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Towson Development News

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#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.

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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.

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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.
 
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#195 ·
It's a beautiful site too. When you are on top of that hill you can see forever.

I tore down the 200' tall water tower next to Towson Catholic and the view was absolutely fantastic.

I have only been in that building once. I got bit by a rabid dog (in the old American Brewery) and had to get my rabies shots at the Baltimore County Office of Transmitted Diseases. I pushed the buttons in the elevator with my elbows
 
#197 ·
I recall stories about rampant molds growing in the space between exterior walls and drywall...asthma, respiratory infections, etc. Not exactly appealing to someone thinking about renting space. The state and county built a new building specifically to get out of there. Nice site, awful building. I imagine it to look the set of "Saw" now.
 
#196 ·
An observation - I was biking through Towson this afternoon, saw those "Lawyer's Row" houses that are under demo, downhill from the courthouses. There is a Public Information Meeting notice posted on the site - "The Palisades"...1 floor of retail, one of offices, a garage and the remainder of 18 floors to be residential units (I think it was 355 units). The meeting is on St Pat's day. Sounds interesting.
 
#199 ·
In the block surrounded by Washington Ave, Courtland Ave, Susquehanna Ave and the county gas station. It has a bunch of old houses and apartment buildings that were converted decades ago into law offices. It's not a conspicuous property and the new building will be pretty isolated. The old buildings there are junk now.
 
#215 ·
I don't know if it's currently growing, student-wise, but it is in a significant building cycle. A bunch of new apartment buildings is completing on Towsontown Blvd. There is a new College of Liberal Arts building in the works on the former Lida Lee Tall building. When that's done, the Linthicum Hall classroom building will come down as well as the last temp buildings. The latest count I heard was 18,000 full time students.
 
#221 ·
Yes. JHU is the largest with close to 20,000 students, but only about 4,000 of them are undergrads. JHU also has students on its campuses in DC, Italy and China.

Right now, UB only has about 5,000 students, but I'd like to see it balloon to about 15,000 in the coming years. I think it has the potential to be a really good university.
 
#227 ·
The Charles St. bridge is set to replaced over the beltway beginning in Sept. It will be expanded much like the new York and Dulany valley bridges.

They are also going to rehab the 695 bridge over the LR., and eliminate the roundabout (only built in '99) north of the interchange with Bellona.
 
#240 ·
Towson is dying. I was there Saturday afternoon and it was depressing. No life at all. It's even worse when you compare it to Bethesda. Empty street level retail space at Towson Commons describes the entire area. Hunt Valley and White Marsh are full of energy. Towson is deserted. It will always only be a weekday 9 to 5 town. I see no hope for this place.
 
#251 ·
Kicked out is the wrong word the owner did not renew anyone's lease. Wants to turn that whole portion into office condo's same with the adjoining Lafayette building.

I would be bitter at the mall too if I had been a mall cop there.

It is hard to say what Towson wants to be. There are building thousands of residances which will draw foot traffic but at the same time Towson's employment base is Governmental and law offices, being the County seat of course, and to a lessor extent financial ,all commuter 9-5 jobs. Its an in between place much more urban than Hunt valley or Lithicum, not nearly as urban as CBD.
 
#243 ·
Thanks bud, thats where I go to school...check it out Thursday night this week and tell me if the place is barren...school was out for spring break on Saturday...that probably had something to do with the place being "dead"...by the way, your the biggest dickhead on this board.
 
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