commercial real estate : Development News

All Wayne Robinson wanted was a "nice place to open a bar." He found it, he says, in Locust Point. Banner's Bar and Grille opened at 1401 Decatur Street in August.

"Locust Point is a growing neighborhood and a nice place to open a business," Robinson explains.

The Catonsville native envisions his new restaurant as a favorite stop for area residents to stop in for a pint and some bar food, or take it up a notch and order a steak or crabcakes.

So, far the response has been good.

"We're just a patriotic bar with good food and good clientele," he says.

The Center Club, located on the 15th and 16th floors of 100 Light Street formerly the Legg Mason headquarters, reopened this month after undergoing a $2.7 million renovation. 

Established in 1962, the private dining club now offers an open harbor-view dining room, a wine room, and bar area, as well as a dance floor.

Source: The Center Club
Writer: Walaika Haskins

There could be a new Lowe's store on the way for Baltimore. The hardware retailer detailed its expansion plans that it says will take it into high-density metropolitan markets iboth around the country and internationally. The box-store retailer will also renew its focus on lower to middle price points and make improvements to its internet site in the coming months.

The plans is open 62 to 66 new stores by the end of 2009. Another 35 to 45 new stores,10 of them in international markets, will open in 2010.

"We will focus in 2010 on high-volume, metro-market opportunities � high-density markets where we have minimal coverage, like Washington D.C., New York, Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver and Baltimore," explains Gregory Bridgeford, executive vice president of Business Development. "We have far fewer stores in these markets than our major competitor."

No annoucements will be made about the exact location of the proposed stores until the company has completed its real estate survey.

Wherever the company settles on for its latest stores it will mean new jobs. According to Karen Coob, a Lowe's spokesperson, if the location is 116,000 square feet, then Lowe's will need to fill about 175 postions, the majority of which will be full-time. Slightly smaller stores measuring 94,000 square feet will provide employment for about 120 mostly full-time workers.

Source: Karen Cobb, Lowe's
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Legg Mason, the Baltimore-based investment firm, has officially completed the move into its brand spanking new digs in Harbor East. Now, home to the bulk of the company's roughly 1,000-strong workforce, the new 24-story glass tower offers both eco- and employee-friendly amenities.

LEED-certified, the building includes many green features, according to Michael Beatty,  president H&S Properties Development.

"It's not just in the core and shell but in the interior build out of the Legg Mason space. All of the interior carpeting is non-emitting carpeting. The paint and material woods that were used are all LEED-certified, so they were sustainable products that were used in building it," he says.

On a larger scale, the buildings HVAC system is runs through a super high-efficiency heating and cooling plant. The windows are low-E glass making the whole building "incredibly energy efficient."

"There are other little things. LEED is not just about environmentally good for the earth, its also about good for the people," Beatty notes.

With its exterior made up entirely of glass, the potential for natural light to spread throughout Legg Mason's offices was expanded when designers chose to use glass wallls in the interior office space as well.

"The natural light is fantastic. Interior spaces have interior glass-walled offices and exterior open workspaces have the windows, so everyone appreciates the natural light. The natural sunlight lights most of the floors of the building. You do have lighting as well but you don't have a situation like in most office buildings where everything inside is lit with light bulbs," Beatty explains.

The building also has a higher than average air quality and higher ceilings. "It's just a great place to be," he says.

The Legg Mason build out also features a state-of-the-art cafeteria and community building spaces, he adds.

Legg Mason occupies 14-stories in the eco-friendly building. Investment firm Oppenheimer and international law firm Hogan & Hartson are scheduled to take up residence in the building in October.

Source: Michael Beatty, H&S Properties Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The old Goucher Hall, the castle located at 2201 St. Paul Street, is officially the permanent home of the Baltimore Lab School. The school, which began renting the facility in 2004, completed its $1.5 million purchase of the historic building.

According to Richard Meltzer, school principal, the former home to Goucher College before its move to Towson, is a perfect fit for the school whose mission is to teach children with learning disabilities. Staying in Baltimore was also important, he says.

The circa 1887 edifice, whose 19th century interiors remain largely intact, has also housed the Red Cross and later was the home of the Hearing and Speech Agency's Gateway School.

Source: Richard Meltzer, Baltimore Lab School
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Maryland residents Marc and Laura Rosen are teaming up to bring a 63,000-square-foot family entertainment venue to Hunt Valley Towne Centre in Hunt Valley, Md.

