The State of Downtown Baltimore Report is an economic snapshot of the previous year, a benchmark of data in the areas of office and employment, residential, hospitality, and retail trends.
Tracking these areas help us understand the broader economic health of our City. Downtown Partnership unveiled the report on Monday, May 9th during the State of Downtown Baltimore Breakfast presented by Gallagher Evelius & Jones.
Read the report now, click here.
The report was made possible by support from BGE.
Executive Summary
Downtown Baltimore’s overall economy was recovering in 2021. Employment grew from 117,970 in 2020 to 125,246 in 2021, and Healthcare, Public Administration, and Professional Services remain top employment sectors. Downtown office space vacancy—a major concern because of the rise in remote work from the pandemic, rebounded slightly and outperformed national and regional markets.
Housing occupancy is up in the one-mile radius, from 93% in 2020 to 95.2% in 2021. Downtown apartment occupancy remained stable, even with a flood of new units hitting the market at Redwood
Campus Center, Four Ten Lofts, 22 Light Street and Prosper on Fayette.
Retail sales were negatively impacted by closures and reduced visitation numbers, down from $1,004,081,233 billion in 2020 to $961,730,564 million in 2021. Vacancy for multi-tenant retail
properties within the one-mile radius remained higher than that of the Baltimore Metro region, but lower than the Downtown Management Authority (DMA) Area, which may be attributed to The Gallery no longer captured in the data as the mall is closed and not listed for lease.
A renaissance is looming for Downtown Baltimore. The last few years have been difficult, but with the recent announcements of historic investment in Downtown Baltimore by the State of Maryland, the acquisition of Harborplace, and development projects underway at Lexington Market and the Baltimore Arena, we’re feeling energized and excited for the future of our neighborhoods.
