[IMGCAP(2)]Located 1.5 miles south of Downtown on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, the 59-acre site can support a minimum of four million sf of new development. The owners are also in discussion with the adjacent property owners about possibly combining the sites into a single 140-plus-acre coordinated development plan, according to CBRE.

The owners feel that the current use of the property--it is basically a big box retail site--is not fully leveraging its potential, Joe Ruzecki, SVP at CB Richard Ellis tells GlobeSt.com. Mixed-use is expected to perform better, given developers' push to cross over I-95. Locally based Turner Development Group, for instance, plans to redevelop a nearby piece of the same waterfront. Also, "the city wants to see high density development here, including higher end retail," Ruzecki says.

Right now there is a Sam's Club and a Wal-Mart on the property, John Blumer, managing director of CB Richard's Baltimore office, tells GlobeSt.com. "The Sam's Club is closing, which is providing the opportunity to redevelop," he says. Another factor influencing the owners' decision to push for mixed-use development, he adds, is Base Realignment and Closure Act, which is redirecting growth patterns in Baltimore's direction.

CBRE is expecting a "huge response" to the proposal, given the potential scope of the project and the fact that is located on the waterfront, Blumer says. "There are not that many available waterfront development sites in Baltimore or the Mid-Atlantic for that matter."