Towson Development News

[Eerik]

Last Sunday I went for a walk along the Fells Point waterfront and was very pleased to see the promenade between the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and the Bond Street Wharf finally being repaired. As some of you have probably noticed, that stretch was closed some time ago after sections of the walkway began to sink into the water.

They've totally removed the bulkhead and are in the process of replacing it with a new bulkhead and walkway. While it is only repairing something that has been fenced-off for some time, when completed, it will enable strollers to continue onto the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Harbor Point.

For those who have never ventured anywhere near the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park I encourage you to do so. It is a fine example of architectural preservation and redevelopment. The scale is very intimate and inviting, and to my surprise, even the pier jutting out into the harbor was now open to the public.

The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park is an example of how more waterfront development should be done...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=39.2797063...1&z=20&l=0&m=b

[waj0527]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Last Sunday I went for a walk along the Fells Point waterfront and was very pleased to see the promenade between the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and the Bond Street Wharf finally being repaired. As some of you have probably noticed, that stretch was closed some time ago after sections of the walkway began to sink into the water.

They've totally removed the bulkhead and are in the process of replacing it with a new bulkhead and walkway. While it is only repairing something that has been fenced-off for some time, when completed, it will enable strollers to continue onto the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and Harbor Point.

For those who have never ventured anywhere near the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park I encourage you to do so. It is a fine example of architectural preservation and redevelopment. The scale is very intimate and inviting, and to my surprise, even the pier jutting out into the harbor was now open to the public.

The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park is an example of how more waterfront development should be done...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=39.2797063...1&z=20&l=0&m=b

I noted this in one of the other threads several weeks ago. It went largely unnoticed. I'm with you 100%, Eerik. It's the little things that count. Sure, a 50-story tower would be awesome, but it's also great to FINALLY reconnect that section of the waterfront.

Also, the view from that pier is most impressive. When people from out of town visit, I often take them there. We'll sit for a bit on the edge of the pier and they'll marvel at how well programmed Baltimore Harbor is. Residents likely take it for granted, but we really do have a great harbor.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Eerik

Last Sunday I went for a walk along the Fells Point waterfront and was very pleased to see the promenade between the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park and the Bond Street Wharf finally being repaired. As some of you have probably noticed, that stretch was closed some time ago after sections of the walkway began to sink into the water......

Isn't this a Towson thread?

[StevenW]

Interesting story:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,2958122.story

[scando]

Originally Posted by StevenW

Interesting story:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,2958122.story

The developer has some guts to take on this thing. It has a bad reputation for "sick building syndrome" that prompted the State and Baltimore County to actually build another building in order to get 900 employees out. I guess stripping it to its girders will finish off the toxic fungus that had colonized the area inside the walls.

[th0r]

Looks like the decided to ditch the idea of moving into the commons building and went for the Towson City Center instead.

University leases space in rebuilt Towson City Center
http://www.thetowerlight.com/2011/08...-in-community/

[scando]

Originally Posted by th0r

Looks like the decided to ditch the idea of moving into the commons building and went for the Towson City Center instead.

University leases space in rebuilt Towson City Center
http://www.thetowerlight.com/2011/08...-in-community/

Good news for Towson City, but will the Commons become the new "Investment Building"? It seems to get a little closer to that every day.

[fanofterps]

Towson is still going to lease 125,000 sq ft of space in Towson Commons for
the School of Health. In addition, they are going to lease 45,000 sq ft in the Investment Building for their Emerging Tech Group. They are also looking for
space in downtown Towson for their radio station.

Towson has great potential to become a well known East Coast school. They want to add 4,200 more campus beds the next 15 years to arrive a population of about 12,000-13,000 living on campus. I imagine 8,000-9,000 will come from DC, Pa, Jersey, New York, Conn, Mass,etc..

Originally Posted by scando

Good news for Towson City, but will the Commons become the new "Investment Building"? It seems to get a little closer to that every day.

[KLynch]

I wished I owned a vacant building in Towson, I sure know who I'd call!

Hopefully the infusion of the university uptown will spruce that area up a bit.... looking a little depressed these days. The hundreds of townhomes they are building behind there will also help bring retail and restaurant customers that way as well.

[fanofterps]

I see a college town in Towson's future given that Towson will have 11,000-12,000 students living within 2 miles of the college within the next 10 years plus Goucher, Loyola and Notre Dame nearby.

Originally Posted by KLynch

I wished I owned a vacant building in Towson, I sure know who I'd call!

Hopefully the infusion of the university uptown will spruce that area up a bit.... looking a little depressed these days. The hundreds of townhomes they are building behind there will also help bring retail and restaurant customers that way as well.

