FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UNION Collective Announces First Tenant, Earth Treks Climbing and Fitness

First Baltimore Location is Part of Company’s National Growth Strategy

Baltimore, MD (May 23, 2017) –UNION Collective, located at 1700 West 41st St., today announced that the nation’s leading indoor climbing gym operator, Earth Treks Climbing and Fitness, will be a tenant of the new community-centered retail and business complex in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood.

Construction will begin in November on what will be the company’s seventh climbing gym, and first in Baltimore City.

The 20,000-square-foot-gym will be Earth Treks’ first facility focused on bouldering, and will feature over 10,000 square feet of bouldering terrain as well as a yoga studio, functional fitness and cardio zones, training areas, and retail pro-shop. The site will have ample parking and easy access from I-83.

“Earth Treks has served Baltimore-area climbers since 1990 and we are thrilled that at long last we’ll be opening our first gym in the city. There are many synergies between the climbing community and craft beer community, which made this development and partnership the perfect fit for us,” said Chris Warner, Earth Treks founder and CEO. “We’re excited to call Hampden home, and look forward to being part of its vibrant community.”

“Our goal in developing UNION Collective is to do our part to make our city a better place to live, work, and play in. A key aspect of that mission is to retain existing growing businesses already in Baltimore, as well as attract new ones to move to the city for future growth,” said Adam Benesch, Co-founder of UNION Craft Brewing. “Not only will this facility foster community, which is also a part of our mission, it will offer something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Baltimore City. Earth Treks is a leader in their industry for many reasons, and we’re excited to see them open in this space.”

The announcement of the Baltimore location comes on the heels of news of another Earth Treks gym to be constructed in Englewood, CO. Earth Treks Englewood will be the largest climbing gym in the nation. Both locations are due to open in 2018.

About UNION Collective:

Located at 1700 W. 41st Street in Baltimore’s Hampden-Medfield neighborhood, UNION Collective will transform 10.5 acres and 138,000 square feet of warehouse space space located at 1700 W. 41st Street in Baltimore’s neighborhood of Hampden-Medfield into an interactive and collaborative assembly of several of Baltimore’s growing independent businesses. With 87,000 square feet adjacent to UNION Craft Brewing’s new headquarters, brewery and taproom, the project will be home to eight other commercial tenants. Local makers, non-profits, and other community focused businesses will produce and sell their wares on site, share resources, collaborate, and connect with the community at large. Construction on the project begins July 1, 2017. For more information, visit www.union-collective.com.

About Earth Treks:

Earth Treks was established in 1990 by mountaineer Chris Warner as an international guide service and climbing school. Earth Treks’ first climbing gym opened in 1997 in Columbia, Maryland and the first Colorado location opened in 2013 in Golden. Today, Earth Treks is one of the nation’s largest climbing gym operators with five full-service facilities in three states, and two additional sites in development. Located in Maryland (Columbia, Timonium and Rockville), Virginia (Crystal City), and Colorado (Golden) Earth Treks gyms offer the best in rock climbing and fitness experiences.

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Media Inquiries:

EARTH TREKS: Chris Jenkins

(410) 872-0060 x117

cj@earthtreksclimbing.com

UNION Collective: Nicole Atkinson

(410) 627-0561

Nicole@pushtostartinc.com

Bouldering is a style of climbing—the walls in the Hampden gym are appropriately called “climbing walls” just like our other facilities, but all the climbing walls are low and designed specifically for bouldering.

On higher walls, you use ropes (and a partner that manages that rope) to protect yourself. This is what we’d call roped climbing.

Bouldering is un-roped climbing on lower walls where the climber lands on the padded surface when they fall or complete the climb. Bouldering has become a sport unto itself within climbing. Our first climbing gym had a tiny section dedicated to bouldering. Now we dedicate large portions of our gyms to bouldering—and for the first time with Hampden, 100% of the climbing walls will be dedicated to bouldering. Bouldering is a social sport that facilities collaboration and group encouragement. Bouldering only gyms are becoming increasingly popular in urban environments both because the sport appeals to the demographic and because it’s often harder to come by locations with high ceiling heights in cities.