Page 125 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE
for “maritime industrial.” Like the MIZOD,
this designation protects deep water frontage in the Port of Baltimore, allowing businesses like Rukert Terminals to operate without intrusion from non-maritime entities. Under the new zoning code, these protections were written into law with no sunset or expiration date. The new zoning protections were embraced by public and private marine terminals, whose shared mission is to bring more cargo and jobs to Baltimore.
After successfully integrating Grays Road into company operations, Rukert Terminals pursued expansion on an even greater scale and in an unexpected fashion. In 2016, a 103-acre parcel at the Point Breeze business and industrial complex was put on the market. The property is located near the state-run Seagirt and Dundalk marine terminals, approximately two miles from Rukert’s main office. One day, as Norm Rukert and MPA Executive Director Jim White were having lunch, the property
came up in conversation. Both men expressed a wish to buy it, but neither party needed the entire parcel. Norm remembers saying to Jim, “Let’s buy it together.”
Teaming up with the MPA to acquire land would be a first in the history of Rukert Terminals, and quite a departure from Cap’s Redwood Street tirade in 1958! The company had always been a fiercely independent private enterprise, so partnering with a state government agency would go against the grain of a tried-and-true business philosophy. After
a series of discussions with management and the Board of Directors, the company decided to seize the opportunity. Port leaders understand that the public and private sectors “rise and fall on the same tide.” As such, renewed expansion of Rukert Terminals and the MPA would benefit the entire port, maintaining it as the economic engine of the city and state.
On March 14, 2017, the MPA bought
the entire 103-acre parcel at Point Breeze and immediately sold a third of it to Rukert Terminals.
BELOW:
This illustration shows the perimeter of the parcel at Point Breeze purchased jointly by Rukert Terminals and the MPA.
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