The Blubber

One Charles Center, a building designed by renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1962, holds a significant place in Baltimore's architectural history. Its aluminum-and-glass structure at 100 N. Charles St. earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, recognized as a cornerstone of the city's downtown urban renewal movement.

Former Baltimore Orioles controlling owner Peter Angelos, who passed away on March 23, acquired the building for $6 million in 1996. A recent state assessment valued it at nearly $10 million.

The starting bid of $1.5 million reflects a trend of declining commercial real estate values downtown. Last summer, the office tower at One South Street was sold for $24 million, a notable decrease from its previous sale price of over $66 million eight years earlier.

An upcoming two-day online auction for One Charles Center is scheduled to begin on April 16, as listed by Ten-X.

According to the Ten-X listing, the 346,000-square-foot building offers a "dual opportunity" for a new buyer. They could either enhance its value through office tenancy or transform it into a premier urban high-rise.

Currently, Angelos' former personal injury law firm is one of the tenants, but only about a third of the building's office space is occupied, as stated in the Ten-X listing. Other tenants include Quinn Evans Architects, BCT Architects, and the Center for Architecture and Design.

The 23-story tower, resembling New York City's Seagram Building, marked the beginning of urban renewal around Charles and Lexington streets when it was unveiled.

One Charles Center is one of two buildings in Baltimore designed by van der Rohe, a prominent figure in 20th-century architecture and the modern design movement. The other is Highfield House in North Baltimore, a 1964 development featuring 15 stories of condominiums with sweeping views, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

The sale of One Charles Center marks the latest of Angelos' assets to hit the market, following the recent completion of the baseball club's sale and its assets to an ownership group led by billionaire David Rubenstein for $1.725 billion. In 2021, an Angelos-owned firm sold the seven-story Court Towers office building for $13.55 million.