Harbor Point's Newest Building, Wills Wharf, To Begin Construction Early Next Year
Construction could begin as early as Q1 of 2017 on Harbor Point’s fourth major building, a 12-story tower that will hold a boutique hotel and offices.
Wills Wharf, along with an apartment tower, new retailers and a congestion-easing bridge, are among the newest expansions expected over the next year at Beatty Development Group’s 27-acre, mixed-use project.
Projected to cost $1.5B when completed in 2022, Harbor Point will essentially create a new neighborhood in the remaining slice of undeveloped waterfront land between Fells Point and Harbor East.
Bisnow recently toured the area and received updates on the residential, hotel, office and retail components of the development.
Construction began in April on Harbor Point’s third building (above), the 289-unit residential tower 1405 Point. Developed in conjunction with Armada Hoffler Properties and The Henson Development Co, it will include nearly 18k SF of retail and restaurants when it wraps up next year, says Beatty VP of development Marco Greenberg.
The 20-story Exelon tower will get its namesake tenant, and the development’s biggest office user, over the next few weeks.
Energy giant Exelon Corp is moving 1,500 employees from two downtown office buildings to Harbor Point in phases, Exelon spokesman Paul Adams says. The 103-unit apartment building that opened in July next to Exelon, 1305 Dock St, is 88% leased, Marco says.
The Exelon building also includes space for around eight retailers, half of whom have been announced. West Elm furniture store opened last month. Ceremony Coffee Roasters is set to open in January, while fast-casual spot honeygrow will open in December. CorePower Yoga, which has locations in Federal Hill, Brewers Hill and Towson, will open its Harbor Point location at the end of November.
Food trucks, handpicked by Baltimore James Beard Award-winning chef Spike Gjerde, began convening on the Exelon Central Plaza this month to feed the building’s new office workers. The rotation includes Gypsy Queen, Commie Pig and Crossroads Bistro.
The 156-room boutique hotel Canopy by Hilton will open in 2018 and will occupy the top four floors of Wills Wharf (left). Hilton says it opens the Canopy brand in “culturally rich neighborhoods,” and the one in Baltimore will include a terrace to take advantage of the water views. The remainder of the building will house 225k SF of office, Marco says.
Beatty Development says it’s dedicating one-third of Harbor Point to greenspace, including a 4.5-acre waterfront park that will open when the project is near completion (the spot is pictured).
“It’s filling a hole in the harbor—it’s like a smile missing a tooth,” Marco says of Harbor Point’s waterfront parks. “We want this continuous harbor front with open spaces.”
The city is expected to start construction in December on the four-lane bridge that will connect Central Avenue with Harbor Point. It's expected to ease traffic woes on some of the city's most clogged streets when it opens fall 2017.
Harbor Point debuted its first building, Thames Street Wharf (pictured), in 2010 with Morgan Stanley and Johns Hopkins Medicine International.
Beatty Development split off from Harbor East Management Group three years ago after Michael Beatty formed his own real estate company to spearhead Harbor Point. He co-founded H&S Properties Development along with bakery magnate John Paterakis, who died on Sunday.
