Business

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will open its first downtown Baltimore branch in August as the banking giant works to have 17 branches up and running in the city and county by the end of the year. Chase will take over a retail space at 100 S. Charles St. that has been vacant since Bank of America closed its branch there nearly two years ago amid a move to new offices in Harbor East. Melvin Collins, Chase’s market director for Baltimore, said the bank will also open a branch in Reisterstown in July, and will add another branch in Pikesville later in the year.

Annapolis startup AeroVanti has tapped a new CEO about a month after the aviation company was hit with multiple lawsuits accusing it of fraud and contract violations. Scott Hopes is taking over leadership of the startup from founder Patrick Britton-Harr, Aerovanti announced Thursday. Hopes has a background in aviation, having founded HMD Airways in 2010 before selling the company to International Flight Services in 2013.

Five finalists have been selected to compete for prizes in the 12th annual Carroll Biz Challenge, run by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, as a way to showcase local entrepreneurs and give them an opportunity to pitch their new business ideas. The finalists will compete for a $10,000 cash prize to help start their business as well as a number of smaller prizes. The winner of the 2022 Carroll Biz Challenge was Hannah Brookfield of Westminster, who used her $10,000 prize to open the shop, BotaniGal, a retail houseplant and horticulture therapy business, in October in Sykesville.

Medifast Inc. is laying off 83 people at its longtime distribution center in Caroline County as part of larger operations cuts brought about by a continued slowdown in demand for its products. The Baltimore-based dieting and wellness company filed a notice with Maryland’s Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) log this week saying it will lay off 83 people at the facility at 601 Sunrise Ave. in Ridgely, effective Aug. 13.

One of the nation’s largest Planet Fitness franchisees plans to open two new facilities in Montgomery County later this year as it continues to bulk up the budget fitness chain’s presence. Affiliates of Ohana Growth Partners have inked 10-year leases for spaces in Takoma Park and Wheaton. Both of the spaces are remainders of former Shoppers markets that discount grocer Lidl sought to shed after it opened new markets in those areas. Ohana’s leases, for just under 29,000 square feet apiece, are at 6881 New Hampshire Ave. and 2201 Randolph Road, respectively.

The state’s ratepayer advocate criticized Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.’s proposal to raise delivery rates over the next three years as incentive for the utility to “shoot for the moon with massive spending proposals.” Releasing a consumer guide Tuesday to show BGE’s rate hikes, People’s Counsel David S. Lapp, whose office is charged with advocating for utility customers, said the proposed increases averaging 5% over the next three years allows for “little accountability” as to how the company spends funds from raising rates.

N5 Sensors, a Rockville environmental hazard detection tech company, is using $2.5 million from a recent seed round to build more of its fire-detecting sensors and hire more boots on the ground to convince emergency services agencies, particularly in rural areas, to pilot its products. N5 Sensors partners with utility companies, casinos, municipal emergency services, farms and pretty much any large landowner to detect environmental hazards, such as wildfires, chemical spills and air pollution, using an artificial intelligence algorithm and autonomous ground sensors.