A historic downtown Baltimore office tower is on the market after being partially converted to housing then placed into court-ordered receivership.

Baltimore-based apartment builder Chasen Cos. had planned to transform One Calvert Plaza into about 157 apartments with ground-level retail and office space. But Chasen defaulted on a $33.7 million loan, and its lender, Sandy Spring Bank, foreclosed in September on the 6-story, Beaux Arts-style building at East Baltimore and North Calvert streets.

Chasen officials could not be reached Tuesday. Chief Operating Officer Drew Peace had previously told The Sun that a renovated building was expected to open last year.

The company has built apartment projects in Fells Point, Mount Vernon, Federal Hill and downtown, but has struggled financially. In lawsuits filed last year, subcontractors and service providers demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in allegedly unpaid bills on several projects, according to records.

Commercial real estate firm NAI Michael said Tuesday it plans to sell One Calvert Plaza on behalf of Black Dog Receiver LLC, appointed by Baltimore Circuit Court in the foreclosure to oversee a sale. No asking price is listed.

About 70% of the work to convert the building to housing has been completed, NAI Michael said.

The city’s first office high-rise was built in 1901 as the Continental Trust Building and designed by a well-known Chicago architect in the “Chicago style.” It survived the 1904 Baltimore fire and for a short period was the tallest building south of New York, according to Johns Hopkins University’s “An Engineer’s Guide to Baltimore.”

Have a news tip? Contact Lorraine Mirabella at lmirabella@baltsun.com, 410-332-6672 and @lmirabella on X.