Business

It takes time, focus and dedication to become a CEO, president or business owner. But to be a leader is something else entirely. This rare trait — defined by the ability to not only set a path to future success, but also to inspire others to follow alongside you — is what the Baltimore Business Journal looked for in selecting our 2022 Women of Excellence honorees.

Prospective bidders should think creatively and bring their checkbooks when Iverson Mall hits the auction block later this summer, according to Prince George’s County’s top economic development official. The county will look to minimize roadblocks and red tape for groups interested in injecting other uses into the suburban Maryland retail center at 3737 Branch Ave., per David Iannucci, CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp.

A group of Baltimore’s largest employers announced Monday that they’re starting a campaign to encourage Maryland’s elected officials to improve the city’s transportation system. The Greater Baltimore Committee is partnering with the Greater Washington Partnership, which represents business leaders from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia, this election year to advocate for expanding the city’s transit services as a way to make the region a stronger economic competitor compared to others.

After decades of debate and calls for reform, the thoroughbred racing industry will be governed by uniform federal regulations starting Friday, a prospect that has inspired widespread worry among Maryland horsemen, who say the rules have been rushed into place and are full of logical inconsistencies. The state’s trainers and owners generally support consistent nationwide regulations, with prominent industry figures saying the effort is overdue and likely to improve public perceptions of racing. But the devil is in the details, they warn, and the start of the process is likely to be bumpy.

Two decades ago, the town of Trappe voted overwhelmingly to grow. As a wave of suburbanization spread across Maryland’s rural Eastern Shore, the tiny community annexed more than 900 acres so a developer could build some 2,500 homes — five times more than still stand in Trappe today. Now, that vision of Trappe is just starting to become reality. Banners along what is otherwise a quiet stretch of U.S. Route 50 invite passersby to look at new homes, for sale and lease, at Lakeside at Trappe. There’s no lake just yet, but nearly a dozen homes have begun to rise from the dirt.

MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services LLC Friday announced it brokered the sale of 1407 Rome Road, a single-story building containing slightly more than 22,000 square feet of warehouse space in Halethorpe for $2.3 million. Andrew Meeder, SIOR and Daniel Hudak, SIOR, both senior vice presidents and principals for MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services represented the buyer, Ruff Roofers Inc. with the seller, Mid-Atlantic Carpenters and Training, represented by Robert Filley, Nick Pirone and Bryan Herr of Marcus & Millichap. Last month, MacKenzie brokered the sale of 1407 Parker Road, a single-story building containing 103,640 square feet of industrial/warehouse space, and in Halethorpe. The sales price was more than $10 million.

One of the defining moments of Karen Bond’s professional career came about five years ago. “For years, I had worked really hard to become president of Executive Alliance,” she said of the nonprofit dedicated to helping professional women succeed in leadership roles. At the time, Bond was taking care of her mother who had dementia along with being a mother to her daughter and having a thriving professional career. “The day of our Women of Excellence luncheon, that I had always dreamed that my mother would be able to be there and see that achievement, was the day that my caregiver didn’t show up and I was scheduled to be in front of a thousand women. I barely got there in time.”