SOS PICKLEBALL

Pickleball's rapid rise has sent developers hunting for space, and warehouses once suited only for storage are becoming some of the sport's most promising real estate. Twopoint Studio was engaged to reimagine one such building at 400 S. Spring Street in Upper Fells Point, a site with a layered industrial past. In the early 20th century, the address was home to Ales Pottery and Decorating Works, a small china decorating and pottery business owned and operated by Samuel Ales. In more recent decades, the building housed a stone and marble distributor before sitting vacant.

The building is organized across three warehouse bays. The north bay was converted into a tasting room with self-service beer taps, positioned to one day open onto three outdoor courts planned for a series of adjacent lots the developer owns. The two remaining bays house two full-size indoor pickleball courts, a full commercial kitchen, a players' lounge, and a leasable event space for small groups and private gatherings.

The design leans into the building's industrial bones rather than hiding them. Exposed structure and mechanical systems stay visible throughout. Upstairs, a mezzanine lounge with foosball and casual seating overlooks the courts below, tucked beneath tall factory windows that still flood the space with daylight.

The completed project has brought new life to a stretch of Baltimore City that had gone largely unnoticed for years, pairing a competitive sport with a genuine social destination inside one adaptive reuse.