Baltimore County Development News

[oneworld25]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

i drive past this monster project on i-795 every mornin' on the way to work. It's gonna' do wonders for our area.....

That looks like a heck of a lot of parking for a development that's supposed to be oriented around transit.

[Nino_B]

DuClaw Brewing picks Baltimore County for new HQ
Baltimore Business Journal
Date: Friday, September 14, 2012, 6:00am EDT

DuClaw Brewing Co. has leased 62,000 square feet in Baltimore County for a new headquarters and brewery to keep pace with demand for its line of two dozen craft beers.

The brewery will move more than 20 employees from Abingdon to an industrial building at 8901 Yellow Brick Road in Rosedale, CEO David Benfield said. DuClaw plans to start brewing in Rosedale early next year and hire up to 35 people for production, distribution, sales and marketing jobs.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Verstandig makes pitch to buy Owings Mills Mall
Baltimore Business Journal by James Briggs, Reporter
Date: Friday, September 14, 2012, 6:00am EDT - Last Modified: Friday, September 14, 2012, 10:03am EDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...yu-owings.html

Pikesville real estate investor Carl Verstandig is making an aggressive pitch to buy Owings Mills Mall.

Verstandig, CEO of America’s Realty LLC, said he has approached Kimco Realty Corp. with an offer to acquire its stake in the mostly vacant shopping center.

“I’m willing to pay 10 to 15 percent more [than any other buyer] to get the site,” Verstandig said. “I’ve been looking at it for the past seven or eight years, even before Kimco’s involvement.”

Verstandig wants to demolish the mall — except for anchors Macy’s and JC Penney, which own their buildings — and bring in big-box ...

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Officials, residents hope Walmart draws new businesses to Randallstown
Long-delayed retail store to open Oct. 17, bring about 350 jobs
September 17, 2012|By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun

A Walmart Supercenter is scheduled to open Oct. 17 on Liberty Road in Randallstown, and Baltimore County officials hope it will give a boost to a corridor targeted for revitalization.

County officials and community leaders expect that the store at Liberty Plaza will attract attention from other major chains to the area. Consumers in Randallstown have high levels of education and income, they say, but the area has struggled to draw national retailers and restaurants. Residents complain that there are too many fast-food restaurants and low-quality stores.

"The appearance of some portions of Randallstown does not match up with the quality of housing," said David Green, a division chief in the county's planning department. "Oftentimes, people perceive the neighborhood by what they see from their car."

Construction is almost done at the 150,000-square-foot store at Liberty Road and Brenbrook Drive, where store manager Jim Hiteshue and employees have been working since last week to prepare the interior for the opening, Hiteshue said.

The store will offer about 350 jobs, including managers, cashiers, garden center employees and overnight workers, Hiteshue said. The store has already hired many people but is still accepting applications, he said.

Features at the supercenter will include groceries, a drive-through pharmacy with two lanes, a vision center and a hair salon, a Walmart spokeswoman said.

The company initially planned to open the location in 2006, but the project faced delays before construction began last year, including lengthy negotiations between the corporation and the plaza owner, as well as issues related to chemicals left by an old dry-cleaning business.

"The community is looking forward to it," said Liberty Road Business Association executive director Harold Reid.

Residents are eager for high-quality eateries and retail options along the corridor, he said, adding that local businesses hope the traffic from Walmart will benefit them.

"Why we can't attract more national chains and restaurants is a major question," Reid said, "and it's a major question for politicians."

While Reid says Randallstown residents welcome the Walmart, members of other communities haven't reacted as positively to the company expanding to their neighborhoods. Walmart was met with opposition from local residents and businesses in 2010 when the retailer, which has been criticized for its treatment of employees and crowding out of smaller stores, announced plans to add a location in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood.

County planning director Andrea Van Arsdale suggested that concerns about Walmart's hurting local businesses might no longer be as relevant as they once were, and said that the crowds big-box stores attract can help smaller retailers nearby.

"I think a lot of the shakeout between big boxes and smaller independents has already been played out," Van Arsdale said, adding that many Americans want to shop at nationally recognizable retailers. "Having a Walmart there offers choice to people."

A Ruby Tuesday has long been planned for the site across the street from the new Walmart, but Councilman Kenneth Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat, said Monday that plans for the restaurant have fallen through.

