In a busy and land-constrained region, industrial property developers have to be creative and expert to make new projects work. Winners of the NAIOP-MD Awards of Excellence successfully converted a fly ash dump and two shuttered factories into industrial campuses, and created a state-of-the-art industrial facility that includes the warmth of a family home, including the chandeliers.
Headquarters blends family legacy with state-of-the-art industry
The Rosedale Roofing headquarters development centered on one clear challenge: Create a building that combines advanced, industrial operations with the culture, history and warmth of a family-owned business.
Building on a 50-year business relationship, St. John Properties and Rosedale Roofing formed a joint venture partnership to craft a unique company headquarters.
In Greenleigh, St. John’s inhouse teams erected a 36,120 square foot LEED Silver flex/R&D building. It includes a state-of-the-art metal shop outfitted with automated machinery to create custom pieces, and a distribution warehouse which houses an H3 hazard rated area, truck-mounted cranes, in-rack sprinkler systems and a hydraulic conveyor system.
Within the same building, crews executed “an office buildout with the character and warmth of a family business,” said Matt Lenihan, Executive Vice President of Leasing for St. John Properties. “Rosedale Roofing has been owned and operated by the same family for over 60 years and they wanted their new headquarters to reflect that legacy. For example, our design team incorporated classic chandeliers which were a tribute to the owner’s late mom, alongside modern, high end office finishes to make a sleek and inviting office environment that feels like home to the owners.”
The building’s interiors are punctuated with inset tin ceilings and residential-style crown moldings. There is a stately conference room, fully equipped fitness center, 100-person locker room, a service department bullpen, mechanics workshop and top-of-the-line kitchen.
Featured in this article: St. John Properties, Rosedale Roofing
Creative cost saving measures enabled bold redevelopment
White Marsh Interchange Park is a prime example of the tremendous opportunities and equally large challenges in redevelopment ventures.
A former 500,000-square-foot automobile transmission plant, the property was a prime site for an industrial park but would entail high purchase and redevelopment costs.
“As with all of our development projects, we identified a few meaningful cost-saving opportunities,” said Alex Mawry, Project Manager at Merritt Properties. “First, General Motors abandoned equipment, tools and electrical transmission lines at the property. We engaged a group that specialized in equipment sales and plant decommissioning to hold a worldwide online auction at the property.”
That effort generated more than $2 million to offset demolition costs.
Merritt also decided to scrap all building steel (a decision that netted more than $1.8 million) and opted to crush the plant’s 12-inch concrete slab onsite and reuse the material in asphalt paving throughout the property.
Phase one of the development delivered three buildings totaling 235,900 square feet. With clear heights of 20 to 32 feet, spacious truck courts, rear-loading docks, ESFR sprinkler systems, and ample parking and trailer storage, the buildings attracted strong leasing activity and were 44 percent occupied within 18 months of completion.
“With limited raw land opportunities remaining in the Baltimore area, it’s critical to think creatively about redevelopment sites and how to maximize their potential,” Mawry said. “While existing infrastructure can offer advantages, these projects can still be complex and costly, so understanding both the opportunities and constraints upfront is essential.”
Featured in this article: Merritt Properties
Discipline and vision key to industrial deal
Acquiring the Crossings 95 site required a refined approach to development, disciplined underwriting and an ability to excel in a highly competitive process.
More than 10 national bidders competed to acquire the long-time manufacturing campus that is less than a mile from I-95. MRP Industrial and Clarion Partners emerged as the successful bidders due to their ability to redevelop the rare, urban-adjacent site and their plan to create a modern, industrial park that could thoughtfully coexist with the adjacent Guinness Open Gate Brewery.
The deal’s closing was delayed by more than 12 months due to Baltimore County’s Comprehensive Zoning Map process and the need to negotiate an easement providing Amtrak with emergency access along the Northeast Regional rail corridor that runs next to the site. The development team also had to address technical and environmental complexities stemming from the site’s century-long industrial history.
Despite the delays and capital market volatility, the deal closed on its original terms due to disciplined underwriting, rigorous due diligence and a steadfast commitment to the project.
Construction is now underway on the 40-acre site to create two Class A industrial buildings (totaling 484,556 square feet) with elevated architectural elements and best-in-class site planning. The repositioning unlocks the highest and best use of a brownfield in one of the East Coast’s most supply-constrained logistics markets.
Featured in this article: MRP Industrial
Brownfield development yields prime industrial buildings
With ready access to I-95, the 32-acre site on Yellow Brick Road was clearly attractive for industrial development. But that prospect came with one major challenge: For years, Exelon had used the property for fly ash disposal.
Undeterred, Knott Realty Group found a way to address the difficult environmental conditions and maximize the site’s industrial potential.
The project team executed a mass grading of the property to establish its final elevation – an operation that included installing retaining walls up to 24 feet tall, preserving an existing environmental cap and retrofitting the existing stormwater management pond.
To manage both the environmental conditions and the high costs of developing a brownfield site, “the smartest things we did we did to mitigate risk was control how much of the subgrade was opened up at the time, not allow material to leave the property, mine sand onsite for perimeter retaining walls, and have dust monitors set up around the perimeter,” said Antonio Cruz, Vice President of Construction, Knott Realty Group.
The plan enabled Knott to develop two industrial buildings (measuring 125,791 square feet and 150,492 square feet) that share a 190-foot truck dock with 60-foot concrete aprons. The development also included a 29-stall outside storage yard, 386 parking spaces and a public road extension that created an additional access point for the buildings and the existing industrial park.
The planned inclusion of a Community Solar installation on site will enable the project to quality for LEED Gold status and Baltimore County tax credits.
Featured in this article: Knott Realty Group