Maryland Business

A lone insurance adjuster stood by what was left of a dilapidated row house in Johnston Square Thursday morning, taking photos for what certainly will be an upcoming claim.

The address in ruins was in the 800 block of E. Preston Street, just south of the historic Greenmount Cemetery. It was part of a $5.3 million rehab project of scattered vacant houses in the community, funded mostly with federal stimulus money. Mi Casa, a Washington-based nonprofit, is the developer of the project.

Thursday, what’s left of the house littered the site, with nail-studded beams loosely hanging in a perilous position from the top story, aimed at the sidewalk below.

What exactly happened, though, is in dispute.

Top city housing officials including Commissioner Paul T. Graziano said Wednesday they did not know of the collapse of the structure.

Graziano’s spokesperson, Cheron Porter, said in an emailed statement Thursday: “Mi Casa’s end of group structure at 818 E Preston completely collapsed. It is fenced off and the debris is contained on site. They had permits, and it seems they were onsite and handled the incident themselves. They have not taken any additional action (re: new permits to reconstruct). The go forward issues are not principally code enforcement ones. They will have to appropriately permit the rebuild, or the razing of the foundation.”

A neighbor across the street on Thursday described how the rowhouse “just collapsed” one day last month, sending a loud boom across the community.

The insurance adjuster, said he was informed that the house had collapsed on Jan. 20, “and thank God, no one was in it or near it.” It went unreported for a couple of weeks, he added.

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Andy Georgelakos

For the sixth time in seven years, Towson commercial real estate broker KLNB LLC has posted annual leasing income of more than $1 billion, the company reported Monday.

Last year’s $1.2 billion figure was a 10 percent increase over 2010, KLNB executives said. The company leases commercial real estate from five offices that focus on the Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia markets.

The sales figures were the highest mark since the company was founded in 1968 and represented the lease or sale of more than 1,000 transactions covering nearly 9 million square feet of commercial office, industrial, warehouse and retail space.

“Our brokerage team has become increasingly creative with our sales and leasing tactics and this strategy has resulted in the highest transactional value in our nearly 45-year history,” said Andy Georgelakos, managing partner of KLNB. “We envision another strong year ahead as companies and retailers continue to recognize the importance of maintaining a real estate presence in the fourth largest market in the United States.”

KLNB has 77 full-time real estate brokers and is planning to hire four more by March, Georgelakos said.

The 2011 results represent an approximate 10 percent increase from the reported figures of 2010, when KLNB achieved a $1.03 billion leasing and sales transaction volume.

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St. John Properties has announced the purchase of a one-acre parcel at 56 Timonium Road for redevelopment into 10,000-square-foot retail strip mall. Known as Timonium Exchange, the site is configured to hold a medley of tenants with businesses ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 square feet.

St. John said this week that it plans is to develop a mix of fast food tenants and small retailers and service businesses like hair salons and dry cleaners. The area is blessed with heavy traffic — data shows that more than 40,000 vehicles travel by Timonium Exchange daily. A report by NAI KLNB for the office market shows that the area has more than 7 million square feet of commercial office space, and a vacancy rate of 10 percent.

“This area remains under-served in the convenience retail and quick-serve food categories as consumers and businesspeople are constantly in search of amenities that address their busy lifestyles,” Bill Holzman, assistant vice president for retail leasing at St. John, said in a statement.

St. John also owns and manages Timonium Business Center, Yorkridge Center North and Yorkridge Center South, near the Exchange.

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Last week at a community meeting in Columbia, General Growth Properties unveiled plans to build a 75,000-square-foot lifestyle center at the Mall in Columbia. The changes are in the planning phase, and another meeting is set for Feb. 8.

The mall opened in 1971 and has 1.4 million square feet of retail space. The last renovation came in 2004 when an LL Bean store was added. This gussy up will see that store replaced to make way for the new lifestyle center.

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Construction is expected to begin at a $150 million Social Security Administration complex after a ceremonial groundbreaking set for Jan. 26 at 10:30 a.m.

More than 1,600 federal employees are expected to work at the site, at 6100 Wabash Ave., once it opens. The transit-oriented building will be built on state-owned property directly across from the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station.

JBG Companies of Chevy Chase was selected in 2010 to design and develop the project. The new complex will replace the aged SSA Metro West facility at 300 N. Greene St. that opened on the city’s Westside more than 30 years ago. Federal officials have said they plan to sell the building once the employees transfer to the new location.

