New Service Assists Drivers with Parking

Tired of searching for parking in Baltimore? It just got a whole lot easier!

Parking Panda is an online and mobile app service that allows drivers to save time and money by reserving and paying for a parking spot in advance. Parking Panda also helps parking owners and managers, both private and commercial, to fill up their spaces by “driving extra traffic when yield is low and improving pricing when the lot is full.”

“Simply put, we allow drivers to find and reserve parking to help remove the pain of parking in a city or near an event and help garage owners fill up their empty spaces,” said co-founder Nick Miller.

Parking Panda now offers services in Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and many more locations, but they started here in Baltimore and operated out of an office at 1111 Light Street in Federal Hill. Both Miller and his co-founder, Adam Zilberbaum, grew up in Baltimore.

“When you're starting a business, a knowledge of the local market is really helpful.  We also thought Baltimore was a great representation of the larger market we wanted to attack. Baltimore has a small but burgeoning tech community that really helped foster our company when it was starting out and has always been very supportive of what we're doing,” Miller said.

So next time you’re looking for affordable parking, let Parking Panda take the hassle out of the search. You’ll save time, money, and most importantly, the frustration of searching for parking on a busy Baltimore street!

Elizabeth Nelson, Intern

RedOwl Analytics Receives Innovation Award

Congratulations to 1111 Light Street’s RedOwl Analytics for their grand prize win!

On April 15^th, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley awarded the $100,000 grand prize of the InvestMaryland Challenge for start-up companies to RedOwl Analytics.

RedOwl Analytics, which calls 1111 Light Street home, is a company that focuses on analyzing the data that companies retain and using it to look at corporate fraud, legal investigations, and fiscal institutions. The Reveal software takes this data and helps organizations monitor governance, risk, and compliance, which can be used as an investigative tool for early case assessment.

The InvestMaryland Challenge was created by Governor O’Malley and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, and more than 250 companies competed in information technology, life sciences, and general business categories.

"We are absolutely thrilled and humbled to have been selected - it's a wonderful testimony to the hard work of our team over the last twelve months,” said CEO Guy Filippelli

Elizabeth Nelson, Intern

Federal Hill Project Receives Prestigious Award

Congratulations to developers of Federal Hill’s sparkling new mixed use project at 1111 Light Street! The $34 million development, which has brought lots of energy to the business district, was named the most significant residential real estate project in 2012 by the Baltimore Business Journal-RE.

A panel of industry experts and Baltimore Business Journal staff selected the winners. Criteria included community impact, creative financing, and deal structuring.

“I couldn’t be any happier about how well the project has integrated into the Federal Hill landscape and how well received it has been by the commercial and residential markets and the neighborhood,” said project developer Arsh Mirmiran, director of development for Caves Valley Partners.  “Hearing so many neighbors say so many positive things about the project has been particularly gratifying.”

The development, which includes 93 apartments, 24,000 square feet of office space, and 6,000 square feet of retail, cost $34 million. M&T Bank and 7-11 occupy the retail space, while office space is leased by Betamore, an innovative technology incubator facility, Red Owl Analytics, and BTS Software Solutions. The apartments, which have access to an attractive courtyard (see photo), are two-thirds leased.

The developer worked hard to make 1111 Light Street fit in with the historic feel of Federal Hill and met with community organizations throughout the process. The certified green building also features a rowhouse-style structure, which fills in empty space that existed on Cross and William Streets and doesn’t block the existing skyline.

Elizabeth Nelson, Intern