Under Armour is planning a weeklong celebration in September to mark the grand opening of its new global headquarters in South Baltimore.
The celebration will begin with private events on Sept. 13 and 14 and continue with public activities after that, according to Kathy Blessington, Under Armour’s Global Vice President, Real Estate.
Company “teammates” began moving into the new headquarters in Baltimore Peninsula last fall from their former Locust Point campus, which has been listed for sale. Under Armour held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 7 for the building’s ground-level retail space, Under Armour Brand House at 101 Performance Drive. The events in September are intended to help introduce the community to the entire building and its 50-acre campus, Blessington said.
“We intend to unveil the new headquarters later this year…for an entire week of celebration about what we’ve done and why it’s so important to Under Armour, to our teammates, to the athletes, to our customers and to Baltimore,” she said. “We’re going to spend an entire week celebrating the community in Baltimore, the wonderfulness of what this new facility has done for us and what it brings to Baltimore.”
Designed to accommodate 1,200 people, the five-story, 287,000-square-foot structure is one of the first mass timber buildings in the city. In addition to the flagship retail space, it contains offices; digital and physical showrooms; an innovation lab for product development; a cafeteria and a full gym.
The campus includes an NCAA-regulation track and field venue where Under Armour tests products and which it also makes available for community use. The building is visible from Interstate 95, with a curving fabric facade that can be illuminated and change colors to celebrate different events in the city, such as Orioles and Ravens games. Gensler is the architect. Whiting-Turner Contracting Company is the construction manager. Birdair fabricated and installed the high-performance façade that is visible from I-95.
Blessington spoke about the grand opening plans during a presentation about the building’s design that was held last week by The Architects Newspaper at the Westin Washington hotel in the District of Columbia.
She described the building as “the largest corporate real estate project that Under Armour has ever undertaken” and said its completion marks the first time the company has had all of its core functions under one roof.
“This project is a lot more than a workplace,” she said. “It’s a brand asset. It starts to explain who Under Armour is and what we stand for…It’s a bold step into the future.”
Employees have responded positively to the new headquarters, she added.
“Out of 1,200 teammates, I got two complaints,” she said. “That should say it all. The building is what is making them so happy and that’s a huge impact. We’re bringing our team back to work four days a week starting in September and we’re not having to ask. It’s happening. They’re showing up. Our utilization rates went from a high 80 to 94 percent since we’ve moved into the new facility. Those are facts. They’re showing up because it’s important to them.”
Wonderful. I live in mid-town Baltimore City, a DC transplant which was suppose to be temporary. There is dramatic change after the COVID outbreak, this area seems to be dead and hasn’t been anywhere near the same. I understand thing were going to be different. However, I didn’t expect so many of the resturants not coming back, or comimg back and then close down. I notice that the University of Baltimore with the students seem to have just fizzeled. It is empty in mid-town especially after 4:30 pm weekdays and on the weekend. It seems like people have just gone students and residents, the collorful art and culture innivators too. I am glad that Under Armour is hanging in here. It gives me hope that some of the mid-town activity will return as well as the residents and students being out and about around the place.