A subsidiary of the German financial services company Allianz is moving its American headquarters from an Owings Mills office building to the former Legg Mason tower in Harbor East.
Allianz Trade, which describes itself as a global leader in trade credit insurance, plans to move its 200 employees to a floor of the 24-story building at 100 International Drive, Harbor East Management Group said in a news release.
“Inside, our new office will feature an open concept so all employees can enjoy the floor-to-ceiling views of the Inner Harbor; outside, our team and visitors from across the globe look forward to taking advantage of all that the neighborhood has to offer,” said James Daly, CEO of Allianz Trade Americas, in a statement.
The developer of the 14-year-old building, H&S Properties Development Corp., sold a majority stake in a 2017 deal that put the property’s value at nearly $300 million and shattered the record for office space value in Baltimore.
Legg Mason’s name was removed in 2021 from the money-green glass tower that served as its headquarters after the investment firm was acquired by Franklin Templeton, based in San Mateo, California. At the time, Franklin Templeton said it would retain a smaller presence in Baltimore.
A recent report from the real estate analytics firm CoStar showed the 650,000-square-foot building was 100% leased, but more than a third of the space was available, indicating that firms could be looking to sublease space or decrease their current footprint. The building’s largest tenant is the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, according to the report.
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An internal report from a commercial real estate broker shows 100 International Drive still commands one of the highest office rents in Baltimore at $45 per square foot.
Allianz Trade currently occupies 60,000 square feet in an Owings Mills office building, according to a spokesperson for David S. Brown Enterprises, which handles leasing for that building. The firm will move its employees to the new space in Harbor East by the year’s end, the release said, occupying an entire floor at the tower.
According to CoStar, that floor comprises about 24,000 square feet, a space that is less than half as big as its current headquarters.
Luis Quintero, an economics professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, said this tracks with post-pandemic trends in the commercial real estate industry. Businesses have been returning to the office, Quintero said, but they are using much less space than they once did as more workplaces shift to hybrid or remote work.
Experts have said that millions of square feet of office space across the country — especially in older buildings — could go vacant in the near future as firms opt for smaller spaces with more amenities.
These new preferences for office space will play out over several years. That’s because a typical office lease can last 10 years, meaning many firms are currently stuck in suboptimal leases, Quintero said.
“Slowly, as these leases expire, people will renew and lease for less or lease for a lower price,” Quintero said.