Clark Construction of Bethesda will be the general contractor.

The new complex will encompass more than 11 acres and result in 538,000 square feet of office space and 1,076 parking spaces.

Expected to help in the groundbreaking are Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue and Baltimore City Councilwoman Rochelle “Rikki” Spector.

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St. John Properties Inc. has broken ground on a fourth building at the successful Liberty Exchange complex west of Eldersburg near Randallstown. The building will be part of a planned 215,000-square-foot mixed-use space on Liberty Road near the intersection of Routes 32 and 26 in Carroll County that when complete will total 10 buildings.

St. John’s newest addition will be a single-story, 25,000-square-foot structure, near the company’s other existing spaces: a 16,645 square-foot-retail space, a 25,000-square-foot office building and a 61,000-square-foot research and development-flex space project.

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Look for construction to soon begin on the expansion of the Towson Circle development on Joppa Road near the traffic circle.

Sources say this $35 million extension and redevelopment is ready to launch after several years of uncertainty because of the sagging economy.

The local development team from The Cordish Cos. is planning to turn the space once known as the Towson Hutzler’s department store into a “thriving lifestyle retail project,” according to their website.

Included in the project’s expansion will be a 14-screen multiplex cinema and new retail and office space in a pedestrian-friendly town square design.

Immediate plans call for demolition and site clearing of the vacant former 1st Mariner Bank building and Burger King restaurant on Joppa Road to make way for the growth. A Cordish spokeswoman declined to reveal specifics Thursday, saying instead “we’ll be making announcements shortly.”

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Want to connect with your inner William Donald Schaefer?

The late mayor was famous for driving around his hometown streets, taking notes where potholes, trash, broken street lights and other eyesores were located, and demanding repairs in so-called “action memos” sent to agency heads who understood the order to “do it now.”

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Watch out, Brooklyn bagels are coming to Pikesville.

The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. will soon open Maryland’s first location in 2,865 square feet of space in Hooks Village at 25 Hooks Lane.

Known for its bagels made with the not-so-secret ingredient of “real Brooklyn” water (which company officials claim they have cloned through a proprietary water treatment system), the shop is the first of an expected expansion totaling 25 locations in the state. I love the fact that the bagel company is based in Boca Raton, Fla., yet relies on a homemade version of authentic Brooklyn juice to give their bagels chew.

CBRE’s Tracey Holehan inked the deal for The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. Ken Bernstein of Abeshouse Partners represented Hooks Village, LLC.

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D.C.-based Federal Capital Partners, which has acquired more than $3 billion in assets in nine years, has moved its headquarters to Montgomery County at 5425 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase.

“While we remain strongly invested in Washington, D.C., we had the opportunity to move our offices to a location that offered visibility, excellent access to all of our Washington area submarkets and a wonderful array of amenities for our employees at a Metro location,” said FCP Vice President and Controller Garland Faist.

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Is John Paterakis Santa Claus?

That could be the case if a local church-based community group gets its wish for a $10 million donation, requested during a sit-down in the billionaire developer and bakery mogul’s Harbor East offices recently.

Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development, or BUILD, asked Paterakis to show them the money so they could dedicate it toward a fund for school construction. According to Rob English, BUILD’s lead organizer, the group made the ask, but was politely given no firm answer or commitment.

In mid-November, BUILD marched on Harbor East, once a rotting waterfront warehouse enclave now called the city’s “gold coast,” seeking to raise awareness of the need for wealthy developers like Paterakis to help support youth-based programs in the community and school renovations.

The city has given them large tax breaks, BUILD argues, and that has hindered revenues. It’s a debate that is certain to carry over into the new year.

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SG Partners LLC recently purchased a 13-building portfolio on Ambassador Road, Governor’s Court and Windsor Boulevard in Woodlawn for $32.4 million.

The mix of single-story and two-story commercial office product totals nearly 375,000 square feet of space and is 79 percent leased, officials said.

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Douron Commercial Interiors has purchased a new headquarters at 10 Painters Mill Rd. in Owings Mills. The 100,000-square-foot building on 7.5 acres is located just half a mile from Douron’s current location, said company President Ronald Hux.

It’s definitely location, location, location as that site is across from the planned development of Foundry Row that will feature a new Wegmans and will be close to Baltimore County’s new Metro Centre.

