Armada Hoffler Inks 35 KSF Office Lease in Baltimore

Stifel Financial Corp. has signed a 35,000-square-foot office lease at Armada Hoffler’s Wills Wharf, a 330,000-square-foot building in Baltimore. JLL and Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord and tenant, respectively.

The trophy property offers 236,000 square feet of Class A office space, as well as 156 hotel keys. Built in 2020, Wills Wharf is LEED Silver Core and Shell certified. The 12-story, $120 million building features 34,653-square-foot floorplates, a daycare center, as well as waterfront views, among others.

Through its relocation from downtown St. Louis, the independent investment bank and financial services company will join ranks with other tenants such as Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton and Transamerica.

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Located at 1201 Wills St., the building rises on the banks of Patapsco River, inside an 89-score walk area. Several upscale dining options, parks, as well as a ferry terminal, are within walking distance, while downtown Baltimore is more than 1 mile away.

JLL Vice President Peter Jackson represented Armada Hoffler in the leasing proceedings. Cushman & Wakefield Senior Managing Director David Downey Jr. and Executive Director Courtenay Jenkins spearheaded the negotiations on behalf of Stifel Financial Corp.

A closer look at Harbor Point

Wills Wharf is part of Harbor Point, a 27-acre mixed-use project including 3 million square feet of office—which is 98 percent leased—retail, residential and hospitality space. Armada Hoffler developed the project alongside Beatty Development Group.

Harbor Point’s first two phases debuted between 2010 and 2020, with Wills Wharf being the latest addition to the project. There are currently three other developments under construction at the Harbor, with another in the planning and permitting stages.

In 2021, Armada Hoffler paid $246 million to purchase a majority stake in the Exelon building, a 440,000-square-foot mixed-use property inside Harbor Point.

Baltimore’s office market marches on

According to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report, Baltimore’s office vacancy rate stood at 17.4 percent at the end of 2024’s first quarter. The city’s office absorption was negative, at 136,000 square feet year-to-date through March, the same report reveals.

The overall office leasing activity in Baltimore throughout 2024’s first quarter clocked in at 1.1 million square feet, distributed nearly evenly between new leases and renewals, according to the report. This year’s figures edge 2023’s (812,640 square feet) and 2022’s (960,865 square feet) during the same period.

In February, Window Nation inked a 50,698-square-foot lease at St. John Properties and Greenbaum Enterprises’ 104,412-square-foot office building inside the 605-acre Maple Lawn mixed-use community.

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