Owings Mills Mall

The Lord & Taylor store in Owings Mills Town Center will close April 1 and the retailer will lay off 85 to 90 employees, making it the second anchor to leave the mall in the past 13 months. A Lord & Taylor spokeswoman said yesterday that the department store would begin a clearance sale March 20. The company said it will "make every effort" to offer employees positions at its stores in the White Marsh Mall, The Mall in Columbia, and Westfield Shopping- town, formerly Annapolis Mall. She said the store hasn't been performing up to expectations for an unspecified period of time.

With the swipe of an excavator, a demolition crew began taking down the abandoned Solo Cup factory in Owings Mills on Thursday, work that will clear the way for new development that was once threatened by opposition. When the abandoned plant is flattened, developers plan to build a $140 million shopping center anchored by the upscale grocer Wegmans, as well as a gym, restaurants, offices and stores. Developers say Foundry Row will open by late 2015 or early 2016. The ceremonial start to demolition at the site on the corner of Reisterstown and Painters Mill roads followed months of debate among residents, developers and Baltimore County Council members.

Most of the long-struggling Owings Mills Mall will be torn down starting in 2013 to make room for a $65 million retail development, a move that Baltimore County officials hope will complement other burgeoning projects in an area targeted for growth. Mall owner General Growth Properties will work with Kimco Realty to redevelop and "de-mall" the 1-million-square-foot site — a move that mirrors the remaking of a shopping area in Hunt Valley. Developers said Thursday that they did not know how much of the mall they would demolish, but they expect anchor stores Macy's and JC Penney, as well as the AMC movie theater, to stay.

Mall info.: Arundel Mills Mall , 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover, 410-540-5110 Holiday hours: Nov. 22: Closed Nov. 23: 12 a.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 24: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 25: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 26-29: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Nov. 30: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 1: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 2: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 3-6: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Dec. 7: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 8: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 9: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 10-15: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. ...

A man died Thursday after he was involved in a two-car accident near Owings Mills Mall, police said. The 25-year-old man, whose name has not yet been released, was making a left turn from a private driveway onto southbound Red Run Boulevard when his Honda Civic was struck by a northbound Volkswagen Passat, according to Baltimore County Police. The accident occurred about 7:45 a.m. He was taken to Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the Passat suffered minor injuries, police said.

Empty stores haunt the corridors of Owings Mills Mall — their gates locked and shelves and racks bare. Slowly they have trickled out: Forever 21, Nine West, Express, all gone. Hulking department stores that once anchored the mall have shut down, leaving thousands of square feet of nothing. And as Ken James, a shopper and a suit specialist at the mall's Macy's, put it, "When McDonald's moves out, you know it's bad. " This is the latest bout of an identity crisis that has plagued Owings Mills since it opened in 1985.

The head of a Pikesville-based realty company wants to buy the Owings Mills Mall, saying the site would be ideal for a discount supermarket and big-box stores such as Costco and Lowe's. Carl Verstandig, president and CEO of America's Realty LLC, says he has made an offer to Kimco Realty. His company - whose shopping centers cater to "the blue-collar type" - has been talking with a deep-discount supermarket interested in opening a 65,000-square-foot store at the site, he said. Verstandig said he would demolish most of the mall but keep anchors JC Penney and Macy's, as well as the nearby movie theater.

The company redeveloping the former Solo Cup site in Owings Mills has made overtures to the owners of the Owings Mills Mall about purchasing that property, its CEO said Thursday. Leaders of Greenberg Gibbons, which is preparing to tear down the old Solo Cup plant to build the Foundry Row retail center on Reisterstown Road, "are big believers in the Owings Mills market and would love to do Foundry Row and the mall," chairman and CEO Brian Gibbons said. "We've reached out" to the mall owners, said Gibbons, whose company is based in Owings Mills.

The Saks Fifth Avenue store at Owings Mills Mall got a dousing yesterday morning when its fire sprinkler system went off by accident, causing extensive water damage.A water main carrying water to the store's fire sprinkler system broke open about 9 a.m., according to Samantha Ostertag, assistant mall manager."As soon as water rushes through the system, the whole system of sprinklers comes on," Ms. Ostertag said. "It stays on until you can get to the main valve to turn it off."Before the sprinklers were turned off, they caused heavy water damage on both floors of the two-story, 93,000-square-foot anchor store, Ms. Ostertag said.

A Baltimore County jury deliberating the fate of Nigel Antonio Carter was sent home last night without rendering a verdict on whether the 17-year-old defendant robbed and killed Christina Marie Brown Sept. 25 near Owings Mills Mall.Judge Christian M. Kahl, who has presided over Mr. Carter's three-day Circuit Court trial, told the eight men and four women to resume deliberations today.In closing arguments yesterday, Mr. Carter's defense lawyer angered the prosecutor by suggesting that Ms. Brown, 28, had caused her death by struggling and grabbing thedefendant's handgun during the robbery.

