Vitreon America is leaving Northern Virginia behind for a new home in South Baltimore.
The move, announced today, stands to benefit Baltimore. The company anticipates creating 200 full-time jobs over the next five years as it keeps growing. The firm uses an extensive plant database developed by esteemed botanist Dr. James Duke to develop herbal and plant-based pharmaceuticals. It brought in $290 million last year, according to a release from Gov. Larry Hogan’s office.
Hogan in a statement touted the relocation as “a win for Baltimore City and our entire state as we continue to make Maryland a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Vitreon is moving into 200,000 square feet of space on Wicomico Street in South Baltimore. The firm already lists the seventh floor of 1100 Wicomico Street as its “interim global headquarters.” It was previously based in Linden, Va., about 60 miles west of Washington D.C.
The street sits two blocks southeast of Carroll Park and several blocks northwest of Horseshoe Casino. The new location will eventually have enough room for the company’s headquarters, laboratory, research center and grow zones.
The state Department of Commerce and Baltimore Development Corporation have worked with the company on the move, and the governor’s office said it’s eligible for state tax credits.
Vitreon’s relocation also brings a boon for Morgan State University’s botany department, where researchers will be able to access Vitreon’s plant database. Faculty and students working out of the school’s greenhouse will be able to “investigate the medicinal properties and commercial applications of botanicals” with Vitreon’s scientists, according to the governor’s office.
The move will also bring Vitreon closer to other universities and research institutions around Baltimore, Hogan noted.
