M&T Bank announced last week that its Mid-Atlantic headquarters will move to a new 28-story building being constructed at 1 Light St. in Downtown. M&T Bank will occupy 155,000 sq. ft. on six floors of the building – called One Light Street – and will open a full-service branch on the building’s ground floor at the corner of Light and Redwood St.
“M&T’s commitment to Baltimore begins downtown, in the heart of the city—a great place to live and work and a great place to do business,” said Augie Chiasera, president of M&T Bank’s Greater Baltimore region, in a press release. “The future looks bright for Baltimore, and today we are saying that we want to be a part of that future both as an employer and as an involved corporate citizen.”
M&T Bank is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.
More than 500 M&T Bank employees will relocate to One Light Street from offices at 25 S. Charles St. and 111 Calvert St. M&T will take occupancy of the new building in late-2018, and has signed a 15-year lease with two five-year renewal options. The top of the building will have M&T Bank’s logo. M&T Bank will keep its offices at Montgomery Park near Pigtown where 500 employees work, according to The Baltimore Sun.
The mixed-use tower is being developed by Washington D.C.’s Madison Marquette. It combines luxury residential apartments, Class-A office space, and 5,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail space. The glass building offers nine floors of modern office space topped by 280 apartments. It will also have a 646-space parking garage. The building is designed to achieve a LEED Silver designation for new construction.
The site was formerly the home of Southern Hotel before it was demolished in 2000 and made into a parking lot. Several low-rise buildings on Redwood St. were also recently demolished to make way for One Light Street.
Madison Marquette has developed other mixed-use projects across the country, including the 3.5 million sq. ft. District Wharf redevelopment in Washington, D.C.
“This investment by M&T Bank and Madison Marquette is a vote of confidence for downtown Baltimore and demonstrates M&T Bank’s longstanding commitment to the City,” said Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in a press release. “This project will transform a vacant downtown site into a modern tower, thus retaining jobs and boosting our City’s economy.”
“The closing of our construction financing for this trophy addition to Baltimore’s downtown core ensures that this world-class project will serve as a model for future growth and vitality in one of America’s most beloved port cities,” said Amer Hammour, Chairman of Madison Marquette, in a press release. “We are delighted that One Light Street will become the first major ground up mixed use tower with a full array of residential, office, retail and parking amenities to serve this core Baltimore neighborhood in decades.”
“M&T Bank’s announcement is a win for Downtown several times over,” said Downtown Partnership of Baltimore President Kirby Fowler in a press release. “We retain a prominent employer who will anchor a new tower on a long dormant site, and we retain employees who will hopefully reside at one of the many residential properties that are opening downtown.”
“The development at 1 Light Street is an important project, which is buoyed by M&T Bank making the decision to locate its headquarters there,” said William H. Cole, President and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation, in a press release. “The bank’s continued commitment and investment in the City will have positive effects throughout the region.”
Financing for One Light Street is being led by an $125-million loan led by Natixis.
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