Business

One Charles Center is a 22-story office tower in downtown Baltimore that belongs to the patriarch of the family that owns the Baltimore Orioles. It’s for sale and mostly vacant. So how could the tower use more water in a single year than any other property owner in the city — more than Johns Hopkins Hospital or Domino Sugar — and rack up a $12.3 million bill?

It won’t cost Ravens fans much to see Lamar Jackson and company take on the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium this weekend. Tickets for the Saturday afternoon playoff game — when temperatures are supposed to be in the 20s — are cheap, with resale tickets going for as little as $98 on StubHub as of Thursday afternoon. Tickets to the team’s first home playoff game since 2020 are listed for far less on Stubhub than what it will cost fans in Detroit, Buffalo and San Francisco to see their teams play in their respective playoff games.

Officials with the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad announced Monday they have leased rail lines along Georges Creek with plans to boost tourism and freight service opportunities in the area. State Sen. Mike McKay, chairman of the scenic railroad board, and Wes Heinz, CEO, said a 36-month lease has been signed to revive dormant lines extending from Shaft — located near Interstate 68 — south 13.5 miles to Westernport.

A Cambridge brewery has expanded its reach across the Chesapeake Bay, opening its second location this week. RaR Brewing opened a taproom and restaurant called Chessie’s Wharf in West Annapolis on Jan. 16. The space at 609 Melvin Ave. underwent major renovations and was formerly home to the Mexican Cafe. The around 2,500-square-foot space features 38 drafts from RaR Brewing and a rotating selection from breweries nationwide, according to the brewery’s website.

Weis Markets, the central Pennsylvania-based grocery store chain, is looking to develop the site of the former 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia. According to state property records, the 15.45-acre former drag strip site was sold by 75-80 Properties LLC in June 2021 for $2.6 million, contingent on certain approvals. A monthly report from the the Frederick County Division of Planning and Permitting shows that Weis Markets, which has the contingent contract to purchase the site, submitted a concept plan for a 65,500-square-foot store in November 2023.

The first thing you see when you enter the lodge: a big, lifelike black bear. Then, your eyes catch on a faux fox, ski-lift benches, antlers hanging on the lights and green vines strewn throughout the space. This may sound like a rustic chalet on a snowy mountain in the woods, but it’s actually an American restaurant and bar in Clarksburg. Clark’s Lodge is projected to open in March at 12011 Snowden Farm Parkway, owner Neel Kamal recently told MoCo360. The restaurant will replace GrillMarx, which closed in June 2023.

A longstanding hotel near Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport recently sold for millions, changing hands for the first time in three decades. An LLC linked to Sarbahn Realty, a local hospitality group, purchased the Courtyard by Marriott Baltimore BWI Airport for $15.6 million in December, according to state property records. The hotel at 1621 W. Nursery Road is one of many hotels in the BWI Business District that caters to airport travelers.

Global fintech company Acrisure Tuesday announced the formation of the company’s mid-Atlantic region, encompassing its businesses in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. As with all other platforms announced in 2023, the Region will operate under the Acrisure brand. Geoffrey Goldwater will serve as managing partner for the mid-Atlantic region.