Legg Mason moving headquarters to Harbor East

Baltimore Business Journal - 10:23 AM EST Tuesday, February 13, 2007by Daniel J. SernovitzStaff

Legg Mason Inc. said Tuesday it signed a 15-year lease agreement for its own 24-story office building at the waterfront Harbor East complex and will leave its signature office tower at 100 Light Street.

Company spokeswoman Mary Athridge said the move was not motivated by building or parking concerns at Legg's current space -- rather, the global money management firm sought a "fresh start" for its workers. Baltimore City officials tried last year to assemble enough room by Legg's Light Street building for a new, 500-space parking garage but its plans fell through.


"I think it was much broader than that," Athridge said. "This was really much more about creating a space that reflects our culture as a leading global investment management firm."

Legg employs about 1,000 workers, including as many as 300 technology workers in Owings Mills, and Athridge said nearly all will move to its new Legg Mason Tower at the Harbor East development when it is ready in the summer of 2009. She said it is possible a small number of workers will remain in Owings Mills.

"I think it will be great to kind of have a fresh start," she said, noting that Legg's commitment to Baltimore never wavered. "That's Legg Mason's heritage. You obviously want to preserve that going forward."

Harbor Point is a $300 million-plus, mixed-use project being developed by H & S Properties Development Corp. and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse that, once completed, will include more than 500,000 square feet of retail space, 1 million square feet of office space, a Four Seasons Hotel and about 130 condominium units.

H & S Properties Vice President Michael Beatty said in an interview Tuesday he worked closely with Legg Mason officials to design a new, signature Legg Mason Tower for the company. Legg will be leasing 400,000 square feet of the 550,000-square-foot building.

"The building was 100 percent custom-designed for this tenant," Beatty said. "Obviously, they're clearly a phenomenal tenant for the city of Baltimore and the state."

He said the company's decision to move to Harbor Point helped to advance construction plans for the 38-acre development, which has been delayed several times. Groundbreaking for the project was initially scheduled for the fall of 2005 and was then pushed back to July 2006. Last summer, the developers discovered part of their project encroached on city-owned land, prompting another delay while they redesigned their project. Groundbreaking is now scheduled to be held this spring.

Struever Bros. spokesman Bob Rubenkonig told the Baltimore Business Journal in December neither the delay nor the redesign had nothing to do with the property-encroachment issue and that those issues had been resolved.

Leo M. McDermott, senior vice president with Corridor Reznick LLC in Baltimore, said he believes Legg's move from 100 Light St. will once again create a glut of vacant office space in Baltimore City. The company leased a majority of the 35-floor, 530,000-square-foot downtown office building. At the same time, he said, he believes that large a portion of space could be attractive to other companies considering a move into Baltimore.

"It's certainly going to impact the office market to have that kind of vacancy all of a sudden," he said. "It certainly opens up room for another corporation to move in."

The building is managed by Colliers Pinkard. Representatives from the brokerage firm could not immediately be reached for comment.

Legg Mason moving to Inner Harbor East
JEN DEGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer
February 13, 2007 10:24 AM

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/_images/article/02_12_leggtower1.jpg

Legg Mason Inc. said this morning that it will move its downtown Baltimore offices to a planned skyscraper at the city’s Inner Harbor East.

The Daily Record first reported Feb. 1 that the financial firm was considering moving from its downtown location at 100 Light St. Speculation arose that Legg Mason could leave Baltimore when, in a regulatory filing last month, the company amended its bylaws to allow the firm to leave the city.

But the company today strengthened its Baltimore roots, announcing in a news release that it signed a 15-year lease for 400,000 square feet of space in a mixed-use project being developed by Baltimore’s H&S Properties Development Corp. Legg Mason said in a release that it expects to move into its new space by the summer of 2009.

The proposed project will include a Four Seasons Hotel and condominium residences. It is part of a larger, 38-acre mixed use development with commercial, retail and entertainment tenants

Legg Mason will consolidate its regional operations at the Inner Harbor East location, bringing between 200 and 300 employees from the area back into the city.

“We will be able to customize our new space to reflect our culture as a leading global investment management firm and to create a work environment that truly motivates our employees,” James W. Hirschmann, Legg Mason’s president and chief operating officer, said in the release. “Harbor East, with all of its advantages, should greatly enhance our ability to attract and retain employees.”


(Above - A rendering of the planned Legg Mason Tower at Inner Harbor East in Baltimore.)

Wow, this is definitely big news.

On the one hand, I'm glad Legg is staying in Baltimore, and they're even moving their Owings Mills employees downtown as well!

Also, a new tower! From the small rendering, it looks like a great addition to the skyline.

On the other hand, I'll be sorry to see the Legg Mason sign come down from 100 Light St.

But the article is right, this does leave open a huge space for another corporation to move in to prime office space.

This could be huge for the city, in a very good way.

Okay, so is this the same building as the 4 Seasons and that's what's been holding things up? The BBJ article sounded like the development was Harbor Point, but the Record sounds like Inner Harbor East.

These journalists need to get specific!

Nate

HMMMMMM

I can't share in the total joy just yet.

What's going to happen to the 100 Light building. If there is going to be another company relocate to fill it, then this is simply terrfic news. If the building is just going to sit there, then the CBD near the Pratt & Light intersection will simply be a ghost town. It's hardly bustling there now as it is.....

<hopes for news of Microsoft moving in>

Hopefully we won't be reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.

If businesses vacate Class A office space north of Lombard, then this is NOT good news. If Class B or C, then neutral, I think. If they vacate the county or new business, very good news. :D

BaltimoreisBest seems to be up on all the occupancy and vacancy data. I'd be interested to hear his thoughts on this matter.

Nate

Overall, I think this is a good thing for the city. It means that Legg Mason will most likely be around for the long term, and we're getting what looks like a great tower.

I do share the same concerns as cgunna, that the current Legg building will sit idle, but perhaps this will motivate the owner to explore some creative renovations, mainly ground-level retail.

I'm also now curious to know whether the Four Seasons hotel and condos are being situated in the same building. Will this building keep the same design? Will it house the same number of units as previously stated? Have the residences gone up for pre-construction sale yet?
When they say mixed-use, do they mean one tower is office and the other is everything else, or that each tower is mixed-use? I really hope the new Legg tower has some retail component. We don't want a repeat of the previous Legg tower, especially in that location, which is right where the pedestrian bridge will link Harbor East and Harbor Point.

Okay, so is this the same building as the 4 Seasons and that's what's been holding things up? The BBJ article sounded like the development was Harbor Point, but the Record sounds like Inner Harbor East.

These journalists need to get specific!

Nate
my question is the same as yours.

