This Week's Baltimore Deal Sheet
An inability to strike a deal between the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Baltimore Orioles on a new lease for Oriole Park at Camden Yards has frustrated at least one key state leader.
During a meeting in Annapolis on Wednesday, state Treasurer Dereck Davis expressed frustration about the state's inability to hammer out a deal, The Baltimore Banner reported.
“One thing that is concerning to me, and that’s what’s going on — or lack thereof — between the stadium authority and the Baltimore Orioles,” Davis said. “There’s too much foot-dragging on this.”
The Baltimore Orioles' lease on the iconic 31-year-old stadium is set to expire at the end of the year. That has led to fears among fans that the team, which has played in Baltimore since 1954, may relocate to a new city.
However, Baltimore Orioles CEO John P. Angelos and Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement late last week they expect to complete a deal "soon."
"We’ve laid the groundwork for success, and progress is also being made on our vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus," the pair said in a joint statement.
In February, Angelos and Moore said they wanted a new pact on a deal for a stadium by Major League Baseball's All-Star break in July. That self-imposed deadline passed last week without a new lease in place.
Despite the lack of progress, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred reiterated during the All-Star break that he is optimistic about the team and state reaching a new lease agreement and staying in Baltimore.
Meanwhile, the longtime chief financial officer of the Maryland Stadium Authority, David Raith, announced Tuesday he plans to retire at the end of the month, the Baltimore Business Journal reports.
SALES
A 10-story downtown office building at 1 East Pratt St. sold for a substantial discount, the Baltimore Business Journal reported Tuesday. The state hasn’t updated property records to reflect the sale, but anonymous sources told the newspaper MCB Real Estate purchased the building for $25M. According to online property records, the 46-year-old building last sold to Banyan Street Capital in 2018 for more than $80M.
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A pair of Anne Arundel County industrial properties sold for nearly $3M. C. Wood Trucking LLC purchased a 5,300 SF warehouse at 145 Eighth Ave. for $1.6M from Flynn's Granite LLC. AJ&P Leasing LLC purchased a 2,400 SF warehouse at 7121 Kit Kat Road from Paul D. Mayerman. MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate's Matthew Curran, Daniel Hudak and Andrew Meeder represented the sellers in the deals.
DEVELOPMENT
Merritt Properties has started construction on an "interchange park" in White Marsh consisting of nine one-story buildings totaling 75K SF intended as space for distribution companies to store and house products, WMAR-TV reported. General Motors previously employed about 300 people in a facility at the property that closed in 2019.
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Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. last week signed legislation creating the West Baltimore County Redevelopment Authority. The law creates a quasi-public authority that grants the county more control over land use decisions around the Security Square Mall project, a top county priority, The Baltimore Banner reported.
PERSONNEL
Baltimore County-based MacKenzie Contracting Co. announced the promotion of Autumn Hill to vice president of business development and Kim Kincer to senior project coordinator/team lead. Hill formerly served as a business development and marketing manager at MacKenzie, where she has worked since 2020. Kincer, who has worked with MacKenzie since 2018, was a project coordinator.
