Mills Corp

Anne Arundel Community College is expanding its campus with a $10 million educational facility planned for construction near Arundel Mills to meet the demand in growing West County. The 65,000-square-foot, four-story building will be north of the mega-mall's Muvico Movie Theater, a prime location to attract more West County residents who often attend closer community colleges in Howard or Prince George's counties. "This is making it easier for people," AACC spokeswoman Fran Turcott said yesterday.

Arundel Mills has begun to attract development, with a pair of hotels announced for property adjoining Maryland's biggest shopping mall. Skye Hospitality LLC purchased land last month from Mills Corp. for the hotels, which will have a total of 300 rooms, said Dennis J. Connolly, vice president and senior development director of Mills. The hotels will accommodate shoppers and travelers attracted by the mall off Route 100 near Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Hanover. They will add to the accommodations around the increasingly busy Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Arundel Mills has begun to attract development, with a pair of hotels announced for property adjoining Maryland's biggest shopping mall. Skye Hospitality LLC purchased land last month from Mills Corp. for the hotels, which will have a total of 300 rooms, said Dennis J. Connolly, vice president and senior development director of Mills. The hotels will accommodate shoppers and travelers attracted by the mall off Route 100 near Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Hanover. They will add to the accommodations around the increasingly busy Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

The Baltimore region's biggest mall opened its doors yesterday to tens of thousands of shoppers drawn to a 1.3 million-square-foot extravaganza that blends shopping and entertainment, offering everything from virtual bowling to a discount version of Saks Fifth Avenue. The first shoppers at the theme-park style Arundel Mills thronged the hardwood-floor corridors, finding themselves inside a blinking pinball machine or sitting on a giant lily pad with dragonflies buzzing overhead. They lined up at outlet stores such as Off 5th - Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and stormed the railroad-themed food court.

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens said the down-home expression "me first, then y'all" reflects her feeling about county residents' getting the first chance at the thousands of job opportunities brought to the area by the Arundel Mills mall. Owens celebrated the mall's soon-to-open Retail Skills Center, an avenue to help place people in mall jobs, during the center's ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. Joined by at least 100 people, including elected officials and representatives from Anne Arundel Community College, the National Retail Federation and Mills Corp.

County Executive Janet S. Owens said the down-home expression "me first, then y'all" reflects her feeling about county residents' getting the first chance at the thousands of job opportunities brought to the area by the Arundel Mills mall. Owens celebrated the mall's soon-to-open Retail Skills Center, an avenue to help place people in mall jobs, during the center's ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday. Joined by at least 100 people, including elected officials and representatives from Anne Arundel Community College, the National Retail Federation and Mills Corp.

WITH MARYLAND'S unemployment rate around 3.3 percent, you'd think merchants preparing to open stores at the Arundel Mills mall would find slim pickings when shopping for new employees. What they have found, to their delight, is an upwardly -- or laterally -- mobile work force. A gigantic job fair for mall merchants Tuesday and Wednesday at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie drew more than 1,300 job seekers each day. Many applicants had jobs, but they were ready for a change. This could be good or bad. It's definitely good for Jim Sall, Samsonite Corp.

Della Atkinson has been searching for work since her census job ended six months ago. Despite her efforts, the Severn resident couldn't find anything other than baby-sitting jobs. But yesterday, her luck changed - she was the first person hired at the Arundel Mills job fair in Glen Burnie. "Oh, the Lord is smiling on me," said Atkinson, 46, who landed a job in retail sales at the Burlington Coat Factory. "I feel like jumping up on top of the roof and screaming. " Several hundred people like Atkinson, wearing dresses or suits and nervous smiles, filled out applications and met with stores' representatives in hopes of landing one of the more than 3,000 full- and part-time positions for the new shopping center, which is to open Nov. 17. The two-day fair, in its final day today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Michael's Eighth Avenue, features more than 60 merchants hiring for sales, customer service and managerial positions, among others.

Mills Corp. officials know to the second how little time is left until the opening of their Arundel Mills megamall. They're reminded every day that the minutes are speeding by until the 1.6- million-square-foot structure opens its doors and until an estimated 100,000 shoppers get a first look at the project responsible for transforming 380 rural acres west of Baltimore-Washington International Airport into a retail complex expected to attract more than...