Stadium Square developer touts potential office tenant interest

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The first office building scheduled for completion at Caves Valley Partners’ Stadium Square is drawing plenty of interest from potential tenants, according to the developer.

Arsh Mirmiran, a partner at Caves Valley Partners, said Wednesday following a topping off ceremony for the 72,000-square-foot building at 145 W. Ostend St., that the building is attracting more interest than it has space.

“I’m confident that we’ll be fully leased by the time the building opens (in late March),” Mirmiran said.

One tenant has signed a letter of intent to lease two full floors. There’s additional interest from six or seven tenants, Mirmiran said, who combined would need more than 100,000 square feet.

The $250 million Stadium Square project, located in the city’s historic Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhood between the stadiums and Federal Hill, will include 300,000 square feet of office space between three buildings, 80,000 square feet of retail and 650 apartments.

The building at 145 W. Ostend St. suffered a setback after United Way of Central Maryland backed out of plans to purchase office space. When designs for the building were approved by the city architecture review panel, renderings even included United Way branding on the side of the building.

Around the time the United Way deal collapsed, Mirmiran expressed confidence the project would rebound, and he pushed ahead with building on speculation. Buoyed by strong growth in employment in the business/professional services, the outlook for Baltimore’s office market has been fairly optimistic in recent years.

As market trends have played out there continues to be reason to believe there will be demand for Stadium Square’s office space. The developer is pursuing tenants from the technology sector, which has been a growing force in Baltimore’s office market. Tenants have also been following the “flight-to-quality” trend that places Stadium Square’s Class A property in position to attract leases.

Woodholme Center fetches $15.6M

The Woodholme Center office building in Pikesville has sold for $15.6 million.

Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC sold the 74,296-square-foot property at 1829 Reisterstown Road to Greenebaum Enterprises.

“The property, which was 93 percent leased at the time of the sale, is the highest quality building in the close-in Baltimore suburb of Pikesville and attracted a great deal of investor interest,” Jim Kornick, principal at Avision Young, who represented the seller, said in a news release. “This transaction provides Harrison Street with a strong return on its investment and Greenebaum with an asset that produces consistent long-term revenues.”

Howard County Non-Profit Center signs Columbia lease

The Howard County Non-Profit Center has leased 27,332 square feet of space at 9770 Patuxent Woods Drive in Columbia.

The building will provide office space for a variety of county entities, including Hopeworks, United Way of Central Maryland and the Howard County Autism Society, starting early in 2017. Anny Glassberg, of NAI KLNB, represented the tenant and Matt Melnick and Rich Thomas, of Cushman and Wakefield, represented landlord Greenfield Partners in the transaction at the 35,520-square-foot commercial office building.

“This lease is a game-changer for Howard County and the nonprofit community because it brings many nonprofits under one roof and allows more convenient access to clients living in the suburbs,” Glassberg said in a news release. “The new space satisfies Howard County’s goal of consolidating many different service groups into one building to achieve efficiencies through shared workspaces, improve collaboration among various providers and provide easier access for County residents.”

St. John dedicating Gold Star Mother sculpture

St. John Properties is scheduled to dedicate a sculpture memorializing the efforts of the Gold Star Mothers at The Government and Technology Enterprise Business Park at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Tuesday.

The sculpture honors the efforts of the Gold Star Mothers, a group that is dedicated to providing support and services to mothers who have lost children in military service. It will be positioned at the “Fallen Star” Memorial St. John Properties placed last fall honoring Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

“The Gold Star Mothers statue complements the existing ‘Fallen Star’ Memorial and incorporates a powerful and emotional human feel to the site,” Edward St. John, chairman of St. John Properties, said in a news release. “The concept is in recognition of the important efforts of these women, both locally and nationally, that work tirelessly to help others that have endured similar losses and tragedy.”

Yasko takes over at Bromo Arts District

Stephen Yasko has taken over as executive director of the Bromo Arts & Entertainment District.

Yasko, who most recently served as general manager of WTMD-FM, was started his new job with the district on Monday. The Bromo Arts & Entertainment District is a 117-acre swath of downtown Baltimore’s Westside that the city is trying to revive as a cultural corridor.

“The Bromo Arts & Entertainment District is a unique opportunity to support artists in one of the most visible parts of our great city,” Yasko said in  a news release. “I’m thrilled to be able to work with people who are passionate about the impact their work can have on Baltimore.

JLL names Sullivan managing director of greater Baltimore

Mike Sullivan has been hired as the managing director for JLL’s greater Baltimore office.

Sullivan, who previously served as a senior vice president at CBRE, has been responsible for 6 million square feet in disposition assignments in 100 cities and about $3 billion in aggregate consideration during the course of his career in commercial real estate.

“In only a few short years, JLL has become the most highly regarded and well respected commercial real estate services firm in the Greater Baltimore region,” said Sullivan. “The firm’s culture, unrivaled resources and leading global platform bring progressive thinking and cutting-edge solutions, which provide real value to clients.”

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