Zurich American Insurance Co. wants to sell the office complex in Hampden that the insurance giant has owned for nearly 20 years.

"Due to a change in business needs, Zurich no longer requires such a large facility and is looking for a new space in the greater Baltimore area," said an Oct. 30 news release, quoting Robert Windsor, Zurich North America's vice president and real estate director.

The company's regional campus sits on 11.4 acres at Keswick Road and West 40th Street, next to the Rotunda.

Zurich is the second largest provider of general corporate insurance in the world after American International Group (AIG).

The site was originally acquired by Maryland Casualty Co. in the early 1990s. In 1989, the building and business were purchased by Zurich American, said an Oct. 23 news release by UGL Equis, a Chicago-based corporate real estate services company hired by Zurich to sell the 462,000-square-foot property.

The decision to sell comes three years after Zurich moved nearly 200 employees from its insurance claims office in Hunt Valley to the Hampden campus to consolidate office space and save money.

The Hampden offices house Zurich's Small Business Division, Claims Handling and Risk Engineering operations. The complex has 1,500 parking spaces and has been upgraded and renovated several times in the past 12 years, according to UGL Equis.

The relocations in 2005 took the number of employees at the Hampden offices from 765 to 915. In addition, 300 employees of Farmers Insurance Group, a sister company of Zurich, shared the space. Spokesman Keith Owen said at the time there was enough room to house relocated workers without the need for new construction or significant renovations.

Now, in a troubled economy, the company is taking a different path.

"After thoroughly reviewing our options, Zurich has decided to pursue selling our Keswick Road building and relocating in the Greater Baltimore area," said Steve McKay, another spokesman. "This area is important to Zurich from an employee, customer and distributor standpoint," McKay said in an e-mail.

It may take Zurich several years to sell the property and to find "contemporary space more suitable for our needs," McKay said.

"This likely will be a multi-year effort," he said.

The Oct. 30 news release announcing that the complex is for sale calls it "a world-class facility with many great features and amenities."

Zurich is selling at a time when the New Jersey-based Hekemian & Co. is planning to redevelop the Rotunda as a mixed-use complex with upscale apartments, a hotel and expanded retail and office space, including a larger Giant Foods and a renovated Rite-Aid.

Ground is not expected to be broken for that project until next year.

It was not known how much Zurich wants for the property. Richard Lindberg, national marketing manager for UGL Equis, could not be reached for comment.

Zurich has already put out requests for proposals, said Phil Spevak, president of the Roland Park Civic League.

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user comments (1)

user jamiehunt says...

"The company's regional campus sits on 11.4 acres at Keswick Road and West 40th Street, next to the Rotunda."

Yo, Keswick ... forget the BCC property ... put your retirement community right across the street from the current facility.

Posted 3:50 PM, 11.12.08

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