development : Development News

Women’s apparel shop Anthropologie will open a boutique at the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore’s Harbor East neighborhood.

Baltimore City’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel is slated to review plans for the store’s design Dec. 8. The store would join clothing shops White House Black Market, South Moon Under and Urban Chic.

A unit of Urban Outfitters Inc., Anthropologie’s other area stores are located in Towson and Annapolis. There’s also an Urban Outfitters in Harborplace.

Baltimore City architect Robert Quilter says the store’s architect David A.Levy & Associates Inc. of Akron, Ohio wants to do something “different” with the storefront, which is why it needs the city’s design panel to review its plans. He deferred additional design questions to David A. Levy architects, who could not be reached for comment.

Urban Outfitters officials could not be reached for comment.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Urban Design and Review Panel

Phillips Seafood is opening an express location at the $500 million Maryland Live Casino near Arundel Mills next year.

Phillips’ Director of Marketing Michelle Torres compares it to the Phillips Seafood Express it operates in the Maryland House Welcome Center in Aberdeen. She says the company has yet to determine the exact square footage and menu of the new spot, but expects it will serve salads, wraps, crab cakes and possibly dim sum.

Opening in the summer, the casino spot will be located in a food court and offer counter service. It will be the local restaurant and seafood company’s second Cordish Co. location. It opened its new Inner Harbor restaurant at Cordish’s Power Plant this month, after 31 years at Harborplace.

It will be Phillips' sixth express location. The others are located at Boston's Logan International Airport, Atlantic City and FedEx Field. The average express location is between 600 and 1,000 square feet and employs five to 10.

Asked whether Phillips will open other spots in Cordish locations, Torres says she is “very hopeful.”

“We see [Cordish] as a long-term partner.”

The casino is slated to include a restaurant operate by Bobby Flay, a Cheesecake Factory and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Michelle Torres, Phillips

The aroma of fresh-baked confections will soon waft again from a retail storefront on Route 40 in Ellicott City.

Cooks N Cakes will open this month at 9251 Baltimore National Pike next to Starbucks. It’s the spot that once held the Breadery, which has moved to Catonsville.

Owner Adell Cothorne is a former Montgomery County principal who found herself baking cupcakes for family and friends. She decided to put aside her career in education after folks started putting in orders last month.

“I was up from Friday until Sunday trying to fill cupcake orders and decided that I can’t be a principal and bake cupcakes,” Cothorne says. “I’m going to follow my passion and do cupcakes.”

She chose Ellicott City because of its income and liked the spot because it is next to a heavily trafficked Starbucks. Cothorne hopes she’ll get Starbucks’ customers who want fresh-baked cupcakes made with cage-free eggs, local dairy and European butter.

The store will offer seven daily flavors, including several cocktail-inspired ones like Pina Colada and Bailey’s and Cream. Cothorne is hoping those flavors will be a hit at her cupcake happy hour. Cupcakes will cost $3 each, or $2.75 for six or more.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Adell Cothorne, Cooks N Cakes

A teacher at Tai Sophia Institute has opened her own wellness center in Columbia.

Jade Connelly-Duggan this month opened WisdomWell LLC, which offers acupuncture, massage, herbal treatments, yoga and nutrition counseling at 8955 Guilford Rd., just south of Broken Land Parkway.

The daughter of Tai Sophia founders Bob Duggan and Dianne Connelly, the business owner spent $30,000 to open the 4,700 square foot office. The space includes nine treatment rooms and a yoga studio.

Owned by Liberty Property Trust, the building faces a koi pond and extensive landscaping. Close to Routes 29 and 32, it’s also easy to get to, Connelly-Duggan says. The site is also near the Mall in Columbia and King’s Contrivance Village Center.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Jade Connelly-Duggan

The stage is set for the $65 million transformation of Owings Mills Mall from an old-style enclosed shopping mall to an open-air town center.

The project will be a joint venture between Kimco Realty Corp. and General Growth Properties. Each company will have a 50 percent ownership stake in the newly redeveloped property.

The companies plan to tear down the current building in 2013 and complete it the following year. The developers will retain the AMC Movie Theater, JC Penney and Macy's and sign up a new mix of retail tenants and restaurants to the complex, including boutiques and junior anchor stores that face the street. The dated building has long been a fixture of the website Deadmalls.com.

The Owings Mills Mall redevelopment project is one of several taking place in the Baltimore County town. The once-dormant Owings Mills Metro Centre project got a jumpstart in the summer with construction on a public library and community college branch. Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp. also said this month that it will bring Wegmans Food Markets as the lead tenant at the Foundry Row at Owings Mills, a redevelopment of the shuttered Solo Cup site.

Soures: General Growth Properties, Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp.
Writer: Amy McNeal

A Delaware craft brewer is moving to Maryland, where it will tap a larger production facility and open a new restaurant as demand for its drinks grows.

