COLUMBIA, MD. — idX Baltimore, a division of the St. Louis-based firm, has leased 434,490 square feet of industrial space from RREEF in its Columbia Gateway Commerce Center. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. idX Baltimore was formed in 2005 with idX’s acquisition of Russell-William Ltd., an acrylic manufacturer. The company started life in two buildings in Odenton, Md. Over time, the property’s combined 325,000 square feet started to hamper expansion plans. The company will move into the new space at the end of the summer.
“idX was operating out of two separate buildings, which was totally inefficient,” says John Wilhide of CB Richard Ellis’ Baltimore office, who, along with the firm’s Mike Roden, represented idX in the lease. “Columbia Gateway gave them a footprint that would allow them to occupy 325,000 square feet and grow into the 434,490 square feet over the next couple years.” CB Richard Ellis’ Ed Harris represented RREEF.
The property encompasses 25,000 square feet of office space, which will undergo upgrades before the company moves in. “idX is a very energy-slash-green focused company,” Wilhide says. “They’re putting in new, high-efficiency HVAC in the office space. They are redesigning the warehouse with high-efficiency air circulation. They’re doing everything they can to the asset to make it more green.”
Wilhide says that in this down economy, a 434,490-square-foot lease provides a big boost to the industrial market. “This is the largest single deal in the Baltimore-Washington corridor in quite some time,” he says. “Not only is it significant in the scheme of staying in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and making a commitment to the area, we’re talking about manufacturing and skilled jobs as opposed to just pure distribution, all of which the state and county are looking for.”
Columbia Gateway, located at 8901 Snowden River Parkway in Columbia, was built in 1971 and originally housed the appliance division of General Electric. idX has offices in Louisville, New York, Seattle, Shanghai and Toronto.
— Jon Ross