Towson Development News

[jamie_hunt]

All good points.

It's a bad idea to extrapolate from one's own experience, but here goes: eastern bypass or no, if I'm heading up York to Dulaney Valley I'm gonna take York through Towson. Don't think I'm the only one. Point being, even if it were feasible, the eastern bypass would be a waste of dough. The (existing) western bypass has decent connectivity to Dulaney already. Perhaps there's some way of reconfiguring the York/Bosley intersection to make taking the bypass seem like the natural thing to do.

[scando]

Originally Posted by jamie_hunt

All good points.

It's a bad idea to extrapolate from one's own experience, but here goes: eastern bypass or no, if I'm heading up York to Dulaney Valley I'm gonna take York through Towson. Don't think I'm the only one. Point being, even if it were feasible, the eastern bypass would be a waste of dough. The (existing) western bypass has decent connectivity to Dulaney already. Perhaps there's some way of reconfiguring the York/Bosley intersection to make taking the bypass seem like the natural thing to do.

That's what a lot of people (including me) do and why, if they want to improve the pedestrian environment, they will have to make TTown Blvd more desirable and York Rd less. I really don't think there is anything humanly possible to make the roundabout or whatever is there work any better so, as Towson has more residents and more traffic, it is inevitable that things will get worse on York unless traffic flow is fundamentally rethought. I'm not thinking about the eastern branch as another boulevard but just improving the flow so that you don't have to wind around residential blocks to get from York to Fairmount. I don't think that would require demolishing much in East Towson. The western branch, however, needs whatever can be done to expedite flow and get Timonium-bound traffic to go around the Towson core.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by scando

That's what a lot of people (including me) do and why, if they want to improve the pedestrian environment, they will have to make TTown Blvd more desirable and York Rd less. I really don't think there is anything humanly possible to make the roundabout or whatever is there work any better so, as Towson has more residents and more traffic, it is inevitable that things will get worse on York unless traffic flow is fundamentally rethought. I'm not thinking about the eastern branch as another boulevard but just improving the flow so that you don't have to wind around residential blocks to get from York to Fairmount. I don't think that would require demolishing much in East Towson. The western branch, however, needs whatever can be done to expedite flow and get Timonium-bound traffic to go around the Towson core.

So you would suggest somehow reconfiguring the the Bosley & York interchange so that the majority of the traffic takes the bypass.

To me that makes more sense and is less outlandish than many of the proposals put forward. I think in conjunction with an improved Fairmount that would reduce the city to Dulaney Valley Traffic.

Although to be fair I don't really think the traffic in Towson is all that much to begin with.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

So you would suggest somehow reconfiguring the the Bosley & York interchange so that the majority of the traffic takes the bypass.

To me that makes more sense and is less outlandish than many of the proposals put forward. I think in conjunction with an improved Fairmount that would reduce the city to Dulaney Valley Traffic.

Although to be fair I don't really think the traffic in Towson is all that much to begin with.

The intersection of York and Burke could begin the loop but that and the intersection by the fire department need some sort of work since they both back up a lot at drive times. A big help in promoting the use of the western half of the loop would be if York became nearly impassible (2 lanes, parking, etc). On the eastern side, my intuitive traffic analysis suggests that the small streets back there just don't flow to Fairmount. The Eastern loop has a good connection to Dulaney Valley Rd and on to York but you get stuck in East Towson. I don't think East Towson needs to be bulldozed but the intersections and curves need to make a smooth path back to the the loop. Smoothing those curves wouldn't even require much property and the settling of the traffic situation might actually improve prospects for East Towson, which is withering away, one house at a time.

I think you're right that traffic in Towson isn't that bad, but the people around there perceive it as being bad. I think the main goal of all this is to downgrade 1/2 mile of York as a "State Highway" and make it into a town center street.

[Hugh Jaramillo]

Towson Town Center Mall Addition

Does anybody have some renderings of what the new addition to the mall on Dulaney Valley Road will look like? I drove past there last weekend and noticed that the construction has really started in earnest but there where no pictures of what it will look like posted anywhere near. I did notice that there where several renderings of what the Quarter will look like and that project really looks like it's getting started too. I would like to see what the high rise that they have talked about on York Road and Lambourne Road will look like. I would think that the views would be really good since it is nearly on top of the hill. The buildings that are still there are all vacant but nothing seems to have happend there constructioin wise. Can't say that the new Fidelity building on the circle is much to write home about. They where saying that it would be a new signature building for downtown Towson, but to mee it looks like a blah undistinguished suburban building.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jaramillo

Towson Town Center Mall Addition

Does anybody have some renderings of what the new addition to the mall on Dulaney Valley Road will look like? I drove past there last weekend and noticed that the construction has really started in earnest but there where no pictures of what it will look like posted anywhere near. I did notice that there where several renderings of what the Quarter will look like and that project really looks like it's getting started too. I would like to see what the high rise that they have talked about on York Road and Lambourne Road will look like. I would think that the views would be really good since it is nearly on top of the hill. The buildings that are still there are all vacant but nothing seems to have happend there constructioin wise. Can't say that the new Fidelity building on the circle is much to write home about. They where saying that it would be a new signature building for downtown Towson, but to mee it looks like a blah undistinguished suburban building.

I have looked for some inklings of what it will look like but nothing so far. When it was announced they said that there would be several restaurant spaces and a design that would be more pedestrian friendly than the current creepy walk through parking garages.

