New Building At Reisterstown To Replace Metro West

From the Baltimore Sun:

Nearly 30 years after the Social Security Administration opened its $92 million Metro West complex on Baltimore's west side, federal officials are planning to move 1,600 employees from there to an office building to be constructed near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station in Northwest Baltimore.

The GSA is seeking a private developer to construct a 538,000-square-foot office building and 1,076-space garage and lease it to the Social Security Administration.

According to state and federal officials, the building is needed by 2012 to accommodate 1,600 SSA employees who work in "functionally obsolete" space at the Metro West complex at 300 N. Greene St. About 400 more Metro West employees will be relocated to the Social Security Administration headquarters complex in Woodlawn, leaving none at Metro West.

The Reisterstown Plaza project will be one of the largest and most expensive federal office buildings to rise in Baltimore in years. The GSA has not disclosed a construction price, but using an industry standard of $200 per square foot, it would cost more than $100 million to build. It is expected to result in the creation of hundreds of construction jobs and to bring federal employees to a section of Baltimore that has been hard hit by the recession.

"This is not a stimulus project, but it will do exactly what stimulus money is meant to do," said City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, whose district includes 6100 Wabash Ave. "It is really an economic generator for the next 40 years." ...

According to public officials, the 15-story tower and two five-story wings no longer meet the needs of the Social Security Administration for a variety of reasons, including technological inadequacy and the security risk posed by a sky bridge over a major highway. According to Gilliam, the GSA's goal is to "dispose of" the Metro West facility after the SSA moves out. One potential user is the University of Maryland, whose Baltimore campus is several blocks to the south.

What do those of you who work at Metro West think?