Baltimore County (Map, News) - T. Rowe Price Group, already a major private employer in Baltimore County, plans to spend $185 million to build two new office buildings at its Financial Center Campus that will eventually accommodate 1,400 new employees.

“It’s an obligation, but it’s also a pleasure to invest money into this area and create new jobs,” T. Rowe Price CEO and President James A.C. Kennedy said before Friday’s announcement in Owings Mills.

The two new buildings — totaling about 400,000 square feet of office space — and related parking garages, will be built on a 38-acre parcel of land to the south of T. Rowe Price’s current 34-acre, four-building campus off Painters Mill Road.

Construction of the buildings will begin this fall, and the offices are expected to open in the second half of 2009.

“This plan reflects the ongoing growth of our business,” said Brian C. Rogers, chairman of the board of T. Rowe Price. “It also reflects our long-standing commitment to the Baltimore metropolitan area in general and the Owings Mills area in particular.”

Baltimore County officials said T. Rowe Price’s expansion represents the largest single planned job increase in Maryland since 2004.

“T. Rowe Price is a home-grown company, born and bred in Baltimore,” said Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith. “T. Rowe Price is poised to take its place as Baltimore County’s largest private employer.”

T. Rowe Price is a global investment firm with more than $380 billion in assets under management.

The first two buildings at the Financial Center Campus opened in 1997, with the next two opening in 1999. Even with the upcoming construction, there’s still room for T. Rowe Price to expand at the location, said Kenneth V. Moreland, chief financial officer for T. Rowe Price.

“If the company continues to grow, we’d love to see two more buildings built in the future,” Moreland said.

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com