panel the project may not be feasible if it isn't allowed to demolish the properties.
LEASES
Indoor playground concept Hyper Kidz plans to open its third location in the Baltimore area and first in Anne Arundel County at Waugh Chapel Business Park. Franchisee Krishna Hazarika has signed a lease with St. John Properties for nearly 15K SF at 987 Waugh Chapel Way and expects to open this fall. Bill Jautze, assistant vice president of leasing for St. John Properties, represented the landlord, and Evan Albert and Michael Stoltz of MFI Realty represented the tenant.
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Prominent Baltimore-based hospitality firm Atlas Restaurant Group, operator of popular eateries like Ouzo Bay Baltimore and Oregon Grille, said its next restaurant will open in the fall of 2024 at Caves Valley Partners' overhauled Village of Cross Keys. The new restaurant will be a Chinese concept that caters to the surrounding area and offers what it called a moderately priced menu.
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Puttshack, which bills itself as an upscale, tech-infused mini-golf experience, signed a lease with Chasen Cos. for space in Baltimore's Harbor East neighborhood, where it plans to open its first location in Maryland late next year. Puttshack will operate in The Whitney, a five-story mixed-use property developed by Chasen Cos. The historic property was originally home to the Meyer Seed Co.
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Sartori, a new Italian concept by Baltimore restaurateur Edward Bosco, has leased 3,364 SF in Harbor Point's Constellation Building and plans to open next spring, WMAR-TV reported. Bosco, who operates the popular restaurant Verde, said Sartori will serve items like pasta and sandwiches made in a traditional Italian style.
THIS AND THAT
The Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development awarded $1.9M in operating-fund grants to 22 community organizations through the Community Catalyst Grants Program. It was the third round of awards via the grant program launched in 2018. Grants are aimed at helping community organizations drive resident-led community development and neighborhood transformation.
