For the second time this year, a newspaper headquarters appears likely to be sold in Baltimore.
The former home of The Catholic Review newspaper, 876 to 880 Park Avenue, is vacant and under contract to an undisclosed buyer. The three-story building, which was constructed around 1909 as Griffin’s Garage and later housed the Park Sign Company, has 22,608 square feet of space and was renovated in 2001-2002 for the newspaper and its parent organization, the Cathedral Foundation. The asking price in the current sale was $1.85 million.
“The buyer of the Catholic Review building is a real estate investor and has a 90 day study period and then will settle in 30 days. That should be around October 1,” wrote Sean Caine, vice chancellor and executive director of communications for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, in an email.
The offices of The Catholic Review were “moved back to Catholic Center at 320 Cathedral Street to improve operational efficiency and to promote greater collaboration between the Review’s staff and the Central Services offices,” Caine said.
The news comes one month after the Baltimore Sun headquarters on Calvert Street was sold to Atapco Properties, which continues to lease it to the publisher.
Other properties for which the Archdiocese of Baltimore is seeking buyers include the Saint Ambrose School in Central Park Heights, the former school at the St. Rita Catholic Church in Dundalk and the school at Our Lady of Fatima in Southeast Baltimore, according to the archdiocese’s website.
Jordan Faye Contemporary Gallery will Close in July
Jordan Faye Contemporary, a well-known gallery on the west side of downtown, will close its doors next month.
“It is with joy and some sadness that we announce that after over ten years of serving emerging artists, collectors and the Baltimore community at large, Jordan Faye Contemporary is closing its doors at 218 W. Saratoga Street, effective July 28, 2017,” owner Jordan Faye Block wrote in a Facebook post.
Block did not say why the gallery is closing, but she made an observation about the nonprofit organization where it is located, Maryland Art Place.
“We lovingly built out and restored the top floor of the MAP building where we’d hoped to find a true home and alliance,” she wrote. “We no longer feel that MAP’s management aligns with a growing arts district and the maintenance of a broad, viable arts community.”
Before it closes, Jordan Faye Contemporary will have a liquidation sale of furnishings and fixtures on Saturday, July 8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gallery.
“We love what we do,” Block wrote. “We believe in art and we believe in Baltimore. Jordan will continue her arts consultancy and online gallery presence. She is exploring options for a new venture within the city.”
Decision Expected this Week on Sale of Rite Aid Chain to Walgreens
The Federal Trade Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday to determine whether to approve a proposed $9.7 billion sale of Rite Aid to Walgreens.
The sale would create America’s biggest drug store chain, and also would likely cause a shakeup in local retailing, especially where Rite Aid and Walgreens stores sit close to each other.
In downtown Baltimore, Rite Aid has a location in the 100 block of E. Baltimore Street, less than two blocks from the Walgreens at Fayette and St. Paul streets. In Baltimore County, Rite Aid and Walgreens both have stores near the intersection of York Road and Walker Avenue. That pattern is repeated around the region.
‘Chef Boyardee’ Mansion up for Auction
Penderyn, the Eastern Shore estate also known as the Chef Boyardee mansion, is going up for auction this week. The property will be sold at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28, in an online sale conducted by Concierge Auctions.
The Georgian-style mansion was built in 1989 at a cost of $18 million for Mario Boiardi, the son and sole heir of Italian spaghetti maker Chef Hector Boyardee. It has 22,500 square feet of space on 24 acres overlooking the Wye River in Queenstown. More information is available here.
Plantbar Coming to Harbor Point
Harbor Point’s newest tenant is Plantbar, a juice bar and raw foods café. Beatty Development Group announced that Plantbar will lease space inside the Exelon Building at 1308 Point Street and is expected to open this fall. Harbor Point will be the second location for Plantbar, adding to its original one at Belvedere Square Market.
Clock Tower Place Sells for $10.3 Million
Clock Tower Place, a 46,838-square-foot office and retail center on Forest Drive in Annapolis, has been sold for $10.3 million, or about $220 per square foot, according to KLNB, the real estate brokerage that represented the seller.
Thomas Dolby’s ‘Time Capsule’ Trailer Sells for $12,600
Thomas Dolby’s “Time Capsule” trailer, which he used on his 2012 Time Capsule Tour, sold on Ebay this month for $12,600.
The musician and Johns Hopkins University faculty member offered the customized trailer to the highest bidder because it “outstayed its welcome” in its current location in California. He said he would donate the proceeds of the sale to charity.
Free Screening of ‘Hampden on Film: Memories’ on Thursday
The Greater Hampden Heritage Alliance is presenting a free screening this Thursday of “Hampden on Film: Memories,” a 16-millimeter film containing interviews of people who worked in Hampden’s mills in the early 20th century and images of what Hampden looked like in the early 1980s.
The film will be shown at Whitehall Mill, 3300 Clipper Mill Road, starting with a reception at 6:30 p.m. leading into the screening at 7 p.m. The Heritage Alliance is accepting donations.
