Second Chance has purchased a 30,000 sq. ft. building at 1303 Carroll St. in Pigtown/Carroll-Camden Industrial Area to use as a training facility. The Carroll-Camden Industrial Area-based nonprofit already has an architectural salvage and antique store, a deconstruction company, and a workforce development program.

The acquisition continues the growth of Second Chance in South Baltimore. It has a 163,526 sq. ft. building for its store, offices, and classroom at 1700 Ridgely St., and it is currently building out a second 96,530 sq. ft. store with more than two acres of outdoor space at 1025 W. Ostend St. The new store at 1025 W. Ostend St., which Second Chance hopes to open in August, will focus on lumber, flooring, specialty wood, and outdoor items.

Not only does Second Chance look to give building materials a second chance, it also uses its workforce training program to help those “with various employment obstacles in the Baltimore region.”

Second Chance Founder and President Mark Foster told SouthBMore.com that the new building at 1303 Carroll St. will have classroom space and a workshop to train individuals on the deconstruction side of the business.

“The building needs a lot of work, but we have the materials to fix it,” said Foster.

Second Chance will refresh the building with new lighting, upgraded electric, window improvements, a new garage door opening on the front, and new signage.

“Our retail stores are not heated and air conditioned. We try to keep the training place comfortable and quiet,” said Foster.

1303 Carroll St. was built in the early 1900s. It was the longtime home of the Burch Company which manufactured windows and the aluminum awnings seen on many Baltimore rowhomes.

Jim Chivers of Gold and Company assisted both parties on the $750,000 sale. It is his third time selling the building in recent years.

“This recent sale to Second Chance highlights a commitment to revitalization and enhancement to 1303 Carroll St.. We’ve seen a lot of recent investments in the commercial buildings in the Carroll-Camden Industrial Area submarket. We expect a positive transformation of this building,” he said.

1303 Carroll St. is adjacent to a community basketball court and a Pigtown Food For Thought community garden.

The acquisition and expansion by Second Chance follows a subdivision of its property at 1700 Ridgely St. Second Chance purchased a 300,000 sq. ft. building on 17 acres of land at 1700 Ridgely St. in 2011. It still uses 163,526 sq. ft. of the property for its business, but sold 110,360 sq. ft. of warehouse space and six acres of land to Clean Harbors last year for $15.5 million.

Clean Harbors was already a tenant of those spaces before making the acquisition.