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/_images/article/02_12_leggtower1.jpg
^^^so, just to make sure, there's going to be only TWO towers going up at the four seasons site, not THREE, right?

Here, let me add another rendering.... :D

http://www.examiner.com/images/newsroom/Image/rendering.jpg
:)

Look at the other tower!! It's over 36 floors!!! :eek2:
Looks awesome!!

Awesome! A few more skyscrapers and Baltimore has reached the next level. This should balance the Skyline nicely!

You would think the Legg Mason Tower would be the tallest though?

^^ Yeah, you would think.

I think Legg would rather have larger floorplans, hence the shorter, wider tower, maybe?

Nate

The original USF&G tower is an example of architecture that one would not want to replicate. The modernist/brutalist era was generally considered a failure by most. The big, open plazas don't contribute to pedestrian comfort and attractiveness. The building is too much of a monument to itself and a waste of space. It breaks the fabric of downtown into a forlorn mess, esp. when traffic is heavy.

The tower looks much more attractive up close, but nobody wants to spend the time to get that close. I think it's not good looking at all from a distance.

The advantage, supposedly is the relatively large floor plans, waterviews, 4 levels of underground parking, size, visibility will keep it attractive for use.

Designs like Legg Mason (and the NY WTC) should never be repeated.

The unfortunate part of Baltimore's downtown history, it that we had a building boom during the worst period of architecture! There is so much modernist/brutalist crap I'd like to knock down. Hey, some Modernist architectureis great (like One Charles Center), but Modern urban design was a complete failure and by taking up the whole block the USF&G/Legg building failed downtown as a place to visit, walk and cherish.

Their new HQ appears much better.

I think the original design had a "hat" anyway, so we can't complain too much.

End rant:cheers:

Nate

^^ That makes sense as well. BTW, another rendering:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2007-02/27898574.jpg

Here, let me add another rendering.... :D

http://www.examiner.com/images/newsroom/Image/rendering.jpg
:)

Look at the other tower!! It's over 36 floors!!! :eek2:
Looks awesome!!
yeah, this renderings better.....lol.


wait, that FIRST tower puts even the marriott to shame!!! 36 floors???? i like!

WAIT A MINUTE... the two renderings above are clearly different!

The one Stephen posted shows that 3-story brick base (which I like) on both towers, plus it looks like the hotel/condo tower is different in the second one!

This is a big change! Originally they were building 1 condo tower and 1 hotel tower, both with brick inlaid on the sides... now it looks like it's only brick on the bottom and GLASS (yay!) everywhere else!!

I hope this design stands! It's a winner!!!

Upscale Harbor East lures Legg Mason


JEN DEGREGORIO
Daily Record Business Writer
February 13, 2007 6:52 PM

Legg Mason Inc.’s decision to move to Inner Harbor East has changed the face of the Four Seasons hotel development, replacing a planned “sister” condominium tower with a signature office building designed specifically for Baltimore’s prized financial firm.

H&S Properties Development Corp., which is developing the Four Seasons project, scratched the condominium plan when it realized Legg Mason was interested in relocating its headquarters to the massive Harbor East project the company is co-developing with Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse.

“We designed this building specifically for their needs,” H&S President Michael S. Beatty said of the 24-story, glass skyscraper designed by California’s Hill Glazier Architects. “For years we’ve talked to [Legg Mason], knowing that they were a big tenant we’d love to have in our project.”

The financial firm wanted to move to new office space in an upscale location that would appeal to workers and clients. Harbor East, a multi-billion dollar, mixed-use development spanning from the Pier Six Concert Pavilion to South Caroline Street, has emerged as one of the city’s hottest destinations. The area now boasts upscale retailers such as Whole Foods supermarket as well as apartments, condominiums, hotels and office space.

“We just thought it would be a terrific retention tool for our employees, particularly younger employees,” Mary Athridge, a spokeswoman for Legg Mason, said.

Come summer 2009, Legg Mason will occupy the smaller of two glass towers that will form the Four Seasons project, located between the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel and the Spinnaker Bay residential community. The larger building will consist of a 240-room Four Seasons hotel, topped with a “limited number” of residential condominiums. H&S declined to reveal the number of condominiums to maintain an air of exclusivity.

Legg Mason will occupy 400,000 square feet of the 500,000-square-foot tower beside the Four Seasons. The remainder of the space will be filled by other office tenants and retailers that will occupy the building’s first two floors, Beatty said. Both buildings will sit atop a 1,200-space, underground parking garage.

All told, the Four Seasons development will cost $550 million. “This 15-year commitment from Legg Mason has really kicked this project forward,” Beatty said.

Public Assistance

Also pushing the project is the potential for city money. H&S asked the city for “financial assistance” to help subsidize rental rates for Legg Mason. The Baltimore Development Corp., the city’s economic development agency, is considering that request. “We hope to complete our work in the next couple of months,” said M.J. “Jay” Brodie, the BDC’s president.

Brodie would not specify the kind of economic assistance requested by H&S. But the company has received tax breaks in the past, Beatty said, including a 15-year, 95 percent tax abatement for an office building on Exeter Street in Harbor East.

Beatty declined to say how the potential city funds factored into Legg Mason’s lease agreement. But competitive rents were part of what kept the firm in the city, Brodie said. The BDC worked with Legg Mason for more than a year to keep the company, whose lease at 100 Light St. expires in 2009, Brodie said.

“Legg has been our No. 1 business-retention activity,” Brodie said. “It was not a foregone conclusion that they would stay in the city.” Suspicions arose that Legg Mason might leave Baltimore last month, when the company amended its bylaws to allow it to move outside the city. Athridge, the Legg Mason spokeswoman, said the company never considered leaving.

But Brodie said the BDC had discussions with Legg Mason Chairman and CEO Raymond A. “Chip” Mason about the company’s relocation. “When a company knows its lease is coming up … they do a thoughtful look around,” Brodie said. “They don’t just limit their looking to the city.” City business leaders say keeping Legg Mason in town is worth any price.

“I think that it’s entirely appropriate for the BDC and the city to look to do [financial assistance] to keep this type of presence in our city,” said Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee.

“The benefit should be that it broadens the tax base so that it spreads the revenue out across a broader field and strengthens the city’s position so that it shouldn’t be raising taxes,” said Mark Deering, a broker in the Baltimore office of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC. “If it weren’t for the commercial tax base, a place like Baltimore couldn’t survive.”

Hopefully we won't be reshuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.

If businesses vacate Class A office space north of Lombard, then this is NOT good news. If Class B or C, then neutral, I think. If they vacate the county or new business, very good news. :D

BaltimoreisBest seems to be up on all the occupancy and vacancy data. I'd be interested to hear his thoughts on this matter.