[scando]

Apparently, the Towson Circle III development is still alive....they are dickering about the size of the garage. I'd love to see this dead zone come alive.

http://towson.patch.com/articles/tow...-increase-2-5m

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by scando

Apparently, the Towson Circle III development is still alive....they are dickering about the size of the garage. I'd love to see this dead zone come alive.

http://towson.patch.com/articles/tow...-increase-2-5m

The Parking garage was approved, this project still crawls along.

[leopard88]

It's about time!

http://thedailyrecord.com/2012/01/27...emark-theater/

Construction of an $85 million entertainment complex in Towson that includes a 16-screen movie theater and five new restaurants is expected to begin by March, Baltimore County officials said Friday.

The development is the second phase of the Towson Circle project located at the intersection of York and Joppa roads.

“In this down economy to have this investment in downtown Towson is a coup for us,” said County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, who munched on a prop of popcorn and signaled a short video on the new movie venture by saying, “Mr. DeMille, Towson is ready for its close up,” taking a hatchet to a famous phrase from the film classic “Sunset Boulevard.”

“We absolutely believe that the best of downtown Towson is yet to come,” he added.
Kamenetz said a total of $8.2 million in public money has been given to the developers, Heritage Properties and The Cordish Cos., for the expansion, to be called Towson Circle III.

The money comes from the state and county, he said, including a $6.2 million grant to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority for parking construction and $2 million from the Maryland Department of Transportation from a 2010 bond referendum to be used for infrastructure improvements.

The new phase is expected to create 1,530 jobs, including 600 construction jobs and 870 jobs once the theaters and restaurants open, Kamenetz said. County tax revenues are expected to be $1.75 million each year.

The site now holds a vacant Burger King fast food restaurant and bank building.
But by fall 2014, the area will be transformed into an open-air marketplace with a “main street” atmosphere, anchored by the 16-screen Cinemark theater, said Bryan Jeffries, marketing director of the chain that also owns the theater at Arundel Mills.
Jeffries said Cinemark expects to sell between 800,000 to 1 million movie tickets annually at the new megaplex.

Five new restaurants, which Kamenetz declined to identify even though leases had been signed, will also open totaling 45,000 square feet. The development will have an 862-space parking garage expected to open in 2013.

Phase I of the development opened years ago and holds a Barnes & Noble, Pier 1 Imports and a Trader Joe’s in and near the former Hutzler’s department store building.
“Our goal is to create a gathering place for this community,” said Blake Cordish, vice president of Cordish. “We want to create a sense of place.”

Jeffries said the movie theaters will hold 3,200 stadium style seats and feature floor-to-ceiling digital screens, self-serve concession stands and one extra-dimensional theater auditorium.

“We will have all types of movies,” he said. “Art movies, live streaming of the Metropolitan Opera, and we can host movie screenings with stars” in attendance.

The megaplex will be located near the site of a failed movie complex at Towson Commons, a large building that once bustled with several retail options that today are vacant. An office space at the Commons is leased.

[scando]

Originally Posted by leopard88

It's about time!

http://thedailyrecord.com/2012/01/27...emark-theater/

Please, please, let this happen. A decent movie theater in the center of Towson seems like a can't-lose proposition. I'll be there especially if they play movies that I'd otherwise see at Hunt Valley. This property has been an eyesore for way too long. I wonder what they will do with the little cemetery that sits in the middle of the property. It might be an interesting centerpiece to build around it and restore the old boneyard as a historic curiosity.

[LtBk]

About fucking time.

[KLynch]

I heard them saying the development will have 6 restaurants....I hope they don't over do it. I don't want to see them make the Annapolis mistake of putting in way too many new restaurants and half are out of business two years later.

I hope they take the bel air approach of trying to lure some Baltimore classic bars, instead of chain city. I feel like Towson could have an emerging young professional scene, it would be nice to see a bar that caters to that crowd. Mothers, Looneys, and ropewalk are always looking to expand.

[th0r]

Wow thats great news. I'm getting ready to start my second semester at Towson University today and its really cool to know Towson Circle III is going to start around March. Going to have to make it a point to drive past it on my way to and from school to watch the progress.

[Maudibjr]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/...,7270821.story

Interesting little article about how they are leaving a mini-cemetary in the Towson Circle 3 project.

They also state that construction on the garage will start soon. So maybe, maybe this project will finally start moving. Its starting to rival the superblook for delays.

[th0r]

CVP rises from the ashes
A favorite college pub will soon rise from the ashes left by the fire that destroyed it a little more than one year ago.
Charles Village Pub on Pennsylvania Avenue was first scheduled to reopen in January. Now, CVP manager Jason Jankiewicz said they hope to open to the public at the beginning of April.


http://www.thetowerlight.com/2012/02...rom-the-ashes/

[leopard88]

On my way to work this morning I noticed that Towson University and Mile One Automotive signs are being placed on the top of the building. I guess they're finally getting close to the finish line.