Tradepoint Atlantic CEO retires

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Tradepoint Atlantic CEO Michael Moore has retired, the company announced Monday morning.

Moore is departing to handle “important family matters,” the company said. Tradepoint Chairman Michael Mullen will serve as the company’s interim CEO.

Tradepoint is transforming a 3,100-acre site at Sparrows Point from steelmaking to a multi-modal hub.

“When I first came out of retirement to lead Tradepoint Atlantic, I set out to build a team and grow the commercial activity of the business,” Moore said in a statement. “I believe I have accomplished that goal and I am proud of what we have achieved. While personal and family matters demand my attention, I am confident that Tradepoint Atlantic is well positioned for a bright and prosperous future.”

Sparrows Point served as home to steel-making facilities dating back to the 19th century. In the middle of the last century, when Bethlehem Steel operated the mill, roughly 30,000 people worked at the plant in its heyday. The mill helped create a blue-collar industrial identity for the Baltimore area.

But as the processes of deindustrialization hammered the steel industry, employment at the site dwindled and steelmaking finally ceased in 2012. The vacant site in eastern Baltimore County sat unused for years serving as a reminder of a more vibrant time for the area’s economy.

In September 2014, a joint venture between Redwood Capital Investments and Hilco Real Estate Co. purchased the site and promised a new vision for the property.

Eventually, the firm overseeing the transformation of the property was dubbed Tradepoint Atlantic in 2016. It has since announced plans for 16 million square feet of space at full build out with a final investment of more than $2 billion.

Under Armour has a deal for a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution and warehouse facility at Sparrows Point; FedEx Corp. plans to occupy a 300,000-square-foot distribution building; and Pasha Automotive Services has the option to lease up to 150 acres to run an auto terminal.

A report released in November estimated the revamped multimodal site could mean as much as $2.9 billion to the regional economy that will create 17,000 direct and indirect jobs in the next decade.

In January, Moore was named to The Daily Record’s list of Influential Marylanders in large part because of the scope of the project he was overseeing but also because of what the site means in the Baltimore metro area.