Baltimore’s Historic Union Trust Building is Back On the Market

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Baltimore’s historic Union Trust Building is once again on the market. Rialto Capital, the owner, has retained Hunter Hotel Advisors as the exclusive representative in the sale of the old property located just blocks from the city’s Inner Harbor. The asking price for the building was not announced.

The Union Trust Building, also known as the Jefferson Building, was constructed in 1884 by Boston-based Winslow & Wetherill. It is located at 101 North Charles Street and is one of the 10 buildings that survived the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. Fireproof Magazine reported at that time that all the authorities on the subject believed the Union Trust Building was exposed to the severest test of any of the skyscrapers during the fire. However, its 800 tons of structural steel and cast iron were 100 percent salvageable.

Rialto Capital purchased the 12-story building 16 months ago at auction. It paid $3 million for it. The old property has undergone a partial conversion from office building to 100-room hotel. AMPAC Development Group Inc., the company that owned the Union Trust Building before Rialto Capital, was redeveloping it into a Staybridge Suites hotel. But it ran out of money and, in the end, the building was auctioned off.

“Baltimore is one of the most dynamic hotel markets in the U.S., and the hotel conversion redevelopment presents a unique opportunity to transform a historically significant building and advance the ongoing revival of Baltimore’s downtown,” Kyle Stevenson, senior vice president of Hunter Hotel Advisors’ Washington DC office, said in a press statement. “This is a high-barrier-to-entry market with the opportunity to select a premium select-service or full-service flag. With a resurging neighborhood, a revitalized downtown, and the current low supply of boutique hotels, this hotel opportunity is well positioned for an attractive sale.”

Photo credits: Hunter Hotel Advisors