South Baltimore’s waterfront makeover just took a sharp turn into bank territory. Bank OZK, the Arkansas lender that now effectively controls a large stretch of undeveloped land at Baltimore Peninsula, is actively shopping the property and weighing whether to slice it into smaller pieces for multiple buyers.
Regulatory disclosures and executive comments show the bank is deep into due diligence on the site, even though it has not yet taken title or formally foreclosed. That shift moves the next phase of the neighborhood out of the hands of master developers and into those of a lender, with real implications for how and how fast the South Baltimore waterfront grows over the coming years.
Bank Says It Is In Talks
In second-quarter management commentary to investors, Bank OZK said it has been “in active and very detailed discussions and due diligence with multiple potential buyers.” On the bank’s earnings call, CEO George Gleason put it more bluntly, saying, “We’re working on a potential sale of that property right now,” according to the company’s earnings transcript.
Reporting this month confirms those talks are ongoing as the bank weighs whether to offer the acreage as one large block or carve it into smaller parcels that might attract a wider range of bidders. The lender has described the land as a complex, multi-parcel asset under review, as reported by the Baltimore Business Journal.
How The Lender Came To Control The Land
The undeveloped tracts tie back to a roughly $66 million land loan on a joint venture between Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Ventures and Goldman Sachs. That note came due late last year and was not extended.
As the original owners pulled back from future phases, Bank OZK stepped into a role that includes managing disposition options for the remaining sites. Hines was brought in to operate the already-completed portion of the Peninsula under a separate arrangement. The sequence of the handoff and related financing shifts was documented by Bisnow.
Local Builders Are Watching
Developers across South Baltimore are watching closely. The available parcels could appeal to both big institutional players and smaller homegrown builders focused on townhomes or mid-scale projects.
Mark Sapperstein of 28 Walker Development, who led the nearby Locke Landing townhome project, has publicly shown interest in more Peninsula land. Locke Landing townhomes have been selling in the $700,000 to $800,000 range, a sign that at least some types of residential product are already working in the submarket. Those prices and developer comments have been chronicled by The Baltimore Banner.
What A Sale Would Look Like
Bank OZK has told investors it is “dual-tracking” the situation. On one track, it is continuing negotiations with would-be buyers who could either take down large, contiguous swaths of land or opt for smaller, more targeted parcels.
On the other track, the bank is preparing to acquire title itself if no acceptable deal emerges. Executives have said that if it ends up owning the land outright, the bank would look to secure a favorable sale price or hold and lease the site until market conditions improve, rather than dumping it in a fire sale. The bank’s earnings transcript and related coverage from MarketBeat outline the playbook banks often use with similar commercial real estate assets.
Why Baltimore Cares
Parts of Baltimore Peninsula are already up and running with housing, offices and retail, including Under Armour’s downsized global headquarters and a flagship Brand House that opened in late 2024. Even so, large chunks of entitled land remain untouched.
A Peninsula spokesperson has stressed the long game, saying “Baltimore Peninsula remains one of the premier development opportunities in Baltimore,” even as control of key undeveloped parcels tilts toward the lender. The next moves from Bank OZK will heavily influence whether the neighborhood gets high-rise towers, more townhomes or slower, infill-style growth.
For a closer look at the athletic brand’s footprint there, see Under Armour for the company’s own account of its campus and store opening, and turn to The Baltimore Banner for additional background on the project and its local reception.
However it shakes out, the structure of any eventual sale, whether to a single institutional owner or a patchwork of smaller buyers, will drive zoning decisions, infrastructure timelines and the pace at which the next phase of the Peninsula rises. For now, Bank OZK’s due diligence and investor disclosures are the clearest public signs that change is coming to the South Baltimore waterfront.
.jpg){kind=link}