Baltimore Peninsula Unveils Plan For New Marketplace
The team behind Baltimore Peninsula has unveiled a new retail offering designed to provide opportunities for small businesses and draw visitors to the 235-acre development transforming the city's waterfront.
MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners revealed plans Wednesday for The Exchange, a marketplace with spaces for a series of vendors and a food stall in the development's Rye Street Market complex. It is planned to open in late 2024.
The marketplace is planned to total 5K SF, with individual spaces for retailers ranging from 90 SF to 165 SF. It is also slated to have seating areas and a multipurpose space that can be used as a yoga studio.
The Exchange is being designed by BCT Architects, and Segall Group's Andrew Segall is leading the leasing efforts.
Restaurateur Pinky Cole, who signed a 7K SF lease last month to open a Slutty Vegan restaurant and Bar Vegan concept at Rye Street Market, is also working with the team to curate the tenants at The Exchange. Additionally, the team said Cole has come on as a development partner in the Rye Street Market building.
“Uplifting small business owners means a lot to me as a Baltimore-born entrepreneur, and with The Exchange, we’ll be working hard with entrepreneurs to curate an exceptional market experience that celebrates the spirit of Baltimore,” Cole said in a statement.
Rye Street Market, a three-building complex totaling 228K SF of office and retail, is part of Baltimore's Peninsula's ongoing phase called Chapter 1B, planned to have 1.1M SF of mixed-use development. The full 235-acre development, previously known as Port Covington, is ultimately expected to have 14M SF of new construction.
The project has also received investment from Kevin Plank's Sagamore Ventures, Urban Investment Group and Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Plank, whose firm was initially the lead developer on the project before ceding that role to MAG and MacFarlane, said in the release that The Exchange's retail spaces will help the Baltimore Peninsula team satisfy a commitment it made in its original memorandum of understanding with the city to assist small minority and women-owned businesses.
“Creating a dedicated space for small businesses provides the ideal opportunity for the Baltimore Peninsula development team to further fulfill its MOU commitments, which are an integral piece of our overall vision,” Plank said. “We look forward to exploring ideas from the community and working with local entrepreneurs to provide a platform for support and growth through The Exchange.”