Nate

Why is it bad news if there isn't many class A tenants north of Lombard Street? The older buildings that the class A tenants leave just get recycled into new uses such as residential, institutional, or hotels. We have no buildings sitting empty north of Lombard or almost anyplace downtown for that matter. In fact, I submit that most of the new uses are healthier for downtown than offices that were once in some of those building. The office folks simply packed up and went home after 5:00 PM. Residents and guests stick around, walk around, and spend money. A perfect example is the old BG&E building. It was functionally obsolete as offices but it will make kick ass apartments.

The market dictates where businesses opt to locate. Older buildings don't have the floor plans and amenities that business need in a world that relies on computers. They want raised floors for cabling. They need good AC to cool the computers. They want premium views. They want large floor plates for economies of scale and they want high speed elevators.

Trying to keep offices where the companies can't be competitive will never work. It reminds me of all the effort that went into keeping Howard and Lexington a shopping area. Ultimately that effort failed due to market forces despite millions of city dollars. Keeping offices in obsolete buildings or in undesirable locations will fail too. Market forces always win in the long run.

I'm talking about modern Charles Center and newer buildings that are very much still viable as office buildings. I think we need commercial space in the downtown core.

Nate

^^Does this somehow justify having the BDC meet in secret again--so we can subsidize Legg-Mason without being privy to their diberations? If that's what happened, the BDC needs to be taken to court and completely dismantled:ohno:

Nate

So will the parking for this be underground or what? I don't see any above-ground parking on the renderings, and 1,000 employees plus however many condo dwellers would need a pretty huge garage!

Yeah, it says so in that last article posted by Wadaguy--1200 spaces underground. Still curious why this project has parking underground while the rest of IHE didn't.

Nate

Yeah, it says so in that last article posted by Wadaguy--1200 spaces underground. Still curious why this project has parking underground while the rest of IHE didn't.

Nate

I'd much rather have the parking underground...that garage behind the Marriott looks like an afterhtought.

I really don't understand how they are going to build an underground garage.
The site is landfill and on piers if I am not mistaken. Some of the buildings on Inner Harbor East actually hit water when putting in the foundations from what I hear. The site is like 5 feet above sealevel. The underground garage sounds like a mistake. I guess it is possible but would sound expensive. The 1,200 car garage in tjr gallery tower had the same problem and they had to build a seawall around the site so water would not come in. Anyrate this will surely make the inner harbor east skyline stand out. With a 36, 32, 30,19 and a bunch of of 10 to 15 story towers. I bet now H&S wishes it would have had larger buildings on teh first sites i developed. Can't wait to see these go up. The next phase of the development on Habor point with the Morgan Stanley Building should be awesome as well. I wish they would release a new redition after the design changes. By The Way the Sunpapers said it will break ground in March on both towers although it still need to be approved by the city. I hope the nimbis will stay out this one.

I really don't understand how they are going to build an underground garage.
The site is landfill and on piers if I am not mistaken. Some of the buildings on Inner Harbor East actually hit water when putting in the foundations from what I hear. The site is like 5 feet above sealevel. The underground garage sounds like a mistake. I guess it is possible but would sound expensive. The 1,200 car garage in tjr gallery tower had the same problem and they had to build a seawall around the site so water would not come in. Anyrate this will surely make the inner harbor east skyline stand out. With a 36, 32, 30,19 and a bunch of of 10 to 15 story towers. I bet now H&S wishes it would have had larger buildings on teh first sites i developed. Can't wait to see these go up. The next phase of the development on Habor point with the Morgan Stanley Building should be awesome as well. I wish they would release a new redition after the design changes. By The Way the Sunpapers said it will break ground in March on both towers although it still need to be approved by the city. I hope the nimbis will stay out this one.

Everything south of Water Street is land fill. To build underground parking, they construct a slurry wall around the entire site to make it water tight, and then they excavate. It's similar to what was done at the WTC site in NY, which is also constructed on fill.

The next time you go shopping at the Gallery, go to the 3rd floor Pratt Street side where you cross to Harborplace via the elevated bridge. They have a display of some of the things they found when excavating for that building. Most of it came from under or next to the piers that were once there. In short, it either fell off of boats or was dropped by workers. They found all kinds of stuff ranging from pipes, to cocanuts, to banks.

Short move to bring 200-300 jobs to city

ANDY ROSEN
Daily Record Business Writer
February 13, 2007 6:54 PM

Legg Mason Inc. will keep its headquarters in Baltimore after a planned move to Harbor East in 2009, while bringing new jobs into the city from Baltimore County.

The global asset manager announced Tuesday that it will leave 100 Light Street and relocate to a new development on Aliceanna Street, about 10 blocks away. The announcement quelled concerns that the company was considering a move out of Baltimore.

Legg Mason said it has entered into a 15-year agreement to lease 400,000 square feet in a proposed mixed-use development east of the Inner Harbor. In moving, the company will leave the building it has called home since 1997.

The Daily Record reported on Feb. 1 that Legg Mason was weighing a move after changing a provision in its bylaws that dictated it be based in Baltimore.

However, rather than moving its headquarters and approximately 700 jobs from Baltimore, the company announced that it will increase the size of its work force here.

With the move, the global asset manager will bring hundreds of workers into the city who have been based in Owings Mills since 2000. This will boost the company’s Baltimore-based work force, which has declined since the company traded its brokerage business for Citigroup Inc.’s asset management division in 2005.

Legg Mason’s Owings Mills office is largely focused on technology and technical support for the company. Mary Athridge, spokeswoman for Legg Mason, said between 200 and 300 employees would move from the Baltimore County location.

However, she said some people may remain in Owings Mills to maintain the infrastructure to keep the financial operation going in case of an emergency.

Athridge said the influx of workers to the new space will bring the number of employees in Baltimore close to levels before the Citigroup deal. She declined to discuss financial details of the move, but said the layout of the new building — with flexible, open floor space — was attractive to the company.

“We think it makes a lot of sense for employees to be together,” Athridge said.

Officials in Baltimore County said the loss of jobs there will not cause problems for the local economy. David Iannucci, director of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development, said the county benefits from prosperity in downtown Baltimore.

“The truth is that we never like to lose jobs,” he said, but added that Baltimore County’s employment statistics remain strong, with about 365,000 jobs. He said any open office space in Owings Mills should be absorbed quickly.

“Baltimore County and Baltimore City’s economic fortunes are very closely linked,” Iannucci said. “With normal commerce in the Baltimore County region, this will go down as an ebb and flow.”

