Under Armour founder Plank breaks ground for his whiskey distillery in Baltimore
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Version 0 of 1. Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and a host of high-profile Maryland officials broke ground Wednesday on a whiskey distillery that Plank plans to open at Baltimore’s Port Covington. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) spoke during the ceremony, and were joined at the event by a long list of politicians and Hogan administration Cabinet members. Hogan called the new whiskey company, Sagamore Spirit, an “exciting achievement” for Baltimore and the state. Wednesday’s event marked the first phase of an ambitious new development Plank has planned for Port Covington, a mostly-industrial area of South Baltimore. [Kevin Plank on how he built a multibillion-dollar company from scratch] The Under Armour founder has acquired more than 200 acres there since 2011, with plans of using the land for a mixed-use project that will include a new Under Armour headquarters and housing units. Sagamore Spirit’s 22,000-square-foot whiskey distillery and 27,000-square-foot processing center will be the first element of the project, located off Interstate 95 along the Patapsco River. “Like it or not, this is Baltimore’s front porch,” Plank said. “Our mission is to make this front porch as fine and second-to-none as any destination in the country.” Hogan described Plank’s plans as transformative for Port Covington, which is currently home to a Walmart, a shuttered Sam’s Club and a Baltimore Sun distribution center. The governor promised that his administration will provide any support Plank’s Port Covington projects need to succeed, saying they will “play a pivotal role in helping revitalize the city.” Sagamore Spirit co-founder Bill McDermond did not provide estimates for how much revenue the distillery could generate or how many jobs it could create, saying it’s too early to tell. The Baltimore Business Journal reported in March that Plank is converting the 130,000-square-foot Sam’s Club into office space for the Under Armour IT and finance departments. Under Armour’s current headquarters is located in Baltimore’s Tide Point neighborhood. The apparel company says it has outgrown the facility. Sagamore Spirit will make rye whiskey, which Maryland produced in significant quantities before World War II. Many of the state’s distilleries were repurposed as ethanol plants during the war. |