MVP Entertainment, which opens early next year, will feature an upscale-dining and express restaurant, a sports bar, two high-tech golf simulators, a coffee and gelato bar, a memorabilia/pro-shop, billiard tables, and 38 bowling lanes equipped flat screen televisions and state-of-the-art entertainment technology.  The facility will also have several private reception areas with their own bowling lanes and catering for corporate events or private parties of more than 2000 people.

"This concept is unique in that it offers so many different entertainment choices under one roof," says Laura Rosen. "Whether you're dining in our premier restaurant and bar, attending a private event in our VIP lounge, or just bowling with family or friends, MVP Entertainment will be exciting and high energy."

Brian Gibbons, CEO of Hunt Valley Towne Centre developer Greenberg Gibbons, notes that "with the range of dining and entertainment options, the facility offers something for everyone in the community. It will be great for senior citizen leagues, kids' parties, corporate outings, adult fun and much more."

Formerly the Hunt Valley Mall, Hunt Valley Towne Center was converted into a 980,000-square-foot lifestyle center boasting 260,000 square feet of space in an open air "Main Street" environment. The centre, which opened in 2005, features a 140,000-square-foot Wegmans and a collection of nearly fifty shops and sit-down and casual restaurants.

An invitation-only groundbreaking ceremony for MVP Entertainment, which plans to expand to cities "anchored" by professional sports franchises, will be held on Sept. 15.

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Greenberg Gibbons

Dan Brothers Shoes at 1032 S. Charles Street was until recently the last word in shoe repair. But that changed four weeks ago, when Bill Graves, the man with the magic touch, left the shoe store and moved his expertise down the street.

"It's a win-win situation," explains Graves, who says Dan Brothers has freed up its shoe repair area for extra inventory, and Graves, who's now located at 1022 S. Charles Street in Federal Hill, gets his own space to do what he loves. By contract, Dan Brothers will stop shoe repair work entirely and send all its customers to the newly minted Bill Graves Shoe Repair.

Graves will continue to offer the same array of high-quality services, including new soles and heels, shoe dying and covering, orthopedic work, handbag and belt repair, and a leather cleaning service for leather garments. He also offers a wide selection of findings and retail supplies such as polishes, dyes, sprays, oils, laces and cleaners.

Best of all, the shop will replace your heels or soles while you wait. Graves, who brought his two part-time craftsmen with him from Dan Brothers, has created a comfortable reception area in the store and encourages customers to bring their lunch in and eat or watch TV while they wait. Come later in the day, and his daughter will be running the front desk, eager to welcome you.

A native of Baltimore, Graves learned the shoe repair trade at Carver Vocational Technical High School, where a nine-week courses in shoe repair, automobile repair and carpentry were compulsory. He prides himself on his meticulousness and his state-of-the-art equipment, and says that, with his 45 years of experience, even high-end, designer merchandise is safe in his hands.

Bill Graves Shoe Repair is open Mon.-Thur. from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday-Sat. from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

When native Baltimorean Rosalind Holsey made the decision to open her salon at 525 E. Fort St., she dusted off notes, gathered over the span of her career, in order to create her version of the perfect hairstyling studio. The result? Salon 7.

"I have a Baptist background, and the number seven in the Bible means 'complete,'" Holsey says. "I've been a stylist for 25 years, and I'm mature now and I have a whole vision. I wanted to put all my business experience into this salon and make it complete."

This is the fourth consecutive salon for Holsey, who is a Paul Mitchell color and national educator. Her fan base knows her from her previous locations: A Stylist Dream, The Next Phase, and Studio Transition. But with Salon 7, Holsey has created a smaller, more intimate setting, albeit with an "industrial" feeling. The 500 square-foot space boasts hardwood floors, a tin ceiling, recessed lighting, two eight-foot window displays, and soothing tones of orange and sage green.

The salon, which carries a full array of Paul Mitchell products, features three styling stations and four "bars": a wet bar for shampooing; a tool bar where patrons can educate themselves about product; a texture bar with an array of relaxer and permanent services, and a color bar. Known as the "Color Cafe," the color station offers a menu of candy-themed color treatments such as pineapple, banana, strawberry, blueberry and lemon-lime. The wet bar features a range of sensory experiences, such as a brown sugar scalp scrub and a rinse with sparkling water.

Holsey attended Walbrook Senior High School (now Walbrook High School) in West Baltimore, where she specialized in barber services, and studied massage therapy at the Community College of Baltimore County and hairstyling with Paul Mitchell.

