Caves Valley, Greenberg Gibbons Team Up in Maryland

The companies are investing $350 million in the construction of a 1.2 million-square-foot project that will bring office, retail, luxury residential, student housing and a hotel to downtown Towson.

By Gail Kalinoski

Towson Row, a $350 million mixed-use development in Towson, Md.’s downtown commercial district that had been stalled for more than a year, will move forward with a new joint venture that brings Greenberg Gibbons on as co-developer with Caves Valley Partners.

Towson Row

Rendering of Towson Row

The two local development firms said they will collaborate on the 1.2 million-square-foot project with Greenberg Gibbons spearheading the retail, residential, student housing and hotel components while CVP takes the lead on the office space. Located on 5 acres, Towson Row will include more than 100,000 square feet of retail, grocery and restaurant uses; 150,000 square feet of Class A office space; 250 luxury high-rise residential units; 300 high-rise student housing units and a hotel.

“We are excited to partner with CVP on this transformational landmark project and facilitate the vibrant revitalization of Downtown Towson. As a local company that really knows this market, we see tremendous opportunity to create a positive economic impact while bringing exciting benefits to the community. While there are obstacles to overcome and challenges ahead, we are confident that our joint venture has the experience, capital and commitment to move this project forward,” Brian Gibbons, chairman & CEO of Owings Mills, Md.-based Greenberg Gibbons, said in a prepared statement.

Gibbons was likely referring to geological issues that created problems with construction of an underground garage and resulted in changes to the site plan to build an above-ground parking structure. Work stopped after the site was cleared in 2015. The team said it will work with Baltimore County officials and the local community to prepare a revised site plan that will slightly reduce the density. Construction should begin by the end of this year and finish within two years.

“Greenberg Gibbons has a proven track record in executing complex, mixed-use projects that integrate retail, office and other uses, as demonstrated by their successful development of Hunt Valley Towne Centre, Annapolis Towne Center, Waugh Chapel Town Centre, Foundry Row and The Shops at Kenilworth to name a few. They are the perfect fit to help us create a vibrant community asset at Towson Road,” Arthur Adler, a partner at Towson-based CVP, said in a prepared statement.

CVP announced in November 2014 that Whole Foods Market would be a lead tenant at Towson Row. The Baltimore Sun reported Whole Foods is still committed to the project despite the delays.

Gibbons told the Sun that his company was bringing its experience along with about $100 million in additional investment to the project.

Greenberg Gibbons’ current portfolio has more than 5.5 million square feet of mixed-use projects, including The Shops at Kenilworth and Foundry Row, which feature more than 1.2 million square feet of new development with retail, office and residential components. Foundry Row is a $140 million development in Owings Mills that recently opened with Wegmans as anchor. The company is also in the midst of a $20 million redevelopment of The Shops at Kenilworth in Towson, which is expected to be completed this summer. The new mix of retailers includes Trader Joe’s, which recently opened.

CVP has taken on various urban mixed-use developments, industrial and office building projects and retail centers. It is currently developing Stadium Square, a mixed-use project located between Federal Hill and M&T Bank Stadium that will feature 650 apartments, 300,000 square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of ground-level retail and parking for 2,000 vehicles. In 2014, CVP completed Riverside Wharf, a mixed-use redevelopment project along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that includes medical office and retail space.

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