60,000+ Sq. Ft. Office Building Proposed for Key Highway Site in Locust Point

Goodier Properties is proposing a 60,000 to 65,000 sq. ft. office building at the site of three properties on Key Hwy. between Woodall St. and Stevenson St. Goodier Properties purchased two of the properties from Sagamore Development and has the third under contract.

The proposed five-story building would have an L-shaped design and two stories of below-ground parking. The exterior design, which Goodier Properties is working on with Marks Thomas Architects, will be a combination of brick and metal with large windows.

“We want it to be a tribute to the historically-industrial vibe in the area,” said Jon Selfridge of Goodier Properties.

The building would be across from Domino Sugar and adjacent to a block of rowhomes on Woodall St. and Stevenson St. The building would abut a home on Stevenson St. and would be separated from a home on Woodall St. by a small alley.

The first floor of the building will have a space that could be used as traditional retail or for a professional business that could benefit from a storefront presence, like a realtor or insurance agency, noted Selfridge.

Selfridge said that the amount of parking spaces has not yet been identified, but would be in line with zoning requirements.

Goodier Properties recently redeveloped the former Syrup KING Molasses building at 1414 Key Hwy. to include 74,900 sq. ft. of office space and 22,100 sq. ft. of retail. That fully-leased project has fueled Goodier Properties’ interest in developing another office building.

“We get calls bi-weekly from companies looking for office space,” said Selfridge. “We are very confident in the office sub-market in Locust Point.”

Selfridge noted that they recently started marketing this building and have already been approached by a few groups that have shown interest.

The project is facing opposition from nearby neighbors on Stevenson St. and Woodall St., as well as the Locust Point Civic Association (LPCA). Justin Grossman is on LPCA’s Board of Directors and Design Review Committee and is a resident of an adjacent block. In an email he said the proposal is, “staggeringly unreasonable; it is completely out of scale with the immediate residential context, parks far fewer cars onsite than the likely number of occupants a building of this size could potentially accommodate, raises significant environmental and structural concerns for neighboring homeowners, and will create extreme traffic impacts on narrow, one-way residential streets already plagued with high volumes of cut-through traffic.”

Grossman also raised concerns about the two levels of below-ground parking and the impact it could have on the nearby rowhomes.

“Residents have raised significant concerns about likely impact to the structural stability of their foundations, flooding and groundwater, and exposure to toxic dust from contaminated soil, due to the site’s use for building armaments during WWII,” Grossman said in the statement. “The existing historic industrial buildings on the site are both only 1-2 stories, and match the scale and context of the adjacent rowhomes.”

“In general there is not opposition to a commercial office use for that site, but only if the building is of comparable scale to the surrounding rowhomes, and is able to self-park all of its tenants,” he added.

One of the three properties in the project requires a change in zoning classification to a C-2 commercial use which would have to be approved by the Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals.

“We have met with LPCA a few times and they’ve expressed their concerns. We hope we are able to come to a compromise that works for our project and for the community,” said Selfridge.

Goodier Properties is hoping to begin construction in late spring or early summer of next year. Construction is expected to take a year.

Rendering courtesy of Goodier Properties and Marks Thomas Architects

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.