Maryland

Baltimore Retail Market Stands Tall, Poised for Another Solid Year Ahead

by Alex Tostado March 23, 2020

It’s gearing up to be another solid year for Baltimore’s retail industry. Thus far, the first quarter has shown few surprises and has largely been a continuation of the success the sector saw in fourth-quarter 2019. Rent has remained relatively flat the past two years, outside of a few developments that have delivered, and we’re expecting more of the same this year. After a small bump in the road five years ago, the market has stabilized and retail vacancy in the Baltimore metro region remains tight. With limited new supply coming to market, landlords are focused on backfilling existing space. Class A and B properties continue to show healthy leasing trends, while Class C properties continue to be the value options for mostly local retailers. Baltimore metro’s primary retail corridors — York Road, Reisterstown Road, the core of downtown Baltimore, Columbia, White Marsh and Annapolis — continue to thrive. We’re also seeing strong growth along Ritchie Highway from Pasadena to Glen Burnie, buoyed by a string of new store openings at the Pasadena Crossroads Shopping Center, which is anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Ulta Beauty, T.J. Maxx, DSW, LA Fitness, Party City, Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods and Gardiner Wolf Furniture. In …

March 23, 2020

Development Maryland Southeast Student Housing Top Stories

Balfour Beatty Starts Construction of 557-Bed Student Housing, Innovation Center Development in Bowie, Maryland

by Alex Patton March 20, 2020

BOWIE, MD. — Developer Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions is underway on a 557-bed student housing and mixed-use development in Bowie, a northeastern suburb of Washington, D.C. The 170,000-square-foot development will house students of Bowie State University and will also be the site of the Bowie Business Innovation Center, a program for business acceleration in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The development is slated to open in fall 2021. The project cost will be approximately $42 million. “This partnership allows the university to support its growing student body with much-needed modern housing options and provides a dedicated place for the creative leaders of tomorrow to develop their knowledge and skills as they prepare to enter the business world upon graduation,” says Bob Shepko, president of Balfour Beatty. The development will also house the university’s Entrepreneurship Academy, which will help students develop their own business opportunities and better navigate the greater business world. Other project features include a variety of amenities, including a fitness center, laundry facilities, community kitchens, parking and flexible classroom space. The project is primarily funded with tax-exempt bonds through the Maryland Economic Development Corp. Balfour Beatty Construction is and Smoot Construction are serving as contractors for …

March 20, 2020

Company News Hospitality Maryland Southeast

Marriott Reportedly Set to Furlough Tens of Thousands of Hotel Employees Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

by Alex Tostado March 18, 2020

BETHESDA, MD. — According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Marriott International Inc. is in the beginning stages of furloughing what could be up to tens of thousands of employees. The hotel chain cited travel cancellations and government travel bans due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak as the basis for its decision. Through a Marriott spokeswoman, the Journal reported the jobs are from hotel managers down to housekeeping. The spokeswoman said there have not been any corporate-level furloughs, but those are being discussed. According to Marriott, the Bethesda-based company employs 130,000 people nationwide. Additionally, on Tuesday afternoon, the CEO of Marriott, Arne Sorenson, as well as CEOs from Best Western, Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts, Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, Universal and The Walt Disney Co. met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in an effort to work with the federal government to protect the millions of employees working in the hospitality sector. Based on current occupancy estimates, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) says 4 million hospitality jobs have been eliminated or are on the verge of being lost in the next few weeks. The AHLA reports …

March 18, 2020

Acquisitions Industrial Maryland Southeast

Atapco Properties, Chesapeake Real Estate Sell Logistics Center in Baltimore County for $71.2M

by Alex Tostado March 18, 2020

WHITE MARSH, MD. — A joint venture between Atapco Properties and Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC (CREG) has sold Nottingham Ridge, a two-building, 750,000-square-foot industrial complex in White Marsh, for $71.2 million. The Baltimore County property spans 52 acres at 5301 and 5300 Nottingham Drive, 14 miles northeast of downtown Baltimore and Port of Baltimore. The joint venture acquired the land from Paragon Outlets in 2018. The development took 18 months to complete. The building at 5301 Nottingham spans 165,000 square feet and was 67 percent leased at the time of sale. The asset at 5300 Nottingham was unoccupied at the time of sale. The buyer was not disclosed.

March 18, 2020

Baltimore Multifamily Rent and Occupancy Forecast March 2020

Content Partner Lument Market Reports Maryland Multifamily RED Capital Group Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Underappreciated Multifamily Markets: Maryland Edition

by Jaime Lackey March 17, 2020

Although attractive multifamily investment opportunities may still be available in gateway cities, investors increasingly are sourcing deals in secondary markets where land and asset prices are lower, cap rates a bit more generous and an unpicked gem of value-add fruit can still be found on the vine by intrepid late-cycle buyers. Parties looking to replicate past successes may not have to look too far afield as Maryland markets — overshadowed of late by Washington and Philadelphia — offer much of what they seek with perhaps a lower degree of risk. In the last decade and particularly the last three years, the catalyst for economic growth in the Capital Area has shifted from government to high-tech services. As the tide turned, the focus of commercial real estate activity moved south toward Washington’s central core and Northern Virginia. In the process, the Maryland suburbs lost some of their star power. The diminished status of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties wasn’t entirely a matter of perception. Suburban Maryland apartment performance materially underperformed national averages in 2017 and 2018, and the spread widened between cap rates applied to Maryland properties on one hand and District and Northern Virginia assets on the other. Same-store property …

