Baltimore Peninsula: A Transformative Development

October 15, 2024 • I recently had the good fortune to tour Baltimore Peninsula with members of its development team. A 235-acre redevelopment project, Baltimore Peninsula is transforming a former industrial area that was known as Port Covington, into a vibrant, live-work-play community and destination. In addition to creating a once-in-a-lifetime project with enormous potential for the private sector, the developers of Baltimore Peninsula are committed to uplifting the surrounding South Baltimore neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

A Vision That Punched Above Its Weight

Kevin Plank, the Founder and CEO of Under Armour and a native of Baltimore, is accustomed to prevailing against great odds. He dreamt of creating a powerhouse sports-related apparel brand from scratch, of uplifting a hometown plagued by poverty and decades of underinvestment, and of transforming what some would say was a decrepit industrial eye-sore into an economic engine that could improve the lives of the residents of some of the most underserved areas of Baltimore.

Plank’s success in creating Under Armour is well known, but the value creation that has materialized as a result of his unwavering commitment to Baltimore Peninsula is not yet common knowledge. As a real estate attorney who eats, sleeps, and breathes the inherent potential of every real estate transaction, I marveled at Baltimore Peninsula, and felt compelled to learn more.

The following is the story of how Baltimore Peninsula was launched.

Port Covington’s Demise

The transformation of Port Covington began in 2012 when Kevin Plank started buying property there. At the time, according to Baltimore Brew, Port Covington was the site of a printing plant, a vacant Sam’s Club, and lots of cheap property. In 2016, Plank was able to secure $660M in public financing to help him reinvent Port Covington into a world-class waterfront community anchored by a multi-million SF Under Armour campus. In exchange, Plank agreed to fund a public/private partnership to support the surrounding underserved South Baltimore communities by providing amenities, facilities, workforce training, and small business loans.

The Baltimore Peninsula Battle

The next five years were characterized by setbacks, turmoil, and challenges for both Under Armour and the project that would come to be known as Baltimore Peninsula. A new development team — MAG Partners, MacFarlane Partners, Plank’s Sagamore Ventures, and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group — coalesced in early 2022. In November of that year, Port Covington was relegated to the dustbin of history, as online media outlet Technically announced: “Port Covington is no more. Meet Baltimore Peninsula.”

A Star is Born

This rebranding coincided with the delivery of the first phase of the Baltimore Peninsula development: 1.2M SF of new retail/entertainment, office, hotel, and mixed-income residential properties enveloped in 40 acres of waterfront parks.

Fast forward to today, and hundreds of employees are now working in over 100,000 SF of leased office space, Under Armour’s new headquarters is almost complete and its employees are expected to start moving in prior to year-end, and 16 retailers have opened or will soon be opening stores and restaurants. The public/private partnership serving the surrounding communities has received $21M in funding, contracts valued at $134M have been awarded to Baltimore City-certified MBE/WBE firms, and more than 50% of the newly hired construction employees at Baltimore Peninsula are Baltimore City residents.

Baltimore Peninsula is well on its way to becoming a city within a city, not without its challenges, but full of possibility.

Transforming Vision Into Value

In 2012, no one could have foreseen the value creation that has materialized as a result of Kevin Plank’s vision for Baltimore Peninsula and its surrounding communities.

If you’re involved in a real estate project that has transformed vision into value, I’d love to hear about and share it with others.