New Business Moves into Old GM Site

The redevelopment of the old General Motors plant on Broening Highway as a port-related industrial park took a step forward with the announcement this week that a growing regional logistics company has moved in as a new tenant.

A&S Services Group signed a five-year lease for the site at 5003 Holabird Ave. for use as a warehouse and truck transportation center, said A&S President Ken Buck. The lease covers half the building (shared with Berry Plastics) in the 2008-built structure within the Chesapeake Commerce Park development.

Much of A&S’ business is linked to the Port of Baltimore, Buck said, so the expansion of the company at the Holabird Avenue site is a logical development for the company. The company already operates two other warehouses and four truck terminals in Maryland and Pennsylvania, Buck said.

Complementing the lease deal, A&S also recently purchased a local drayage company, Den-El Transfer, Buck said. Including Den-El, the company is now operating about 130 trucks and employing a total of about 200 workers, he said.

Founded in 1982 as a short-haul trucking company, A&S has developed into a full-service logistics provider with services specifically targeted to large manufacturers and retailers with operations in the central Maryland region.

Buck declined to discuss specific A&S customers but said they are mostly large well-known firms that use the port to import raw materials for their manufacturing processes. In some cases, retail customers rely on the port to bring in foreign-made products for sale to consumers, he said.

Landlord and developer Duke Realty is happy to welcome the new tenant, said John Macsharry, senior vice president of the company.

The 161,415 square feet rented by A&S was recently occupied by another tenant, he said, and has only been empty a short time. With the A&S deal, a full 100 percent of Duke properties at the Chesapeake Commerce Center industrial park are rented, he said.

There are no immediate plans to erect additional buildings at the center, although there is adequate space for new structures if new tenants appear, Macsharry said.

Duke purchased the former General Motors plant in 2006, announcing plans to redevelop it as a cargo distribution center for port-related commerce. Since then, it has sold smaller parcels to trucking company MTC Logistics and to the Maryland Port Administration.