MindGrub Purchases 8,000 Sq. Ft. of Warehouse and Office Space in Pigtown
Locust Point digital agency MindGrub recently purchased 8,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space at 1412-1418 S. Carey St. in Pigtown. The company plans to use the space for its robotics business and movie car rental business, as well as for other uses such as warehouse space for its apparel.
MindGrub Founder and CEO Todd Marks said he kept hearing good things about Pigtown and that his company needs more space following a busy year. In 2020, MindGrub grew its workforce from 110 employees to 165.
“The goal is to have more spaces we own,” said Marks.
MindGrub currently leases a 20,000 sq. ft. space at McHenry Row. Marks and wife Nikki Marks purchased a 3,792 sq. ft. former restaurant building at 554 E. Fort Ave. in Riverside in 2019 to use as overflow office space for MindGrub and for a commercial kitchen for Nikki Marks’ ShareKitchen business.
The Pigtown building will undergo interior and exterior renovations. It has two garage doors and one of the bays will be used for the robotics business and the other will used to renovate old cars that can be used during movie production. The building will have renovated office space and Marks said he would like to eventually open a cafe in the building that fronts Nanticoke St. There will also be opportunities for companies to sublease some of the space.
Marks said he has watched the Locust Point and Riverside neighborhoods turn around and it “boggles his mind” that Pigtown hasn’t improved quicker and he thinks it has “huge potential.” He loves the neighborhood’s access to I-95 and I-295 and the short drive it provides to the airport, the stadiums, and the new entertainment district that will go around Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Marks also said he loves its proximity to successful manufacturing business such as STX, Ellicott Dredges, Second Chance, and the future home of Sandtown Furniture Co.
Marks said he is looking at other buildings in Pigtown where he could eventually move more aspects of his business.
MindGrub will also soon open an office in Herndon, Virginia and is planning office space in Atlanta, Georgia and in Austin or Dallas, Texas.
Most of the MindGrub team has worked remote this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Marks said his company was already prepared for this type of work. Marks noted this has saved his company time and money by reducing travel to visit clients around the world.
Marks also said the growth in virtual work has led to a lot of tech talent that previously left Maryland for jobs in other hot spots around the country to come back home. He said the lower cost of living in Baltimore allows MindGrub to offer more affordable services to clients.
This was first reported by the Baltimore Business Journal
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.
