Westport parcel for luxury apartments.

The developer of Westport's waterfront is selling an acre of the property along Baltimore's Middle Branch of the Patapsco to a company planning to build a luxury apartment building -- the first new construction in the proposed $1.2 billion mixed-use community.

Turner Development, headed by developer Patrick Turner, has signed a contract with Landex Development LLC for a parcel at the southern end of the development site a block from the Westport light rail station. Turner plans a 50-acre transited-oriented community of offices, shops, homes and a hotel.

Landex, based in Linthicum, plans to build a 200-unit, six-story, glass-facade building that will have balconies and terraces, secured underground parking and concierge services. Construction is slated to start during the last three months of next year.

"The Westport Waterfront offers very strong market potential," said Peter Siegel, chief executive officer of Landex.

He said the site's proximity to rail and highway transportation and access to biking and walking trails would make the apartments attractive to professionals who work in Baltimore or Washington.

"Landex is exactly the kind of partner that we want to bring to Westport Waterfront – an experienced developer that takes a holistic approach to housing, neighborhoods and communities," Turner said.

Landex began in 1983 specializing in the acquisition, rehabilitation and management of multi-family housing. The company has developed and financed a portfolio of more than 3,000 homes in properties across 10 states.

In the Baltimore area, Landex's projects include the renovation of the Hanover Park Apartments in Cherry Hill into the Riverfront Townhomes and the Broadway Overlook in East Baltimore, a redevelopment of a 429-unit public housing complex near Johns Hopkins Hospital into a mixed-income neighborhood of for sale and rental housing.