SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Towson Development News

430K views 2K replies 109 participants last post by  1066AndAllThat 
#1 ·
From the Baltimore Sun"

Towson's transformation gets going
Flurry of projects set to replace rubble from demolition
By Laura Barnhardt
Sun reporter
Originally published May 20, 2007
The heavy equipment has arrived in Towson.

Bulldozers have plowed through many of the old stone apartment buildings on Dulaney Valley Road, and they've knocked down a gas station next to the Towson Town Center mall, along with three commercial buildings near the York Road traffic circle.

Advertisement
Before the various demolition crews are finished, they'll take out a fast-food restaurant, part of the Towson Commons complex and dozens of houses. The rubble, though, will soon be replaced with luxury apartments, restaurants and new stores.

Projects long in the works are moving forward in Towson - and the work crews are providing visible evidence of what some say is an unprecedented flurry of development in the Baltimore County seat.

"People have been saying, 'We just want to see the cranes,'" said Andrea J. Van Arsdale, commercial revitalization director for the county's Department of Economic Development, whose office puts the value of development coming to the area at more than $400 million. "Now, when you get off the Beltway in Towson, you see the cranes. ... Dirt is being moved."

County Councilman Vincent J. Gardina, who represents the area and has been on the council since 1990, said: "I don't think we've ever seen all this, all at the same time."

For decades, residents, business leaders and elected officials have kicked around ideas to reshape Towson. While the core of the town has grown over the years, it retains many of its quaint elements, and residents crave such amenities as upscale restaurants. Stubborn problems - notably, traffic patterns that can make walking an adventure - remain unresolved.

But some who live and work in Towson are hoping those questions can finally be answered, even as the new wave of development draws more visitors and residents - and gives all of them more chances to spend their money.

Projects getting off the ground include the first expansion of Towson Town Center since 1992, when the Nordstrom store opened, as well as three new high-end apartment and condominium complexes with a total of more than 1,400 units. The new Fidelity Investments office on the traffic circle is due to be completed within months. And new restaurants and shops are part of a renovation under way at the 15-year-old Towson Commons, which includes an enclosed, three-story mall and 10-story office tower.

County economic development officials haven't even included the likely cost of some other, newer projects in estimating at least $400 million in development in the area in the next five years.

"People see other people jumping in, and they jump in, too," said J. Stephen Adams, president of the Towson Retail and Restaurant Association. "You need momentum."

Some business and community leaders are less enthusiastic about the projects in the works, saying there's nothing, thus far, that has created a strong buzz. Residents want - and have the cash to support - boutiques and restaurants that offer an alternative to the chains, said Mike Ertel, president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations.

"From a neighborhood perspective, we're still hoping we get those things," he said.

Transforming Towson - home to Goucher College, Towson University and three hospitals, along with the county government - has been a source of frustration, and conflict, for years. Spiro T. Agnew was Baltimore County executive when, in 1964, a commission put together a spiral-bound plan for "A New Urban Center" of shopping and dining. But many of the same issues remain under discussion - as seen by the fact that at least five studies have been conducted since 1992.

And not all development plans have been warmly received. When the county gave preliminary approval for a proposal that included student dormitories in the heart of town, residents complained of being shut out of the process - and claimed victory when the dormitory proposal was dropped in 2005.

Perhaps no other problem has proved as vexing as creating an urban, walking environment in a hub of suburban car culture.

Merchants have long lobbied to extend the hours for parking along York Road through the center of town to slow traffic and steer drivers toward the Towson bypass. The most recent blueprint for Towson even suggests taking down the stop lights in favor of four-way stop signs.

"Right now, York Road is a highway bifurcating the town," Adams said.

And while some who already live in Towson worry that more development will mean too many more traffic jams, others point out that the new high-rise dwellers should be able to simply walk to the new stores and eating establishments.

A weeklong planning session dubbed "Walkable Towson" is planned for next month. This comes a year after an out-of-town Urban Design Assistance Team, or UDAT, helped draw up a plan for Towson.
That plan included ideas like using the parking lot near Trader Joe's below Joppa Road as a "canyon" for weekend festivals, farmers' markets and concerts. Nearly all of the projects in the works in Towson include aspects that community and business leaders named as priorities during the UDAT process, such as attracting residents to areas where many of the businesses and offices are located, said County Executive James T. Smith Jr.

And restaurants - listed among the most important amenities by residents - are part of the plans for the Towson Town Center expansion, the Towson Commons renovation and the Towson Circle III development on East Joppa Road near the Towson Circle complex that is home to Barnes and Noble Books, Trader Joe's and Pier 1 Imports.