"What I like about Baltimore is that you can make your own destination," Holsey says. "It's all about how you perceive the way you want to live. I grew up with some humble beginnings, but with faith and perseverance, you can start a business here and have a good chance."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Rosalind Holsey, Salon 7

Like a lot of entrepreneurs, Crystal and Denis Ryan got the idea for their latest business came from a personal need.

"I had my first child 10 months ago, and as with many booming families in the neighborhood, my spare room just became my son's room," Crystal recalls. "But when family came to town for a visit, there was not a cozy place in the neighborhood to put them up."

So the Ryans have opened fully furnished guesthouse rentals at 1109 and 1111 S. Hanover Street. The Federal Hill residents dubbed the properties A Home In The Hill in honor of their neighborhood. The one-bedroom and two-bedroom rowhomes are fully furnished and equipped with cable and high-speed Internet access, a washer and dryer, private parking and more.

"They are perfect for traveling professionals and visiting relatives of locals looking for a cheaper alternative to the average hotel stay and for a 'home away from home' atmosphere," Crystal says.

The Ryans make a point if supporting the local economy. Before guests arrive, Crystal sets up each guesthouse with a basket of "wonderfully and naturally fragrant" soaps, shampoo, conditioner and lotion from Sobotanical and freshly ground coffee from Spoons Coffee Cafe and Coffee Roastery. Both shops are located less than a block away

"So far, a majority of my reservations have come from the Federal Hill Kids mothers network that I belong to," Crystal says. "It really is a great place for visiting families to be able stay, especially for those families with a newborn baby and one less spare room.  The guesthouses allow for them to have their own cozy space in the neighborhood rather than to have to stay in a chain hotel downtown. They have their own kitchen, laundry, living room and are just steps away from family."

Crystal has also had couples rent the guesthouses on a monthly basis while waiting for a new home to be built and doctors from various other states that are doing a monthly rotation at one of the area hospitals.

"I chose Federal Hill because I love the neighborhood," says Crystal, who has lived in Baltimore for the past decade with her Australian husband. "The local residents and shopowners have become our family, and they have all been extremely supportive of our venture and have been very helpful in promoting the business.  This neighborhood has everything you could possibly want, local markets, more than 30 restaurants and bars, quaint shops. The list goes on and on."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Crystal Ryan, A Home In The Hill

After waiting nearly a decade for a new source to feed their love of comic books and graphic novels, Baltimoreans are getting not one but two new options for their fix. We told you last week about the Sept. 2 opening of Alliance Comics in Federal Hill; now we'll fill you in on Graphic Novelty, which is slated to open a week later at 1712 Thames St. in Fells Point.

Co-owners Benjamin Greene and Heiko Spieker call their new labor of love Baltimore's "one-stop geek shop." The shop will offer "anything geeky," Spieker notes, including toys, card games and board games." While shoppers will find mostly new issue comic books and graphic novels at the store, Greene and Spieker will be selling portions of their personal collections and will also allow patrons to sell their own collections on a consignment basis.

Spieker said he and Greene, who owns the Waterfront Hotel and Miss Irene's in Fells Point, had tossed the idea of a comic store around for years. They decided to pounce when the 1712 location was vacated this summer by Fells Point Frame and Design (which moved to a larger location down the street).

"We both have a firm grasp on the realms of geekdom, but there are little subdivisions within our expertise," Spieker notes. "He knows more about Star Trek, while I know more about Star Wars, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But overall I'd say we're about equal."

Spieker says he and Greene designed the shop "to look like comic book in its own way," with yellow and red walls, custom-built black shelving units with plexiglass to allow maximum visibility, and a wrap-around glass counter will display special items. The duo have also set up a gaming room in the back of the store with wireless Internet for patrons to play games.

Interest in the story has already been high, Spieker says.

"We've been keeping the door open as we've been setting up here, and people pop in every day to say their glad we're here." In fact, impromptu visits from parents with their children have persuaded Spieker and Greene to carry kids' book, which wasn't in their original plan.

Spieker chalks up the opening of two comic book stores in Baltimore just one week apart to a case of "great minds thinking alike." He's anticipating the month of October, which will bring with it both the Fells Point Festival and Baltimore Comic-Con � and, hopefully, a lot of foot traffic.

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Heiko Spieker, Graphic Novelty

Thanks to a push by PNC Bank to design environmentally friendly buildings, green isn't just the color of money � it's the color of the place where money changes hands.

