From mulching yards to shaping the skyline of Baltimore, each step of Marc Weller’s journey has influenced his namesake firm’s ethos.
As the founding partner of Weller Development, he has spearheaded more than 2 million square feet of hospitality, residential, and mixed-use projects and continues to expand the firm’s impact thanks to a recent partnership with luxury and lifestyle investment company Mohari Hospitality.
Here, he reflects on his path, the importance of community impact, and collaborating with wellness-focused brand Six Senses for future developments.
Did you always want to go into hospitality development?
Marc Weller: I grew up in Buffalo, New York and moved to Maryland at 15 when my dad got transferred and ended up working for Marriott.
The father of one of my first friends (and still one of my best friends to this day) was a developer. I had never even heard the term before. [I ended up] working with him during the summers—mulching people’s yards, then hardscape projects, and as I got older, more complicated things like interior renovations.
I learned I like to see what I have done. Even now, having built billions of dollars of things, it’s the same satisfaction—it just takes a lot longer.
Fast forward many years, and it’s all been one big journey that took me from mulching and geraniums to large-scale, mixed-use projects with millions of square feet, which leads us into hospitality.
An aerial view of the pool at the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore, located on the city’s Recreation Pier
You helped revitalize Baltimore’s waterfront with various developments. How did this come about?
MW: When I got involved in Baltimore, I had come off building some high-end projects, particularly on the housing side around DC. Coming to Baltimore gave me an opportunity to go beyond just building extraordinary environments and to activate them. I knew we were doing what we were supposed to when people started taking note of the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore.
The [revitalization] aspect was as important as the actual building. It was an exercise in rebranding a city. We wanted to catapult Baltimore, which had incredible attributes and characteristics that were under-recognized, into the national spotlight. This was combined with community assistance, community building, and work in [environmentally] sensitive areas.
Now our company’s triple bottom lines are community, environment, and profitability. It’s not all about one thing or the other. Having that mission in all the work that we do makes a huge difference.
How do you define community?
MW: It’s a combination of things. We’re coming into communities that exist and you have to be respectful of what has been in there, what has transpired, and what we’re looking to create. It’s not just architecturally—this means culturally. No matter what my thoughts may be about what should be there, that’s not a fair assessment from the community’s standpoint. A collaboration with these communities, both from a philanthropic standpoint and a built-place standpoint, is as important as anything.
[When I was in my 20s], I went to my first community meeting, and I was telling them about all the things I was going to do. Then I started to realize they didn’t love everything I was saying. I didn’t understand where they were coming from. We think we’re going to bring real estate values up, but the senior citizens in that community don’t want the values up because then their taxes are going to go up and they’re on fixed incomes. You have to think about the community as a whole.
The Six Senses Grand Bahamas, shown in a rendering, with architecture by Olson Kundig and Gensler and interiors by Curioso
You’re developing two Six Senses hotels. Why did you pick the wellness-focused brand?
MW: Six Senses is a brand that has multiple bottom lines—they need to be profitable hotels, but also thoughtful about the environment—which fit in with what we had been doing for years. That makes a difference when it comes to matching our ethos and the locations we’re building in.
What stood out about the Napa and Bahamas locations?
MW: After an extensive search, we came across Grand Bahama and realized it was the closest island of scale to the U.S. mainland, with an incredible upside with its infrastructure and location. But [it was] the combination of the people and the natural beauty that struck me. This was a chance to be in an amazing place with amazing people and be able to produce an incredible experience we would all be proud of. We had thought about [developing] in Napa, California and [then] we got a call to take a look at this project from Six Senses and our partners at Pegasus. I love agriculture and the West Coast, so it fits together.
The Six Senses Napa, with architecture by Olson Kundig and interiors by Curioso, shown in a rendering
Why did you decide to include branded residences at each property?
MW: It helps the bottom line, but we have also found that people are looking for [something] different than what’s out there—whether from a design standpoint, a security standpoint, or an overall look and feel that makes them feel satisfied with where and how they’re living. It gives them a chance to choose a brand that matches up with the lifestyle that they yearn to live. I do think that branded residential and thoughtful hotel design are the way of the future.
How do you create authentic experiences at your properties?
MW: Partnerships are so important, with local chefs and people who are truly from the community, because the outcome tends to be much more authentic. One of the greatest compliments we can get is when the community comes in as if it’s their local hangout. That says we’ve struck a chord.
A rendering of the Six Senses Residences Grand Bahama, slated to open in 2026
This article originally appeared in HD’s September 2024 issue.