Advertisement
A spokesman said last week that tenants for the expanded area of the mall would be announced soon, after lease agreements are reached. In earlier discussions with the community, mall officials said an expanded Crate and Barrel store would be part of the addition, which is to have a "Main Street"-style facade.

The latest project to be unveiled, a 15-story apartment complex near the old courthouse government center, tentatively called the Palisades of Towson, would also include new shops, offices, and restaurants, county officials said.

The residential projects planned for Towson are mostly luxury rental complexes. The demand for those units has remained high despite the recent housing slump, Van Arsdale said.

"The private sector is responding in significant ways to the input of the community," Smith said.

The convergence of the projects can also be attributed to tax incentives, Towson's central location, the number of businesses and government offices, and the demographics of Towson residents, Gardina and others said.

"The market conditions have to be right," said Robert A. Hoffman, a land-use and development attorney in Towson involved with many of the projects in the works. "There's a greater demand to live in urban areas. ... And the level of retail options in itself is an attraction."

The first residential project expected to be completed is The Quarter, a 900-unit condominium and apartment complex that will replace the Dulaney Valley apartments across from Goucher College on Dulaney Valley Road.

Demolition of vacant houses bought up in prior years in the Towson Manor Village neighborhood closer to Towson University is expected to begin this fall, clearing the way for a complex of condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes. And there are plans to build a luxury apartment complex, called The Promenade, at York and Lambourne roads.

Business and community leaders say they hope to find the point where the area prospers but where those who already live there are not overwhelmed by the growth.

"Economically, Towson needs a shot in the arm," Ertel said. "The tightrope you have to walk is how much development is enough and how much is too much.
 
See less See more
#1,362 ·
I've never been inside, but from what I have seen in for sale photos on realtor.com, you can buy a condo with a stunning view fairly cheaply. They are not especially great looking (no better than the exterior), but it's a good location. Not only is it a big building, but it's near the top of the Towson hill, so you can see for miles. I have heard that top units have a view of the Bay. You just have to close your eyes until you feast in the night time high-up view.
 
#1,363 ·
I've never been inside, but from what I have seen in for sale photos on realtor.com, you can buy a condo with a stunning view fairly cheaply. They are not especially great looking (no better than the exterior), but it's a good location. You just have to close your eyes until you feast in the night time high-up view.
I have been in that building a few times, it has very low ceilings.

And just remember, that is just one of the many ugly buildings Towson has.
 
#1,367 ·
Sadly, one of the other most prominent buildings on the skyline is the parking garage at York and Washington. It is only 7-8 stories tall, but it sits right on the ridge so almost the entire thing is visible . . . and there is no disguising that it is just a run of the mill parking garage.
 
#1,373 · (Edited)
I like Towson. Its cozy-eclectic and you gotta embrace a little of the bizarre here. Even, the tower with questionable resemblance to a certain body part. Its great! If youre not taking it to too seriously. Besides, the new town center is already under construction and it will provide plenty of respectable towers and chain stores, sure to kill off the quirky, that somehow found a way to flourish before.
 
#1,375 ·
I was sorry to see the Kebab Hut go. They had excellent chicken kebabs (a Persian family recipe, I was told) and it was enjoyable to see a small family business run by nice people rather than yet another cloned chain. The husband and wife that ran it always were friendly and cheerful.

I do wonder when the burger fad will pass. It's getting tiresome.
 
#1,378 · (Edited)
At least it's a local chain, but I agree that Towson needs something other than another chain or restaurants serving the same old cuisines. Perhaps a BBQ restaurant would be good in Towson. BTW, ever notice that many parts of suburban Baltimore don't have any burger restaurants other than national chains like Burger King?
 
#1,380 ·
Towson seems to be the nexus of chain food at the moment, especially that gaggle of them in the movie complex. I tried Z-Burger recently, and found that it's owned by the same Persian family that used to own the Kebab Hut. They're really nice people and I wish them well, even though I'm really done with burger restaurants. I keep hoping that Towson will eventually have some more individual non-chain restaurants, but the numbers don't seem to be heading that way.
 
#1,394 ·
#1,421 · (Edited)
It's funny that people remember the former streetcars and intercity trains that ran up and down Baltimore County fondly, but hate the LR(someone called it the loot rail) or any type of mass transit.There is one member of that group who thought the LR killed the Caldor department in Lutherville :nuts:.
 
#1,422 ·
I may be stating the obvious, but a lot of the anti-light rail, anti-Towson Mall, "Keep Towson Rural!!!" sentiment is just a cover for old fashioned racism and and the updated form of general xenophobia. I grew up in Towson and recall often hearing it referred to as "OKOP"...our kind of people. My recollection is from the generation that's almost gone, but it surprises me when I hear it in younger people.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top