Commercial Real Estate : Development News

Before a girl paints the town red, she needs to pick the right shade of red, according to makeup artist Tiffany Jeffers.

Jeffers is opening a Federal Hill store in August where clients can get custom-blended eye shadow, foundation, lipstick, and skin care.

Sylk Cosmetics at 1049 S. Charles St. replaces kids clothing store Ladybugs and Fireflies, which closed in April.

Currently, Jeffers is offering makeup applications and hosting photo shoots in the space but will open the retail store in the summer.

Jeffers, who is doing the makeup for Baltimore Fashion Week, will spend about $100,000 on the store, which includes buying the inventory for the custom-blended makeup and skin care products.

Clients will pay $30 for an initial makeup consultation, and anywhere from $10 to $18 on lipstick and eye shadow and about $30 for foundation. Jeffers can add SPF protection or wrinkle-fighting serum to the blend.

The business owner says she chose Federal Hill because it is a "fun, hip, and eclectic area."


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Tiffany Jeffers, Sylk Cosmetics

A 29-year-old barbecue restaurant in Ellicott City is staking its claim in Federal Hill.

The Canopy, whose specialty is made-to-order pit beef, will open at 1134 S. Charles St. in July. Owner Kevin Cooney is hoping the restaurant's takeout pit beef and chicken barbecue sandwiches will appeal to folks craving comfort food after some late-night partying.

"Our restaurant goes perfect with the party atmosphere," Cooney says.

He also hopes to attract people coming into the city for a baseball game or one of the neighborhood's many festivals.

After a few months, he'll expand the business to include 1132 St. Charles St., which will give it the space to hold a few tables and another 600 square feet to a total of 1,600. 

Cooney says he and business partner Fern Kreis expect to spend about $200,000 in the restaurant. Kreis' stepson, Adam Kreis, will operate Federal Hill's Canopy.

Sandwiches cost between $6 and $9, while a slab of ribs costs $18. Customers can decide how they want their pit beef -- rare, medium, or well done. The restaurant doesn't sell alcohol.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Kevin Cooney, the Canopy

Infrastructure work has begun on Turf Valley Town Square, a retail and restaurant complex in Ellicott City anchored by a Harris Teeter grocery store to open next spring.

Developed by Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp., the open-air shopping center will contain features similar to the developer's Hunt Valley Towne Centre, with a "Main Street," landscaped gardens, piped-in music, and an outdoor fireplace.

Located near Route 70 and Marriottsville Road, the 150,000-square-foot shopping center is near Turf Valley resort and Turf Valley Overlook homes.

"We are absolutely looking forward to it being an important part of the Turf Valley community," says Gina Ellrich, a spokeswoman for Turf Valley owners Mangione Enterprises LLC. "It's an extension of what's there."

The grading and sewer installation has been completed and construction will begin in the fall, Ellrich says.

Turf Valley Town Square will contain a number of smaller specialty shops. Neither Ellrich nor Tom Fitzpatrick of Greenberg Gibbons would name other shops slated for the development.

Anchored by a Wegmans, Hunt Valley Towne Centre's shops include California Pizza Kitchen, Best Buy, Carraba's Italian Grill, White House/Black Market, and Ann Taylor Loft.

The Turf Valley site will also include a separate office complex, 160,000 square feet of office space and 150 townhomes and 192 condominiums built by the Keelty Co. of Stevenson.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Gina Ellrich, Ellrich Communications

Yerman Witman Gaines and Conklin Realty LLC is opening its eighth office in Severn, and plans to expand its presence in Bel Air, as company leaders hope to cash in on the residential growth expected from the Base Realignment and Closure.

Located at the Severn Square Shopping Center, the office will open May 18 with 12 agents staffing the firm, says William Yerman, CEO of parent company the Strata Group. The 3,000-square-foot office will employ 50 realtors within a year.

The office is across from Fort George G. Meade, where the federal government is transferring nearly 6,000 jobs from Fort Monmouth, N.J. by 2015.

"It's an underserved area in an important time," Yerman says of the Severn market.

Growth from BRAC is also the reason why the company wants to expand its 1,500-square-foot Bel Air office. By the end of summer, the company will open a satellite location in Fells Point or Canton to replace the Canton office whose lease expired earlier this month.

