Last week, when CareFirst announced its move from downtown to Canton, Mayor Martin O?Malley casually referred to the southeast section of Baltimore as “Ed Hale City.”
He was right on the mark.
“That?s the first time outside of this building that I?ve heard that term,” a relaxed Edwin F. Hale, president of Hale Properties LLC and chairman and CEO of First Mariner, said in an interview with The Examiner at his Canton headquarters.
The 59-year-old Hale has trademarked the name “Canton, U.S.A.” and he is in the midst of single-handedly building Canton Crossing, a waterfront development that could rival the Inner Harbor when completed.
“It will be more upscale,” Hale said, nodding to a piece of waterfront property jutting into the Patapsco River.
When completed in about seven years, Canton Crossing will boast more than 2 million square feet of mixed-used development. This will include 1.5 million square feet of Class A office space, 250,000 square feet of retail space and a 450-room hotel. There will also be 500 condos with waterfront views.
Still, what makes this economic development project so unique is that Hale did not seek any state or city incentives to help finance the project.
“I don?t think you should be taking from the public dole,” Hale said. “You can do it on your own.”
One advantage of working without private or government partners is being able to pick and choose tenants for the project, Hale said.
“I?m taking my time choosing what hotel comes here,” he said.
Two towers will provide the office space. The first, the 17-story First Mariner Bank tower, is already 80 percent leased with tenants such CareFirst, Thomson Prometric and About Faces Day Spa and Salon. The second should be completed next year.
Hale estimates that when completed, he will have invested about $1 billion in the project, which he said will generate thousands of jobs.
“I?ve already been offered twice what I paid for the tower,” he said.
Hale is light years away from his humble beginnings as a “poor boy walking the streets of East Baltimore.”
But it all started with a vision that the junkyard he purchased in Canton for $170,000 in 1976 for his fledging trucking company had much more potential than met the eye.
“Canton was a place considered to be a poor neighborhood,” Hale said.
“Today, it?s thriving and extending north to Highlandtown.”
On Friday, The Examiner will explore another project that is breathing new economic life into Baltimore.
Canton Crossing
» 1 million square feet of retail space
» Two office towers with more than 1 million square feet of Class-A office space
» About 500 waterfront condos
» An on site pier and marina
» A 450-room upscale hotel
