The Baltimore Sun Leaving Port Covington Campus, Property Will be Marketed

The Baltimore Sun will vacate its Port Covington Sun Park campus at the end of this year, according to MAG Partners of the Port Covington Development. The Baltimore Sun began investing in Sun Park since 1988. The Port Covington Master Plan, which was first revealed in 2016, shows the eventual demolition and redevelopment of the property.

According to tax records, Sun Park is a 256,033 sq. ft. building on 18.9 acres, which includes parking lots for its employees and trucks. The former printing press takes up a large portion of the building.

Baltimore Sun Media, which is the parent company of The Baltimore Sun, closed its printing press at Sun Park last year. The Baltimore Sun moved its newsroom and additional departments from Downtown to a renovated space at Sun Park in 2018. The company said it had a “long-term” lease on the property at the time.

Trif Alatzas, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Baltimore Sun Media Group, said in an email to SouthBMore.com, “we actively are searching for office space in Baltimore that addresses our needs. We have not made a final decision about our future space.”

He noted the current office space at Port Covington is “available to staff members who want to use it as we continue to offer a hybrid workplace model that includes remote work for those who want to use it.”

Tribune Publishing, Baltimore Sun Media’s current parent company, was acquired by Alden Global Capital in 2021.

A spokesperson for MAG Partners told SouthBMore.com, “We have actively begun marketing the property to potential tenants. We look forward to continuing to engage potential tenants who believe in the possibility of Port Covington.”

Baltimore Business Journal is reporting MAG Partners CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin said at a Bisnow real estate forum last month that “the Sun’s plant at Port Covington is being eyed by a new tenant with negotiations in the works.”

Construction on Chapter 1B of the Port Covington Development is taking place just a few feet east of Sun Park in land acquired from Tribune Media Company in 2014. Just west of of Sun Park is a staging area for construction soil. The first phase and new street grid is expected to open in the coming months.

Sun Park

Photos from March of Port Covington construction adjacent to Sun Park

Overhead screenshot from Google Maps from Fall 2021 

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.