The Rotunda these days is but a shell of its former self.

The North Baltimore retail and office complex was hit hard when the Giant Food store closed its doors to move about a mile away to the Green Spring Tower Shopping Center in a former Super Fresh site.

Mid-morning one day this week, there were fewer than a dozen shoppers at the Rotunda. The hallways, once bustling with retail, were empty.

“It’s not much traffic,” lamented Fariba Sadgdi, manager at the Hair Cuttery. “To me, there is no reason for people to come here except for the movie theater.”

Sadgdi said there is a “98 percent chance” that her shop will be the next defection from the Rotunda, moving to the Green Spring Tower Shopping Center just like Giant in the near future.

She said the shop’s management has had little to no contact from the mall’s owners, Hekemian & Co., saying, “We’re dangling. We don’t know what’s going on. Business is down 25 percent.”

Chris Bell, vice president for development at Hekemian was unavailable for comment.

Nearby, Sheldon Pearlman, owner of Amazing Spiral, a novelty book and toy store, said the loss of Giant at the Rotunda had slowed traffic.

Striving to remain optimistic, Pearlman said the Rotunda Cinema would soon add a fourth screen that would bring in more patrons over the summer with some popular films getting ready to premier. In response, he said his store has extended its hours to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

NAIOP Maryland honored 16 companies and seven individuals Thursday night before a crowd of more than 300 real estate and development types during its Awards of Excellence program at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore.

Honors were given out in 34 categories for excellence in the design, development, marketing and leasing of commercial office buildings and retail projects in the metropolitan area.

Local developer Mark Sapperstein won “most creative transaction” honors for the new McHenry Row development in Locust Point, which stalled because of the recession and was brought back to life through creative public and private financing.

The retiring CEO of Corporate Office Properties Trust, Randall M. Griffin, was given a lifetime achievement award. The late Fred Glassberg, founder of Crystal Hill Investments, was posthumously honored with the Distinguished Merit Award.

For those keeping score, St. John Properties, Inc. took home the most awards of the night with six, followed by Corporate Office Properties Trust, with five.

“The NAIOP Awards of Excellence Program is a biannual celebration and recognition of the innovative achievements of regional commercial real estate developers, as well as the companies and individuals that service our industry in the Maryland region,” said Dianna Wilhelm, president of NAIOP Maryland.

“Each winner represents a compelling example of how a unique challenge was overcome to realize a result that was economically, environmentally and aesthetically feasible. In recent years, a higher percentage of our award categories have honored projects that satisfy Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, to reflect the significant shift in our industry to develop environmentally friendly projects,” she added.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

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.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The Daily Record’s “Photo of the Day” is a chance for our photographers to capture slices of life in their travels across Maryland. But we know there is much more going on in the state than what their lenses find.

That’s where you come in.

The Daily Record wants your photographs of what’s happening in Maryland for a new feature, “Maryland Moment.” The photo could be related to the news of the day or it could be a shot right outside your window. It can be an action shot (left) or just something very adorable.

You can send us your photos by using the form here. We ask that the photos be of something from the last week or so; we don’t want photos of Fourth of July fireworks in February.

If we like your Maryland Moment, we’ll post it online where our Photo of the Day normally resides and might publish it in the print edition as well.

So happy picture-taking. We can’t wait to see what develops.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Solar energy company SunEdison announced it will be moving its headquarters to California, and speaking fees for pharmaceutical companies are going down. Those stories and more in this week’s business Top 5.

1. Maryland’s top lobbyists got $15.5M during 2011 session – by Nicholas Sohr

Maryland’s biggest businesses, interest groups and labor unions increased spending on lobbyists to $15.5 million during the 2011 General Assembly session, according to the State Ethics Commission.

That was a 14.4 percent bump over the 2010 session, when the top spenders had $13.5 million in lobbying expenses.

2. Speaking fees declining for pharmaceutical firms – by Ben Mook

The amount of money paid by pharmaceutical firms to physicians and other health professionals to speak about their products seems to be slowing, but a look at 12 companies that disclose those figures shows it still amounts to millions of dollars in Maryland.

A review of the payments reported by eight major pharmaceutical firms including Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer and Novartis show that in 2010 in Maryland, doctors were paid more than $4 million in speaking fees. This compares to the first half of 2011, when reporting companies paid only $836,330 in speaking fees.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Following Tuesday’s primary, Baltimore is on its way to sending Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to a second term as mayor, and the announcement of Bank of America’s 30,000 layoffs will surely be felt in Maryland. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Rawlings-Blake says she will be aggressive in Baltimore’s economic development – by Melody Simmons

Hours after her victory in the city’s Democratic primary, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news conference she plans to take aggressive strides in local economic development, including a restructuring of the Baltimore Development Corp.

Rawlings-Blake, 41, defeated five challengers to win the nomination Tuesday with 52 percent of the vote.

“The election is over and for me, the mandate is to move the city forward,” Rawlings-Blake said.

