BOMA International—Building Owners and Managers Association International

Bond Street Wharf:
Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future

By Tanner Johnston

You would be forgiven if, at first glance, you thought Bond Street Wharf, located in the historic Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, was at least a century old. With its red brick façade and name emblazoned in paint on its side, the warehouse-style building stands along the banks of the Patapsco River. But, the 207,000-square-foot, Class A waterfront office property actually was completed in 2002.

Bond Street Wharf sits on the site of an old harborside warehouse from Baltimore’s shipbuilding days that was burned down for a scene in the 1990 movie “Avalon.” Today, the building represents Baltimore’s efforts to rebrand itself as a state-of-the-art tech hub for a modern workforce, while still honoring the city’s rich heritage.

Brandywine acquired the building and began major renovations in 2007. Three years later, Nesfeder began her role there as property assistant and oversaw the lease agreement with the building’s only tenant, the General Services Administration (GSA). Rising to the role of property manager in 2014, she has led Cira Square’s more than 30-person property team ever since

The building has been part of the BOMA 360 Performance Program since 2012, which means it also features a best-in-class property management team. The building is fully leased with its largest tenant, investment management firm Brown Advisory, once again taking on more space in the building. Harbor East Management Group’s Kim Laughlin, property manager at Bond Street Wharf, says her team places a high premium on creating strong relationships with both their tenants and the surrounding community. Bond Street Wharf frequently donates its lobby and outdoor space to host philanthropic events and community gatherings like the popular Fells Point Fun Festival.

Laughlin and her team were even named BOMA/Baltimore’s 2019 Management Team of the Year, and they attribute this honor, in part, to the BOMA 360 Performance Program and its framework for quality building operations.

This dedication to using BOMA 360 as an operational foundation has been part of Harbor East Management’s corporate culture for nearly a decade. “We employ the best practices provided by BOMA 360 throughout our portfolio to build consistency.” says Laughlin. “And, since our property managers and engineers are familiar with our procedures and our best practices, we can provide the same level of service to all our buildings, regardless of where they’re located.”

Wes Capps, Harbor East Management Group’s director of Engineering, has prioritized earning the designation for the company’s entire portfolio since 2010. For Capps, making BOMA 360 the goal is about quality. “We have an impressive management team here at Bond Street Wharf, and everybody is dedicated to providing the absolute best for the tenants, the owners and the building,” he says. “The BOMA 360 designation is the perfect encapsulation of that dedication.”

As the Bond Street Wharf property team looks toward the future, they are confident BOMA 360 2.0 (launching in January 2020) and its updated criteria will help them take their operations even further. And, they should know: They successfully join together a history of excellence and the promise of an exciting future every day.

This article was originally published in the November/December issue of BOMA Magazine