Owings Mills Development Should Spark Main Street Activity

As potential development plans pick up steam in Owings Mills, Main Street business owners and county officials alike are predicting that Reisterstown shops stand to benefit.

In addition to providing a boost in traffic throughout the Reisterstown Road corridor, an enhanced commercial setting in Owings Mills will hopefully encourage Main Street shop owners and the Reisterstown Improvement Association (RIA) to continue their efforts in making the historic area a more appealing destination for consumers, officials said.

“I have a theory that with all of the potential projects at Owings Mills … it has the potential to set a higher standard for the rest of Reisterstown Road as far as strip malls, vacant buildings,” Councilwoman Vicki Almond said.

“I think when you see a vibrant community like I’m hoping this is going to be, you’re going to attract more life, more people. It will be a destination area. What I’m hoping is that this is going to spill over to the Reisterstown Main Street.”

And there’s a lot that can spill over. Expansion at , talks about , the and the possibility of a Wegmans coming to the Solo Cup plant all mean opportunity for Reisterstown.

Almond said Main Street is currently on the right path, as the RIA has beautified the area with items such as planters and park benches. She is hoping that an improved setting in Owings Mills will help raise the benchmarks for the rest of Reisterstown Road.

RIA President Glenn Barnes also views the Owings Mills development as a huge positive for Main Street, and anticipates that the addition of a Wegmans nearby would entice residents to the north in Hanover and Carroll County to pass through the area via Reisterstown Road en route to Owings Mills—rather than embark on a longer trip to the next closest Wegmans location in Hunt Valley.

“My personal opinion is I feel it will be a positive for the entire Reisterstown Road corridor,” Barnes said. “Currently, the way the exit is at Owings Mills Boulevard off I-795, there are some people that don’t like to use that exit to go over to Reisterstown Road. When they come down they just continue on down Main Street. I feel it can bring more traffic to the town.”

Almond also added that the Owings Mills venue could be used as an advertising agent for historic Reisterstown businesses. For example, signs could encourage consumers to “head up a couple miles up the road and visit our historic Main Street in Reisterstown,” she said.

While the majority of Main Street business owners firmly assert that they don’t fear losing any of their business to big name box stores that may open in a , some fully welcome the challenge to compete and evolve.

“In general, it will help create competition, which is always great,” owner Carrie Gorham said. “It always keeps you trying to think of something new and fresh. All in all, it will be a positive thing.”

For Lauretta Nagel, who owns , hearing the prospect of potential growth in Owings Mills immediately triggered the idea that more jobs—ones that have gone by the wayside as the town’s mall declined—will return to an area greatly in need of them.

“A lot of Owings Mills people will have more jobs, more disposable income and, in general, they will be able to spend more,” Nagel said.

With the creative and cohesive efforts of the Baltimore County Council, the RIA, and the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Chamber of Commerce, Almond expects that Owings Mills won’t be the only town experiencing positive growth.

But there is still work to do when it comes to planning community events and taking care of issues, such as parking, to attract small businesses.

“I really think we can come up with some destination type things that will help Main Street and kind of help create the same momentum that we’re going to have in Owings Mills,” Almond said.