Originally built in 1914, the Baltimore Bargain House (as it was known at the time) was designed by the noted architect James Evans Sperry. Today, 1100 Wicomico is home to 33 businesses that represent the diversity of Baltimore’s industrial ecosystem: apparel manufacturers, an interior design firm, a specialty swordmaking shop, artisan furniture makers, hemp product makers, and a biomedical research firm. The building sits at the border of Pigtown and the Carroll Camden Industrial area, providing easy access to I-95 and other transportation routes.
1100 Wicomico is one of very few multi-story, multi-tenant industrial spaces in all of Baltimore City. As such, it serves as an economic engine for the Carroll Camden and Pigtown neighborhoods. This eight-story, 400,000 square-foot building is home to over 200 jobs. Many of the tenants employ local residents, and cite its walkability from residential areas as a perk for their staff.
The development of new entertainment venues adjacent to Carroll Camden has led to increased pressure to change the use of the area from light industrial to commercial and residential. In 2017, 1100 Wicomico was re-zoned from light-industrial to industrial mixed-use, allowing for new residential and commercial uses in the building. It remains to be seen if these changes will have an effect on the many businesses that call 1100 Wicomico home.
This case study was originally published by Urban Manufacturing Alliance in 2018 as part of its State of Urban Manufacturing: Baltimore City Snapshot.