$5 million redevelopment strategy planned to attract office, retail and restaurant users

Kemp Byrnes, Brad Byrnes and Dave Gupta have acquired 225 E. Redwood Street and 233 E. Redwood Street in downtown Baltimore City, with intentions to execute a comprehensive $5 million redevelopment and rebranding strategy of the two properties. Members of the two limited liability entities associated with the purchase include Kemp Byrnes and Brad Byrnes of Byrnes & Associates, Inc., a Baltimore-based boutique commercial real estate and investment company, as well as Dave Gupta, a local entrepreneur.

225 E. Redwood Street, a four-story building formerly known as the Vickers Building will be rebranded to Vickers Exchange. 233 E. Redwood Street, a 13-story building formerly known as the Garrett building will be rebranded to the Redwood Exchange. The two adjacent buildings combine for approximately 90,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The immediate strategy is to transform the upper floors of The Redwood Exchange, which currently services as the offices for law firm Gordon Feinblatt, LLC, to multi-tenant office space, with event/entertaining space and magnificent conference rooms located on floors two and three. Both buildings are Class “A” historic buildings located in Baltimore City’s historic business and financial district.

The ground floors of both buildings will be leased to restaurant and retail users. More than $3 million has been invested in the properties over the past five years by the previous owner to upgrade the exterior, interior common areas and HVAC system.

Nearly 155,000 people reside within a two-mile radius of the buildings, including more than 68,000 households with an average household income approaching $70,000. The daytime population within two miles is nearly 290,000.

History of 233 E. Redwood Street

The building was constructed by the family of John Work Garrett, a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist in Baltimore who served as president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for nearly 30 years. In 1870, Garrett acquired 1,400 acres in Baltimore City and built a Victorian-style mansion that was named “Montebello.” After his death, his family constructed the 13-story 233 E. Redwood Street - which was considered extremely tall for that time period – with the building designed by architects J.B. Noel Wyatt and William G. Nolting. It was delivered in 1913, approximately nine years after the Great Baltimore Fire.

The adjacent Vickers Building also includes the venerable Werner’s Restaurant, a popular dining establishment that was opened by Werner Kloetzli in 1950 and chosen for the filming of numerous movies and television shows due to its distinctive chrome and maple Art Deco interior. The eatery had roles in The Wire, Liberty Heights, Ladder 49, Tin Men, Avalon and House of Cards. The restaurant closed briefly in 2011 before reopening soon thereafter under new ownership.

About Dave Gupta

Dave Gupta is a local entrepreneur who currently owns apartment buildings including The Telephone building in Charles Village next to Johns Hopkins University, and the Calvert School Apartments on 10 W. Chase Street in Mt. Vernon that formerly functioned as the Calvert School. He also owns a number of other real estate holdings in downtown Towson.

About Byrnes & Associates, Inc.

Byrnes & Associates, Inc. is a boutique real estate company providing a comprehensive array of commercial real estate brokerage, leasing, redevelopment and asset management services to institutional and private investors, companies and other owners. Since 1981, the company has been involved in a number of historical redevelopment projects including The Professional Building, The Latrobe Building and The McDowell Building. Over the past year, Byrnes & Associates has brokered the sale of several high-profile projects in Baltimore City including The Munsey Apartment Building and the Lanahan Building on 22 Light Street.

The company continues to be involved in numerous charities and business organizations throughout the City. The company recently relocated its corporate headquarter to The Vickers Exchange in anticipation of expected growth of its brokerage and development business.

“This acquisition and subsequent investment strategy reflect our belief in the future of downtown Baltimore and the commercial real estate market downtown,” explained Brad Byrnes, President of Byrnes & Associates. “High quality and well-positioned real estate assets perform well over the long term and these two buildings have the necessary fundamentals to satisfy the real estate needs of a diverse array of companies and businesses.

“We believe urban areas across the country will regain its energy and attractiveness as the workplace, and life in general, begin to return to normalcy. Employees and the general public crave vibrant and pedestrian-friendly environments and these two assets are uniquely positioned in the center of the downtown with direct access to the central business district, transportation hubs and amenities. This purchase and redevelopment during the height of the pandemic shows a high degree of confidence in the elected officials of the City and the State.

“We are ready to partner with other adjacent property and business owners, tenants, officials with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the City Center Residents Association and other stakeholders, to revitalize the heart of downtown. We can achieve this by attracting a more vibrant office, retail and event space that will be active seven days of each week. With a neighborhood of approximately 9,000 residents in City Center, we believe the days of turning off the lights and leaving downtown at 5 pm are long gone.”

For additional information about Byrnes and Associates, visit www.ByrnesandAssociatesInc.com.