Business

A 115-room hotel is opening next month near the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus, nearly four years after plans were revealed and a $26 million capital investment. The Study at Johns Hopkins located at 3215 N. Charles St. will open sometime next month after it received approval for a liquor license Thursday, said Paul McGowan, the owner of Study Hotels.

EagleBank is known around the D.C. region as being an active lender to owners and developers of commercial buildings, but lately the Bethesda bank has been shying away from financing one particular type of property: offices. Office vacancy levels have crept up since the pandemic hit in 2020 and changed the way many of us work, and all of that empty space has depressed property values — bad news for landlords and the banks that lend to them.

Allianz Trade had a short list of potential office space that included Harbor Point and Baltimore Peninsula as the global risk insurance firm sought to move from Owings Mills this year. Then came a trip to the landmark 100 International Drive tower in Harbor East tower for a “look-see” of space vacated by Raymond James, a financial firm.

In recognition of World Day against Trafficking in Persons on Sunday, Marriott International and the University of Maryland Support, Advocacy, Freedom and Empowerment Center for Human Trafficking Survivors (the SAFE Center) Thursday announced the nationwide expansion of Future in Training (FiT) Curriculum that seeks to equip survivors of human trafficking interested in embarking on careers in hospitality with necessary information and resources.

The plunging value of downtown Baltimore’s office market is a crisis that could spread throughout Maryland and impact suburban tax revenue in the coming years, the head of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation says. Michael L. Higgs, director of SDAT, says he has warned city and state leaders for a year of the mounting pressure on property owners and stakeholders in Maryland’s commercial real estate market.

M&T Bank and the Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project Wednesday announced they will recognize 20 individuals and groups in Baltimore who foster community connection with $5,000 hyperlocal grants. In its third year, the Weaver Awards have recognized more than 30 Baltimoreans fostering emotional well-being and a sense of belonging in their neighborhoods. Among the 2022 awardees were west Baltimore resident Danielle Billups, who heads Compassionate Hearts of Care, offering crucial support to youth, families and new parents; and Charles DeBarber of Curtis Bay-Brooklyn, whose Filbert Street Garden revitalized vacant lots to unite neighbors through shared green spaces.

Bethesda-based global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate a nuclear-powered spacecraft under a project called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). The project will represent a rapid advancement in propulsion technology to benefit exploration and national defense.

A Carroll County meat producer is growing its headquarters and manufacturing operations and plans to double its workforce over the next five years, Gov. Wes Moore announced Wednesday. Westminster-based Hahn Bros., Inc., also known as Hahn’s of Westminster, is moving to a 10-acre plot in Hampstead, where it plans to construct a 54,000-square-foot facility that will serve as the company’s new headquarters and manufacturing plant.