J. Kirby Fowler, president of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Inc., said Legg Mason’s announcement is good news for downtown business. He said given decreasing vacancy rates in the area, the office space at 100 Light Street should fill quickly.

“In terms of their move, it’s only a positive thing for downtown,” he said. “For them to be staying downtown and expanding can only help with continuing improvements to the area.”

Still, a prominent corner of downtown and the tallest building in Maryland will see some cosmetic changes. The signature tower at the intersection of Light and Pratt Streets will no longer display Legg Mason’s logo after the lease expires. But Athridge said there will not be any problem finding the company’s offices; the new Aliceanna Street building will also bear Legg Mason’s name and logo.

She maintains that the company never considered a move out of Baltimore, and that the bylaw change may have signaled more than Legg Mason intended. She said it was part of a larger set of moves designed to “streamline” the bylaws.

“Obviously having a presence in Baltimore is important to us and we were looking at a number of options to do that,” Athridge said.

The Daily Record reporter Jen DeGregorio contributed to this article.

Legg to move to Harbor East
Boost seen for expansion of downtown

By Jamie Smith Hopkins and June Arney
Sun reporters

Originally published February 14, 2007

Money manager Legg Mason Inc. said yesterday that it will leave its Light Street skyscraper for Baltimore's Harbor East when its lease expires in 2009 - a major boost for the accelerating expansion of downtown beyond the boundaries of the old central business district.

Legg expects to move nearly all of its roughly 1,000 Baltimore-area employees to a mixed-use complex that H&S Properties Development Corp. will build in the fast-developing Harbor East, a once-industrial area transformed in recent years into a cluster of upscale hotels, residences, offices and retail. The move will include 200 to 300 workers now based in Owings Mills as well as the 700 or so downtown.





The company said it has signed a 15-year agreement to lease up to 400,000 square feet, most of the 24-story office tower that H&S Properties is building. The complex will include a Four Seasons Hotel topped by condos and a 1,200-space parking garage under the twin buildings.

Legg plans to move its headquarters there in the summer of 2009, creating a major vacancy in its former home. Legg leases well over half of 100 Light Street, the tallest building in the city and a signature part of the downtown skyline. The building's owners and civic leaders are optimistic about finding new tenants when the time comes.

Yesterday's announcement was met with cheers by local officials and civic leaders, who are delighted that one of Baltimore's largest employers plans to stay in the city - and bring in more jobs. M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development arm, said it is one of the most exciting economic development decisions in "a very long time."

"It just really confirmed that people see Baltimore as a thriving city with energy," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.

Said James W. Hirschmann III, the company's president and chief operating officer: "We had a serious preference to stay in the city from the outset, although we did have the option of relocating out to Owings Mills."

Legg changed its corporate bylaws recently to delete the requirement that its headquarters be located in Baltimore, creating the impression that it might leave.

Its move eastward marks a significant and symbolic shift for Baltimore. When Legg's current building on Light Street opened in 1973 as the then-USF&G Corp. headquarters, it was the first major private project in the development of the Inner Harbor - a sign that the old blue-collar waterfront really could be reimagined as a white-collar destination.

Now Legg will become the largest employer in the redeveloping Harbor East, joining businesses such as university operator Laureate Education Inc. and investment firm Brown Advisory.

"It's not your grandmother's downtown anymore," Brodie said. "You used to be able to say there was a rather small area called the financial district, and you used to be able to say, 'Well, the Inner Harbor, that's at Light and Pratt and maybe a couple blocks in either direction.' So, that's clearly expanded. ... What happens to older buildings downtown then becomes another set of questions, but it's a good set of questions to have versus your downtown is static, not expanding, no new buildings."

The team handling Legg's building - H&S Properties and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, the development manager - recently asked for "financial assistance" for the complex, Brodie said, but the city has not made a decision. He declined to be more specific about the request.

H&S Properties plans to break ground in March on the two-building, $550 million project, though the Legg building still must receive design approval from the city.

The Four Seasons Hotel is scheduled to open in early 2010, a half-year or so after the office tower - and much later than the developers originally planned. When the project was announced, they expected to begin construction in 2004.

The condominium component is also squishier than it once was, possibly because the market has weakened. The original plan was for 26 condos, but H&S Properties now declines to say how many there will be.

"It's going to be a project that people talk about around the world," said Michael S. Beatty, president of H&S Properties. "It's iconic architecture."

Speculation abounded in recent weeks that Legg would move from its front-and-center spot downtown. Talk was fueled not only by the bylaw change, but also by a long closed-door meeting of the Baltimore Development Corp.'s board that Brodie confirmed yesterday was about Legg.

City officials had originally wanted the company to stay put and hoped that a 10-story parking garage the tower's owners are developing would help. But company executives wanted newly built space.

Legg thinks the new building at Aliceanna and President streets, which will bear its name, will sweeten recruiting efforts. When the glassy tower opens, workers will overlook waterfront within walking distance of restaurants and a Whole Foods Market. A seven-screen theater and an athletic club are expected to open nearby later this year. The parking situation, Hirschmann said, "will be much better."

He said early feedback from employees has been good, particularly from Owings Mills workers who live in Baltimore.

The idea of leaving downtown's core did not concern longtime members of the executive team, Hirschmann said.

"The city's development has been dynamic; the center has moved from time to time," he said. "That's pretty much the case for every city."





In Baltimore's case, growth has pushed outward along the waterfront to Canton on one side and Locust Point on the other, and major mixed-use developments are planned as far afield as Westport and East Baltimore. Downtown's west side is also seeing a surge of projects, including the Centerpoint apartment and retail complex.

"I think all that does is make us a stronger city," said Donald C. Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee.

Legg's departure from the Light Street tower will empty 23 of the 35 floors there. Not only is the company leaving, but the former pieces of Legg that are subletting space from the company are on track to do so as well. A division bought by Stifel Nicolaus & Co. of St. Louis said in November that it will move to the nearby One South Street building. Citigroup, which got Legg's brokerage in a business swap, is looking "seriously" at other downtown space as well, Brodie said.

A spokesman for Lexington Realty Trust, which acquired the Legg Mason building as part of a merger last year, said the company is looking for new tenants but notes that it has until 2009 to fill the space.

"I think this is a great building, and I think it will lease up," said Wally Pinkard, chairman and chief executive of Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm Colliers Pinkard, which manages 100 Light Street. "It's still an icon building. I think if you look at Pratt Street, there's not a lot of space available."

Kirby Fowler, president of the nonprofit Downtown Partnership, said he's not worried. His group says that vacancy downtown - including Harbor East - was about 11 percent at the end of last year, an improvement from recent years.

