With Purchase Of New Building, Vitamin Looks To The Future

10/28/19

Vitamin®, a leading digital-first integrated marketing agency, will move to 720 Light Street, at the corner of Key Highway and Light at the gateway to Federal Hill in Baltimore, Md. After an exhaustive search of properties across Baltimore City, the agency selected an end-of-block, 6,000 square foot, four-level commercial building located just steps from the Inner Harbor and Baltimore’s central business district (CBD). The building is actively undergoing an extensive renovation.

Since 2016, Vitamin has experienced significant progression both in the sophistication of its clientele and the size and capabilities of its creative and account services teams. The purchase of the new building and impending relocation is the latest move in the agency’s strategic plan to evolve while showcasing an ongoing dedication to detail, integrated campaigns, and modern digitally-focused capabilities.

Agency leadership was unwavering in their commitment to staying in Baltimore City, showing steadfast loyalty to the city it’s called home for nearly two decades. Overlooking Baltimore’s downtown region and the city’s largest concentration of Class A office space, the building’s entire northern side faces one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares for both morning and evening commuters, offering unmatched exposure and advertising potential for the agency.

“This new space is a testament to the incredible support we have had from our clients and the team in the past 17 years, all of whom have helped elevate Vitamin to its position among the region’s most respected agencies,” says agency CFO Mike Karfakis. “From the moment you walk in, there is an immediate impression that this is a modern, chic, cutting edge team with concentrated talent, that’s going to deliver highly-intelligent content suited for the digital marketing age in which we live.”

Inside, the building’s amenities are designed to promote a comfortable, pleasing space for employees to focus, collaborate, and relax. The interior design layout was crafted to spur greater employee collaboration and creativity and accommodate a range of simultaneous meetings and events.

Employees will have access to a full kitchen and café space, espresso bar, game area, bathrooms on every level, roof access with 360-degree city vistas that include M&T Bank Stadium, Camden Yards, and Inner Harbor (and one of the city’s best spots to view fireworks), three glass-encased A/V-capable conference spaces for uninterrupted team collaboration and client meetings, and more than 40 windows to provide natural light and views that extend from Locust Point to Harborplace and beyond. And in keeping with Vitamin’s commitment to employee health and responsible environmental practices, the space will include interior bike racks for commuting cyclists, a shower for lunchtime workouts, and water filtration stations to help eliminate single-use plastics.

With more than half of Vitamin’s employees living in the city, the location also affords a variety of commuting opportunities few regional agencies can match, with a Walk Score® of 95, a Transit Score® of 77 and Bike Score® of 86– all considered very good or excellent. It’s less than a mile from the Camden Station Light RailLink, a few hundred yards from Baltimore Water Taxi and Charm City Circulator stops and provides convenient biking and walking options. While the physical location was a key factor in the decision-making process, the new building is a greater indication of the maturation and progression Vitamin has undergone.

“The last two years have been a fantastic turning point for Vitamin,” says CEO Amanda Karfakis. “We’ve added some outstanding individuals to our creative and account services groups, expanded our leadership team with executive appointments. With this new location, our vision is to create a space to continue to build the teams under those leaders that will meet the needs of an increasing roster of clients whose relationship with us is long-term, metric-driven, and carries the expectation that their agency partner will consistently hit the mark.”

“The interior design was created to exude a clean, contemporary aesthetic that emphasizes the intelligence and capabilities of our team in today’s digital-first age,” adds Cory Magin, Vitamin’s VP of creative and UX. “We’re a boutique agency with big agency expertise. We deliver personalized, detailed, highly-targeted content for every client and we now have a space that imparts those qualities the second you walk through the door. In a way, the new location is an homage to the past 17 years and the clients and team members who’ve evolved the agency to what it is today.”

“There’s really no better way to describe the location other than a ‘home run’,” says Joe Nolan of KLNB, who was the broker. “The building is one of the most unique opportunities in the city with excellent proximity to the CBD, while still offering a cool, quintessential Baltimore neighborhood feel. There are a huge range of transit options for employees and clients and it’s less than a mile from I-95, with ample street parking nearby. Couple that with the opportunity to purchase the building, a terrific floor plan for team collaboration, and unmatched exterior advertising options, and you have something both truly unique to the city and perfectly suited for a growing, evolving business like Vitamin.”

Vitamin’s commitment to client partnerships was exemplified by the many long-standing clients who assisted in the purchase and renovation of the property. In addition to KLNB’s Joe Nolan, RMF Engineering is the MEP engineer, Gaudreau, Inc. was the architect of record, and Jensen Hughes oversaw the analysis code study.

“Words cannot fully express our gratitude to the people- clients and team members alike- who have supported Vitamin over the years,” adds Amanda Karfakis. “I can only say thank you- we could never have done it without you.”

About Vitamin®

Vitamin® is the “Cure for the Common Brand®,” a full-service, digital-first agency providing clients with high-quality, process-driven deliverables within the disciplines of branding, website design and development, SEO/SEM, media & advertising, print, public relations, and social media. Founded in 2002, the Baltimore-based agency specializes in integrated, deeply-branded experiences that define clients and bring their unique differences to life with a focus on inbound lead generation and lead nurturing. Vertical expertise includes banking, built environment, commercial real estate, financial services, healthcare & human services, manufacturing and non-profit market sectors. Vitamin is a certified MBE/DBE/SBE by the Maryland DOT. On social media @vitaminisgood.

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