Law Firm Semmes, Bowen & Semmes Returns to Former Baltimore HQ
By Keith Loria May 23, 2023 4:46 pm
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Semmes, Bowen & Semmes, one of the oldest law firms in Maryland, has inked a 32,800-square-foot lease for two full floors at 250 West Pratt Street in Baltimore.
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) is the owner of the 368,200-square-foot office tower, having acquired it in 2015 for $63.5 million.
It’s actually a homecoming for the law firm, as it was one of the first tenants to lease space at the then-newly developed 250 West Pratt in 1986 before relocating to 25 South Charles in 2008.
“For about 20 years, Semmes’ Baltimore Office was located here at 250 W. Pratt Street, and for a time the firm even occupied the floors that we now occupy, so the move gives us an opportunity to return to a place where we have strong sentimental ties to our past, while at the same time renewing our commitment to the Central Business District here in Baltimore,” Thomas McCarron, Semmes’ chairman, told Commercial Observer.
The 24-story building offers views of Camden Yards and the Baltimore Harbor and has direct access to Interstate 395, light rail, and the MARC Train at the gateway to Downtown Baltimore
Amenities in the building include a conference room, a fitness center, a ground-floor Starbucks, and a variety of communal workspaces.
“Our lease at 25 S. Charles expired at the end of April. We considered staying there, but also conducted a search elsewhere in order to conduct our due diligence, which we undertook over the course of a couple years prior to our lease termination,” McCarron said. “In the process we found, or perhaps better put rediscovered, 250 W. Pratt Street, and ultimately decided to move.”
Founded in 1887, “Semmes is the largest private workers’ compensation and employers’ liability defense practice in the mid-Atlantic region,” per the company’s website. The firm has been in Baltimore’s central business district for more than a century.
COPT was represented by Cushman & Wakefield, while Semmes was represented by Michael Sullivan of JLL.
Update: This story originally misattributed source material. This has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