"The existing building is in a prime location with stellar views," Fowler said. "I have no doubt that they'll be able to fill that space."

jamie.smith.hopkins@baltsun.com june.arney@baltsun.com

Yeah, strange that the other buildings didn't go underground for their parking if it's possible with Legg. It would have improved their appearances.

By my cursory calculations, it would be 3 levels, maybe 4.

I guess Legg-Mason opted for a NON-GLOBAL WARMING COMPLIANT site. :lol: Somehow, a really big rain storm or hurricane would cause that garage some problems....:bash: :nuts:

Nate

Guys... this is FANTASTIC news. I can't understand how this would bother anyone. The fact that a company as important as Legg Mason has committed to Baltimore in this way. Frankly, it gave me a little chill of excitement!

I had a feeling Legg was looking to build a new tower, but still a bit of a surprise. Now we just have to hope that the business environment allows Legg to flourish on its own.

I think T. Rowe must respond in a decade ;) After so many years of disappointing news, this couldn't be better. 100 Light is a prime location. It will lease without a problem.


Let me add that I'm a bit concerned about some of the wording from Legg Mason in the article, but maybe I'm reading too much into it. I hope this isn't the proverbial throwing of a bone.

Looking at the site on GoogleEarth, I figure the garage has got to be at least 4 levels deep. The exception would be if they make it valet or some kind of elevator or car-stacking garage. According to GoogleEarth, admittedly not that accurate, it shows the site AT sea level. How they'll built an underground garage there will be a sight to see. Perhaps that's why they are asking for assistance from the City. Given how long the Ritz and Hilton Convention Hotel have taken to rise above street level, they're going to have to start this baby quickly to get up to 24 stories by 2009.

The respect for using space well here is encouraging, making places like Lockwood Place all the more disappointing

The City's off today, I've got a torn rotator-cuff, can't you tell I've nothing to do but write here :lol: :nuts:

Nate

The respect for using space well here is encouraging, making places like Lockwood Place all the more disappointing

I agree.
Lockwood Place is a prime location that really didn't deliver a premiere project for that location. :(

Compare and contrast:
http://img201.echo.cx/img201/6705/image40lk.jpg
http://www.examiner.com/images/newsroom/Image/rendering.jpg

Everything south of Water Street is land fill. To build underground parking, they construct a slurry wall around the entire site to make it water tight, and then they excavate. It's similar to what was done at the WTC site in NY, which is also constructed on fill.

The next time you go shopping at the Gallery, go to the 3rd floor Pratt Street side where you cross to Harborplace via the elevated bridge. They have a display of some of the things they found when excavating for that building. Most of it came from under or next to the piers that were once there. In short, it either fell off of boats or was dropped by workers. They found all kinds of stuff ranging from pipes, to cocanuts, to banks.

That's exactly right...they were really worried that the wall at ground zero would fail...that not only would have flooded the site but part of the subway system as well. Stabilizing that wall was one of the very first priorities after 9/11.

I remember the unearthing of the old piers when the Gallery was built. I believe it was called "Cheapside" and can be seen on very old maps of Baltimore, when the harbor reached all the way to Water Street..that's of course how it got it's name. They will also have this problem at 10 Inner Harbor...the original waterfront was beyond where Charles St is today.

^^ Correct. It is amazing that the "bathtub", the name for the WTC NY site, withstood the force of having 2 100 story buildings fall on it.

The reason the WTC in Baltimore had it's basement flooded a few years ago was that they didn't have any baffles or flood gates to keep the water from cascading down the ramp that the cars use to get to the underground garage. No one ever expected that high of a tide when the hurricane blew all that water up the bay.

I'm positive that any new garage will be designed differently. They will most likely extend the slurry walls upward a story above ground and have a flood gate which can be closed at the ramps.

The reason developers like above ground parking is that it is MUCH cheaper to construct. Unfortunately, economics often win out over esthetics when it comes to development.

Baltimore's WTC has a garage for patrons/workers? I thought it merely had a service entrance garage.

Nate

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/ktulured55/4s-view01.jpg
Another rendering of the new Legg Mason tower. :)

^^ ^^ ^^ Whoa that rendering is awesome!

Great Pics!

Looks like they havve already fenced off the lot. Moving very quickly.




trying to revive this thread so we can keep the Legg info and pics together.

2007-03-18

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/photogallery/02%20Baltimore%20Buildings/04%20Downtown%20Eastside/Four%20Seasons%2003.jpg

http://www.baltimoreguy.com/photogallery/02%20Baltimore%20Buildings/04%20Downtown%20Eastside/Four%20Seasons%2002.jpg

Am I the only one who likes the reverse side of The Vue MUCH more than I like the front?

Am I the only one who likes the reverse side of The Vue MUCH more than I like the front?

No you're not. Personally, I likr the views from the side (down president or down Aliceanna).

Am I the only one who likes the reverse side of The Vue MUCH more than I like the front?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/negative352/607-01-04_copy_low_res.jpg
^^^^^^^^^^you mean THIS view? hmmmmm, i dunno'. i'm kinda' in disagreement on this one.

Baltimore City's urban design panel reluctantly gave its blessing Thursday afternoon to the proposed Legg Mason Tower, a 550,000-square-foot building at Inner Harbor East that the Baltimore-based money manager hopes to move into by the summer of 2009.

Members of the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel said they had several concerns about some of the project's details, including how far it imposes onto the waterfront promenade, but were confident those issues would be addressed before building construction begins.


As proposed, H & S Properties Development Corp. and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse hope to build a pair of high-rise towers at Harbor East, a 38-acre mixed use development on the edge of Fells Point and east of the city's downtown core. The second tower would include a Four Seasons hotel and additional residential units.

Several members of the panel said they felt the developers need to give more thought to the significance of the project, and its marquee tenants, to convey a sense of how much they mean to Baltimore and its economy. Some of those touches included making the entrance to the buildings more architecturally significant.

"I think about the importance of Legg Mason, and I think of the importance of the Four Seasons, and there's nothing about this that announces the importance of those two" companies, Planning Department Director Doug McCouch said.

The developers will need to return to the panel for final design approval of the buildings, but the panel voted unanimously to approve schematic plans for the project. Their vote sends the development to the city's planning commission, which will need to consider legislation that will ultimately be sent to the City Council for approval.

Michael Beatty, president of H&S, said after the meeting that he agreed with many of the panel's suggestions and will try to incorporate them into the project's final design.

Cool, maybe we'll get something above average for once.

