Beer, building and jobs. Mixing those three together, Baltimore County is ready to undergo what Jim Smith is calling a “business renaissance.”
At the old Carling brewery Wednesday, Wolseley?s North American Division, along with the Baltimore County Economic Development office, unveiled plans for the development of the property. Located amid other industrial business sites in Halethorpe and part of Baltimore County?s “Southwest Enterprise Zone,” the 21-acre property provides a prime location just off Interstates 695 and 895.
“We have to have companies that have staying power and have grown,” Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said. “We talk about a renaissance, but there has to be history there first.”
The 367,000-square-foot building, where Baltimore?s treasured National Bohemian used to be brewed, will be home to three companies. Under the Wolseley umbrella, Ferguson, Ferguson?s Fire and Fabrication Division and Stock Building Supply will share the property being developed by Hunt Valley-based Obrecht-Phoenix Contractors.
Located on the 4000 block of East Monument Street in Baltimore City for the last 20-plusyears, Ferguson will be expanding the number of employees and its size when it moves to Halethorpe.
“We hope to be unveiled as a new landmark business in the structural Halethorpe community,” said Tom Caldroney, who is slated to be general manager of the new Ferguson facility.
Established in 1996, the Southwest Enterprise Zone has generated more than 920 jobs, BCED reported, bringing about $65 million in new capital and equipment investment with it. And if Smith?s hopes are confirmed, Wolseley?s, along with several other companies, will bring about 600 new jobs to the area in the next 12 to 18 months.
Other developments also are booming in the area. Bakery Express is moving to the Southwest Development Zone. It will be joined by Cowman Systems, a regional short- and mid-distance trucking business, which is completing a new $6 million headquarters adjacent to the Ferguson development. Even the Maryland Food bank is coming to the area, having opened its new headquarters in Halethorpe.
“I?m delighted with the renaissance that is happening,” Smith said.
