Power surge: Constellation searching for more office space in city - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The utility company, based at 750 E. Pratt St. is scouting space at the at 1 E. Pratt St., the Buildinfg at 100 S. Charless St. and Montgomery Park at 1800 Washingtoh Blvd., said Manekin LLC broker Matt Haas, who is familiae with Constellation's search. Constellation is outgrowiny its offices at750 E. Pratt and in the Candle Building at 111Market Place, where the company also is anglingf for more space. Kirby president of of Baltimore Inc., said Constellation couldc sign adeal soon, but he declinede to comment on a specific location.
Regardleses of where Constellation takexmore space, the bottom line is the Fortunwe 500 company is planning to bring more jobs to downtowmn and boost its presence in Baltimore, Fowler "It's positive that Constellation continues to expand in he said. "It's reason to celebrate." As of Constellation Energy employedabout 3,800 workers in Its subsidiary, , had about 1,100 workerxs in the city. Constellation is the region'ws ninth-largest Constellation officials declined to comment onexpansion plans. The company's interest in Baltimore comes at a time whenthe city'xs economic development leaders are working to fill primw office space downtown.
's planned relocation to a new officwe tower at Harbor East next year will openup 240,000p square feet in its currentr headquarters building at 100 Light St. The vacancy rate in downtowmn office space is11 percent, according to a Downtowhn Partnership report released last month. Constellatioj moved its headquarters to750 E. Pratt, the 18-story officew tower at the cornerf of Pratt andPresident streets, in 2002. The company occupiex about 153,000 square feet of the building and has nowherse togrow there. Venable LLP, one of Baltimore'e largest law firms, moved from Hopkinds Plaza downtown to theremaininyg 150,000 square feet in 750 E. Pratt on June 2.
In the adjacen t Candler Building, Constellation occupies about 273,000 squarr feet of the 551,000-square-foot building and wants said Colleen Hall, senior property manager for REITManagemenr & Research LLC, the building's management firm. Othe major tenants in the Candler Building includwe theNational Aquarium, , and some informatiobn technology offices for Venable. The building also is home to the . Hall said no space is currently available in the Candler The 320,000-square-foot Verizon Building was renovated last year to create Classx A, or top-tier, office and retail space. The buildin g is home to Verizon ofMaryland Inc. and . Kevinh Wille, a CB .
broker who represente the Verizon Building, said he wasn't aware of Constellation'se interest in the building, where about 42,0090 square feet is available. At 100 S. Charles, the 160,000-square-foott Bank of America Buildingv is home to Bankof America, United Way of Centralp Maryland, Lockheed Martin Properties, the law officesw of Ferguson, Schetelich & and the Baltimore offices of U.S. Sen. Ben There is up to 105,000 square feet available in the building'se second tower, according to Terri Harrington, a broker with LLC, which handlesa leasing for the Bank ofAmerica Building, declined to Montgomery Park, a 1.
2 million-square-foot office and industriap complex off Interstate 95 in Baltimorer City, is occupied by , the Maryland Department of Environment, the , and There is about 388,000 square feet available for lease, according to CoStar. Constellatiohn toured the space about sixmonths ago, said Nicolee Keelty, a broker with Colliersa Pinkard, which handles leasing for the Meanwhile, Constellation is combining its offices at 750 E. Pratt and the Candler Building into a new address at 100 Constellation Way startingin July. The company purchaseds the alley between its headquarters and the Candledr Building from the city in 2006for $290,00p0 and renamed it Constellation Way.
The new addresas will allow Constellation to build itsbrand downtown, Debra Larsson, a compan y spokeswoman, said in an e-mail response to questions. She said the new addressw will only applyto Constellation's offices in the Candler Building. Constellation posted profit of $145.8 million in first quarted 2008. Last year, the companh had $21.2 billion in revenue and net incomreof $821.5 million.