Yeah, I hope so, too.
How long do you guys think it will take to get all the approvals? :?
To have those towers up and running by 2009 will mean that things need to get moving fast. :yes:

Panel OKs Harbor East design
Legg project clears preliminary hurdle
By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published April 13, 2007

Plans for a new skyscraper for money manager Legg Mason and a Four Seasons Hotel and condos in Baltimore's Harbor East community passed one of the first hurdles yesterday, getting preliminary design approval from a city panel. That approval clears the way for the $600 million complex to go before the City Council for review, but still leaves a host of design issues to be resolved.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2007-04/29024106.jpg

Mayor Sheila Dixon is reportedly mulling a financial assistance package recommended by the city's economic development agency, which Harbor East's developer says is necessary for the project to move forward. In February, Legg Mason Inc. signed a 15-year agreement to lease up to 400,000 square feet in a 24-story waterfront office tower to be built alongside a Four Seasons by H&S Properties Development Corp.

H&S Properties has been transforming the former industrial site east of the Inner Harbor into a mixed-use, urban neighborhood of apartments, condominiums, offices, hotels, shops and restaurants.

Members of the city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel granted approval of the preliminary design, but said the developer needed to think more creatively about creating signature buildings and making the most of public space in the waterfront community. "I feel like we've trying to achieve signature buildings without a signature public space," said Mark Cameron, one of the panelists. "More could be and should be done with the public space."

Plans presented to the panel yesterday show two glass towers with brick and glass podiums, with a waterfront promenade wrapping around both and outdoor areas for restaurant seating. A 1,200-car parking garage would be built underground.

"I still feel like the towers should not be twins," said Deborah K. Dietsch, a panel member. "The hotel could have more of a residential feeling. There is a disconnect between the towers and the base. The most disturbing part of the project is the loss of public domain. You've really privatized the promenade," by reserving large chunks for use by restaurants.

The developer had always planned the twin towers as part of the Four Seasons complex, but had originally intended one for the hotel and a second for condos.

Since signing up Legg Mason, the developer has revised those plans, with one tower containing a 240-room hotel topped by a limited number of luxury condos and the second tower to be designed specifically for the Legg Mason headquarters. Legg expects to move nearly all of its roughly 1,000 Baltimore-area employees to the new building by 2009, leaving its signature Light Street skyscraper at 100 Light St., the tallest building in the city at 529 feet. Speculation had swirled early this year that Legg could leave downtown, fueled in part by a change to Legg's corporate bylaws recently to delete a requirement that its headquarters be located in Baltimore.

The city's economic development agent, Baltimore Development Corp., had a long, closed-door meeting about the company, BDC President M.J. "Jay" Brodie had confirmed. After signing the lease with Legg Mason, the Harbor East developer requested financial assistance from the city, Michael S. Beatty, president of H&S Properties, said yesterday. Beatty would not discuss how much or what type of financial help H&S Properties was seeking, but said the developer has typically made such requests in its projects at Harbor East.

Beatty said the package would be key to moving forward with the Legg Mason tower because of the high cost of office tower infrastructure that was not already in place, as it is in many cities that are trying to lure company headquarters and other major employers.

Without help from the city that allows H&S to proceed with the costly project, "Legg Mason will end up somewhere else," Beatty said. "A tenant like that gets wooed all over the place." A Legg Mason spokeswoman said the company had not been involved in seeking a financial package. "It has nothing to do with us," said Mary Athridge, the spokeswoman. "We got a deal that we thought was good for employees and good for shareholders and we're happy with it."

"We'd always been committed to staying in downtown Baltimore," she said. "This was a great opportunity, and we had to take advantage of it." A spokesman for the mayor said Brodie met with Dixon to outline the BDC's recommendation for financial assistance but that she had set no timeline for making a decision on whether to accept that recommendation and send it to the city's spending board for approval.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/negative352/607-01-04_copy_low_res.jpg
^^^^^^^^^^you mean THIS view? hmmmmm, i dunno'. i'm kinda' in disagreement on this one.


If I'm not mistaken, that is actually the Fleet Street side, not the back! The back would be from Little Italy?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v126/negative352/607-01-04_copy_low_res.jpg
^^^^^^^^^^you mean THIS view? hmmmmm, i dunno'. i'm kinda' in disagreement on this one.

That picture does nothing for the back of that building. I mean the view of The Vue from like...Eastern Avenue in Litttle Italy or Aliceanna Street coming from Canton/Fells Point. The Vue, from anywhere NNE of Harbor East, looks like a taller, more slender tower.

Because everyone wants a water view, the building looks a lot fatter and more stubby from say...Federal Hill.

This HAS to be a record number of times the word view has been used in a post.

If I'm not mistaken, that is actually the Fleet Street side, not the back! The back would be from Little Italy?

^^ This view of The Vue is looking NW from the corner of Aliceanna and Exeter. Although mostly obscured by the rare hybrid pin oak/red maple :wink2:, the ooogly hotel garage above Roy's and facing the circle is still visible.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-harboreast-flash,0,3348608.flash?coll=bal-business-headlines

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-harboreast-flash,0,3348608.flash?coll=bal-business-headlines

Great graphic, 'cept E.J. Codd is on the SW corner of Caroline and Aliceanna, not the NW corner of Caroline and Lancaster. Won't bother buggin' The Sun about this, as they've thus far resisted entreaties to put an updated picture (http://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/content/BWICCHH/media/pdf/BWICCHH_HiltonBaltimoreFactSheet.pdf?cid=OH,HH,bwicc,FactF) of the Hilton in their hotel graphics package (http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-hiltongallery,0,2688641.storygallery?coll=bal-realestate-utility).

Planning commission approves Legg tower

Baltimore Business Journal - 5:49 PM EDT Thursday, May 3, 2007
by Daniel J. SernovitzStaff

The Baltimore City Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to back a development plan creating a new signature office tower for city-based money manager Legg Mason Inc.

Members of the commission had no discussion about the plan, which was approved with reservations last month by another city advisory board, except to praise it for the prominence it will add to Baltimore's reputation as an emerging world-class city.

"It's pretty exciting to see what's going on there," commission Chairman Peter E. Auchincloss said. "This is a very important corner of the world for all citizens of the City of Baltimore."

Legg Mason said in February it had signed a long-term lease to move its headquarters from 100 Light Street, a highly visible building in the heart of the city, to a new office tower set for construction in the Harbor East development near Fells Point by the summer of 2009.

Developers H&S Properties Development Corp. and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse needed to alter their overall plan for the 3.6-acre property, which had already received concept approval from the city, to accommodate Legg Mason. Instead of building a 21-story, 84-unit residential condominium building, the developers now plan to build a 26-story, 550,000-square-foot office tower, of which Legg Mason will take about 400,000 square feet.

The developers also planned to build a 199-room, 24-floor Four Seasons hotel. They still plan to build the hotel, but the tower is now proposed to be 44 stories and will include 494 hotel rooms. Combined, the buildings will include about 73,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, up from 38,000 square feet in the earlier proposals.