Boscov's department store returned to its former spot in Baltimore on Friday as an anchor of White Marsh Mall. A newly remodeled store opened at 10 a.m. in the 200,000-square-foot space that Boscov's left nearly four years ago. The regional chain is kicking off its return with a special, ticket-only preview day to benefit local nonprofit groups. The opening also will feature performances by the Academy Award-winning singer and actress Shirley Jones. The family-owned retailer has distributed about 25,000 preview day tickets to local nonprofits, which are selling the $5 stubs and keeping the proceeds, a Boscov's spokeswoman said Thursday.

The head of a Pikesville-based realty company wants to buy the Owings Mills Mall, saying the site would be ideal for a discount supermarket and big-box stores such as Costco and Lowe's. Carl Verstandig, president and CEO of America's Realty LLC, says he has made an offer to Kimco Realty. His company - whose shopping centers cater to "the blue-collar type" - has been talking with a deep-discount supermarket interested in opening a 65,000-square-foot store at the site, he said. Verstandig said he would demolish most of the mall but keep anchors JC Penney and Macy's, as well as the nearby movie theater.

The company redeveloping the former Solo Cup site in Owings Mills has made overtures to the owners of the Owings Mills Mall about purchasing that property, its CEO said Thursday. Leaders of Greenberg Gibbons, which is preparing to tear down the old Solo Cup plant to build the Foundry Row retail center on Reisterstown Road, "are big believers in the Owings Mills market and would love to do Foundry Row and the mall," chairman and CEO Brian Gibbons said. "We've reached out" to the mall owners, said Gibbons, whose company is based in Owings Mills.

Many in Baltimore County and elsewhere are no doubt bewildered by all the fuss that was raised in recent months over the redevelopment of the former Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills into an upscale development featuring a Wegmans supermarket. If you're going to build a shopping center (and built-up Reisterstown Road is no stranger to them) isn't this what you'd want? But alas, the proposal proved as contentious and fraught with political intrigue as any county land use decision in recent memory.

The Baltimore County Council on Tuesday voted to allow retail at the former Solo Cup plant in Owings Mills, but opponents of a planned shopping center there say they will not give up their fight against the project. At a packed meeting, the council decided 6-1 to approve a zoning change at the old manufacturing site on Reisterstown Road so that developer Greenberg Gibbons can move forward with its proposed $140 million Foundry Row shopping center featuring a Wegmans supermarket. Those who are against the project say they will now seek to bring the issue to a voter referendum.

"We want new commercial activity to go into the existing vacant area, not create new, shining centers that will only have the effect of creating new white elephants. " County Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, September 2004, discussing retail rezoning requests for Reisterstown Road. Like his predecessors, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has shown leadership with his past commitment to the belief that retail development in Baltimore County ought to follow a carefully crafted master plan aimed at the Owings Mills Mall and the Metro Centre development.

An article in yesterday's editions about plans to expand Owings Mills mall incorrectly said that the Banana Republic store in the mall had closed. The store remains open.The Sun regrets the error.Rouse Co., anticipating a growing market of new homeowners surrounding Owings Mills, is planning a third expansion of its mall there within the next two years, including the addition of Sears Roebuck and Co., a 16-screen movie theater and perhaps Lord & Taylor.Rouse has an agreement in principal with Sears but is negotiating with Lord & Taylor for a department store.

An article in yesterday's editions about plans to expand Owings Mills mall incorrectly said that the Banana Republic store in the mall had closed. The store remains open.The Sun regrets the error.Rouse Co., anticipating a growing market of new homeowners surrounding Owings Mills, is planning a third expansion of its mall there within the next two years, including the addition of Sears Roebuck and Co., a 16-screen movie theater and perhaps Lord & Taylor.Rouse has an agreement in principal with Sears but is negotiating with Lord & Taylor for a department store.

Opponents of a planned Owings Mills retail center at the former Solo Cup site urged Baltimore County Council members Monday to reject the proposal, saying they're worried about traffic gridlock on Reisterstown Road. The council chambers were filled for the meeting. Council members are scheduled to vote Aug. 28 on a proposal to rezone the old manufacturing property to allow for the 400,000-square-foot Foundry Row development, which would be anchored by a Wegmans supermarket. "We already spend enough time stuck in traffic along Reisterstown Road," said Mona Goorevitz, who lives in Owings Mills.

Our coalition objects to the way Say No To Solo was characterized in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed ("A boon for Owings Mills," July 19). If you look at our website (www.votenoonsolo.com/who-is-the-coalition), you will see the names of more than 2,000 Baltimore County residents and businesses who are supporting our goals. The Baltimore County Council is being asked to approve a new 400,000 square-foot retail mall along Reisterstown Road, jeopardizing the millions of dollars in transportation infrastructure investments made by taxpayers at the nearby Owings Mills Mall and Metro Centre projects.