The financial services group is the first major corporation to design and build LEED-certified bank branches known by the PNC trademarked term "Green Branches." The most recent of these opened in Charles Village, bringing the number of LEED-certified buildings built by PNC to 66 (the most built by any company in the world).  A new branch with green elements opened earlier this year in Harbor East and "Green Branch" is slated to open in Annapolis this fall.

Like all PNC Green Branches, at least 50 percent of the Charles Village was constructed with materials that were locally manufactured or made from recycled or environmentally-friendly materials, including flooring, wall covering and furniture fabric. Its cabinetry is made with non-ureaformaldehye substrates and the carpet in the entryways is made of hog's hair. Interior carpet tiles are made from 72 percent recycled material that is 100 percent recyclable back into carpet at the end of its lifecycle, and the hard floor surfaces are made from recycled rubber.

The location is also energy-efficient, using at least 35 percent less energy than a traditional branch and about 4,000 gallons less water due to high-efficiency systems, insulation, and window walls that are three times more efficient than code. During construction, wood, steel, aluminum and cardboard were recycled or salvaged to minimize waste, and non-chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants were selected for the cooling system to protect the ozone.

According to PNC representative Darcel Kimble, the decision to pursue green construction was led by Senior Vice President Gary Saulson beginning in 2002 at a time when the bank began expanding its branch network. He, along with senior management, decided upon a win-win scenario of making buildings that were less expensive to maintain and kinder to the Earth.

"We are really excited to be part of the Charles Village community," said Annie Spain, PNC Charles Village branch manager. "Our Green Branch is an example of how businesses can have a positive impact on the community without compromising the environment."

While the branch already is open for business, a grand opening event is slated for the fall. 

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: PNC Bank

What do you do when you score the exclusive rights to a major museum's photography collection? You get a bigger store, that's what.

It's the enviable position Kory Mitchell and Jennifer Moore, owners of Fells Point Frame and Design found themselves in this spring when they won the sole commercial right to fulfillment, distribution and publication of the Baltimore Museum of Industry's BG&E photographic collection, which spans the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. The gig requies considerable more room for printing processes, so the duo increased their space by roughly 40% last month by moving from the 1700 block of Thames Street to 1622 Thames, a building previously occupied by the running store 5K.

The BG&E collection is a Baltimorephile's dream. Among the more than 2,500 pictures are electric images of the city on fire in 1904, a 1944 skyline with Goodyear blimp above it, and the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower when it was still crowned by a giant bottle. It also contains charming regional shots of the Chesapeake Bay, crabbers, Pimlico during the running of the Preakness, and old industrial shots. Mitchell and Moore are able to reproduce any photo in the collection in various sizes and on various media, including canvas.

Fells Point Frame and Design continues to carry hundreds of posters (running the gamut of themes, from music to movies to fine art prints to celebrities), as well as an impressive collection of old world maps and vintage photography. It will enlarge customer's personal photographs, and it sells Moore's "Board Baltimore" line of wood-and-glass signs bearing clever sayings. It has also expanded its inventory to include the Space Craft clothing line and is running a diploma-framing special to beat any in town, Mitchell says.

"We pride ourselves on being Baltimore's most affordable custom framer," Mitchell says. "We make it easy to get stuff frame if you can't afford higher end materials. We fill that niche."

Mitchell, who opened his shop nearly ten year's ago in Canton's Broom Factory, is a Delaware native who made Baltimore home after attending Towson University. He says he's excited about the renaissance in the city.

"I'm a big believer," he says. "I'm seeing things get better. And we're excited to do the new things we're doing because we think they're going to be our engines of growth."


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Kory Mitchell, Fells Point Frame and Design

As if Baltimore Comic-Con weren't enough to look forward to, comic book and graphic novel fans can now anticipate the arrival of Alliance Comics, the first comic store to operate in downtown Baltimore in roughly a decade.

Amy and Gerard McNeal Sept. 2 will open the doors of their shop, which is being relocated from Bowie, in what used to be Theodore's Cleaners at 904 Light Street in Federal Hill. The couple will sell new issue comic books and graphic novels ("silver" and "golden" age materials and back issues are available only at the couple's Silver Spring store), as well as toys, tee-shirts, card games, and merchandise related to video games (but not the games themselves).

Amy says the store will carrying "stuff for the littlest reader, stuff for grownups, and stuff in between."

"Comics in general are a great thing for established readers and new readers alike," Amy says. "There are so many different types, from action adventure to super heros, to science fiction. There's a lot more than people generally think there is."

