Metro Station

Baltimore County marked the start of work Thursday on a long-delayed library and community college facility in Owings Mills — construction designed to jump-start a billion-dollar project that includes homes, stores and offices. Promoted as an economic engine, the project near the Metro station was proposed in 1998 as a "Main Street" hub where residents would live, shop and play. But development got only as far as the massive parking garage, built in 2007, that overlooks Interstate 795. But with construction on the community college and library starting this week, there are great expectations once again — and some lingering concerns.

As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, Falls Road was closed near Copper Hill Road, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on I-95 southbound near I-695 in Baltimore County, Burns Crossing Road near Mount Vista Road in Severn, I-95 northbound near I-395 in Baltimore City, and Route 7 near Stepney Road in Aberdeen. The Maryland Transit Administration is advising patrons of the Metro Subway system that there will be single tracking at the Johns Hopkins Hospital station until Oct. 24 at 4 a.m., due to repair work.

As subway operator Jimmy Hardnett approached the Owings Mills Metro station one blazing-hot day last week, he slowed the train to a lumbering 20 mph as it approached a section where trains can switch from one track to another. It's a crawl that's all too familiar to users of Baltimore's nearly 25-year-old subway system. But tomorrow at 8 p.m., the Maryland Transit Administration will close the subway's northernmost section for 16 days to replace that crossover - called an interlocking - and make other improvements to the Owings Mills station.

The developer of city-owned land over the Shot Tower Metro station wants to again revise its plans for the parcel, which has sat unused since 2004, the city's development corporation said Wednesday. The Cordish Cos., which gained development rights to 701 E. Baltimore St. in 2005, now wants to build a structure that contains 226 apartments, 15,000 square feet of retail space and 225 parking spots, according to a statement from the Baltimore Development Corp. The revised project is expected to cost about $63 million, according to the BDC statement.

City police today were searching for a suspect who raped a 16-year-old girl near the Rogers Avenue Metro station yesterday.The victim, who lives in northwest Baltimore, told police she was walking near the station in the 4300 block of Hayward Ave. about 6 p.m. when she was grabbed from behind by a man armed with a knife. He forced her into some bushes where the attack occurred, said police spokeswoman Arlene Jenkins.There was no description of the attacker, Jenkins said. The Metro was not operating on Christmas, according to an MTA spokeswoman.

Officials of the Washington Metro subway system said yesterday that they will open the parking lot of the Greenbelt station to passenger cars on Inauguration Day, reversing an earlier decision to reserve it for charter buses. Greenbelt, the northern terminus of the Metro Green Line, is the most convenient station for many travelers from the Baltimore area. The decision opens almost 3,400 spaces there to drivers who might want to use mass transit to get into Washington on Jan. 20 for the swearing-in of Barack Obama.

Nearly 30 years after the Social Security Administration opened its $92 million Metro West complex on Baltimore's west side, federal officials are planning to move 1,600 employees from there to an office building to be constructed near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station in Northwest Baltimore. The state Board of Public Works is scheduled to consider Aug. 26 a request from the Maryland Department of Transportation to transfer an 11.3-acre parcel at 6100 Wabash Ave. to the U.S. General Services Administration in preparation for the proposed development.

An ice age may be coming to Northwest Baltimore.A Pennsylvania-based development company has proposed building two indoor public ice-skating rinks beside the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station on Wabash Avenue, city and state officials announced yesterday.The $50 million project by LCOR Inc. on 20 acres of state land would also include 344 apartments, 125 senior housing units, and 55,000 square feet of offices and retail buildings that might include a drugstore, coffee shop, video store and bookstore.

OWINGS MILLS doesn't have a heart. It has got businesses, retail stores and townhouses and condos, but what's lacking is a central focus. It needs a Main Street. There are already 34,000 residents in the Northwest Baltimore County community, with another 40,000 expected before build-out is completed in this designated growth center. But aside from a cookie-cutter indoor mall, there's no focal point. Now Baltimore County officials want to transform the Owings Mills Metro station into the town's Main Street.

The Cordish Co. has won city approval to build a 34-story residential tower atop an underground Metro station in downtown Baltimore on the former site of the Port Discovery HiFlyer balloon, the city's economic development agency said yesterday. The $70 million proposal - one of two alternatives the developer submitted for the city-owned site at President and East Baltimore streets - will include a mixed-use development of up to 250 condominiums and apartments, street-level entertainment-oriented retailers and parking.

