Politics & Government
Developers Break Towson Circle III Into Smaller Buildings
The revised plans include less office space and more pad sites for restaurants.
Towson Circle III will have less space in more buildings, under a new set of revisions.
The changes, approved Tuesday by Baltimore County's Development Review Committee, are the 11th round of revisions made to the plans for the commercial, retail and office development to be located next to the existing Towson Circle complex on East Joppa Road. Towson Circle III will be built on a 4-acre lot between Joppa, and Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania avenues.
The project will now include six separate buildings, instead of four, as originally planned, in the same area as before. The development will also include a traffic circle and a "European-style" fountain, according to Jack Cannella, Heritage Properties' vice president of design and construction, who spoke at the brief Tuesday hearing.
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The end result will feel "kind of open to the community," Cannella told the committee.
It's not known exactly how much space the development—originally planned to have 120,000 total square feet of office and retail space—will lose.
Find out what's happening in Towsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
By eliminating square-footage, the developers also don't need to include as many parking spaces. Most of the parking will be in a garage underneath the planned 62,000 square-foot movie theater. The garage will ultimately be purchased by the Baltimore County Revenue Authority.
"Most of the parking garage will turn over," Cannella said.
The project is a joint venture of the Towson-based Heritage and the Cordish Companies.
In April, the developers asked the revenue authority for Developers now must begin construction by the end of 2012. Both the revenue authority and the county have pledged millions in assistance for Towson Circle III.
Cannella declined to comment further on the project when asked by Patch.
Nancy Hafford, executive director of the and a longtime cheerleader for the Towson Circle III project, said she believes, or at least hopes, construction will begin far sooner than the 2012 deadline.
"I want a shovel in the ground," she said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
