SoBo Neighborhood Continues to Grow at Baltimore Peninsula

(This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of the South Baltimore Peninsula Post.)

By Steve Cole

Despite a recent setback to plans for the redevelopment of the entire South Baltimore peninsula area formerly known as Port Covington, the new neighborhood that has already taken shape there is steadily coming into its own.

At the end of last year, media outlets were filled with news of the departure of Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Ventures from future development at Baltimore Peninsula and the end of New York-based MAG Partners’ involvement in the project. These actions do not appear to have impacted the existing development in this expansive area south of I-95 along SoBo’s southern shore. A look at what’s happening on the ground there reveals a neighborhood that is still adding residents, amenities, and community activities.

The Peninsula Post presented its first comprehensive view of the peninsula’s newest neighborhood in our February 2024 issue. Below is our update based on the latest information provided by key “Balt Pen” players, including representatives of the Baltimore Peninsula Community Benefits District, Under Armour, Volo Sports, and others.

Living and Working

The new neighborhood can boast a surge over the past two years in housing construction and the number of people who call it their home or workplace.

The massive Locke Landing residential development south of E. Cromwell Street, between Hanover Street and W. Peninsula Drive, is nearing completion. The complex will have 800 homes, including apartments, townhomes, and condominiums. Construction is still underway on 96 condominiums being built by K. Hovnanian Homes and 279 townhomes by DRB Homes, with residents already moved into some units.

The Frank apartments in Locke Landing next to Nick’s Fish House opened in November with 420 units. (Who’s “Frank,” you ask? The complex is named for Francis Scott Key and the ill-fated bridge, according to senior community manager Devin Murray.)

The two apartment buildings that opened with a total of 407 units in the heart of the neighborhood in 2023 – Rye House and 250 Mission – were reported to be 50 percent leased two years ago. Today they are about 90 percent leased, according to a Balt Pen spokesperson.

Under Armour moved its workforce from Locust Point into its new five-story, 280,000-square-foot headquarters building at the end of 2024. The 50-acre campus at Balt Pen now has about 1,000 employees on-site, according to a UA spokesperson. In its current configuration, the headquarters building has room for about 1,200 people.

A variety of other employers have recently opened offices at Balt Pen or expect to this year. The bitcoin mining company OBM and Longeviti Neuro Solutions are now in the Rye Street Market buildings. The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business will hold a ribbon cutting for its new offices on April 7. The Newmark real estate company and PwC accounting firm are expected to join them by this summer.

Insight Global professional services and staffing agency recently became a tenant of the office building at 2455 House Street, home to CFG Bank headquarters. Ayers Saint Gross architects are expected to move in by this fall.

Services, Dining, and Shopping

Several businesses that help make a neighborhood a neighborhood arrived in mid-2025. Balt Pen now has a full-service branch of M&T Bank, a full-service dog care center (Molly’s Dog Care), and a roomy coffee shop (Daily Grind). This spring, a children’s learning and daycare center (Everbrook Academy) and a nail salon (Inspire Nail Bar) are set to open.

The neighborhood’s goal of becoming a major Baltimore foodie and nightlife destination could take a leap forward in 2026 with the arrival of several new businesses. The newcomers will join veteran Nick’s Fish House, Rye Street Tavern, and Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan and Bar V 2.0 (formerly Bar Vegan).

According to a Balt Pen representative, by this April, the Urbano Tex-Mex restaurant and the LIVE-K Karaoke venue will open on the ground floor of Rye Street Market. Three additional restaurants – Shinkansen Sushi, Slurp Noodle Bar, and the Blu Ca Jamaican Experience – are scheduled to open at the Rye House apartment building by the end of this year. One previously announced dining addition, Baltimore’s BK Lobster near Patterson Park, will not be expanding to Balt Pen.

As far as shopping goes, the neighborhood is dominated by the new Under Armour Brand House in the company’s headquarters building. The only other options are the Sagamore Spirit distillery gift shop and the Little Wing general store inside the ROOST extended-stay hotel. “The Exchange,” a multivendor retail space featuring local goods from small businesses envisioned for the Rye Street Market, has not yet materialized.

Public Spaces, Events, and Sports

Activating and enhancing the many public spaces in Balt Pen is the job of Claudia Jolin, executive director of the neighborhood’s Community Benefits District. The nonprofit she runs with a three-person staff is charged with keeping public areas looking good and humming with engaging events. This work is supported by a special property tax levied on property owners within the district, a funding resource that has grown to $830,000 this year, Jolin said.

Jolin reports that many of the events and activities from the last two years will return this year, including weekly “Wellness on the Waterfront” yoga and exercise classes, salsa lessons, and summertime outdoor movie nights. Also returning will be an array of cultural festivals at West Covington Park and special events such as “Oysters, Blues & Brews” and “Asia in a Bite” at Port Covington Marina.

The huge crowds that came to the Asian food festival last year gave Jolin and her team a crash course in hosting large events. “We didn’t know what it would be like to host 10,000-plus people in our neighborhood,” Jolin recalled. “It’s no secret that getting in and out of Baltimore Peninsula is quite difficult. Working with Asia in a Bite and having them come and show us where our pinch points were was really helpful. It makes us more prepared to support big festivals like this.”

And a new, big event is heading her way this June. Baltimore is one of the host cities for the “Sail 250” celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Balt Pen will be one of several festival sites in the city and, Jolin hopes, a premiere viewing location for the air show.

Improving public access to the neighborhood for events large and small got a boost in 2024 when Baltimore City added the new “Cherry Route” to its Charm City Circulator network. The free buses travel between Cherry Hill and downtown Baltimore via the Hanover Street Bridge, through the entire Balt Pen development, on through McHenry Row to E. Fort Avenue, and then S. Charles Street to Pratt Street, near the Inner Harbor.

“A lot of our Baltimore City residents who are familiar with the Circulator use it to get to the events here,” said Jolin. “It’s huge for event transportation into the district.”

Pickleball, sand volleyball, bocce, kickball, and cornhole return to the neighborhood this spring at the “Club Volo” sports complex on the former grounds of The Baltimore Sun printing plant, according to Volo managing director Ryan McConigle. The popular social sports leagues begin play this spring and a free community day is set for May 2.

“We will be renovating the grass fields to support our Volo Kids youth programming and other local youth-serving organizations,” McConigle said.

In March and April, Club Volo will offer community members free access to the volleyball and pickleball courts on weekends for pickup games. The public can also rent these courts daily starting in April.

Volo pickup games – and all the other events coming to Baltimore Peninsula – will be listed in the Peninsula Post’s SoBo Events calendar. And keep an eye on the “New Businesses” column in each issue of the newspaper for notices of businesses and restaurants opening.