Page 13 - Baltimore County 2023 Quality of Life Guide & Business Directory

‘ONE OF THE BEST PLACES AROUND’
MARK RENBAUM,
Principal, MLR Partners
MLR Partners is a
privately held, Baltimore- based commercial real estate investment and management firm that acquires, develops, manages and invests in assets in the retail, mixed- use, office and industrial sectors. The company’s focus is on projects that activate the Baltimore area’s neighborhoods, citizens, businesses and institutions — including
a transformative, transit- oriented development being planned in Lutherville.
Photo by Harry Bosk
What sort of work does MLR Partners do in the real estate space?
We are owner/operators, developers, investors and managers. We take on big and small projects, but mostly commercial real estate and retail.
What are some of your major current and recent projects in the Baltimore area?
Some newer projects would include Northwood Commons, a transformative redevelopment of Northwood Plaza near Morgan State University. We’re also involved in the Lutherville Station project, which has gotten a lot of press. It’s really the first transit-oriented development proposed in this part of the county. We need to be doing larger, more ambitious, bolder kinds of projects in order to grow, and here we have an old shopping center that has seen
the end of its useful life. We’re proposing a very unique project filled with apartments, retail space, some office, some green space. It’s unlike anything that exists today on York Road or anywhere in this part of the county. It’s very innovative, and we’re excited about the vision.
In general, what makes the greater Baltimore area a good place for your company to do business?
First off, for me, it’s home. I’ve always lived here. Baltimore County just has
a lot to offer — it’s a great place to live and work, it’s an incredible place to raise a family and it was a great place to grow up. Baltimore County is one of the best places around.
www.baltcountychamber.com 11
Greenleigh
Photo by St. John Properties Inc.
The construction and real estate industries in Baltimore County also see plenty of business from a construction boom inside the Baltimore City limits. For example, the Baltimore Peninsula project, a massive development rising in South Baltimore, spans 235 acres of land and includes
18 million square feet of commercial, residential and mixed-use spaces. The first phase of the project was completed in June 2023, with future phases set to keep creating jobs for several more years.
Major employers driving growth in the construction and real estate sector include Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. (1,000 employees), Kinsley Construction (110 employees) and Concrete Protection & Restoration (90 employees). Whiting- Turner is known locally for landmark projects such as the extension of Concourse E at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport or the construction of St. Ignatius Hall at Towson’s Loyola Blakefield School, which received a 2021 Excellence in Concrete Award from the American Concrete Institute’s Maryland chapter.