Spurned by Amazon, Baltimore's one-time suitor for the online giant's so-called HQ2 outlined its newest plans for a sprawling site on the city's waterfront.
Sagamore Development representatives appeared before the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel last week to unveil “Chapter 1” of its 235-acre overhaul of the former industrial site. One of the country’s largest urban redevelopments, Port Covington has seen some new construction, but at full build out, Chapter 1 would top 3 million square feet of commercial and residential space.
A joint venture between Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s Plank Industries and Weller Development Company’s Port Covington has apparently been getting robust interest from tenants of all stripes. Sagamore representatives had a message for those who had yet to call.
Plans were laid out for several varieties of building, ranging from more than 1.5 million square feet of residential and retail space to over 1.25 million square feet of office property. A 156,000-square-foot hotel is also in the cards. The majority of this construction will begin in 2019 and 2020, although Sagamore said that leasing for the office component could alter timelines.
What wasn’t addressed were any significant details or timeframe updates on Port Covington’s signature piece, Under Armour’s 50-acre global headquarter campus. Apart from a 170,000-square-foot converted Sam’s Club, which has served as office and amenity space since its 2016 completion, the vast majority of its 4 million-square-foot vision remains on the drawing board.
Other pieces of this city within a city have been up and running for some time and show the possibilities this massive waterfront landscape holds. City Garage, a refurbished 135,000-square-foot office/flex space, is part maker space, part design center and part start-up incubator. Sagamore Spirit whiskey distillery is the main tenant at a four-building site, and an overhauled Nick’s Fish House has thrived under new management. The Baltimore Sun also moved its headquarters to the site recently.
Most of Chapter 1 involves mixed use concepts, including Rye Street Market. Providing additional maker space along with a hybrid food hall/farmers market concept, Rye Street Market will be a gathering space on the ground and podium for office and apartments above. Spread out over four buildings, the complex tentatively will have 242,000 square feet of office space and 260 apartments in another 277,000 square feet.
Acknowledging concerns of an overbuilt luxury rental market (CoStar is tracking close to 2,500 units under construction inside the Baltimore City limits entering the fourth quarter of 2018), Marc Weller believes time is on the project’s side.
Although the $660 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package Sagamore secured to help fuel the project has been hotly debated, the project should be a boon for the city’s economy. Projections show approximately $5.5 billion in construction expenditures and $9.5 billion in construction-related economic activity. There could be more than 50,000 construction and related jobs created, and officials hope that it will generate over $400 million in state and local revenue.
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