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Pandemic protocols changed more than the physical operations of the General Assembly during its 2021 session. It profoundly changed the nature of debate and review around individual bills and critical issues. Maryland is fertile ground for adventurous policy ideas and has always attracted attention from national non-profits seeking to implement…

The self-storage sector has emerged as one of the strongest and most resilient real estate categories, due partly to life-cycle events among large demographic groups, an especially strong housing market and increased self-storage use by retailers and employers.   Klein Enterprises, in a partnership with Morningstar Storage, operates this self-storage facility in Severn. Life-cycle events, including divorce and…

After witnessing a year of Americans isolating, distancing and generally feeling uneasy about sharing indoor spaces, some developers believe biophilic design could help revive workplaces and public spaces in the post pandemic world.   COPT was in the midst of designing its Wayline building on Columbia Gateway Drive when the pandemic began. Although Wayline was already envisioned as an office…

The new normal in the retail real estate environment is complex. It includes the Darwinian nature of shopping malls, the casualization of America and the move to omni-channel marketing among retailers – three trends that were accelerated during, rather than caused by, the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers facing shelter-in-place and work-from-home orders had no choice than to turn to…

Landlords need to continually gather input from and work closely with tenants, as well as utilize the latest technology as they implement protocols to reopen the workplace. Most importantly, as guidance from real estate and health organizations changes and new cleaning processes are introduced, building owners need to remain as transparent as possible. That…

The 2021 Maryland General Assembly session will be remembered, in part, for the extraordinary steps taken to legislate landlord tenant issues in the wake of the unprecedented interventions taken through executive order at the height of the COVID-19 emergency. Although the Assembly focused most of its legislative effort on residential leases, during the closing days of the session the Maryland House and Senate will decide the enforceability of personal liability clauses related to commercial leases.   House Bill…

From left to right: Scooter Monroe; Jason Schwartzberg; Owen Rouse Support for high-tech workers, urgent action by political leaders, better branding, equitable transportation and more assistance to local businesses: Those were some of the initiatives proposed during a NAIOP-MD roundtable discussion about “Building a Better Baltimore.”  The March-April issue of …

Bolder thinking about development and more rigorous analyses of regulations will be needed to help the Anne Arundel County Council achieve its Plan2040 vision of creating healthy, thriving communities. That’s the argument currently being advanced by NAIOP Maryland and others.  Plan2040, the county’s proposed General Development Plan, sets out a policy framework…

On a high-visibility site two miles from Anne Arundel Medical Center, St. John Properties’ decision to build a 100,000-square-foot, LEED Gold, state-of-the-art, medical office building on spec is paying off. In quick succession, St. John announced leases with Maryland Oncology Hematology, Chesapeake Medical Imaging, Chesapeake Urology, Kure Smart Pain Management,…

Although commercial real estate, like nearly every sector, experienced economic setbacks in 2020, it remained a large and core driver of the U.S. economy. In 2020, new and existing CRE buildings combined contributed $1.01 trillion to the U.S. GDP, generated $338.1 billion in personal earnings and supported 8 million jobs.  Source:…