The Lucie is the 500-unit residential anchor for a mixed-use project in southeast Baltimore that will convert a former oil refinery into an environmentally friendly development. Its role in transforming the city’s Canton neighborhood has earned it a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Greystar made its debut in Baltimore in late 2020 by partnering with El Segundo, California-based Griffin Capital to construct the Lucie. The project opened in late 2022, comprising 500 units and 23,000 square feet of amenity space.
The Lucie is part of a larger mixed-use development called the Collective at Canton, which is centered around sustainability and planned to include retail, office and hospitality space, along with the 500 apartments. Developer 28 Walker began work on the Collective in 2019 after purchasing a 12-acre site previously belonging to oil and gas giant ExxonMobil.
The former oil refinery is now being transformed into a green-focused development. The Lucie received the National Green Building Standard’s Silver certification for exceptional sustainability in development, efficiency and operations. It’s joined by a 60,000-square-foot Sprouts grocery store and Baltimore’s first-ever heavy timber office, which is slated to open in 2023.
Located between the Canton and Brewers Hill neighborhoods at 3850 Boston St., the Lucie is within a federal "opportunity zone," the investment program that offers tax advantages to encourage development in areas of the United States deemed economically distressed.
About the property: The Lucie offers one- and two-bedroom units, as well as a library, game room, fitness center and coworking spaces.
What the judges said: “This multifamily is delivering high-value amenities while making a serious effort to connect meaningfully with the Baltimore community and business ecosystem,” said Lindsay Thompson, a professor at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
Doug Schmidt, a principal at Workshop Development, added that the complex will appeal to younger renters, which will “pay dividends for decades in the future.”
They made it happen: Greystar’s team comprised Bill Maddux, Todd Wigfield, John Clarkson, John Beinert, Leadi Cole and Larson Mitchener. Griffin Capital’s team included Kevin Shields, Eric Kaplan, William Messori and Michael Marohnic.