Shoppers at Alliance Comics, which will host a grand opening on Oct.10 during the weekend of Comic-Con, should expect a visual feast, Amy notes. The couple painted the store in a silver-grey tone and used mostly black shelving.

"We were going for a monochromatic background with a clean, modern feeling because our product is so colorful," Amy says. "The comics have such vibrant covers they need no enhancement or competition."

The McNeals started their comic store business 13 years ago, harnessing Amy's retail knowledge with Gerard's passion for comics. "I knew virtually nothing about comics!" Amy says. "I did a lot of reading to learn about them so I can help explain them to people and help them fit their needs."

The couple, both originally from Baltimore, have been itching to get back to the city for awhile.

"In the last five to ten years, Baltimore has really changed and grown as a city from what we knew growing up," Amy says. "It had a lot of problems back in the day that have become less of an issue now. We're fond of it; it's a fun place."

Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Amy McNeal, Alliance Comics

Melessa Denee's business card, which identifies her as a "weavologist extraordinaire," extends a pretty enticing invitation: "Come and be blessed by hands truly blessed by the best."

The veteran stylist, who's owned salons in Delaware for more than 20 years and has specialized almost exclusively in weave for more than a decade, believes that her God-given talent obliges her to make beauty accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or their means. It's the reason she's opened Melessa's Weave Palace and Multicultural Hair Salon at 1047 S. Charles St. in Federal Hill, where she prides herself on catering to clients of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations.

While the new salon, calming in shades of chocolate, cream and gold, is equipped for four stylists and two nail techs, Melessa can invariably found in the private weave room that affords her clients privacy during their visit. She offers a wide range of procedures, including custom-made lace front and full lacewigs, toupees, and partial and full weaves.

"I've had a gift since I was a child," Denee says. "My mom has shown me the dolls whose hair I cut off, dying it green or blue. In high school I did everyone's hair in the community. I went to college and majored in fashion, but I came back to hair. A needle in my hand is like a pencil or a pen in the hand of a writer. It seems to be so easy for me."

While roughly 75% of Denee's clients are women of color, she says she sees a number of white women suffering from hair loss, Asian women who are eager to try experimental styles, and men who want to fight balding. She mentions a recent Honduran client who had not been home to see his family in a decade and wanted her to cover up the bald patch that had materialized during his years in the States.

Denee has a loyal client base across the country. She routinely travels to see customers in Georgia, Florida, California, and Arizona, and advertises in those areas a week or two in advance of her trip to additional clients. It was while coming to Baltimore frequently to visit her fianc� that Denee, who operates salons in Wilmington and Middletown, DE, gained a client base in the city through advertisements and decided to set up a physical location.

Denee, who also sells hair product lines that are hard to find on the East coast, speaks most enthusiastically about her work for cancer patients and individuals whose hair or scalps have been permanently damaged by accidents or surgeries. She has recently been certified to make wigs for people whose hair replacement products are covered by insurance, and she says she looks forward to gaining clients who are being treated at Johns Hopkins.

In those instances, she says, "I know what I do is priceless."


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Melessa Denee, Melessa's Weave Palace and Multicultural Hair Salon

Baltimore City Entertainment Group has said it will prepare by next month revised plans to build a 3,750-machine gaming facility that will include two restaurants and a bar and employ more than 900 people.

Preliminary plans for "Celebration Casino," which would be built south of M&T Bank Stadium on the site of the demolished Maryland Chemical Co. on Russell Street, were presented by BCEG to a state regulatory panel on Aug. 26. The facility is more ambitious than the one initially proposed by BCEG in February, which entailed a 500-maching facility two blocks away from the newly proposed site. The revised bid would require an additional $19.5 million license fee.

State officials are working to identify recipients of slots licenses at five locations in Maryland and have slated their announcement for November. BCEG was reportedly the only bidder for the Baltimore license.

BCEG's plan for the casino includes 9,000 square feet of gaming space, a 400-seat buffet, a 120-seat chop house, a 100-seat bar with live entertainment, and a 2,500-space parking garage. BCEG has told state regulators that it could have the facility operational by mid-2011 and generate about $500 million during the first year of business, about $333 million of which would be retained by the state. It added that, by 2015, gross revenue should rise to more than $650 million, of which the state would retain nearly $430 million and the city, $19.5 million. The construction is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs over roughly 18 months.


Writer: Lucy Ament
Source: Baltimore City Entertainment Group