Douron employs 115. The new facility will hold a 9,000-square-foot showroom, the largest in the area for commercial, educational and library furnishings, Hux said, adding: “Furniture is a very touchy-feely product. Meaning, for example, folks want to see what they are buying. They want to sit in a chair to make sure it fits them. The showroom will also serve as a training center and meeting space which we intend to share with the business community.”

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Is the Cos soon to be an honorary citizen of Charm City?

The St. Frances Academy will rename its community center after Drs. Bill and Camille Cosby in a ceremony on April 20.

The community center’s mission is to invoke the loving and gracious spirit of Mother Mary Lange and the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the order of nuns that run the school. The school is an independent Catholic high school founded in 1828 and located at 501 E. Chase St.

The naming will be celebrated at a gala fundraising event at Martin’s West.

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Righttime Medical Care is expected to open a new branch near the intersection of Route 108 and Georgia Avenue in Olney.

Mullan Contracting Co. will serve as the general contractor, and the project is expected to be completed in time for a grand opening this month.

It will be the ninth location for Righttime, founded by Dr. Robert G. Graw Jr. in 1989 as a community-based alternative to a hospital emergency room. Today, the business has locations in Anne Arundel, Howard and Montgomery counties and employs 350.

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The yuppie decorating store Restoration Hardware recently signed a 15-year lease for 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space in Cecil County and plans to move into the existing 600,000 square feet of the facility in January. The transaction was first reported by CityBiz.

Developer Weeks Robinson Properties plans to build another 600,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the existing warehouse, which Restoration is scheduled to occupy in the fall of 2012. The complex will serve as Restoration’s distribution center on the East Coast. Atlanta-based Weeks Robinson bought the property, which includes the existing building and about 30 acres and is known as Trade Center95, this summer for about $21 million.

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The Arbors at Baltimore Crossroads is showing off the recent installation of 360 solar panels on the rooftop of its six-story parking garage. Nearby, a 365-unit luxury market rate rental apartment home community is under construction and in the hunt for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation with the panels.

The development is located near White Marsh. The solar panels combine to form a steel canopy that covers the roof of the garage. The installation of the panels is expected to eliminate more than 60,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air over the first year, the equivalent of planting nearly five acres of trees or reducing the use of an automobile by more than 73,000 miles, experts say.

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TIDBITS: Merritt Properties LLC has leased 2,213 square feet of office space to the IT company Vartopia LLC at 8850 Stanford Boulevard, Suite 1850 in Columbia. Brokers Jamie Campbell, Liz Tarran-Jones, Vince Bagli and Steve Shaw closed the deal … Baltimore Free Farm, the back-to-roots urban farming operation on vacant lots in Hampden, will host a “fancy dinner” Dec. 17 at St. John’s Church, 2640 St. Paul St. The good grub will be served beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, but it is a fundraiser. Fresh geese and duck, stuffed peppers and mushroom are on the menu, to be washed down with homebrewed beer and apple cider. A documentary on the urban green-thumb development will be featured. Go to www.baltimorefreefarm.org for details and reservations.

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The former St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point, a landmark for working class Polish immigrants for decades, is being converted into an expansion of a private Montessori school, the developer said Tuesday.

Now located in the convent building, The New Century School will expand in size and enrollment next fall, said developer Larry Silverstein, of the Union Box Co., owner of the church.

Silverstein had tried to sell the church, asking $850,000 for the historic red brick building with a tall steeple that juts into the skyline of Fells Point.

But he said there were no buyers, and the school sought to expand, setting up the new development.

“We had interest,” Silverstein said, of potential tenants for St. Stanislaus. “We had a bicycle shop, theater groups, a yoga studio and even a mystic. But the deed stated that we could not lease it to any other church groups.”

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The former Hechinger’s and Burlington Coat Factory stores at the corner of Hillen Road and Argonne Drive in northeast Baltimore are now history.

The site today is cleared — and ready for development to begin on a $72 million business school at Morgan State University. The 138,000-square-foot school will be named after Earl G. Graves, a Morgan alum.

Left standing is the rest of the Northwood Plaza Shopping Center, originally built in the 1930s.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2012.

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If you care to comment on the city’s efforts to rewrite the zoning code and haven’t yet found the time, here’s some good news.

City planners have extended the deadline to render remarks to Jan. 6. After that, final revisions and new maps will be drawn up for presentation to the City Council. Public hearings will be held after that as well.

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