Tenants

Incidents of disorderly conduct around Towson have prompted one Baltimore County Council member to propose a crackdown on landlords who allow tenants to cause a "public nuisance." Some community leaders say measures proposed by 5th District County Council member Vince Gardina are a good start in addressing conduct issues, but don't go far enough because they would only affect properties listed under the county's rental registration law — and wouldn't include apartment complexes.

Owners of the office tower at 100 Light St. in Baltimore — vacated last year by Legg Mason Inc. — have nearly completed $45 million worth of renovations, including a newly landscaped plaza and other amenities they hope will help attract new tenants. Representatives from Lexington Realty Trust, the building's New York-based owner, plan to join city and state officials on Thursday to unveil the upgrades to the 35-story building and surrounding area. Other changes include a refurbished lobby and 522-space garage across Lombard Street.

Annapolis officials are evaluating proposals from 15 vendors to revive the nearly empty Market House, a city-owned 19 t h -century waterfront building that formerly was a bustling food, shopping and tourist hub. Interested vendors include: four business owners seeking to assume full operation of the 5,000-square-foot building by the City Dock; those who want either short-term or long-term leases for individual sections for sales of...

A local development group is planning to revive an office tower that has stood vacant in Towson's business district for more than nine years. The last tenants left the Investment Building in 2001 amid claims by workers that poor air quality, mold and fungi were causing breathing difficulties and other health problems. On Thursday, Caves Valley Partners of Baltimore County outlined a $27 million project to strip the nearly 50-year-old structure overlooking Towson Circle down to its steel skeleton and rebuild it as the Towson City Center, with 155,000 square feet of commercial space for rent.

Financial services company Morgan Stanley began its move this week to a new building between Harbor East and Fells Point as part of a long-term plan to expand in Baltimore and create hundreds of new jobs in the city. The move also means that Baltimore's newest office building, called Thames Street Wharf, is getting its first tenants. The eight-level building on the former Allied Signal property is the first major office structure to open within the 27-acre Harbor Point parcel that's slated to become an $830 million commercial and residential community.

City police said the deaths of two people found inside a North Baltimore home Monday afternoon appeared to be the result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Officers responded to a home in the 2900 block of Greenmount Ave. to check on the well-being of a tenant who had not been heard from since late April, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman. Inside, police found the woman at the top of the stairs, and a man in a bedroom, Moses said. Both were in early stages of decomposition. Police located a generator that had run out of gasoline, and the landlord said the block had recently lost power.

ManTech International Corp., a provider of innovative technologies for the intelligence community, will be the first tenant of a new mid-rise building under construction at the Water's Edge Corporate Campus on the former Bata Shoe Factory property in Harford County. ManTech has signed a 10-year, 63,000-square-foot lease to be the first tenant in a five-story, 125,000-square-foot office building that will open in March 2011 at 4696 Millennium Drive. ManTech's building is the fourth and final mid-rise building at the $75 million Water's Edge campus that Manekin is developing with Alex Brown Realty at the intersection of Routes 40 and 543 in Belcamp.

Maryland's first Papaya Factory Outlet will open this spring in Arundel Mills in Hanover, mall officials said Monday. Papaya Factory Outlet, an upscale, contemporary women's apparel retailer that will offer tops, dresses, outerwear and accessories, will open in May. Mall officials also said Vans Outlet Store, which specializes in teen footwear and apparel, will expand and move to a spot near Best Buy this spring. Arundel Mills has more than 200 stores, with a mix of name-brand outlets, specialty shops, restaurants and entertainment, including tenants Kenneth Cole Company Store, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Ann Taylor Factory Store and Neiman Marcus Last Call.

When a home becomes a job site, tensions between those doing the work and those living with the dust can be unpleasant. But when the contractors and crew who for months had been hammering away at the Monte Verde low-income apartments in West Baltimore showed up at a recent holiday party, they were greeted by the residents as if they were Kris Kringle and his helpers. Standing in the middle of the room, clad in a bright-red plaid sports coat, was Michael T. Shacklette, the lead contractor for the renovation and now a party host.