Fronting York Road and located just south of Shawan Road, development will include 110,000 square feet of flex/R&D buildings, inline retail and retail pad sites
(Photo credit: St. John Properties, Inc.)
Baltimore-based commercial real estate development and management company St. John Properties, Inc. has acquired a 17-acre parcel fronting York Road in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The company plans to speculatively develop 110,000 square feet of flex/R&D and retail space on the corner of York Road and Wight Avenue, adjacent to the COTY manufacturing facility. Sean Doordan, Executive Vice President, Acquisitions and Growth and Alex Lyons, Acquisitions Representative for St. John Properties represented the buyer and Jay Wellschlager, Managing Director of JLL represented the seller, Noxema, in this sale.
The new business community, which will be branded as Hunt Valley Exchange, is configured to support two single-story flex/R&D buildings, each containing 46,120 square feet of space, as well as an inline retail building offering 8,125 square feet of space and two retail pad sites comprising between 3,000 and 6,000 square feet each. St. John Properties intends to proceed with speculative development of three buildings following the receipt of site plan approvals. Leasing opportunities are expected to take place immediately, marketing to restaurant and medical uses, among others.
“The flex/R&D asset class continues to perform extremely well in this region, and this site adds to our critical mass of properties positioned in the York Road corridor,” stated Sean Doordan of St. John Properties. “We believe this site is among the last remaining pieces of raw land suitable for commercial development within the submarket and will feature the only new flex/R&D buildings constructed in the area over the last 10 years.”
St. John Properties has developed and currently manages five business communities along the York Road corridor, comprising nearly 600,000 square feet of commercial space in the northern Baltimore County marketplace, including Crestridge Center, Loveton Business Park, Yorkridge Center North, Yorkridge Center South and Timonium Exchange.
According to research generated by JLL, the I-83 corridor is one of the most stable markets in the greater metropolitan region, as limited supply has maintained low vacancy levels, while keeping asking rates high. The brokerage firm states that “despite short-terms trends, the submarket has maintained an elevated occupancy level of 90%. This area is also home to a number of large corporate headquarters including, COTY, McCormick, BD, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and JMT Electric, among others.
St. John Properties’ growth strategy remains aggressive as Hunt Valley Exchange joins Aviation Business Park and Triangle Business Park in a flurry of properties that have been acquired locally over the past six months.
“We remain committed to identifying and acquiring additional sites that complement our existing portfolio, both regionally and nationally,” added Doordan. “This was a very complicated transaction, and our team worked diligently alongside Jay Wellschlager of JLL and the seller’s team to persevere through all obstacles and secure this site.”
Founded in 1971, St. John Properties, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest and most successful privately held commercial real estate firms. The company is distinguished by its commitment to customer service, achievements in green building, and top-rated workplace culture. Throughout St. John Properties’ 52-year history, the company has developed more than 23 million square feet of flex/R&D, office, retail, and warehouse space, and has investments in over 3,000 residential units. The company proudly serves more than 2,500 clients in Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Utah, and Wisconsin. For more information about the company, visit www.sjpi.com.