The city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel voted to approve the project April 13, even though members of the panel said they are concerned about various design components of the building and how it will look to visitors walking along the waterfront promenade that will separate the building from the Patapsco River.

The panel members agreed to approve the plans in order to send them on to various other layers of city government, including the planning commission and city council. In doing so, they noted the developers will need to return to the panel for final approval of the individual buildings, rather than just the plans, before they can begin that phase of construction.

The City Council has not taken up the matter yet.

Planning commission approves Legg tower

Baltimore Business Journal - 5:49 PM EDT Thursday, May 3, 2007
by Daniel J. SernovitzStaff

The Baltimore City Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to back a development plan creating a new signature office tower for city-based money manager Legg Mason Inc.

Members of the commission had no discussion about the plan, which was approved with reservations last month by another city advisory board, except to praise it for the prominence it will add to Baltimore's reputation as an emerging world-class city.

"It's pretty exciting to see what's going on there," commission Chairman Peter E. Auchincloss said. "This is a very important corner of the world for all citizens of the City of Baltimore."

Legg Mason said in February it had signed a long-term lease to move its headquarters from 100 Light Street, a highly visible building in the heart of the city, to a new office tower set for construction in the Harbor East development near Fells Point by the summer of 2009.

Developers H&S Properties Development Corp. and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse needed to alter their overall plan for the 3.6-acre property, which had already received concept approval from the city, to accommodate Legg Mason. Instead of building a 21-story, 84-unit residential condominium building, the developers now plan to build a 26-story, 550,000-square-foot office tower, of which Legg Mason will take about 400,000 square feet.

The developers also planned to build a 199-room, 24-floor Four Seasons hotel. They still plan to build the hotel, but the tower is now proposed to be 44 stories and will include 494 hotel rooms. Combined, the buildings will include about 73,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, up from 38,000 square feet in the earlier proposals.

The city's Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel voted to approve the project April 13, even though members of the panel said they are concerned about various design components of the building and how it will look to visitors walking along the waterfront promenade that will separate the building from the Patapsco River.

The panel members agreed to approve the plans in order to send them on to various other layers of city government, including the planning commission and city council. In doing so, they noted the developers will need to return to the panel for final approval of the individual buildings, rather than just the plans, before they can begin that phase of construction.

The City Council has not taken up the matter yet.

Ok...so at 44 stories times an average floor to ceiling height of 13 feet, add another 13 feet for the ground floor retail because it may have higher ceilings as a combined two level space. Throw in another 30 feet for all the exterior cosmetics to the top of the building and you have...615 feet.

You might even want to count the space in between each floor which would bump it up to about 659 feet. Tada Baltimore's new tallest :banana:

^^ The only problem is that hotels generally are constructed with 10 feet of space between floors, not 13! Of course, this is a luxury hotel so perhaps it will be taller. I guess we will know soon enough.

Now we know. It will be 494 feet tall.

New plan for Legg headquarters, green building requirements OK’d
JEN DEGREGORIO, Daily Record Business Writer, May 3, 2007 6:34 PM

The Baltimore Planning Commission Thursday gave its blessing to three major pieces of legislation, two that would advance the construction of Legg Mason’s new headquarters at Inner Harbor East and another that would require green buildings in city-funded projects.

The commission approved amendments to both the urban renewal plan for Inner Harbor East and the planned unit development, or PUD, previously approved for the Four Seasons Hotel project. H&S Properties Development Corp., which is developing the Four Seasons with Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, asked for the amendments to make room for Legg Mason’s new headquarters.

The original plan for the Four Seasons project included the hotel and a condominium tower, which were to have risen between the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel and the Spinnaker Bay residential community. Thursday’s amendments allow developers to replace the condominium with a 530,000-square-foot office tower for Legg Mason, the financial firm that plans to relocate from its home on Light Street. The amendments would also allow an increase in the height of the Four Seasons from 309 feet to 494 feet.

No community residents spoke in opposition to the new plan. “It’s pretty exciting to see what’s going on over there,” Peter Auchincloss, chairman of the commission, said of the Inner Harbor East area, which is emerging as a new city shopping and residential destination. The commission also approved a City Council bill that would require commercial developers to build certified green buildings if they receive loans, tax credits or other benefits from the city. The approval was contingent upon amendments to the original bill, which was introduced by Councilman James B. Kraft in February.

The amendments would require that by 2010, developers receiving city assistance should have their buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, a national group that rates buildings on their environmental efficiency. Such developers should have a “silver” grade of certification. The amendments would also require by 2010 that privately funded projects have green elements, although the buildings would not need certification.

Auchincloss voiced concern about the bill. He pointed out that the city is poised to approve a different bill requiring housing developers to include affordable units in new projects receiving city assistance. “How many layers of stuff do we want to risk dropping on the economic development community?” Auchincloss asked during a working session held before the official meeting.

Kraft said the council has heard testimony from the development community, which largely supports the legislation. At a retail real estate conference held in Washington in March, Baltimore developer C. William “Bill” Struever spoke to a group of developers in favor of green building.

In an interview Thursday, Owen Rouse, a senior vice president and partner with Columbia-based developer Manekin LLC, said he supported green building but did not think the government should force developers’ hands. Rouse’s company recently built a new headquarters building for itself in accordance with the Green Building Council’s standards.

“I think it ought to be a free-market determination,” Rouse said of green building. Legislation approved by the Planning Commission will return to the City Council for further consideration. Kraft said he expected the full council to vote on the green building legislation this summer. It was unclear yesterday when the council would vote on the Inner Harbor East bills.

That puts it at only 21 feet shorter than the current Legg Mason Tower

I am trying to get this story straight. The Daily Record article says the Four Seasons will be 494 feet tall, the BBJ refers to 494 rooms. Is this a coincidence or does one publication have its facts wrong? That wouldn't be the first time. Also is the hotel really going to be 44 stories? Is that fact correct. Some how all these 4s don't seem to reconcile. It just seems if the building is going to be 44 stories it should be higher than 494'. The first couple of floors will need to have more than a 10' ceiling. It am sure hotel ceiling portion's standard is more than 10'.

One other concern. If you recall the stink raised by the community when the Marriott originally wanted to build a 50-story building. The NIMBYs went through the roof and lowered the roof to 32 floors.

So what's fact here and what is just wishing?

Unfortunately, I think you are right. The number of rooms and height in feet is simply too coincidental. I would think that it would be the number of rooms that is wrong. Originally the hotel was only going to have 200 rooms. Then I think they raised it to 240 or so. So perhaps the project will include condos after all. There is no mention of condos in the new articles at all.