The real estate firm recently opened an office at McHenry Row, a residential, shopping and office complex in Baltimore City's Locust Point neighborhood.

Headquartered in Baltimore, the Strata group has offices in Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Anne Arundel Counties. Its businesses include a mortgage firm, a title company and a financial services firm. It was founded in 2007.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: William Yerman, the Strata Group

The smell of sweet-and-savory scones and fresh-baked bread is now wafting through the northeast Baltimore neighborhood of Hamilton.

Ruben Hernandez opened Hamilton Bakery April 29, adding another venue to the Hamilton/Lauraville area that has become a foodie destination with top-rated restaurants Chameleon Caf�, Hamilton Tavern, and Clementine.

The 1,800-square-foot bakery is tapping into local farmers to supply its fruits and vegetables and even its wheat. Other menu items include muffins, danishes, croissants, quiches, pies, and tarts. It's also got its own version of red velvet cake. It's called a Hamilton velvet cake but since the bakery only uses natural dyes the cake isn't exactly red.

Relying on antique-looking furniture and neutral colors, Hernandez is going for an industrial, homey look with the d�cor at the 10-seat bakery.
Having worked spent his entire life in the hospitality industry -- largely chain hotels in Calfornia -- Hernandez was eager to open a bakery.

The entrepreneur thought the Hamilton/Lauraville neighborhood, where his wife Kristin runs a dance studio, would be a good spot. The area is fast becoming a food mecca, but until now had not contained a bakery, Hernandez says.

Source: Ruben Hernandez, Hamilton Bakery
Writer: Julekha Dash

An $11 million apartment building will begin construction in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District this year, bringing more life to an area undergoing revitalization. 

The 74-unit Lillian Jones apartments will break ground at the end of the year and take about one year to complete, says Jim French, president of French Development Co. The Baltimore real estate firm, which specializes in nonprofit and community-sponsored projects, won the development rights after the Baltimore Housing department issued a bid.

The Station North district is home to the Charles Theatre, Tapas Teatro, and a number of galleries and theater troupes, including Single Carrot Theatre and Annex Theater and Gallery. It will lose one of its anchors, Everyman Theatre Co., when the group moves to Baltimore's west side next year.

Located at Greenmount Avenue and E. Hoffman Street, the apartments replace vacant land and homes.

"The idea is to provide better housing for people in the community and create more life on the street by having people living on Greenmount Avenue," French says. The economic conditions aren't strong enough to build market-rate housing, but hopefully in time they will be.

The apartments will include one, two, and three-bedroom units. They are available to individuals and families who pull in 50 percent below the Baltimore metro area media income, or around $41,000 for a family of four.

Designed by Cho Benn Holback+Associates Inc., the four-story building includes a courtyard and exterior made of brick, cement and glass.

Sources: Jim French, French Co.; David Benn, Cho Benn Holback+Associates
Writer: Julekha Dash

Kashmir Imports will move this summer from its spot in Baltimore's Harbor East to a larger store at the Shops in Kenilworth to get closer to its affluent clients in Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

At its new home, the shop will be known simply as Kashmir, co-owner Pat McCarty says. The 1,180-square-foot shop in Harbor East sells embroidered jackets, shawls, scarves, and lacquer boxes from Kashmir India.

Once it opens at Kenilworth in August or September, it will have more space to carry gifts in the 1,880-square-foot store. New store items will include lamps made from a banyan tree in Cambodia and a handbag made from a zipper designed by a Colorado architect. 

Many of Kashmir's top customers are moms who live in Roland Park or Towson, McCarty says. The location at Kenilworth will make it easier to reach more of those clients. Terri Harrington of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC brokered the lease deal.

McCarty and her husband Javid Mahajan opened their first retail outlet in 2004 with a shop in Washington, D.C.,'s Union Station.

Mahajan's brother works directly with the families who produced the Kashmiri handicrafts that the stores sell.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Pat McCarty

White Marsh Mall is getting four new tenants this year, including Maryland's first P.S. from Aeropostale children's clothing store.

Women's clothing and accessory store Francesca's Collections, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers,and Chinese takeout Master Wok will also join the mall as it looks to beef up its retail roster that appeals to women, teens, and families.

