Industrial Park

As taken from the pages of The Aegis dated Thursday, August 30, 1962: Ground was broken for the first planned industrial park in Harford County. Fifty-two acres were designated by a group of private citizens for development into an industrial park in Forest Hill. There were 11 lots, ranging in size from 2.8 acres to 5.9 acres, available for sale or on a lease-back basis with option to buy. The first tenant to sign a lease for the property was the MarBelAir Co. of Memphis, manufacturers of precast Marbell terrazzo tile for flooring, walls, concrete blocks and stair treads.

Repairs continued Monday to a water main break at Canton Industrial Park that had created a sinkhole over the weekend on South Newkirk Street, city Department of Public Works officials said. No one was injured and there was no property damage in Saturday's main break, which occurred when an underground pipe ruptured in the 1800 block of S. Newkirk St. near Holabird Avenue at 7:32 p.m. The main break spouted water into the air and caused a portion of the street to collapse, but the area has no homes and is used primarily by trucks, Department of Public Works spokeswoman Tiffani J. Church said Saturday.

Marley Neck Industrial Park, which owes more than $20 million to its creditors, won approval Friday for an interim spending plan from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Baltimore.Income will be divided between the park and its chief creditor, Barclays Bank PLC, on a monthly basis, according to a motion filed by the bank and by the owner of the Curtis Bay office-warehouse industrial park.The park filed a bankruptcy petition under Chapter 11, allowing reorganization and payment of debts, on Wednesday.

As taken from the pages of The Aegis dated Thursday, August 30, 1962: Ground was broken for the first planned industrial park in Harford County. Fifty-two acres were designated by a group of private citizens for development into an industrial park in Forest Hill. There were 11 lots, ranging in size from 2.8 acres to 5.9 acres, available for sale or on a lease-back basis with option to buy. The first tenant to sign a lease for the property was the MarBelAir Co. of Memphis, manufacturers of precast Marbell terrazzo tile for flooring, walls, concrete blocks and stair treads.

Adheron Inc., a biotechnology company that develops adhesives from marine bacteria, is the latest company to lease space at Parkway Center I, pushing the occupancy rate at the industrial park near 99 percent.That's the highest level of any such park in the Baltimore-Washington area, said David R. Paulson, vice president of marketing for The Svatos Co., the park managers.The claim could not be independently verified, however.Leases with Adheron, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems Inc. and two other companies, total 83,925 square feet of space at the center near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Mr. Paulson said.

NationsBank Corp. plans to auction a largely undeveloped Frederick County industrial park next month as part of a debt settlement with the development firm Merritt.The Oct. 11 auction, involving 46 acres and one of two buildings in Merritt's CenterPark project, comes more than a year after the bank filed a foreclosure suit against the developer for failing to repay promissory notes totaling $10.7 million, according to documents filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court."The problems we encountered with the project were a function of problems in the general economy and the real estate world in particular," said one Merritt executive.

The ancient Clipper Industrial Park is a remarkable Baltimore landmark shoehorned between the northeastern flank of Druid Hill Park, Television Hill, the Jones Falls Expressway and the Woodberry light rail station.Although the industrial park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, I'll bet it's Baltimore's least known landmark.This campus of 19th century foundry buildings has been quietly converted into a kind of art studio village. It got some attention yesterday when a handful of painters, sculptors, potters and woodworkers staged an open house as part of the citywide Sixth Open Studio Tour.

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a site plan Monday for anew industrial park off Route 30, while raising concerns about a "natural" buffer to hide the park from view of residents of the nearby Robert's Field development.The developer, Charles C. Harwood of Pembroke Development in Owings Mills, Baltimore County, must present a more detailed plan before the project can go forward. No date has been set for Harwood to submit a preliminary plan to the commission.The buffer could be either trees or a hill, said Councilman Arthur C. Moler, the commission chairman.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Baltimore yesterday approved a disclosure statement and reorganization plan for Marley Neck Industrial Park, which owes its creditors more than $20 million.The Curtis Bay office-warehouse industrial park filed a bankruptcy petition March 16 under Chapter 11, allowing reorganization and payment of debts. The case went through bankruptcy court in 41 days.The park's chief creditor is Barclays Bank PLC.Arundel Industrial Park Inc., a Delaware subsidiary of Barclays, will assume ownership of the 101-acre park on Cabot Drive.

