Will McCormick's Hunt for Office Space Spark Economic Infighting?

Baltimore-based spice company McCormick & Co. Inc. is mulling options to build a new headquarters, or take over corporate space elsewhere in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

McCormick is looking for between 300,000 and 350,000 square feet of office space in the region by 2018, reports the Baltimore Business Journal. Commercial real estate firm CBRE Group Inc. is shopping around the spice-maker’s requirements, which could spur infighting among the region’s economic development groups.

Will Maryland civic leaders fight amongst themselves to land McCormick's new office space? Where do you want to see the spice company locate? Tell us in comments.

Company officials said in late March that they are mulling a move of the corporate headquarters from Sparks in northern Baltimore County to consolidate offices at one site in Maryland or southern Pennsylvania, reports The Baltimore Sun. Sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania where many McCormick employees live were cited then as the target for the search to have a minimal effect on worker commute times. 

The spice company employs about 2,400 people in Maryland, the Sun said. Administrative offices for about 800 employees are divide among four buildings in Sparks and Hunt Valley.

Company officials have said they want to be as close as possible to McCormick's Baltimore County headquarters. 

"That could be anywhere," Studley tenant rep Tom Fulcher told the Business Journal. "They have four years to go, and in such a wide area, that could be anywhere." 

The business site offers several possible locations for McCormick, including Prince George's County, which has Metro stations, and will have soon have D.C. economic development expert Victor Hoskins leading the county’s efforts.

Other options in Maryland include the Landover Mall site and the Air Rights Center in Bethesda, the publication says.