Selling clothes for kids ages five to 12, the 3,265-square-foot P.S. store will open late June on the second floor in the former Aeropostale space, White Marsh Mall Marketing Manager Michelle Jose says. Teen clothier Aeropostale moved into a larger 5,273-square-foot store earlier this month near JC Penney.

Francesca's Collections will open a 1,369-square-foot store in June on the lower level, its fourth in Greater Baltimore. Its other stores are in Westfield Annapolis, the Gallery at Harborplace and Towson Town Center.

Red Robin will serve up burgers in a 6,278-square-foot shop around December of this year while Master Wok will open a 708-square-foot stall at the food court this month.

It will be Red Robin's fifth store in the Greater Baltimore region. Known for its red d�cor, big booths, and offering balloons and crayons for kids, Red Robin's other stores are in Annapolis, Columbia, Owings Mills, and Towson.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michelle Jose, White Marsh Mall

Towson Town Center will get two new stores this summer, including Maryland's first Free People shop.

Urban Outfitters' Free People brand will open a 1,906-square-foot store on the fourth floor. The retailer appeals to twenty-something women and sells styles that are more feminine and flirty than the Urban Outfitters brand.

Madewell, a subsidiary of J.Crew, will open a 3,155-square-foot store on the fourth floor of the Macy's Wing. It's the second Madewell store in Maryland. The other Madewell is located at Westfield Annapolis mall.

Towson Town Center's Chuck Crerand says the new stores will hopefully appeal to the affluent customers it is targeting. The mall expanded two years ago to include a luxury wing featuring Burberry and Louis Vuitton. Last fall, Tiffany & Co. Inc. opened its only Baltimore area store at the mall.

Crerand says the mall is hunting for more high-end brands with mass appeal.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Chuck Crerand, Towson Town Center

Wellness education school Tai Sophia Institute is launching a new masters program in the fall as it embarks on a 10-year growth plan to quadruple its enrollment.

The Laurel school will enroll 45 students in September in its masters in nutrition and integrative health. It may add a second batch of students in January if demand for the program continues, Tai Sophia Provost Judith Broida says.

The school already has enough applicants to fill the fall class without advertising it. The program will take a look at how food is an important component of wellness.

School officials are scouting Howard County for a commercial kitchen they can lease where students can prepare meals to support the program and others. Eventually, it would like to own its own building housing one.

That's not the only real estate it will need in the coming years. The school will require new buildings to house classrooms, administrative offices, and labs as it seeks to add more students.

Broida says she hopes to increase enrollment from 550 students to 2,000 over the next 10 years. That doesn't include students who will hopefully be enrolled online once it begins a distance learning program late 2012. 

The school has launched six new programs in the last year and four new programs in the coming year. These include a masters in integrative health coaching and graduate certificate programs in Chinese wellness systems, specialty acupuncture and Aryuvedic health.

As health care costs rise, people are looking for alternatives to western, allopathic medicine, Broida says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Judith Broida

Baltimore will get a new museum devoted to black athletes in the Northwest section of the city that officials hope will jumpstart the area's revitalization.

The Druid Heights Community Development Corp. is building the Negro Baseball Museum and Restaurant at 2101-11 Pennsylvania Ave., the site of the former jazz club that hosted legendary performers Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. The group hopes the museum will bring jobs and visitors to the neglected area.

The CDC will put out a bid in June for a construction firm and expects to begin building the museum later in the summer, says Roscoe Johnson, Druid Heights' director of real estate development. The Black Athletes and Lost Legends Association, a Baltimore nonprofit, will operate the museum and an adjacent caf�.

"Hopefully it will attract other businesses to the area," Johnson says. "It's very important that we do this right and it looks good."

Funding for the $9 million museum comes from the state, State Farm Insurance Cos., federal New Market Tax Credits, and foundations.
Baltimore's urban design panel gave final approval for the museum April 14. Druid Heights won the right to develop the project after the Baltimore Development Corp. sought out proposals to redevelop the former Sphinx Club.

The 14,000-square-foot museum and Negro League Caf� will create as many as 85 jobs, Johnson says.

The museum will focus on black athletes from Baltimore in a variety of sports, including boxing, football, basketball and baseball. It will also highlight black athletes who comprised the Negro League, the black baseball players who had their separate teams before the sport was integrated.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Roscoe Johnson, Druid Heights Community Development Corp.

