MD-based Ciena relocating from Anne Arundel to Howard

Ciena Corp., a Hanover-based company specializing in networking solutions, innovation and adaptive technology, plans to relocate its corporate offices to an upscale Howard County development, Baltimore-area real estate firm St. John Properties Inc. announced Thursday. 

Ciena has signed a lease for 28,132 square feet at Maple Lawn, a 605-acre mixed-use community, as the firm intends to move roughly 160 employees from the BWI area to the new space in Fulton this summer, a news release says. 

The technology company will occupy the third floor of 8150 Maple Lawn Blvd., a newly constructed three-story, 86,000-square-foot office building within the Maple Lawn community. A team of accounting, finance, legal, information technology, human resources, marketing and supply chain professionals will occupy the space, according to St. John Properties. 

The move to Maple Lawn is conducive to a productive setting for Ciena’s local teams, said Marc Graff, the company’s chief financial officer, in a release. 

“With our lease expiring, we took the opportunity to explore available options, and we found the perfect solution at 8150 Maple Lawn Boulevard,” Graff said. 

“The size and flexible floorplan aligns well with our operational requirements and future growth. The broader business environment – with walkable access to essential amenities and a well-integrated campus setting – adds to the overall value and makes this a strong fit for our long-term needs.”

Aiming to help service provider and hyperscale customers thrive in the AI era, some of Ciena’s systems, software and services are designed to support rapidly growing bandwidth demand, according to a release. 

Maple Lawn materialized through a partnership between developer Greenebaum Enterprises and St. John Properties, and consists of more than 1,300 homes and more than 1.8 million square feet of office and flex/R&D space. More than 215,000 square feet of retail amenities support the mixed-use development. 

“Maple Lawn is equidistant from Washington DC and Baltimore, which makes it an attractive headquarters location,” St. John Properties executive Matt Lenihan said. 

“When you factor in the wide range of walkable amenities and the high quality of the overall Maple Lawn mixed use community, it’s a great fit for companies looking to attract and retain talent.”