A fight among a group of teenagers and one man Wednesday afternoon at the Upton Metro Station sent two people to the hospital and closed the station for about three hours, according to Maryland Transit Administration Police. The fight caused chaos in the station, as the teens threw yellow cones, a mop and a trash can at the man as they moved through the station, according to Sharon Allen, an Upton resident who witnessed parts of the fight. "It was pandemonium, so you really didn't know what was going on," Allen said.

Baltimore County marked the start of work Thursday on a long-delayed library and community college facility in Owings Mills — construction designed to jump-start a billion-dollar project that includes homes, stores and offices. Promoted as an economic engine, the project near the Metro station was proposed in 1998 as a "Main Street" hub where residents would live, shop and play. But development got only as far as the massive parking garage, built in 2007, that overlooks Interstate 795. But with construction on the community college and library starting this week, there are great expectations once again — and some lingering concerns.

A man died Sunday morning after authorities believe he jumped in front of a Metro subway train as it arrived at a stop in Pikesville. Terry Owens, a spokesman for the Maryland Transit Administration, said the incident happened shortly before 11 a.m. at the Milford Mill station. Based on observations from the train operator and onboard video cameras, Owens said, MTA police investigators "have reason to believe this was a case of suicide. " The MTA closed the station for several hours during the investigation, until about 5 p.m., and subway trains bypassed the Milford Mills station en route to other stops.

A long-stalled project to bring a library and community college to Owings Mills appears to be back on track. The Baltimore County Council is expected to review contracts for the facilities this month, Councilman Kevin Kamenetz said Wednesday . Developer David S. Brown Enterprises had agreed to build the $25 million facility that will house the library and branch of the Community College of Baltimore County as part of a larger project known...

Nearly 30 years after the Social Security Administration opened its $92 million Metro West complex on Baltimore's west side, federal officials are planning to move 1,600 employees from there to an office building to be constructed near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station in Northwest Baltimore. The state Board of Public Works is scheduled to consider Aug. 26 a request from the Maryland Department of Transportation to transfer an 11.3-acre parcel at 6100 Wabash Ave. to the U.S. General Services Administration in preparation for the proposed development.

With the National Transportation Safety Board taking over the investigation of Monday's fatal crash of two trains on the Washington Metro's Red Line, the federal investigation and the capital's transit system will open a new chapter in a long and contentious relationship. For more than a quarter-century, the NTSB has been a persistent critic of the management and operations of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration - the regional agency that operates the subway system.

An article in Wednesday's editions of The Sun on discussions about bus service between the Owings Mills Metro Station and the Owings Mills Mall suggested that the Mass Transit Administration might restore the M17 shuttle-bus service.In fact, Dianna Rosborough, MTA spokeswoman, said her agency and the mall were discussing the possibility of the mall running a shuttle bus with an MTA subsidy.The Sun regrets the errors.The Mass Transit Administration and the management of Owings Mills Mall are reviewing the service between the Metro station and the mall, possibly to restore the M17 shuttle-bus service which was discontinued in June.

A young Northwest Baltimore man was shot in the throat yesterday evening at the entrance to the Penn-North subway station on North Avenue, city police said.They did not have a motive for the shooting at 7:50 p.m., which temporarily closed the Metro station in the 1600 block of West North Avenue.The victim, Antonio DeShield, 18, of the 3800 block of Copley Road was transported to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition this morning.Police said they were looking for a black male suspect, between 19 and 22 years old, wearing a red and white puffed jacket.

Officials of the Washington Metro subway system said yesterday that they will open the parking lot of the Greenbelt station to passenger cars on Inauguration Day, reversing an earlier decision to reserve it for charter buses. Greenbelt, the northern terminus of the Metro Green Line, is the most convenient station for many travelers from the Baltimore area. The decision opens almost 3,400 spaces there to drivers who might want to use mass transit to get into Washington on Jan. 20 for the swearing-in of Barack Obama.

Baltimore police were investigating the fatal shooting yesterday of a 33-year-old man in the 4100 block of Rockfield Ave. in Northwest Baltimore's Woodmere neighborhood. The killing occurred yesterday near the Rogers Avenue Metro stop and a city fire station. Police said a patrol officer received a report of gunfire about 3 a.m. When police arrived at the scene, the victim was found in the driver's seat of a car that was parked on Rockfield Avenue with the engine running, police said. He had been shot in the upper body, said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.