This Week's Baltimore Deal Sheet
Supermarket chain Lidl has signed a 31K SF lease at Henson Development Co.’s $80M mixed-use project near Johns Hopkins Hospital in East Baltimore, the developer announced.
The grocer plans to open the store at the intersection of Central Avenue and Orleans Street by 2026, according to the developer. Henson Development Co. has said it envisioned a grocer leasing the property’s ground-floor retail space since announcing plans for the eight-story building several years ago.
Henson Vice President Dana Henson told The Baltimore Banner she nearly abandoned plans to include a grocery store in the development because of difficulty finding a tenant.
The building site, the vacant Old Town Mall property, is included in the Perkins, Somerset, Oldtown Transformation Plan involving the demolition of several aging public housing projects.
A public-private partnership between the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and developers such as Beatty Development Group, Cross Street Partners and McCormack Baron Salazar is steering the massive overhaul.
SALES
The owners of the Topgolf Baltimore location that opened a year ago have placed the property on the market with a $59.3M asking price, according to Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Property records list the owner as MD Baltimore Warner LLC, which shares a mailing address with South Carolina-based RealtyLink.
Roughly 19 years remain on Topgolf’s 20-year lease, including a 10% rent increase every five years that escalates the annual fee from $3.6M to $4.7M by the term’s end. Matthews Real Estate Investment Services’ offering memorandum specifies the tenant pays for common area maintenance, taxes and insurance and calls the asset an “ideal, management-free investment for a passive investor.”
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A long-held medical building at 7567 Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie sold for nearly $1.5M on Oct. 18, according to Hyatt Commercial. The new owner, which wasn't disclosed, plans to convert 2K SF of vacant office space in the building to restaurant space.
LEASES
Crimson Coward Nashville Hot Chicken plans to open two locations at Lakeshore Plaza in Anne Arundel County and Liberty Exchange in Carroll County. The Crimson Coward franchisees signed leases with St. John Properties for 1,300 and 1,453 SF, respectively, and both eateries plan to open in early 2024. St. John Properties' Eric Llewellyn represented the landlord, and Hyatt Commercial's John Sindler represented the tenants in both transactions.
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Blondie's Doughnuts in Edgewater is slated to open Friday morning at 8 Mayo Road, according to Hyatt Commercial. Hyatt Commercial's Cecil Cummins represented Blondie's Doughnuts, while Hyatt Commercial's Laurie Zuiderhof represented landlord Site Realty Group.
THIS AND THAT
The Biden administration designated the greater Baltimore region as a federal tech hub via an Economic Development Administration program designed to improve regions across the United States to compete globally in emerging technologies.
The EDA named 31 tech hubs from nearly 400 applications. The regions are bidding for access to funds that came from a $10B authorization in the CHIPS and Science Act, but only $500M of that was appropriated by lawmakers, Bloomberg reported.
PERSONNEL
M&T Realty Capital Corp. named Sean Cullen its affordable housing platform manager. Cullen's responsibilities involve overseeing affordable housing production and managing relationships with capital sources.
Cullen has over 27 years of experience in multifamily and affordable housing finance. He joined M&T in 2021 as a managing director tasked with originating affordable housing and multifamily loans nationally. Previously, Cullen worked as a managing director of affordable housing originations at Lument, formerly Red Capital Group.