It's amazing about the fact that there are a lot of high-rise proposals for Baltimore that are near or taller than the current Legg Tower, and none of these projects has started rising. Only the shorter ones.
Anywho, If the 4 Seasons tower is still at the 456' mark, I'll be happy. Anything more is just gravy, IMO. I mean, you don't want that tower too much taller than the new Legg Tower and the Marriott Tower.
If I had my way, I would have a 450' Legg Tower with a 550' 4 Seasons Tower. That way, Harber East would have a few 200 footers, 2 300 footers, 1 400 footer and 1 500 footer. With a slew of building under 200 feet and 100 feet. I mean, it's kind of backwards, the way the tower heights are, IMO.
But what do I know? :gaah: :drool: :rant: :soapbox: :shifty: :doh: :dunno: :runaway: :crazy: :no: :weird: :tongue3: :gossip: :uh: :crazy2: :pet: :wallbash: :cry: :2cents: :hammer: :fiddle: :?

So I did some digging and according to the planning meetings there are 2 bills in city council: 07-0628, 07-0629

http://legistar.baltimorecitycouncil.com/detailreport/?key=3369

http://legistar.baltimorecitycouncil.com/detailreport/?key=3370

Looking through these, I can find the following nugets (note things in [brackets] are to be removed from the previous legislation :

"A minimum of [275,000] 800,000 square feet in the aggregate of primary office space, residential UNITS and/or [ground floor] retail[;], provided that a maximum of 250 hotel rooms may be developed AS WELL, so long as such development is completed as part of an overall development plan for this Development Area that ALSO includes the foregoing office, residential, and/or retail space."

The maximum permitted building height on Development Area Q3 [is 180.0 feet above grade] SHALL NOT EXCEED THE HEIGHTS SET FORTH IN ANY APPLICABLE PUD.

That the Mayor and City Council approves the amended Development Plan submitted by Harbor East Parcel D - Acquisition, LLC, as attached to and made part of this Ordinance, consisting of PUD 1, “Title Sheet”, dated March 16, 2007; PUD 2, “Existing Conditions”, dated March 16, 2007; PUD 3, “Proposed Conditions, dated March 16, 2007; PUD 4, 5, 6, and 7, “Height Diagrams,” dated March 16, 2007; PUD 8, “Concept Site Plan”, dated March 12, 2007; and PUD 9, “Concept Landscape Plan”, dated March 16, 2007.


So minimum 800,000 sqft, as well as max 250 hotel rooms, and height is listed in PUD.. This makes me believe the 494 is the building height

Nice work. :) ^^
BTW, Welcome to the Forum, slake707. :yes:

Emporis has updated Four Seasons to 494 feet. It beats out the William Donald Schaefer building by one foot, making it our third tallest.

They also list the Legg tower at 350 feet. Not bad.

The four seasons is still on the emporis site, but someone deleted it from the detailed listings from tallest to shortest.

Thanks Steven, really enjoy the site.

As for emporis, they only updated the height in feet, it has no height in meters.. just the floors. So if you go past all buildings with listed heights in meters you will see it as the 101st building in meters view, or the 4th building in feet view

I just checked again and the four seasons still does not show on the emporis list

anyone got pics of the construction?

BDC: 'Pure economics' spur incentives package for Harbor East developer
Baltimore Business Journal - 8:52 PM EDT Monday, June 4, 2007
by Daniel J. Sernovitz
Staff

Baltimore Development Corp. President M.J. "Jay" Brodie said Monday a proposed $33 million financial incentives package is not a "gold-plated" deal or one that "unduly enriches" the developers of the proposed Harbor East development that will include a new signature office tower for Legg Mason Inc.

Instead, Brodie said, the city determined it needed to provide H&S Properties Development Corp. enough financial support in the form of tax breaks to ensure the developer will build the $581 million office tower development that will keep money manager Legg Mason (NYSE: LM) in Baltimore City.

"It's the pure economics of development. Will it work, will it not work," Brodie said during a press conference at the BDC's offices. "We didn't come to (this decision) quickly, and we only came to it with the best due diligence that we possibly could."

Preceding the City Council's formal introduction of the legislation Monday evening, the BDC unveiled the terms of the financial incentives package and its reasons for offering H&S the tax breaks. Irene E. Van Sant, director of special projects for the city's economic development arm, said a financial analysis determined the developers would not make enough profit without city assistance to justify launching the project.

"They're taking the risk, they have to bring the project on line," Van Sant said.

She declined to reveal specific dollar amounts, but Van Sant said without city assistance the developers would not clear a 14 percent return on their investment. With the tax breaks, the developers could expect to make between 14 percent and 18 percent, a range the BDC considers acceptable but not excessive.

In February, Legg Mason said it had agreed to move its headquarters from 100 Light St. to the Harbor East development when its lease expires in September 2009. The company plans to move all of its 600 Baltimore City employees, and another 500 who now work in Owings Mills, to the Aliceanna Street site.

H&S Properties is developing the site, slated to include a 550,000-square-foot Legg Mason Tower office building and a second Four Seasons hotel and residential condominium building. The 119 residential units are expected to sell for $1.9 million each, rivaling high-end condo buildings being developed by the Ritz Carlton Residences.

Brodie said the city had already offered H&S a $2.9 million infrastructure grant as part of the master plan for the project, of which the piece involving Legg Mason and Four Seasons is the last component. Other parts of the inventive package include: the city giving H&S a section of Lancaster Street for use as a public plaza; a 15-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT), or a break from property taxes, on the office building; and a 25-year PILOT for the parking garage.

In exchange, the developer will need to sign Legg to a 15-year lease for 325,000 square feet at a starting rent of $27.50 per square foot. The developer will also need to disclose all the owners of the project before the financial incentives package will be finalized with the city. It will also need to comply with city minority- and women-owned business requirements, including bringing on a minority equity partner.

At a party over the weekend I met an architech working on the new towers. She said that there are going to be some hurdles to overcome with Chip Mason taking over as CEO.

Hope nothing significant.

^^ Yes, I hope it's smoother than what my gut feeling tells me that it's going to be.

What would the hurdle involve? I thought they were already starting work on the building and that it had to be completed in 2009? I doubt there can be any slow down with that.

At a party over the weekend I met an architech working on the new towers. She said that there are going to be some hurdles to overcome with Chip Mason taking over as CEO.

Hope nothing significant.

Mason is leaving Legg, not coming on board. He was scheduled to formally retire some time ago, but with changes in top management, he decided to wait another year or two before he relinquishes his duties. Maybe the hurdles you refer to are created by internal uncertainty as to who will take over…

^^ That's what I was refering to.