Wegmans Coming to Owings Mills

Wegmans has signed a lease to anchor new development at the old property in Owings Mills, a Baltimore County statement said.

The upscale grocery store, known for its gourmet offerings, has only one other location in Baltimore County. A Hunt Valley store, which opened in 2005, was the first.

"Attracting this premier chain is part of our larger strategy to redevelop not only the Solo site, but the Owings Mills Mall and the Metro Centre project as well," County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said. "I am working hard to jump start momentum in the Owings Mills corridor.

"A Wegmans-based retail center will energize community activity throughout the Owings Mills Town Center."

The new development Wegmans will anchor even has a name, according to Kamenetz: Foundry Row in Owings Mills. A construction start and end date has not been set for any development on the property, which still must undergo rezoning.

Community officials said last week that Owings Mills developer Greenberg Gibbons Commercial was considering Harris Teeter, Whole Foods and Wegmans as possible anchors to the shopping center that should be built on the old Solo Cup property ."

Harris Teeter and Whole Foods both denied plans to open locations in the area last week.

The planned 125,000-square foot grocery store is expected to employ 600 people, said Jo Natale, a Wegmans spokeswoman. She could not say how many of those 600 would be full-time employees.

The Wegmans in Hunt Valley Towne Centre is larger -- 140,000-square feet, Natale said -- but that does not mean there will be fewer options in the Owings Mills store.

"More recently, we’re building stores a little smaller," Natale said. "We’ve become more efficient; we can offer just as much in a little less space."

Stores planned to open next year in Columbia and Crofton are also expected to be 125,000-square feet, Natale said.

"The prospect of Wegmans in Owings Mills provides a great opportunity to move important projects forward," county councilman Ken Oliver said.  "Owings Mills has wonderful potential, and Wegmans can lead the way."

The news comes on the heels of Kamenetz's announcement that the Owings Mills Mall will be in a joint venture by General Growth Properties and Kimco Realty.