Residential Conversions Make Up Half of Baltimore City’s Apartment Construction Pipeline

Baltimore remains a hot spot for residential conversions, representing nearly half of the city’s construction pipeline.

Demand for office space in Baltimore’s downtown has slowed as many firms look towards Harbor East or have adapted remote work, requiring less office space. This has resulted in ballooning vacancy rates for office buildings and has opened opportunities for office conversions. One example is 1 Calvert Plaza, currently undergoing major renovations to convert the historic office building to 173 high-end units. Chasen Companies, one of Baltimore’s premier apartment developers, purchased the property last year for $11.1 million.

Also, as demand for hotels dropped during the pandemic, many low-performing properties are being converted to apartments. A recent example is the purchase of the Hotel RL Baltimore Inner Harbor, acquired by Byrnes & Associates, and additional investors to turn it into 130 units.

Other examples include the former dual-branded Radisson and Holiday Inn, located at 101 and 105 West Fayette Street, which will be converted to 708 multifamily units, and the former Embassy Suites Inner Harbor hotel, purchased by Urban Investment Partners Cos. for $18 million, which will convert the hotel to 306 units.

Overall, more than 1,550 units are being constructed and converted from offices, warehouses, and hotels to luxury apartments.

1 Calvert Plaza
*Image source:* *John W. Cahill*

Make-up of Baltimore's Construction Pipeline

Top Neighborhoods for Ongoing Residential Conversions

While office conversions comprise most of these projects, investors have found similar opportunities in other building types, such as warehouses, retail, schools, and religious facilities. In the past ten years, more than 3,100 units have been converted to apartments, and of those units, 75% were former offices, and 20% were warehouses.

More than 2,400 of these units were offices in Baltimore’s downtown, representing 85% of the total conversions in the city. With roughly 1,300 units currently being converted here, these residential conversions will likely continue for years to come.