Thursday, April 18, 2013
Watch as a wrecking crew brings down part of the old, vacant Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills.
As contractors ceremoniously tore down one exterior cinder-block wall at the former Solo Cup plant, they ushered in a 9-month demolition project, making way for the new, retail development Foundry Row. "It's going to be a spectacular development," said Brian Gibbons of developer Greenberg Gibbons after a ceremony Thursday at the plant, 10100 Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills. "Our goal is late 2015, but it could be 2016," he said. The $140 million development project will be home for a new Wegmans among Foundry Row's 365,000 square feet of retail space. Also planned are a national fitness store, a sporting goods store and upscale shops, restaurants, and 60,000 square feet of office space, according to the Greenberg Gibbons Commercial …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
A decision released Tuesday said the opponents of zoning issues in two council districts had enough signatures but ruled the petitions were legally deficient.
UPDATED (9:23 p.m.)—The Baltimore County Board of Elections ruled that petitions to referendum zoning decisions in two council districts will not be placed on the 2014 ballot. Baltimore County Elections Director Katie Brown wrote in a decision issued Tuesday afternoon that while opponents had collected the required number of signatures, the petitions were legally deficient. Andrew Bailey, an attorney for the county Board of Elections, reviewed five challenges to the petition filed by attorneys representing Greenberg Gibbons, the developer of the proposed Foundry Row project on the grounds of the old Solo Cup factory. "I believe that the form of the petition, as circulated to potential signers, was insufficient to alert them to what exactly…
Friday, January 4, 2013
Foundry Row developers updated the community on the project in a public concept meeting Thursday night.
As the Baltimore County Board of Elections nears a decision on whether or not to bring recent zoning changes to referendum, Foundry Row developers are moving full steam ahead. “We believe we have every legal right – the county also believes we have every legal right – to process this plan,” said David Gildea, attorney for Foundry Row developer Greenberg Gibbons. Foundry Row officials updated the community on its plans for the $140 million center in a community input meeting at New Town High School Thursday night. The Wegmans-anchored development is set to contain 420,000 total square feet of retail, restaurants and office space at the site of the vacant Solo Cup plant on Reisterstown Road. Two groups backed by opposing developers have …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Councilwoman Cathy Bevins denies that a bill passed Monday night affects the Middle River Depot project and could thwart a referendum attempt.
A bill passed by the Baltimore County Council Monday appears to provide an alternative development option for the owners of a Middle River industrial property that is the focus of a zoning referendum effort. The council approved the bill by a vote of 6-0 with Councilman Ken Oliver abstaining. Oliver said he abstained from a vote because a referendum involving the property has not yet been decided by voters. Bevins last week said the bill was about finding creative uses for large manufacturing buildings on the east side of the county that can't be torn down because of their historical designations. "Not only does it create a blight for the community but it's a reminder of the jobs lost," Bevins said of the warehouses, adding that her bill "…
Friday, November 9, 2012
Two groups funded by developers, including David S. Brown Enterprises and David Cordish, seek to overturn zoning for the Solo Cup and Middle River Depot properties.
Two groups funded by high-powered developers, say they have nearly 170,000 signatures in their effort to force two zoning issues to the 2014 ballot. The Committee For Zoning Integrity Inc. said in a statement that they have delivered an additional 83,435 signatures in their effort to challenge zoning decisions in the 2nd and 6th Council Districts. “We have successfully completed the signature gathering phase, with citizen interest in fixing the rezoning process in Baltimore County far exceeding our expectations,” Stuart Kaplow, an attorney for the Committee for Zoning Integrity Inc., said in a statement released Friday morning. “A referendum restores the sense of empowerment and guarantees integrity by direct participation in the decision …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Group needs nearly 29,000 verified signatures of registered county voters to place zoning issues in the 2nd and 6th Council Districts on the 2014 ballot.
UPDATED (9:03 p.m.)—A developer-backed group that hopes to force two zoning bills to the 2014 ballot has delivered the first installment of signatures to the Baltimore County Board of Elections. The Committee for Zoning Integrity announced in a statement Friday that it submitted 34,000 signatures for the petition on the 6th district zoning issues and another 36,662 on the 2nd Council District zoning bill to the board of elections, according to an email Friday night from Stuart Kaplow, attorney for the group. By law, the group needs to collect 28,826 signatures of registered Baltimore County voters for each bill within 45 days of the county executive signing the bills. The group can extend the deadline by 30 days if it submits at least 9,…
Friday, October 5, 2012
Community leaders claim referendum on zoning decisions would "render the work of communities and the council vote meaningless."
A loosely formed group of community associations said Friday that it has formed a coalition to fight developers attempting to force two county zoning bills to referendum. The Don't Sign It! Coalition plans to begin a public education campaign to oppose a group calling itself the Coalition for Zoning Integrity, which is backed by David S. Brown Enterprises and The Cordish Companies. Cheryl Aaron, zoning chair for the Greater Greenspring Association and an organizer of the Don't Sign It! Coalition, said the attempt to overturn zoning decisions made by the County Council in August is bad for communities. "Communities don't have the resources to file referendums and hire lawyers and organizers to go out and collect signatures," Aaron said. "It…
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Carl Verstandig, a Pikesville real estate investor, has approached Kimco to buy its stake in the mall, according to reports.
A Pikesville real estate company is looking to buy the Owings Mills Mall, according to media reports. America’s Realty LLC has approached Kimco Realty, the company that currently owns the mall along with General Growth Properties, about buying their stake in the property, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report. Carl Verstandig, the company’s CEO, told the BBJ he offered 10 to 15 percent more than other buyers for the mall, which has a vacancy rate of 55 percent. Verstandig could not be reached for comment. Kimco, which unveiled plans to redevelop the mall in February, have not revealed what its next steps are going to be. Geoff Glazer, Kimco’s vice president of acquisitions and development for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The Baltimore County Council voted to rezone the vacant Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills from manufacturing to retail, a move that helps pave the way for Wegmans-anchored center Foundry Row.
The Baltimore County Council voted to rezone the Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills from manufacturing to retail. The vote helps pave the way for Foundry Row, a Wegmans-anchored retail and office center that was dependent on the rezoning to be built at the vacant plant on Reisterstown Road. The vote comes after months of debate between developers, special interest and community groups and council members. Developer Greenberg Gibbons plans to build a $140 million center that would be anchored by Wegmans, and house a national fitness center, a national sporting goods retailer, a national shoe retailer and 40,000 square feet of office space. CEO Brian Gibbons hopes to open the center, called Foundry Row, by spring 2015. "What the council did was…
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The community group opposing the proposed Foundry Row development will not name its backers. Others say a rival developer is helping to support the Say No To Solo Coalition.
On a hot July day, three teenagers distributed free bottled water at the intersection of Owings Mills Boulevard and Reisterstown Road. But these were not ordinary bottled waters. They were political statements. The labels featured Baltimore County Councilwoman Vicki Almond’s phone number, the words ‘What’s the Rush? Vote No on Foundry Row!’ and the website address for the Say No To Solo Coalition. As they distributed the bottled water, the teens collected signatures for the coalition opposing Foundry Row, the Wegmans-anchored development proposed for the vacant Solo Cup plant on Reisterstown Road. The teens said the Say No To Solo Coalition was paying them for their efforts. But they did not know who had paid for their supply of nearly 10,…
Vince
9:43 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The complaint from opposition about traffic congestion is a total red herring. The traffic in the area is not even that bad. There are many areas that are much worse than this. I wonder how many of the compaints are being voiced from Safeway and Giant employees. more ›