Commercial Construction & Renovation

JUL-AUG 2016

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The resurrection of Baltimore – the one that Plank dreams of initiating further – is within reach. Within the city limits where scores of social and economic scars run deep, Plank has a vision to make things right. We must protect this house And while every city has sides that nobody likes to talk about, Plank dreams of more for the place where he built his $27 bil- lion empire – a fortress of sports apparel and footwear that remains dedicated to making you forget about Nike and the others. The resurrection of Baltimore – the one that Plank dreams of initiating further – is within reach. Within the city limits where scores of social and economic scars run deep, Plank has a vision to make things right. This past spring, he acquired more than 100 acres in the Port Covington industrial area, along the Patapsco River in south Baltimore. When his vision is complete, it will house a $5.5 billion development project, one of the largest in the country, consisting of 45 city blocks and more than two miles of riverfront property. At the heart of Plank's vision is Under Armour's recently opened manufacturing and design center with a body scanner, 3-D printers and scores of white coated lab workers dedicated to creating gear for the world's elite athletes – professional and weekend warriors alike. As one newspaper writer wrote, "As much pride as Baltimore residents take in Under Armour, with its logo adorning sports uni- forms and the city's skyline from atop company headquarters, the gap between the winners and losers in Baltimore neighborhoods has never seemed greater." Plank is committed to changing that. With $1.1 billion in public funding on the table, he has plans to close the gap that has opened too wide. Through his privately held Plank Industries, a holding company, he established a variety of other enterprises, which focus on venture capital, horse racing, making whiskey and other pursuits. One of them, Sagamore Development, was dedicat- ed to quietly acquiring land, including the plot for his ambitious venture. I remember sitting with Kevin Plank in a trade show booth in Atlanta during the early years of his company. He spoke openly and honestly about his mission to make a name for his brand in the then highly competitive sports apparel performance market – one easily dominated by the Swoosh. It is no sur- prise, really, that nearly 20 years after Plank started making T-shirts in his grandmother's Georgetown basement he has leapfrogged every single one of his competitors. As it was back then, the odds are stacked against him. It's that place – with his back against the wall – that Kevin Plank feels most comfortable. The ambitious Under Armour project is scheduled to take 25 years to complete. When done, the new headquarters, and tech and manufacturing businesses would dwarf Baltimore's celebrated Inner Harbor. And along with yielding hundreds of millions of dollars in projected tax revenue, the 40 acres of parks would provide an estimated 25,000 jobs. Like the great entrepreneurs before him, Plank is putting his money where his heart is. If successful, the City of Baltimore will be a better place for the effort. Don't bet against him. A few others tried that once, and you see how that ended up. I t's not quite the scene Kevin Plank wants you to remember. Broken stoplights dangled above the intersection. Plywood sealed blocks of townhouses. Parts of the City of Baltimore, the place where the founder and CEO of Under Armour set out to change the way people everywhere felt about performance sports apparel, are in disarray. 6 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — JULY : AUGUST 2016 Michael J. Pallerino is the editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation. You can reach him at 678.513.2397 or via email at mikep@ccr-mag.com. EDITOR'S NOTE EDITOR'S NOTE by Michael J. Pallerino We want to hear from you At Commercial Construction & Renovation, we're always looking to showcase the best of what our industry is doing. If you have a project profile or a fresh perspective on how to keep our industry positively moving forward, shoot me an email at mikep@ccr-mag.com. We'd love to take a look.

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