Once Affluent Shopping Destination to be Razed, then Resurrected
Purnell Parker was sifting through clothing racks in the men’s department at J.C. Penney at Owings Mills Mall one recent Sunday, lamenting the April 8 closing of the store.
When the doors lock for good at J.C. Penney, the once-heralded mall will be no more, leaving Northwest Baltimore County without a major shopping destination.
“When Penney’s closes, it will push us out to Columbia Mall or Westminster,” says Parker, a resident of Owings Mills. He says the mall presented an opportunity to enjoy simple pleasures like eating ice cream with his wife and children.
Other shoppers say they will visit The Mall in Columbia, Towson Town Center or Arundel Mills when they want a mall experience, go to strip shopping centers, or shop online—something many had been doing since the mall has been in decline.
Help is on the way. A transformation of the mall property is expected to revive the shopping experience.
In a statement, Kimco spokesman David Bujnick said, “To date, no formal redevelopment plans have been finalized nor has any construction timetable been formally approved. We continue to evaluate the various options for Owings Mills Mall including several open-air shopping center concepts.” He added, “Businesses that are open and operating at the site include the AMC movie theater, JCPenney, The Greene Turtle, Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Red Robin.”
Julian Jones, Councilman for District 4, says he has been meeting with the mall’s owners in recent weeks to review redevelopment proposals. “They plan on tearing down the mall and doing something similar to Hunt Valley,” he told attendees as a Feb. 22 town meeting held at the Community College of Baltimore County’s Owings Mills branch. He added that one proposal would bring “middle-box” stores, similar to Kohls, and invest some $6 million in the movie theater and add a restaurant.
The mall’s demise accelerated in September when owners closed off the interior. In November, Macy’s ran its final clearance sales and removed its prominent red logo from the building. The J.C. Penney and Macy’s buildings have since been purchased, paving the way for movement on plans to redevelop the space. The restaurant park will continue selling their hamburgers, seafood and Italian fare, and AMC Theatre will remain open for moviegoers.
David Parker, a resident of Owings Mills since 2002, who has always lived in the area, says he remembers when the mall opened with Saks and other upscale stores. He wonders why the mall didn’t survive and what would change the odds if the mall becomes a main street or town center style of shopping.
Rouse Company opened the two-level, one-million-square-foot mall in 1986 targeting upscale shoppers with a Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue. Macy’s, Sears and Boscov also anchored the mall. But over the years, traffic slowed, the occupancy dropped and the tenant mix changed. The more than 150 spaces changed from national brand stores to an assortment of shops selling jeans, perfumes and handbags. After the department stores left, other stores and food court restaurants followed. Management stopped renewing leases, and eventually the mall became deserted. Still, shoppers visited the area’s only department stores, Macy’s and J.C. Penney.
General Growth Properties, owner of several area malls, including White Marsh Mall, Towson Town Center and The Mall in Columbia, had been Owings Mills Mall’s sole owner. After some back and forth between developers and Baltimore County over the past several years, things came to a resolution.
In 2011, GGP and Kimco Realty, another major developer, announced a joint partnership to redevelop the mall. The plan was to raze and rebuild it into a shopping center with exterior-facing stores, and junior- and big-box retailers. But plans stalled, frustrating county officials anxious to give life to an area that had been designated as a growth area.
The future began looking up after the two developers came together in one accord. In January, Kimco announced it was paying $11.5 million to buy out General Growth’s ownership, as well as J.C. Penny’s structure for $5.2 million and Macy’s for $7.5 million.
Development in the area is picking up dramatically. Foundry Row, located at the intersection of Painters Mill and Reisterstown Road, is scheduled to open its first store, Wegmans, in in the fall. Work at Metro Centre at Owings Mills, located at the metro station on Painters Mill Road, is progressing. (See related story.)