The shuttered Value Village store on Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown is up for sale for $2.3 million, and its former warehouse and processing center two blocks away on Bank Street is listed for $2.6 million. Both properties sit empty after the thrift chain closed its doors there in February, leaving two large, vacant commercial buildings in the East Baltimore neighborhood.
The storefront at 3424 Eastern Ave. is a nearly 18,500-square-foot mixed-use retail property, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reports the building was constructed in 1920 and renovated in 2008. The warehouse site at 3700-3722 Bank St. includes two separate buildings totaling 24,410 square feet on a 31,000-square-foot lot, per the same listing details. Both Highlandtown offerings are fully vacant, according to WBAL.
Why the Store Closed
The thrift store and warehouse closed in February after Value Village’s parent company, Prime Thrift, was acquired by the private equity-backed Brightmore Brands, according to The Baltimore Banner, as cited by WBAL's report. Value Village’s three other Maryland stores, located in Edgewood, Laurel and Waldorf, have since rebranded under Brightmore’s Ecothrift name rather than closing outright.
The Baltimore Banner has described the shuttering as part of a broader pattern in the thrift retail industry, noting that the move follows a trend of for-profit thrift stores merging with or acquiring other chains. That consolidation left the Highlandtown locations as the odd ones out, shut down rather than rebranded, and now sitting empty while the company's other Maryland stores continue operating under new signage.
Who's Selling the Properties
The seller behind both listings is the owner, who inherited the properties after his parents died and has now listed them for sale, according to The Baltimore Sun. Brandon Lee, a Greysteel associate involved in the listing, said the former storefront could accommodate a range of businesses, including retail or restaurant tenants, given its size.
A Tough Market for Retail, Shifting Odds for Industrial
The listings arrive at a complicated moment for Baltimore's commercial property market. A metro market report cited by the Sun described city retail properties as facing elevated vacancy, negative absorption and relatively low rents, conditions that could complicate a quick sale for the Eastern Avenue storefront. The outlook for industrial space like the Bank Street warehouse appears somewhat different; recent reports from JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark suggest vacant industrial space in the region could see a significant decline over the next 12 to 24 months, the Sun reported.
The properties had seen decent interest in the three months since listing, including from prospective buyers and tenants. The sites could be considered for future tenants or redevelopment. For now, the former thrift store and its warehouse remain empty storefronts in a Highlandtown commercial corridor waiting to see who, if anyone, steps in next.