"We do not have plans to renew this lease at this time," a Ruby Tuesday spokeswoman said in an email, though she said further information about the company's intentions for the site was unavailable.

Oliver said he hopes other sit-down restaurants will follow Walmart.

"That's one thing that the community says they want, is nice restaurants," he said.

The Liberty Road corridor is part of the county's commercial revitalization program, which offers low-interest loans, tax credits and business assistance.

Other projects in the area have included the Randallstown Community Center, which opened in 2009; renovations to 1960s-era shopping centers; and a Home Depot at Brenbrook Plaza.

Van Arsdale said an anchor such as Walmart often attracts other retailers that could include a pet store, shoe and apparel shops. Officials hope the Walmart also could generate enough traffic to draw a national restaurant chain.

Many are also looking forward to a new choice for groceries, Green said.

"For the volume of traffic on Liberty Road, the community feels they're deserving of another shopping choice," he said.

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said last week that the county has set up a job hot line (410-887-4666) for the new Walmart location.

[scando]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

Verstandig makes pitch to buy Owings Mills Mall
Baltimore Business Journal by James Briggs, Reporter
Date: Friday, September 14, 2012, 6:00am EDT - Last Modified: Friday, September 14, 2012, 10:03am EDT

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...yu-owings.html

Pikesville real estate investor Carl Verstandig is making an aggressive pitch to buy Owings Mills Mall.

Verstandig, CEO of America’s Realty LLC, said he has approached Kimco Realty Corp. with an offer to acquire its stake in the mostly vacant shopping center.

“I’m willing to pay 10 to 15 percent more [than any other buyer] to get the site,” Verstandig said. “I’ve been looking at it for the past seven or eight years, even before Kimco’s involvement.”

Verstandig wants to demolish the mall — except for anchors Macy’s and JC Penney, which own their buildings — and bring in big-box ...

How things change. Remember when Owings Mills was THE place to shop. As I recall, in the early days they actually had rickshaws for the lazy who had to park too far from the entrance.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by scando

How things change. Remember when Owings Mills was THE place to shop. As I recall, in the early days they actually had rickshaws for the lazy who had to park too far from the entrance.

Owings Mills mall in 1986 (wow, Sally Thorner was GEORGEOUS back then at 1:00 in the video!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YPuLHgsCzI



Owings Mills mall today.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0udEq...eature=related

[Mirage52]

My middle school chorus sung at Owings Mills around the time it opened.

As malls go OMM didn't last too long. It burned out pretty fast.

[scando]

Originally Posted by rockin'.baltimorean

Owings Mills mall in 1986 (wow, Sally Thorner was GEORGEOUS back then at 1:00 in the video!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YPuLHgsCzI



Owings Mills mall today.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0udEq...eature=related

The real creep show was the last days of the old Hunt Valley Mall. I recall going to Sears there and walking past the mall out of curiosity. The whole thing was full of dead stores but the Ficus trees were still alive and leaves were 2 inches deep on the floor. It seems that big suburban malls only had a about a 30 year run. I guess they will do something similar to Hunt Valley where the moved a grinder onto the property, literally ground the entire mall into gravel and trucked it away one truck at a time. Sad about the Ficus trees, though. I haven't been to Owings Mills for years...still have the palm trees? I guess, all things considered, like 25 years later, Sally is still doing as well as can be expected.

[LtBk]

Shit, I haven't been to Owings Mills Mall since 2001. BTW, is White Marsh mall dying?

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by scando

I haven't been to Owings Mills for years...still have the palm trees?

that mall had palm trees?? Wow, they really rolled out the red carpet & then some for this grand opening.

[KLynch]

Spent yesterday and this morning in Towson. Seems like there are some nice new businesses in the area. Rec Room has a really great new outdoor bar behind it. I swear they've been working on the Charles St. exit of 695 for a decade. It also really is a shame the Light Rail wasn't designed to go through Towson. Would have been a great resource for the Students to get downtown, plus since parking can really be a pain uptown, it would have really helped those York Road businesses.

[KLynch]

View from my hotel room last night



A look at Towson Green... horrible picture but you can see a couple of the phases area already built.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

looks good!

[k25150]

Originally Posted by LtBk

Shit, I haven't been to Owings Mills Mall since 2001. BTW, is White Marsh mall dying?

