Proposed Foundry Row Development Could Breathe New Life into Owings Mills

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Developer Greenberg Gibbons plans to demolish the 1.8 million square-foot Solo Cup site on Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills in the coming months and build a $140 million retail center anchored by Wegmans in its place. The only thing standing in the way is a crucial zoning decision.

The proposed project is called Foundry Row and it will be a 52-acre shopping facility. The property is located near the intersection of Reisterstown and Painters Mill roads. Wegmans will occupy 130,000 square feet, with approximately 243,000 square feet reserved for other retailers. Plans also include 13,500 square feet of restaurants and 40,000 square feet of office space.

Greenberg Gibbons and Vanguard Commercial Property Development are the developers. They plan to tear down the abandoned plant late this spring. The Solo Cup property is currently zoned for industrial use. It needs to be rezoned for retail. The county council will decide on this in the fall. Work could start in the fall of 2013, provided the rezoning passes. Foundry Row could be completed by the end of 2014.

According to an economic impact study commissioned by Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, the project would bring 3,076 jobs to Baltimore County and generate $4.8 million in annual local tax revenue. The state of Maryland would stand to make about $8.2 million, according to the same study. The construction phase includes 2,311 jobs in Baltimore County.

Foundry Row isn’t the only important development project in Owings Mills. Kimco and General Growth Properties are redeveloping Owings Mills Mall while David S. Brown Enterprises is working on the $500 million Metro Center project. The other developers have raised some issues regarding Foundry Row. They oppose the rezoning of the property and believe Foudry Row would hurt prospects for overall success creating half-million square feet of retail surplus as well as traffic problems.

Gibbons officials think the market is strong enough to support all three projects. They  also plan to invest $5 million to $6 million in off-site road improvements to improve traffic.

Photo an artist rendering via www.reisterstown.patch.com.