News

From companies that successfully switched to telework operations to tenants that pivoted to new business models to market segments that posted strong leasing rates, 2020 contained bright spots despite the pandemic. NAIOP Maryland’s Developing Leaders highlighted those successes as well as optimistic signs for a real estate rebound in 2021…

Developers’ opportunities to meet forest mitigation requirements appear to have narrowed. Brian Frosh, Maryland Attorney General, has issued an opinion concluding that acquisition of credits in a “forest retention bank” that preserves existing forest does not qualify as a mitigation under the Forest Conservation Act. According to the opinion,…

The United States is about to enter a dark tunnel that will negatively impact the economy for several months but, upon its emergence early next year and buoyed by COVID-19 vaccines, nearly every commercial real estate asset class will be on the upswing with promising prospects expected for 2021. That…

State revenues remained surprisingly strong during the height of the pandemic, but state budget analysts see deep cash shortfalls over the next five years. The depth of those shortfalls will largely hinge on how quickly jobs and income recover under the state’s “official” and “alternate” economic scenarios. Although lower than…

From left to right: Christopher Hillis, CMT Division Manager, Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates; Kat Sabo, President, Budova Engineering and Joe Ucciferro, Associate, Bohler Christopher Hillis, CMT Division Manager, Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates; Kat Sabo, President, Budova Engineering and Joe Ucciferro, Associate, Bohler participated in an virtual discussion to exchange ideas regarding how…

How public art projects strengthen properties, communities and people Perched high above the stream of business park traffic, Ordinary Person sits and watches the workday pass. The sculpture by local artist Charlie Brouwer features a classically shaped column, typically used in monuments to historical figures. But the individual on top…

This article appeared in the November/December 2020 issue of NAIOP-MD InSites Newsletter. Developments in the solar energy sector have made the prospect of placing solar panels on the roofs of commercial buildings both more intriguing and more daunting. The price of generating energy through photo voltaic (PV) panels has dropped…

Current efforts to determine a path to meet Maryland’s goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions are stoking new discussions about the energy efficiency and carbon footprint of commercial real estate properties. Members of a state climate change working group have proposed mandating higher energy performance standards and reducing the use…

B-More Kitchen in the Govans neighborhood hosts the operations of about three dozen food companies. Bakers, product makers, a nonprofit and other tenants contain their costs by sharing commercial kitchen space. (Photo courtesy of B-More Kitchen) It is one of the biggest consumer trends of 2020. In the midst of…

Robust growth in the data center market has landed Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) in two new joint ventures, valued at $293 million in total, with Blackstone Real Estate. The ventures involve eight single-tenant, data center shell properties in Northern Virginia, totaling 1.3 million square feet. Blackstone has already acquired…