Brown’s Wharf changes hands

Brown’s Wharf, the historic retail and office project along the waterfront in Fells Point, has been sold to Continental Realty Corp. for $21 million.

Baltimore-based Continental Realty, which bought the 104,000-square-foot project on Thames Street from Hunt Investment Management, plans to invest an additional $2 million to upgrade common areas and building systems and increase street presence.

“We consider Brown’s Wharf a one-of-a-kind irreplaceable property in Baltimore City given its placement along the waterfront and central location within an area that has been the recipient of a dramatic shift of energy over the past several years,” said Ari Abramson, vice president of acquisitions for Continental, in an announcement Monday.

Continental has formed a joint venture with Baltimore-based WorkShop Development, which will oversee day-to-day operations and re-development plans.

Brown’s Wharf, built in the 1800s and renovated and expanded in 1988, is more than three-quarters leased. The site includes a 270-foot waterfront promenade.

Johns Hopkins University affiliate Jhpiego is the primary tenant, and others include Mexican restaurant Barcocina, 7-Eleven, Fells Point Surf Co., toy store aMuse of Fells’s Point and CFG Community Bank.

With the planned upgrades, the project is expected to benefit from what Continental sees as a renaissance of the city’s eastern portion, including corporate headquarters relocations and the opening of new restaurants and housing projects.

“With Brown’s Wharf positioned within the heart of Fells Point, our team can build off the vitality of the new developments at Harbor Point, the Sagamore Pendry hotel and the Broadway Square renovation,” Continental CEO JM Schapiro said.

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