Exelon

Constellation Energy Group, which is selling itself to Exelon Corp., reported a loss Friday in the fourth quarter, what is expected to be the energy giant's last earnings release as a publicly traded Baltimore company. Its earnings came out before the Maryland Public Service Commission approved the proposed $7.9 billion proposed merger between Constellation and Exelon, contingent on several dozen conditions. It lost $583.6 million, or $2.91 per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $159.8 million, or 80 cents per share, in the corresponding period the previous year.

Maryland regulators approved Constellation Energy Group's sale to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. on Friday, setting the stage for Baltimore to lose its last Fortune 500 company to an out-of-state owner. Exelon promptly accepted the terms imposed by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which means the $7.9 billion deal is one huge step closer to completion. The PSC's approval came with several dozen conditions that largely mirrored concessions the companies had previously promised, most recently under a $1 billion settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state.

The federal nuclear regulator approved Thursday the proposed sale of Constellation Energy Group to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission means the proposed $7.9 billion merger has two remaining regulatory hurdles to clear. The Maryland Public Service Commission is expected to issue a decision Friday, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also needs to rule on the deal, which would create the largest competitive energy company in the United States.

Among the many advantages Constellation Energy's headquarters gives Baltimore — Fortune 500 cachet, hundreds of well-paid workers, millions in charity — is this: The building pays sticker price on property taxes — $745,000 a year. You probably won't be able to say that about its replacement, which Exelon Corp. and developer John Paterakis propose to build at Harbor Point. Exelon is close to a deal to buy Constellation, which owns Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. Sensitive about seizing a Maryland corporate heirloom, Chicago-based Exelon promised to put the green energy and retail marketing divisions of the combined company in a new Baltimore building.

Exelon Corp.'s new headquarters in Baltimore is designed to be a glassy, 22-story skyscraper, similar in style to the Legg Mason tower, which would be a neighbor on the Harbor East waterfront, according to preliminary designs revealed Wednesday. The building would be part of the $250 million first phase of the 27-acre Harbor Point development, which would also include a central plaza, a headquarters for U.S. Lacrosse, a six-acre waterfront park and an apartment tower, said Michael Beatty, president of Harbor East Development Corp.

For a city whose last Fortune 500 company was about to be acquired by an out-of-town corporation, there was not just consolation but actual excitement over one of the deal sweeteners: Chicago-based Exelon Corp. promised to build a new downtown office building for the merged company, the first such construction in Baltimore's central business district since 2004. The competition was spirited among a handful of developers: They produced architectural renderings of shiny towers and lined up contractors and financing packages.

Harbor Point, a development project led by bakery magnate and developer John Paterakis Sr., will be the site of the headquarters for the combined Constellation-Exelon company if the proposed merger is completed, the energy giants announced Wednesday. The prospect of adding a new office tower to Baltimore's skyline excited city officials and the development community. But some were disappointed that the companies chose a site between Harbor East and Fells Point, rather than in the central business district.

Granted, the announced move of Constellation Energy/Exelon's new Baltimore headquarters around the Inner Harbor's northeast corner is not a quantum jump. Constellation's present location at 750 E.Pratt St. is already on the edge of downtown, furnishing walk-up patrons for restaurants in Little Italy and other eastern neighborhoods. The new HQ will be less than a mile away. But it will pull more energy from the downtown core and shift the balance of activity further eastward. Downtown landlords, who have lost tenants in the economic downturn, were already concerned about the planned redevelopment of State Center in midtown Baltimore, on their northern flank.

As someone with a vested interest in the health and prosperity of downtown Baltimore and the west side of downtown in particular, I appreciate that Exelon Corp.is committed to maintaining Constellation Energy Group's employment presence in Baltimore, and perhaps even increasing it. I do hope Exelon will choose to keep its offices in the core business district of downtown where, as Kirby Fowler points out in his recent commentary ("Exelon's place downtown,"...

The owner of one of the last undeveloped sites at the Inner Harbor is seeking a property tax break from the city to allow it to compete with the developers of four other sites that have proposed or considered building a downtown headquarters for Exelon Corp. Stephen Gorn, president and chief executive of Questar Properties, has proposed a tower at 414 Light St. that would rise about 35 stories and contain offices for the Chicago-based energy giant. Exelon has pledged to build a Baltimore headquarters as part of a $7.9 billion buyout of Constellation Energy Group.