Legg Mason moving headquarters to Harbor East

[Silver Springer]

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.

[Silver Springer]

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



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.)

[Xander21]

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.

[getontrac]

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

[cgunna]

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>

[getontrac]

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.

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

Nate

[PeterSmith]

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.

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by getontrac

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.


^so, just to make sure, there's going to be only TWO towers going up at the four seasons site, not THREE, right?

[StevenW]

Here, let me add another rendering....




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

[Silver Springer]

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?

[StevenW]

Yeah, you would think.

[getontrac]

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

Nate

[getontrac]

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

Nate

[StevenW]

That makes sense as well. BTW, another rendering:

[MasonsInquiries]

Originally Posted by StevenW

Here, let me add another rendering....




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

yeah, this renderings better.....lol.


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

[CU_rak]

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!!!

[wada_guy]

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.”

[wada_guy]

Originally Posted by getontrac

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.

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.

[getontrac]

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

[getontrac]

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

Nate