2. Bank of America layoffs to hurt Maryland – by Ben Mook

Bank of America’s plan to shrink its workforce by 10 percent over the next few years will almost certainly have significant effect on Maryland, given the bank’s presence and stature in the state, analysts said.

Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender by assets, will eliminate 30,000 jobs in the next few years as part of Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan’s plan to bolster profit and the company’s stock price. Bank of America is the largest bank in Maryland with roughly 3,900 workers and 20 percent of the market share in the state. The company did not provide details on Monday about where the job cuts would come from or when they would happen.

3. Casino changes upset minority groups – by Nicholas Sohr

A collection of minority groups is protesting changes the state made to requirements for casino developers eyeing the gaming license up for grabs in Baltimore.

Last month, the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission stripped explicit minority business enterprise benchmarks from the request for casino proposals. Instead, the state will work with developers to set goals on a project-by-project basis.

4. Howard executive Ken Ulman running $72M project to connect Maryland – by Nicholas Sohr

While the economic malaise lingers, another recession threatens and trillions in federal budget cuts loom, Ken Ulman finds hope in a warehouse in Elkridge.

There sit spools of fiber-optic cable destined to link public institutions and build the backbone of a network that will bring high-speed Internet service to office buildings and business parks throughout central Maryland.

5. Maryland loses 2,500 jobs in August – by Nicholas Sohr

Maryland lost 2,500 jobs in August and the unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent, according to figures released Friday morning by the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

The job losses were widespread across private employers, but labor officials blamed much of the decline on the information sector, which lost 4,400 jobs. The now-resolved strike by Verizon workers “disproportionally contributed to job losses in that sector.”

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Maryland endured an earthquake this week, and is getting ready for a hurricane. And all just days before the city of Baltimore is set to host its inaugural Grand Prix. See what stories made the top 5 this week.

1. Earthquake: Baltimore shaken, but not stirred – by Nicholas Sohr

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake sent office workers streaming out of high-rise buildings Tuesday afternoon and clogged Baltimore’s streets with an early rush hour as many decided to call it a day after the tremors began just before 2 p.m.

The quake was centered in Virginia and appeared to cause little damage in Maryland, according to public safety officials. Inspectors scrambled to assess bridges, roads, public buildings, stadiums, tunnels and utility lines.

2. Maryland Mortgage Program rate at record low – by Daily Record Staff

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development said Monday the interest rate for the state’s flagship mortgage financing program, the Maryland Mortgage Program, has dropped to 3.5 percent, the lowest level in its history.

The program is primarily targeted to first-time homebuyers and purchasers of foreclosed and short-sale homes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Stephen Strasburg made a bit of a media splash Sunday after a double-header at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown.

The No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft returned to the Washington Nationals’ minor league Class-A team, the Hagerstown Suns, after undergoing reconstructive surgery for a ligament in his elbow last fall.

The first rehabilitative game for Strasburg brought the ballpark’s second largest crowd ever, with 6,758 fans, according to the team’s website. So this season will likely be a hopping one for Hagerstown’s residents and fans.

And just for an update, the other Hagerstown star, Bryce Harper, moved to Double-A Harrisburg Senators in July. His most recent game on Aug. 7 against the Erie SeaWolves drew a little more than 3,000 spectators.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

WBAL’s Mark Miller announced this week that he would be retiring after 32 years and the traffic plans surrounding Baltimore’s Grand Prix race are starting to take shape in the final months before it comes to town. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. New restaurant at Chesapeake site should open in a year – by Melody Simmons

Redevelopment of the long-abandoned Chesapeake Restaurant in the Station North Arts District is still on track despite a key restaurateur’s rejection of the $16 million project, city officials said Monday.

Qayum Karzai, who owns the successful Helmand and Tapas Teatro restaurants, has backed out of the partnership and will not open an upscale eatery and market inside the old Chesapeake, located at 1701 N. Charles St.

2. Lawsuit over State Center redevelopment to go forward – by Melody Simmons

A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge cleared the way Wednesday for a legal challenge against the procurement procedures of the proposed $1.5 billion State Center development.

Judge Althea M. Handy denied a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that pits a large group of downtown property owners against state officials and developers in a bitter struggle over the future of the massive development that would occupy eight blocks on the city’s West Side near Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

If you’re seeing @MDBlackBear suddenly becoming active on Twitter these days, it’s for good reason.

Apparently ’tis the season for the state’s black bear hunting lottery, and the Twitter account (created by the Dept. of Natural Resources) has about 800 followers. The DNR is spreading the word that the 2011 hunting permit lottery opened online July 1, and is accepting applicants through Sept. 2.

DNR will issue 260 bear hunting permits this season, with only one black bear to be harvested by a permittee/subpermittee hunting team. More details on the process and the sport itself can be found here.

Kind of a peculiar way to use Twitter, but hey, it’s beary innovative.  (Yes, I did.)

Powered by Bookmarkify™