Residents and companies are transferring to the Baltimore Peninsula. Right here’s a primary look.

Commercial, retail and residential space has opened on the Baltimore Peninsula, the ambitious 235-acre mixed-use development on the site of an old industrial port in the Port Covington neighborhood of South Baltimore.

The first office tenants and residents have moved into three newly constructed buildings on the historically underused site, which borders several predominantly black communities to the south.

MaryAnne Gilmartin, Founder and CEO of MAG Partners, the leading developer, doesn’t stop there.

“We need Baltimore to be on everyone’s radar,” she said.

More than 800 townhouses, a large entertainment center and plans to redesign major nearby streets and highways are also in the works for the multi-block project, which will span approximately 200 acres. Existing tenants include City Garage, Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Rye Street Tavern.

The $5.5 billion waterfront project, hot for its record-breaking tax hike funding package that allows developers to use site-generated property taxes to repay bonds early issued to meet public infrastructure needs is highly competitive, promises more than 14 million square feet of new construction upon completion. City residents, housing activists and economic watchdog groups have also spoken out against using such a large stimulus in light of Baltimore’s other urgent and existing needs — the city council approved $660 million in tax-boost funding in 2016.

Baltimore could be on the hook to pay back borrowing costs if developers don’t lease the site, which has only landed two new office tenants so far. Between the first two residential buildings, 11 units are rented.

The H. Chambers Company, a planning and design firm specializing in private clubs and hospitality, is the first tenant to move into an office in the Rye Street Market commercial complex at 2455 House St.

Rick Snellinger, President and CEO of The H. Chambers Company, greets visitors during the office tour. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

The building accommodates smaller businesses with around 25,000 square feet of space, but larger floor plans also exist. The spaces are divided by glass walls and doors, and “the sun, light and air abound in every corner of the floor panel,” Gilmartin said.

Office at The H. Chambers Company. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

Robert Hickman, the design firm’s chief executive officer, said the company had been looking across the region for its sixth office location.

But it was the Baltimore Peninsula that offered a “really special” location, including access to an outdoor balcony.

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“We needed something that would really bring nature inside. And we act in the private club world … it’s all about the inside and the outside,” Hickman said.

Roof of 2455 House St. building (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

CFG Bank has also signed an agreement to lease approximately 100,000 square feet on the Baltimore Peninsula. They want to move in by the end of 2023.

By 2024, Gilmartin expects enough activity to have nearly 75% of commercial space leased, she said.

Rye Street Market commercial space. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

Across the courtyard are two mixed-use residential buildings, Rye House and 250 Mission, where maritime-inspired units—with natural wood, glass, and steel finishes—are available. Other amenities include spacious green spaces, co-working spaces, and some Juliet balconies.

Rye House Lobby. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

Ryan Watts, general manager of real estate developer Bozzuto, said occupancy as of early April amounts to 15% of units at Rye House and 10% of units at 250 Mission.

Of the 416 units at Rye House, 54 will be for households earning 80% of the area’s median income or AMI, while another 35 will be for those earning 50% of the AMI.

Communal dining area at Rye House. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

Last year, New York-based MAG Partners and San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners took over the large-scale development, first envisioned in 2016 by Under Armor founder Kevin Plank and his development company Sagamore Ventures. Plank and his associates began buying up the land for the site about ten years ago. Since then, the sportswear company’s sales have slumped and the company has scaled back plans for its new offices on the Baltimore Peninsula.

In November, developers at MAG and San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners rebranded the development, changing the name from Port Covington to the Baltimore Peninsula. They said they hoped to turn a page in the project’s controversial history.

Sagamore Ventures still holds a “major interest” in the project, and a new corporate headquarters for Under Armor is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Looking northeast along Atlas Street. (Carl Schmidt/for the Baltimore banner)

Gilmartin said the master plan allows for flexibility, and she envisions building a large entertainment or sports venue and an accompanying hotel and conference center.

She also believes the project’s size and easy access to a major thoroughfare will make it attractive to the film industry.

“So we’re looking at ways that the public sector could develop programs that attract that industry because they’re really good jobs, they train people both on the other side of the camera and behind the camera,” she said. “And they need the space that our master plan allows.”

Baltimore Banner reporter Hallie Miller contributed to this story.

penelope.blackwell@thebaltimorebanner.com