As for the signature building....if you look carefully you will see the signature on the back side of some drywall. A most unimpressive building.

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jaramillo

Towson Town Center Mall Addition

Does anybody have some renderings of what the new addition to the mall on Dulaney Valley Road will look like? I drove past there last weekend and noticed that the construction has really started in earnest but there where no pictures of what it will look like posted anywhere near. I did notice that there where several renderings of what the Quarter will look like and that project really looks like it's getting started too. I would like to see what the high rise that they have talked about on York Road and Lambourne Road will look like. I would think that the views would be really good since it is nearly on top of the hill. The buildings that are still there are all vacant but nothing seems to have happend there constructioin wise. Can't say that the new Fidelity building on the circle is much to write home about. They where saying that it would be a new signature building for downtown Towson, but to mee it looks like a blah undistinguished suburban building.

There are some renderings inside the mall at the service desk. Looks like two floors with an atrium area.

I think the building on Lambourne is only 6-8 stories. Similer to the surronding condo buildings.

[Hugh Jaramillo]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

There are some renderings inside the mall at the service desk. Looks like two floors with an atrium area.

I think the building on Lambourne is only 6-8 stories. Similer to the
surronding condo buildings.

Thanks for the info on that. I will check it out the next time I am at the mall. I wasn't aware that the condos on Lambourne where going to be more garden style than highrise. I wonder when they are going to break ground?

Also does anybody know about the redevelopment on the southside, east of York Rd. on Register Ave.? Is that supposed to be condos, apartments or student housing or a little of all of these? Have they started demolition down there?

[Maudibjr]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jaramillo

Thanks for the info on that. I will check it out the next time I am at the mall. I wasn't aware that the condos on Lambourne where going to be more garden style than highrise. I wonder when they are going to break ground?

Also does anybody know about the redevelopment on the southside, east of York Rd. on Register Ave.? Is that supposed to be condos, apartments or student housing or a little of all of these? Have they started demolition down there?

I'm not sure about those, but the development at Bosely and York, is set for demo very soon.

[StevenW]

Speaking of malls, what is really the best mall in the metro area?
Is Golden Ring Mall still in operation? White Marsh?

[scando]

Originally Posted by StevenW

Speaking of malls, what is really the best mall in the metro area?
Is Golden Ring Mall still in operation? White Marsh?

Isn't the "best mall" an oxymoron? The current hottie,at least north of the city seems to be the remade Hunt Valley, which isn't exactly a classic mall, but one of those fake town centers. With Sears, Walmart, Wegman's, Filene's, Burlington, lots of chain restaurants, a big cineplex, and being right on I 83 and right at the end of what the merchants refer to as the "Loot Rail", it appears to be busy all of the time, especially in comparison to the old mall, which was a classic among huge, totally dead malls.

As for Golden Ring, the mall is gone and replaced with some big boxes. It appears on several dead mall web sites, including http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2...mall-sign.html.

[PeterSmith]

The classic indoor mall is an all but dead concept, I believe. I read somewhere that in 2005 there were over 500 classic indoor malls constructed in the United States. In 2006, there was only one.

[Baltimoreguy]

White Marsh Is still there with Macy's Macy Home Store, Sears, Jc Penny,IKEA,Boscov's , Sports Authority as anchors plus 200 other stores.
Golden Ring is Gone and replaced with Home Depot, Sams Walmart, Office Depot, Petco, and a bunch of other stores.

[StevenW]

thanx guys. as u can tell, it's been a while since my last time there.

[scando]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

The classic indoor mall is an all but dead concept, I believe. I read somewhere that in 2005 there were over 500 classic indoor malls constructed in the United States. In 2006, there was only one.

Just before the old HV Mall was literally ground up on site and used as a base for the new one, I peered into the vacant windows. The old Ficus trees that had decorated the mall amazingly were still there. There was about a 3 inch deep layer of dead leaves, but somebody had been faithfully watering the trees for all those years in that dead mall and they had gotten real big. It would have been a good movie set and a metaphor for changing tastes in retail. Malls were the future in 1980 but were the past by 2006.

[scando]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

The classic indoor mall is an all but dead concept, I believe. I read somewhere that in 2005 there were over 500 classic indoor malls constructed in the United States. In 2006, there was only one.

The mall isn't exactly dead but it isn't new anymore and it's morphed. The newer "town center" concept, like White Marsh and Hunt Valley is just a mall with no roof and a worse heating bill.

[Maudibjr]

Be it a indoor mall or a 'towe center', it all comes down to location, location, location.

[scando]

Originally Posted by Maudibjr

Be it a indoor mall or a 'towe center', it all comes down to location, location, location.

Location is one factor but not the only one. Recall, what a dead mess Hunt Valley was before it's "resurrection". The same location but an updated concept made all of the difference. Not much changed in the overall area except for the new look.

[Northern]

Originally Posted by scando

Location is one factor but not the only one. Recall, what a dead mess Hunt Valley was before it's "resurrection". The same location but an updated concept made all of the difference. Not much changed in the overall area except for the new look.

The High View development is of good influence to the success of the HV Town Centre (fancy spelling ) Couple hundreds new residential units within walking distance sure helped revive this mall . Here are some pics of the old mall:

[CU_rak]

Ah! My heart aches when I think of the times I spent wandering the peaceful corridors of that mall as a child (when there was water in the fountain and the dairy queen was still there). It really is like a long-lost friend. What I wouldn't pay to have one of those huge wooden door handles with the French Horn on it!