This Week's Baltimore Deal Sheet
Exact Sciences intends to lay off 58 workers and close its East Baltimore office at 1812 Ashland Ave. in the Johns Hopkins Science + Technology Park, according to a notice posted on the Maryland Department of Labor’s website.
The Baltimore Banner reports that the closures impact the startup once known as Thrive Earlier Detection Corp., which Wisconsin-based Exact Sciences announced in 2020 it had reached a deal to purchase for roughly $2.15B.
Thrive Early Detection Corp. emerged from the Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures incubator, where it pursued the creation of a blood test using a technique known as liquid biopsy to detect cancer cells, according to a Johns Hopkins newsletter published in 2021.
According to Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, the company attracted investor interest after it invented a gene sequencing technique called SafeSeqS in 2011. In 2015, with support from the incubator, the test’s creators formed a company called Papgene to take the product to market.
A 2018 pilot test showed promise in detecting endometrial and ovarian cancers. The next year, the company changed its name to Thrive Early Detection Corp. and raised $110M in Series A funding for the innovation dubbed CancerSEEK. It was the largest investment for a Johns Hopkins-licensed technology at the time.
At the time, the startup planned to employ 25 people and open offices in Boston and Baltimore, where it planned to occupy 18K SF of space at the innovation hub at 1812 Ashland Ave.
DEVELOPMENT
Baltimore-based St. John Properties Inc. announced the opening of the $150M Aspen at Melford Town Center, the largest investment in the firm’s 53-year history. The 388-unit luxury multifamily community is located within Melford Town Center in Prince George’s County. A joint venture between St. John Properties and Somerset Companies LLC completed the development. The project includes a mix of studio, one and two-bedroom units ranging in size from 507 SF to 1,490 SF.
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The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore said Monday it plans to relocate its headquarters from Baltimore’s Midtown neighborhood to the organization’s complex in the city’s Park Heights neighborhood. The federation said it decided to relocate based on data collected in its 2020 Baltimore Jewish Community Study. It plans to overhaul the complex starting this spring. The transformed complex will include a renovated sports and wellness center, a new Jewish Library of Baltimore space, community multipurpose space, conference areas and office space.
LEASES
Caribbean restaurant Jerk At Nite plans to lease the roughly 6K SF space in the historic downtown Baltimore bank building at 21 N. Eutaw St. that has sat empty since the former tenant, gastropub Alewife, closed its doors in 2018, the Baltimore Sun reports. Jerk At Nite’s owner, Denville Myrie, told the newspaper that the location will be the biggest of his three locations, with the other two being in D.C., and he plans to open a wine bar called The Nest on the second floor.
SALES
Charles Bros. Inc. and its affiliates have sold 10 and leased back seven Anne Arundel County Popeyes restaurants to Parikh Network, operating as PN Restaurant Group, for an undisclosed amount. Hyatt Commercial Senior Vice President William Steffey brokered the transaction.
PERSONNEL
Trade association NAIOP Maryland has elected Chesapeake Real Estate Group Executive Vice President Matt Laraway to serve on the organization’s board of directors. Laraway's experience in the industry stretches back more than 25 years. He oversees transactional activities, capital management and joint venture relationships for Hanover-based CREG. NAIOP Maryland’s membership includes developers, service professionals, architects, construction firms, interior design and legal professionals in the commercial real estate sector.