No White Marsh mall is doing pretty well.

[Coldspring]

*Deleted- moved to Towson Forum*

[rockin'.baltimorean]

*Deleted- moved to Towson Forum*

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Towson Square project brings on three restaurants
Sarah Meehan
Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal
Jan 15, 2013, 11:04am EST Updated: Jan 15, 2013, 11:30am EST

The first three restaurants in an $85 million planned entertainment complex will soon join the list of dining options in downtown Towson.

Nando’s Peri-Peri, La Tagliatella and On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina — all newcomers to Baltimore County — will be the first of eight restaurants in the Towson Square entertainment center.

The complex, previously known as Towson Circle III, will center on a 90,000-square-foot Cinemark Theatres with 15 screens and 3,400 seats. The movie theater and restaurants are scheduled to open in fall 2014. Construction on an 850-space underground parking garage for the complex will begin this week and is set to be complete by the end of 2013. Work on the theater and restaurants will begin following the garage’s completion.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced Tuesday the theater will also include a 200-seat VIP section with a full bar and premium food choices.

The Cordish Cos. and Heritage Properties are developing Towson Square, located on 4.2 acres bound by East Joppa Road and Pennsylvania and Virginia avenues. The developers will announce additional restaurants at the center later this year.

Towson Square is expected to generate 1,530 jobs and $1.75 million in Baltimore County taxes annually, as well as $2.9 million in state sales tax.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Lockheed Martin moving logistics group to Middle River
By Steve Kilar, The Baltimore Sun
Wed Feb 13 2013 2:05 PM

In a cost-cutting move, a logistics division of Lockheed Martin is moving from Johnstown, Pa., to Middle River, according to a company representative.

The 78-person Global Supply Chain Services team was notified of the move Thursday, said Emily Caruso, a Lockheed Martin spokeswoman.

"Our goal is to make offers to all qualified employees willing to relocate," Caruso said. "We'll supplement that with local hiring."

Lockheed Martin is not renewing the lease on this division's workspace in Johnstown, a move that will save the company $1.6 million annually, she said. The lease expires at the end of August, she said.

The division will move into existing Lockheed Martin space in Middle River, she said. The company currently has 420 employees in Middle River, Caruso said, and the Global Supply Chain Services team is headquartered there.

The company would like to move employees as soon as they're willing, she said.

The Global Supply Chain services division provides maintenance and repair services, warehousing and transportation, Caruso said. Its largest customer is the military's Defense Logistics Agency, she said.

steve.kilar@baltsun.com

twitter.com/stevekilar

[rockin'.baltimorean]

interstate 95 & 695 Megastack 2012 Express Toll Lanes are underway!!! Set to open in 2014!!!




Phase II - Two new bridges will carry the ETLs through the I-695 interchange. The new Express Toll Lanes (highlighted in orange) are scheduled to open in 2014.

http://www.i-95expresstolllanes.com/...5_mainline.asp


The I-95/I-695 interchange, located in Baltimore County, is being totally reconstructed in multiple phases. The project area extends along I-95 from the Kenwood Avenue overpass to the Rossville Boulevard overpass.

The new interchange is necessary in order to realign the existing travel (general purpose) lanes and to add the new Express Toll Lanes (ETLsSM) along I-95. During the first phase of construction (winter 2007 - summmer 2010), a new, reconfigured, four-level interchange for general purpose roadways and ramps was constructed.

Phase II construction began in August 2011 and will include the construction of two new bridges, which will carry two ETLs in each direction through the I-695 interchange. ETL operation is expected to start in 2014.




About Construction:

Phase II construction will extend 1.3 miles along I-95. The 2-year project is expected to be completed in summer 2013. Motorists should expect traffic pattern changes and periodic detours for I-695 traffic. Residents should expect construction-related impacts, such as noise and dust. Work will include:
Two New Bridge Structures.
Full-Depth Pavement Construction.
New Retaining Wall Structures.
Excavation and Embankments.
Pavement Milling and Resurfacing.
New Storm Drain Improvements.
Signing, Pavement Marking and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Improvements.
Utility Relocation.
Landscaping.
Lighting.

[Scba]

Well that's good, those new lanes have already been sitting empty for years it seems like.