Two tech tenants sign on for space at Columbia’s Merriweather District

With announcement of a new headquarters, publicly traded cybersecurity Tenable became an anchor tenant of the Merriweather District in Downtown Columbia.

This week, two more tech companies indicated they plan to move headquarters to The Howard Hughes Corporation-developed project.

Edwards Performance Solutions and Data Canopy are each relocating from other parts of Howard County into the District, which is located adjacent to the concert venue Merriweather Post Pavilion.

“We welcome Data Canopy and Edwards Performance Solutions to Merriweather District as Downtown Columbia continues to attract cybersecurity and tech companies looking to grow within an innovative and amenity-rich ecosystem,” Greg Fitchitt, Columbia president for The Howard Hughes Corporation, said in a statement. “For years Maryland has been nationally recognized for producing the largest technology workforce population in the country. With Merriweather District we are building an exciting, dense and walkable mixed-use community where cyber and tech companies at all stages can not only afford to grow but can also retain a talented workforce.”

Edwards Performance Solutions, which is currently based in Elkridge, will move to One Merriweather later this year, and bring the building to 95% occupancy in doing so. The company offers services including cybersecurity risk assessment, IT services assessment and enterprise management.

“We are excited to be in an area with like-minded businesses, focused on improving business outcomes and employee culture, while remaining close to our customers in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area,” CEO Gina Abate said in a statement.

Data Canopy, which has data center facilities nationwide and is a hybrid infrastructure and multi-cloud provider, will move later this summer to a “spec-suite” space for startups and growing companies located at 10500 Little Patuxent Parkway.

In brokering the lease agreements, Howard Hughes Corporation was represented by Kevin Wille, David Fields, James Bahr and Tyler Feeley of CBRE. Data Canopy was represented by Mia Eglinton of JLL, while Edwards Performance Solutions was represented by George Santos and Ryan Miller of Savills, Inc.

The Merriweather District is also getting new public art. “Azlon,” a wind-powered outdoor sculpture, is stretching three-and-a-half stories. The sculpture was created by artist Anthony Howe, who designed the cauldron from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“Azlon can literally slow your heartbeat and silence your mind, like a meditation,” Howe said in a statement. “I am thrilled that my most ambitious work will become a permanent part of the landscape of Downtown Columbia — a community whose vision embodies my goal as an artist to inspire a better quality of life.”

Named for the character in the Chronicles of Narnia novels, the three-ton steel sculpture has 22 curving wings that remain still with no wind, and are set into a spiraling vortex with winds as low as 5 miles per hour, according to a description from Howard Hughes. It’s expected to be unveiled in late July.

The sculpture will form the centerpiece of an entry plaza adjacent to Tenable’s headquarters that gives way to shops and restaurants, as well as an ice skating rink, interactive fountain and other highlights. The Merriweather District now has a public art master plan, and a second piece will be announced later this year.

Here’s a video, via Anthony Howe’s YouTube: