Tenants include a private lender, café, and food production kitchen, which will help spur the development of the Hollins Market neighborhood in west Baltimore.
Cross Street Partners, a development company specializing in adaptive reuse of historic properties and sustainable design, announced today that the historic Lion Brothers Building is now fully leased with the addition of Spring Garden Lending, Culinary Architecture, and Neopol Savory Smokery.
Spring Garden Lending, a Philadelphia-based private lender specializing in short term loans to acquire, rehab, construct and refinance real estate investment properties,is slated to move into the Hollins Street location in the first quarter of 2018, but already has a small team in place in the building.
Neopol Savory Smokery is expanding from its Belvedere Square location and plans to move this March into 4,000-square-feet of space on the building’s first floor to focus on food production and processing. The space is currently under construction.
Culinary Architecture, a gourmet food and catering business in the Pigtown, recently opened a 500-square-foot café on the first floor of the Lion Brothers Building, which features a full-service coffee bar, gourmet sandwiches and desserts.
“The addition of Spring Garden, Culinary Architecture and Neopol Savory Smokery brings life and excitement to the Hollins Market area that will help spur redevelopment in a part of Baltimore where momentum in building,” said Bill Struever, Chief Executive Officer of Cross Street Partners. “We couldn’t ask for three better partners, who are demonstrating their commitment to Baltimore by joining us on the city’s west side.”
Bob Marino, president of the Mid-Atlantic region for Spring Garden Lending, said the Lion Brothers Building is the perfect location because it puts the firm in the middle of the neighborhood.
“We see the Hollins Market area as an emerging neighborhood,” Marino said. “Rather than having an office in the center part of downtown away from the action, choosing to be in an emerging neighborhood is very important to us. The Lion Brothers Building is historic and part of the very vibrant fabric of that neighborhood.”
Dorian Brown, co-owner of Neopol Savory Smokery, said he and his mother, Barbara Lahnstein, who founded the business, had been looking for a downtown location when they were introduced to the Lion Brothers Building about eight months ago.
“When we saw the Lion Brothers space we really loved it,” Brown said. “When we got there, we walked around and said, ‘Yes.’”
Brown said five employees will work out of Neopol’s new Lion Brothers headquarters focusing on production, but he eventually sees 12 to 14 employees at the location. Brown plans to use about 400 square-feet of the space for a deli.
Sylva Lin, managing partner of Culinary Architecture, opened a café in the University of Maryland space at the Lion Brothers Building two weeks before Christmas. The café is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“We love the building; it is full of light and the neighborhood is full of life,” said Lin, who started Culinary Arts 18 months ago with partner Piper Booher. “It is just a really interesting space that fits well with our business model. The Lion Brothers Building represents revitalization of the area. It is the center of where the university is heading.”
Lin said her café business will evolve as they determine students’ tastes. She just returned from a trip to Asia and plans to try a noodle concept. She is hoping to install a walk-up window as well. “For us it is a great space to bring in new food concepts and test them out,” she said.
In addition to Spring Garden Lending, Culinary Architecture, and Neopol Savory Smokery, tenants in the Lion Brothers Building include, Enterprise Homes, Inc., a developer of affordable, workforce and market rate communities; Baltimore Community Lending, a US Treasury certified nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution dedicated to transforming and revitalizing Baltimore neighborhoods; the University of Maryland Baltimore County Intermedia and Digital Arts graduate program; and University of Maryland Ventures/Graduate Research Innovation District (GRID), an anchor tenant.
GRID is the University of Maryland's newest innovation space, designed to support entrepreneurial ventures through education, early stage funding, and programming. Students, entrepreneurs, faculty, and staff come together at GRID to discuss ideas pertaining to innovative health and social impact.
The Lion Brothers Building, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1885 as a livery stable before being purchased by the Lion Brothers Company in 1911. The building served as a small clothing and embroidery factory and expanded several times. In the 1950s, Lion Brothers relocated to Owings Mills. The building sat vacant since 2002 until Cross Street Partners committed to developing the property in 2015.
About Cross Street Partners
Cross Street Partners is a vertically integrated real estate company exclusively focused on re-building communities by creating vibrant urban mixed-use neighborhoods built on a foundation of innovation and entrepreneurial activity, Cross Street believes developing at a neighborhood scale builds strong communities. Cross Street Partners specializes in adaptive reuse of historic properties, brownfield remediation, sustainable design and building practices, and transit-oriented development.
