Howard Hughes Lands New Office Tenant at Columbia, Md., Master Development
The Downtown Columbia Plan is a 30-year, $5 billion effort to develop 14 million square feet of properties in the city between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
By Nick Trombola April 29, 2025 2:58 pm
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Howard Hughes Holdings has landed yet another new tenant at its sprawling master-planned project in suburban Maryland.
Advisory, tax and accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown, known as Withum, inked a 12,275-square-foot lease at 10480 Little Patuxent Parkway, part of the developer’s 68-acre Merriweather District in Columbia, Md. The Merriweather District itself is just a section of Howard Hughes’ Downtown Columbia Plan, a 30-year, $5 billion project to develop some 14 million square feet of properties in Maryland’s second most populous city.
CBRE (CBRE)’s Dan Falls represented Withum in its new lease deal, and Cushman & Wakefield (CWK)’s Rich Thomas, Matt Melnick and Pat Crilley represented Howard Hughes. The lease is a relocation for Withum, which previously occupied space in Baltimore after having acquired two practices there in 2023.
“As Withum continues to experience extraordinary growth, we needed a location that would allow us to continue serving the Baltimore area but offer flexibility for our team members and clients located in Howard and Montgomery counties,” said Scott Reddersen, Withum’s partner in charge of its Baltimore office.
Within the Merriweather District, the 143,450-square-foot property at 10480 Little Patuxent is one of seven buildings in Merriweather Row, a collection of offices overlooking the popular Merriweather Post Pavilion music venue. Howard Hughes spent $10 million renovating the collection, a task it completed in 2023. Other tenants at 10480 Little Patuxent include beauty salon Studio A, medical spa RAE Aesthetic and The Food Market.
The developer’s 30-year plan across three separate neighborhoods in the Merriweather, Lakefront and Central Districts is a continuation of the city’s original master plan from developer James Rouse in the mid-1960s, among the first of its kind.
The development has proved attractive for businesses of all types in recent years. That includes ENTAA Care and Prime Facial Plastic Surgery, which in August inked two separate medical office leases at 10285 Little Patuxent Parkway for a combined 17,200 square feet.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
