Best Buy leasing warehouse in county

200 workers likely to be in facility by next March

The big box appliance store Best Buy plans to lease a 500,400-square-foot warehouse in Anne Arundel County, consolidating and expanding its storage operation in a part of the region that has become a hub for companies with large distribution needs.

The warehouse is within Brandon Woods Business Park in Curtis Bay, which once housed an industrial dump. The location is also within a day’s truck drive of half the nation’s population and close to the area’s major air and sea ports.

Hanover-based Chesapeake Real Estate Group LLC bought the 259-acre Brandon Woods III property within the business park last year and began building the warehouse before it and partner Denverbased EverWest Real Estate Investors signed Best Buy.

The building, among the state’s largest speculative industrial buildings, is about 90 percent complete. The developers now plan more, smaller buildings on the site, totaling 1 million square feet of space to help meet demand for warehouses.

Best Buy plans to move about 200 workers into the facility beginning next March. It will be used for warehousing of large appliances and televisions and also will house service technicians for consumer electronics and appliances.

“We’re excited to expand our supply chain capabilities with this new, larger distribution center,” said Jeff Shelman, a Best Buy spokesman, in a statement. “With the growth of our appliance business and our strong market share position in home theater, this facility will help us serve our customers more effectively and more efficiently.”