Black & Decker Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its huge Hampstead warehouse and factory complex and lease part of it back in an agreement that could create new jobs for the area, the Towson-based maker of power tools confirmed yesterday.
The company said the pact calls for it to sell its 800,000-square-foot factory and distribution center to Goodman Industrial Equities LLC, a Boston-based industrial-property redeveloper. Black & Decker will lease back about half the building, allowing Goodman Industrial to modernize and find tenants for the rest of the facility. The Boston company will be free to develop the unused land.
"We believe -- we've heard -- that they have a very good prospect" as a possible tenant, said Barbara B. Lucas, Black & Decker's senior vice president for public affairs. "This will be very good for the Hampstead community and very good for us."
Sweetheart Cup Co. Inc. of Owings Mills, which has expressed interest in the site, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal includes a 60-day contingency period, during which Goodman Industrial can complete its review of the property before consummating the deal.
About 50 percent of the building at 626 Hanover Pike houses some key company operations: light manufacturing, customer service for the power-tool business, headquarters for its product-service operations, packaging for accessories like saw blades and drill bits, and storage for such things as spare parts and catalogs.
The rest of the building has been used as a warehouse and distribution center for power tools and lawn mowers. Black & Decker has been steadily transferring that task to a new facility in Fort Mill, S.C., which it says is more centrally located to its customers.
'Minimal' job cuts
About 600 people work in the building. About a half-dozen who work in operations will be transferred. Lucas said job losses will be "really minimal" and will chiefly affect contract workers.
She said the company is evaluating how much space it will need and how long it will need it.
Each of the roughly nine operations Black & Decker has there will likely sign separate leases, said Steve Goodman, a principal of Goodman Industrial, adding that he believes the leases will range from two years to five years.
160 open acres
The development company gets backing for its deals from powerful investment firms. Credit Suisse First Boston has been involved in some projects, and Angelo Gordon, a New York-based hedge fund, is working with Goodman Industrial on the Black & Decker deal, Goodman said.
Goodman said his company will modernize part of the building and work to develop the 160 open acres on the 280-acre site.
"We're working with a potential user for a majority of the lot," he said. "We're very excited about it. We're working very closely with the economic development agency in Carroll County."
Pub Date: 3/13/99