The two-year-old Evolution Craft Brewing Co.  is moving in February from Delmar, Del., to a former ice factory at 201 E. Vine St. in Salisbury. That’s also the site of the 150-seat Public House restaurant and offices for the company that manages it, Southern Boys Concepts. The brewpub will serve homemade sausages, regional oysters and local fish.

Evolution needs the 20,000-square-foot building because it had maxed out on its Delmar, Del., space, says Evolution Founder Tom Knorr. The new building will have the capacity to brew 50,000 barrels of beer a year, or 10 times what it will produce this year. It expects to double production to 10,000 barrels next year.

Primal Pale Ale, Exile ESB and Lucky 7 Porter are among Evolution brews sold in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Knorr hopes to soon begin selling his brews in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the rest of Virginia.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Tom Knorr, Southern Boys Concepts

A Baltimore County hardware store has hammered an expansion deal that will allow it to carry a wider range of merchandise.

Suburban Ace Hardware has moved to 10912 York Rd. in Cockeysville. The 11,200-square-foot shop has 50 percent more space for its gardening supplies, power tools, propane grills, fasteners and window screens, Owner Mike Boulay says.

“In the retail business, you can only sell what you can see,” Boulay says. “You have to broaden your base if you want to get ahead. It takes more square feet to do that.”

Though it’s only a few hundred yards from its old location, the new spot offers better visibility on York Road, Boulay says.

“It’s tough to get good real estate on York Road.”

The spot is located at Railroad Crossing, a three-building site owned by Continental Realty Corp.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Mike Boulay, Suburban Ace Hardware

An upscale Italian chain is saying "ciao" to Baltimore's Inner Harbor this spring.

Brio Tuscan Grille will open a 230-seat restaurant and bar at 100 E. Pratt St. by early April, says Saed Mohseni. The CEO of Bravo Brio Restaurant Group Inc. says the company spends between $2 million and $3.5 million to open each new restaurant.

The Columbus, Ohio, firm operates 93 restaurants under the Brio Tuscan Grille, Bravo Cucina Italiana and Bon Vie Bistro flags. The location — the former site Legal Sea Foods — will hopefully attract tourists, business travelers and office workers given its central downtown location, Mohseni says.

The 8,000-square-foot restaurant will contain an open-air kitchen with stainless steel and stone to create a "Tuscan villa" sort of look.

Menu items will cost between $8 and $22.

Pratt Street will hold the third Brio in Maryland. One is located at the Annapolis Towne Centre while another spot will open in Bethesda Feb. 7.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Saed Mohseni, Bravo Brio Restaurant Group

The parent company of Advanced Radiology has acquired its major competitor for $40 million, creating one of the largest imaging service providers in the region.
 
RadNet Inc has acquired the majority of US imaging centers operated by CML Healthcare, including CML's subsidiaries American Radiology and the Imaging Institute.
 
“Our hope is that it is good news for the Baltimore market in that RadNet can bring its operating expertise to the area with these centers and improve what they're doing for the future.” says RadNet Executive Vice President Steve Forthuber.
 
RadNet operates 233 radiology centers in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and California. The acquisition of American Radiology adds 2,000 employees and 61 radiology and imaging centers to RadNet's portfolio in the area.
 
"We're hard at work understanding all aspects of the (American) operation in Maryland so that we can make sure that we're providing high quality services, ” Forthuber says. “We plan on operating all of the centers with the objective of enhancing operations.”
 
RadNet says it intends to keep all of its Baltimore area centers open and maintain the same radiologists and staffers at all of the newly acquired American Radiology centers. The company may cut corporate positions where there is overlap.
 
Source: Steve Forthuber, RadNet
Writer: Amy McNeal

Towson City Center will have some new residents when it opens next year. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Caves Valley Partners announced the news that several leases had been signed for the office tower complex on November 1, 2011.
 
Towson University will be moving its College of Health Professions to Towson City Center in 2012. the Towson University outpost will include four clinics: a wellness center, the Speech Language and Hearing Center, the Center for Adults with Autism, and the Occupational Therapy Center. The university radio station is also considering moving to the new complex.
 
Business Suites, a shared office concept for entrepreneurs will also be taking a space in the new Towson City Center. Cunningham Kitchen, a white tablecloth farm-to-table restaurant from the chefs at Sotto Sopra and The Wine Market, will be opening in the complex in 2012 as well. The new tenants will join previously announced Towson City Center tenants Mile One Automotive Group and Cave Valley Partners.
 
Towson City Center is a redevelopment project. The transformation of the old Investment Building in central Towson into a new, modern LEED certified business center began in May. The building formerly housed an assortment of state and county offices and has been vacant since its closure in 2001. The facade of the building has been completely refurbished, and the cost of the redevelopment project is expected to come in at $27 million.
 
Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: Baltimore County, Towson University College of Health Professions

Widening Route 1, enhancing libraries and other services, and including more affordable housing could all be part of a new Howard County master plan that will be adopted next year.

The county devises a new master plan every 10 years to ensure that zoning and other regulations can accommodate new jobs and housing.

A task force is currently weighing several changes to the master plan and will put together a draft by the end of the year, says Marsha McLaughlin, the county’s director of planning and zoning. After getting input from the public, the proposal will go before the planning board, followed by the Howard County Council.

Widening Route 1 to include bike lanes, sidewalks and trees will likely be part of the plan, though the county has to determine how to pay for this, McLaughlin says. Offering more affordable housing is also on the map for the county, which has many of the state’s wealthiest zip codes.

County officials will also examine whether the Route 1 corridor needs more schools, senior centers, libraries and other services.

The county will need to look at how it can sustain its quality of life while accommodating future population growth, McLaughlin says.

Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Marsha McLaughlin, Howard County Planning and Zoning

A growing neighborhood medical center is opening its third Anne Arundel County location.

Patient First will open a walk-in clinic in Odenton next year at 405 Gateway Blvd., its 14th center in Maryland.

The Glen Allen, Va., company also opened a medical facility in Catonsville this month. The 6,350-square-foot office has 12 examination rooms, emergency care, X-ray machines and an on-site lab.

“We talked to a lot of people in the area and a lot of them have gone to our Owing Mills or Glen Burnie location,” says Patient First spokesman David Clark.

Patient First operates 37 medical centers in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Maryland facilities include locations in Aberdeen, Bel Air, Perry Hall, White Marsh, Baltimore, Lutherville, Owings Mills, Columbia, Catonsville, Glen Burnie and Pasadena.

Writer:Julekha Dash
Source: David Clark, Patient First

Winter may be just around the corner, but the owner of Little Italy’s Amicci’s restaurant is already thinking of spring.

The restaurant will add 20 outdoor seats to the 300-seat venue, Roland Keh says.

Amicci’s is one of several Baltimore City restaurants that have requested permission from the liquor board to hold outdoor service. Others include Greektown’s Acropolis restaurant, the Grand Cru wine bar and Phillips Seafood Restaurant, which will soon open a location at the Power Plant.

Keh says he got the idea after applying for a one-day outdoor seating license during the Baltimore Grand Prix. He didn’t get quite the boost in business he was expecting since the restaurant is several blocks away from where the action was taking place.

But having outdoor seats gave the restaurant a festival atmosphere that he wants to continue during the warmer months.
“It was reminiscent of a European café atmosphere,” Keh says. “We want to capture that essence again on a regular basis.”

Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Roland Keh, Amicci's; Baltimore City liquor board

City design officials could give the green light for a proposed Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum to open at Harborplace within the next month.

Ripley’s staff put forth a new proposal that reduces the size of their signage and puts the sea creature Chessie on the mall’s second-floor porch. The original plan was to put the 3-D Chessie on the roof, which met with resistance from the city’s Urban Design and Review Panel (UDARP) because it was not in keeping with the look of the downtown shopping center.

“They came in with a scheme that is more doable,” says Robert Quilter of Ripley’s. “It’s definitely on the right track. It’s much more respectful of Harborplace architecture. They’re definitely going to have a presence there," says Quilter, an architect in the city's planning department.

Ripley’s told BmoreMedia that it hopes to open the museum by summer to take advantage of the tourist season.

Known for displaying oddities like the world’s largest sushi roll, the world’s smallest car, and an engraved human skull, Ripley’s operates 31 museums in 18 North American cities. The locations include Atlantic City, San Francisco, San Antonio, and Ocean City, Maryland.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Bob Quilter, Baltimore City

A Baltimore design panel has given final approval to the Canton Crossing shopping center, one of the city’s largest retail sites currently under development.

The Urban Design and Review Panel gave the go ahead to Phase 1 of the project, which will encompass 325,000 square feet of retail. The site will contain two anchor tenants and several smaller shops, says Neil Tucker, a principal with developer Chesapeake Real Estate Group. Next the plan goes before the city’s planning commission, followed by the Baltimore City Council.

Chesapeake Real Estate Group and Birchwood Capital Partners in June acquired a 31-acre parcel from Exxon Mobil Corp. with the goal of adding two new retail centers on the site.

Tucker says he expects to break ground in the summer or the fall. He couldn’t divulge any tenants as the Baltimore real estate firm has not yet signed any leases, though it has several letters of intent.

The site is adjacent to Edwin F. Hale Sr.'s First Mariner Tower and the Merritt Athletic Club.

Real estate brokers had been trying to woo Target and Harris Teeter to Canton Crossing to the site since at least 2008, but development stalled as the economy sputtered.


Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Neil Tucker, Chesapeake Real Estate Group; Robert Quilter, Baltimore City