March 17, 2020

Industrial Market Reports Maryland Southeast Southeast Market Reports

After Historic Industrial Leasing Year in Baltimore Region, What Comes Next?

by Alex Tostado March 16, 2020

Industrial leasing activity in the greater Baltimore metropolitan region last year began with a whimper thanks to the federal government shutdown in January and February, but quickly gathered steam and never looked back, even in the final days to close out the year. In fact, the pace was record-breaking and historic by any measurement, with more than 9.5 million square feet of space absorbed. This figure was approximately 40 percent higher than 2018, which was also a tremendous year. There is more good news locally for companies that make their living developing warehouse and industrial space, brokers who match end-users for the available spaces and related professionals. Central to this activity is that fact that lots of people live in the Combined Statistic Area of Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region, which is the fourth largest MSA in the country and is still growing. A certain Seattle-based online retail company is establishing its second headquarters just down the road in Northern Virginia and its positive impact is being felt throughout the region. The central Maryland marketplace boasts an enviable transportation network led by major north-south axis Interstate 95, is within close proximity to several major seaports (Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia) and one-third of …

March 16, 2020

Acquisitions Maryland Office Southeast

Finmarc Purchases 11-Building Office Complex in Suburban Maryland for $43M

by Alex Tostado March 9, 2020

FREDERICK, MD. — Finmarc Management Inc. has purchased Frederick Corporate Park, an 11-building, 440,000-square-foot office complex in Frederick, for $43 million. At the time of sale, the property was 68 percent leased to 22 tenants, including Department of Veterans Affairs, Aeroflex, American Computer Development, Carey International, Mad Fitness and Meeting Play, Love & Co. The 11 buildings are situated three miles south of downtown Frederick and 47 miles from both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Los Angeles-based CIM Group sold the property. Cliff Mendelson of Metropolis Capital Advisors originated acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer. Alan Zuckerman of Highland Realty was the sole broker in the transaction. Joe Hoffman and Aaron Rosenfeld of the law firm Kelly, Drye & Warren provided the buyer with legal representation.

March 9, 2020

Market Reports Maryland Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

The Burgeoning Columbia Market Steps Out of the Shadows of Baltimore, D.C.

by Alex Tostado March 9, 2020

As real estate becomes more operational, a trend has emerged of major investors migrating away from big metros into secondary and tertiary markets. Occasionally, those markets move out of the shadows of their larger neighbors and acquire their own identity. Enter Columbia, Maryland, which initially attained national attention and acclaim as one of the first master-planned communities in the United States. Columbia is now in the midst of a major transformation. Built from the ground up in then-bucolic Howard County, Columbia was founded by developer James Rouse in 1967. Strategically located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the now 53-year-old community is blossoming with its own talent creators, talent attractors and 14 million square feet of new live-work-play development in a downtown transformed by The Howard Hughes Corp., a successor to The Rouse Co. The beginnings of Downtown Columbia’s emergence include the Merriweather District, which opens this spring. The first of three neighborhoods planned for downtown Columbia, the Merriweather District is being developed as a regional hub of culture and commerce. Talent creators The Howard County market is already home to cybersecurity incubators and cyber-focused venture capitalists like DataTribe and AllegisCyber. These companies consistently house and fund entrepreneurs developing innovative approaches …

March 9, 2020

Acquisitions Maryland Multifamily Southeast

JLL Negotiates $62.7M Sale of Multifamily Property in College Park, Maryland

by Alex Tostado February 26, 2020

COLLEGE PARK, MD. — JLL has negotiated the $62.7 million sale of Monument Village at College Park, a 235-unit multifamily community in College Park. The property features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans averaging 894 square feet. Communal amenities include a pool with cabanas and outdoor grilling areas, fitness center with yoga and spin studios, Zen garden, clubroom with catering kitchen and billiards, movie theater and gaming room with snack bar, conference room, lounge with computer workstations and coffee bar, pet spa and a dog run. There is also 4,800 square feet of ground-level retail space. Completed in 2016, the asset is situated at 9123 Baltimore Ave., two miles north of University of Maryland and 10 miles northeast of downtown Washington, D.C. Walter Coker, Brian Crivella and Robert Jenkins of JLL represented the seller, Monument Realty, in the transaction. Foulger-Pratt purchased the community.

February 26, 2020

Acquisitions Maryland Office Southeast

CIM Group Purchases Office Building Near Baltimore for $39.1M

by Alex Tostado February 13, 2020

COCKEYSVILLE, MD. — Los Angeles-based CIM Group has purchased a 132,207-square-foot office building in Cockeysville for $39.1 million. The five-story building is situated at 40 Wight Ave., 18 miles north of downtown Baltimore. Engineering firm JMT occupies the building. The office building was built in 2017 and is LEED Gold-certified. Cris Abramson, Nicholas Signor and Ben McCarty of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) represented the buyer in the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.

February 13, 2020

Newer Posts

Older Posts