Although the Owings Mills Mall was demolished last year to make way for much-anticipated redevelopment, there’s no official word yet on what will occupy the 1-million-square-foot space.
Kimco Realty Corp., owner of the mall property, is overseeing an estimated $108 million overhaul of what will once again become known as the Owings Mills Town Center. The project, which local officials and residents hope will compliment nearby Metro Centre and Foundry Row as a local commerce hub, is slated for completion by 2019, according to Kimco.
The latest plans for the site call for an open-air shopping center with 17 retail stores, ample parking and green space, according to a rendering on Kimco’s website. The rendering shows retail and restaurant spaces ranging from 1,507 square feet to 78,207 square feet.
While a construction timeline for the project has not been made available, rumors of potential tenants have swirled.
Three big-box stores — Costco, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Lowe’s Home Improvement — are rumored to anchor the site, though officials from all three companies did not confirm those plans with the JT. According to Kimco’s website, opportunities for junior anchors, retail pads and small shop space remain.
Kimco officials remain tight-lipped about tenants and progress for the site, which has been scaled back to 600,000 square feet to accommodate “individual, exterior-facing shops, several big-box stores and a lifestyle component.”
Jennifer Maisch, a Kimco spokeswoman, declined to comment on the three big-box stores but told the JT on Wednesday via email that the company expects to make a public announcement this fall.
In May, the JT first reported membership-based warehouse Costco would anchor the site. A well-connected source with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named since a deal had not been signed, confirmed that report this week.
A spokesman for Costco, who asked not to be named, said the company had no details to share at this time. The spokesman said the company does not reveal information about new locations until two or three months in advance of opening.
Karen Cobb, a Lowe’s spokeswoman, offered more specifics. She said the home improvement chain is “interested in opening a location in Owings Mills” but that an agreement had not been reached “on any property.”
A spokeswoman for Dick’s did not return multiple requests seeking comment. Multiple reports mention the sporting goods store as a possible anchor.
Meanwhile, talk of redeveloping the mall into an open-air retail center began publicly last year, when Kimco purchased the remaining half of the property from General Growth Properties for $11.5 million.
The idea of a Walmart Supercenter had been mentioned for the site last year but was squashed after residents raised concerns and urged elected officials to seek other tenants.
In a prepared statement, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said the county remains in “close contact” with Kimco and that officials are getting closer to knowing the list of tenants.
Elsewhere in Owings Mills, development has been spurred at the mixed-use Metro Centre owned by David S. Brown Enterprises and the $140 million Foundry Row retail and office center owned by Greenberg Gibbons.
jsilberman@midatlanticmedia.com