Local small business owners are taking advantage of lower retail rents, helping the Baltimore market slowly recover from the recession.

That is according to MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate's retail report for the first quarter of 2011. The greater Baltimore region had an overall retail vacancy rate of 6.3 percent, down from 7.1 percent a year ago.

Several of new businesses to open were restaurants, including Black Olive Agora, Mari Luna Bistro and Ooh La La Cupcakery.

Vacancy rates varied by region, according to the report. Carroll County had the lowest rate, at 4.8 percent. Parts of Baltimore City had vacancy rates around 10 percent.

Retail rents dropped nearly $2 per square foot, to $17.62, compared with a year ago as landlords continued to make concessions to fill empty storefronts.

"The activity for independent businesses is on the uptick," says John Schultz, MacKenzie's senior real estate advisor. "I just hope it leads to actual deals being made" in the future.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: John Schultz, MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate

LifeBridge Health is doubling its number of physical therapy clinics in the next 15 months, with plans to spend up to $2.4 million on the new offices.

The health care group sees an opportunity to expand its reach in rehabilitation services as the baby boomers age and people stay active longer, says Matt Carlen, executive director of LifeBridge's wellness division.

"People are more active and more aware of what physical therapy can do for them."

LifeBridge Health this month opened its sixth physical therapy clinic in Reisterstown. Its services include back and neck care, orthopedic physical therapy, work injury, and neurological rehabilitation. LifeBridge Health's other physical therapy clinics are in Eldersburg, Owings Mills, Timonium, Pikesville, and Towson.

North Baltimore County and West Baltimore City will likely hold future physical therapy clinics, Carlen says. The new clinics will employ a total of 50. The new physical therapy clinics will involve building new offices and taking over existing ones.

LifeBridge Health is composed of Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Courtland Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and LifeBridge Health and Fitness.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Matt Carlen, LifeBridge

Sandwiches, soups, and burritos are staples of the casual dining scene.

But soon falafel, hummus, and eggplant fries will be as ubiquitous as soup in a bread bowl if four Maryland entrepreneurs have it their way. The owners of Tahina's Mediterranean Grill in Owings Mills recently received their franchising license in Maryland and Virginia and are hungry for franchisees who can open 10 stores in the next year, Partner Jeff McCabe says.

Towson, Columbia, and downtown Baltimore are some of the locations that interest them. McCabe says he thinks the store could do well in both strip centers and malls in high-volume, busy areas.

Each store would cost between $140,000 and $280,000 to build. It would average around 1,3000 square feet.

Tahina's setup is similar to that of Subway or Chipotle. Customers select whether they want a salad bowl or pita pocket sandwich. Then they select a protein (chicken, beef or falafel), followed by an array of toppings that include olives, carrots, eggplant, chickpeas, and a cucumber-and-tomato salad.

"We wanted something unique," McCabe says of the restaurant concept. McCabe, who owns a restaurant design firm, says he believes Mediterranean food is a void in the casual dining market.

His partners are Jory Schunick, Morris Scherlis, and David Levitt, a former Outback Steakhouse executive.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Jeff McCabe, Tahina's

Saint Agnes Hospital is building a residence that will house the families of patients with long-term illnesses.

Willard Hackerman, CEO of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., and wife, Lillian Patz Hackerman, donated $2 million to support the building. To be completed in spring 2012, the Hackerman-Patz House will initially house the Daughters of Charity, the nuns that founded the Catonsville hospital.

The 16-room residence will eventually be equipped with "hotel-style" services, such as housekeeping and a check-in desk for guests, says William Greskovich, the hospital's vice president of operations.

As of now, there is no place for patients' families traveling from outside the state to stay on the hospital campus, Greskovich says.

The 13,000-square-foot, two-story, building will also include a chapel, kitchen, dining room, and community room.

A 314-bed hospital, Saint Agnes was founded in 1862 by the Daughters of Charity to serve the poor. It includes a Cancer Institute, a Women's and Children's Health Institute, an Orthopaedic and Spine Institute, and a Cardiovascular Institute.

Hackerman-Patz houses are located on the campus of other Greater Baltimore hospitals, including Sinai Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: William Greskovich, Saint Agnes Hospital