The Town Council pushed city limits southward Monday, voting unanimously to annex 45 acres of industrially zoned land along Route 30.The vote came after a public hearing in which one person questioned the move. Council members, however, expressed no reservations.Developer Charles Harwood of Upperco had sought the annexation. He plans to build an industrial park after he buys 36 of the 45 acres from current owner Helen Hoffman.Three remaining lots on the newly annexed land are owned by Maurice Hampshire, Charles Bosley of Bosley Construction Co. and Grove Brothers Inc. construction.

An accident at Rosedale Industrial Park claimed the life of a 31-year-old city man Tuesday. Jonathan Magill of the 3500 block of Noble Street was pinned underneath the rear of a tractor trailer shortly after 2:30 p.m. The mechanic was working on the truck, with other employees at Eastern Truck and Trailer Corporation, when the trailer fell on him. Rescue crews arrived at 2:48 p.m. to the scene in the 7500 block of Lake Drive and extricated the victim from...

Paul Frederick Obrecht, a well-known Baltimore warehouse developer whose various projects included Moravia Industrial Park, died Nov. 3 from complications of a stroke at his Lutherville home. He was 82. Mr. Obrecht, who went by P. Frederick Obrecht and preferred to be called Fred, was born in Baltimore and raised in Glen Arm. He was a 1947 graduate of Gilman School and attended Princeton University. In the late 1940s, he joined his father, George F. Obrecht, in managing the family feed and grain business that had been founded as P. Frederick Obrecht & Son by his grandfather in 1865.

Baltimore manufacturer Wm. T. Burnett & Co. and a subsidiary have won a city bid to redevelop property on Wicomico Street in Southwest Baltimore to expand the company's operations, the Baltimore Development Corp. reported. The BDC will begin negotiations with the more than century-old firm, which makes polyurethane foam and nonwoven materials. Burnett, which has headquarters in the Carroll Camden Industrial Park on Bush Street, also occupies a warehouse that abuts the property to be redeveloped.

Pacific Trade International of Rockville has leased 117,200 square feet of space at the Baymeadow Industrial Park in Glen Burnie and intends to establish a warehouse, manufacturing and distribution center there by late 2010 for its line of Chesapeake Bay Candle products. Jim Caronna and John Boote of NAI KLNB represented the landlord, Stats LLC, and Scott Skogmo of Sperry Van Ness/Skogmo Commercial Real Estate represented the tenant. The building at 6720 Baymeadow Drive was previously occupied by Reliable Liquors.

A Baltimore County hearing officer will review testimony today that could close a popular roller skating rink in Woodlawn. County officials want to revoke the entertainment license of Skateworks, the two-year-old rink that opened in an industrial park on Whitehead Road. Officials would not comment on the specifics of the case but said the rink's management has not adhered to licensing requirements, which include prevention of excessive noise, traffic congestion and vandalism, according to permit regulations.

The city has responded to a January column that chronicled the sufferings of businesses in Crossroads Business Park (formerly Industrial Park). They have lots of problems - crime and vandalism, especially - but the place also was littered with trash and furniture. Baltimore Development Corp.'s M.J. "Jay" Brodie sent me pictures of the cleaned-up spots, which are hugely improved, especially Bernard Drive where it goes under Interstate 95. But Brodie is mistaken in his assertion that the city Department of Public Works also took care of a boat dumped months ago in Crossroads.

NATIONAL Gonzales gets more criticism U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, told by President Bush to repair relations with Congress over his handling of the U.S. attorneys affair, appeared to take a step backward, suffering new and withering criticism from senators of both parties, including questions on his fitness to serve. pg 1a 3rd tainted pet food ingredient An industrial chemical linked to the deaths of 16 pets and recall of more than 100 pet foods in the U.S. has been found in a third ingredient shipped from China, federal health officials said.