Setting Up the Owings Mills Development Debate

From , to New Town, to Reisterstown Road, it’s tough to park your car in a commercial area in Owings Mills that wasn’t developed or isn’t managed by David S. Brown Enterprises.

And when the is completed, the developer's land share will increase by more than 1.7 million square feet.

The first phase of the project—a 120,000 square foot building that will house the largest branch of the Baltimore County Public Library and a new campus for the Community College of Baltimore County—will be completed in Spring 2013. 

Ultimately, the developer is planning for more than 1.2 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail and some 1,700 residential units to create an urban center for Owings Mills.

But Howard Brown, David. S. Brown’s president, is concerned that his “downtown Owings Mills” project may be undermined by another development proposal just down Painters Mill Road, at the current site of .  That proposed project is called Foundry Row, and would possibly include a Wegman's supermarket.

, which is overseeing the next door to Metro Centre, Brown said he wants Baltimore County government officials to think carefully about downzoning the Solo Cup property from manufacturing use. Kimco Realty officials have previously voiced concerns about the retail market being spread too thin.

Brown's concerns stem from efforts by Greenberg Gibbons Commercial to turn the Solo Cup site into a 385,000 square foot outdoor retail center, .

“It’s not good for Owings Mills,” said Brown, sitting at a conference table in his Painters Mill Road office tower, surrounded by artists’ sketches and aerial maps of the numerous projects his family's company has overseen since 1933.

“I consider this my home. I’ve developed more property than any four people have combined [in this area]," Brown said. "I don’t feel threatened by these people, but what’s good for Owings Mills is good for me.”

David S. Brown, Kimco Realty, Inc., and General Growth Properties, Inc.—the major stakeholders in the mall and metro renaissance in Owings Mills—say all roads lead to their projects, including I-795 and Owings Mills Boulevard. The Metro Subway station is a centerpiece of Brown’s so-called Transit Oriented Development.

There has been a plan for Owings Mills, the developers contend, and it’s underway now. But rezoning the Solo Cup land for commercial use complicates that plan and threatens the traffic situation along Reisterstown Road, already a problem in northwest Baltimore County, some developers argue. For instance, the intersection of Painters Mill and Reisterstown roads is already on the state's list of failing intersections, a State Highway Administration spokesman said.

But Brian Gibbons, the president and CEO of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, disagrees with the other developers. Gibbons' development will contain measures that will improve traffic in the corridor, he said.

And —Gibbons’ proposed development which would be —won’t compete with the mall or the Metro Centre. It’s not a downtown Owings Mills and it’s not a town center, Gibbons said.

“It’s a grocery-anchored project. It’s really not a big project,” Gibbons said.

And other developers should not be concerned with Foundry Row signing tenants, Gibbons said. He said he already has more tenant interest than he knows what to do with–and the property hasn’t even been approved for commercial development yet by the Baltimore County Council. County officials have said in the past they want the projects to work in concert.

“I’ve never had the leasing momentum and traction at this stage in the process before,” Gibbons said. “The interest…is better than [any other Gibbons project].”

But Brown and Kimco vice president Geoffrey Glazer argue the market isn’t strong enough to support all three projects—not when other shopping centers along Reisterstown Road are considered, including the adjacent St. Thomas Shopping Center.

“The effect on the other shopping centers on Reisterstown Road will be [bad],” Brown said. “It just doesn’t work.”

Editor’s Note: This is the first story in a series that will report and analyze Owings Mills development arguments.

This story was changed to clarify Brown's ownership of Owings Mills properties.