Retail Shops

More than two years after being chosen to transform the heart of downtown Baltimore's old retail district into a revitalized urban neighborhood, developers unveiled yesterday the first detailed plans for a three-block area of the superblock showing two apartment towers as tall as 14 stories and a mix of local and national retailers. Lexington Square Partners LLC plans a $250 million mixed-use project with 400 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 900 parking spaces and 300,000 square feet of retail with small shops lining the street and destination retailers on two upper stories along Fayette, Howard, Lexington and Liberty streets on Baltimore's west side.

City officials are considering three proposals that would replace a Fells Point parking lot with a bed-and-breakfast, an office building or retail shops.Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency, said yesterday that it received two unsolicited proposals in April to develop the city-owned site at South Caroline and Lancaster streets, about a block north of the harbor, then, abiding by city policy, issued a request for additional plans.One plan envisions offices and retail shops with a 425-space parking garage and 30 private garages that could be leased by area residents.

Hoping to draw upscale shops and restaurants and create a downtown entertainment destination, developers of Inner Harbor East have secured their first major retail anchor: an 18-screen movie megaplex to sit seven stories above the harbor.Crown Theatres, a limited partnership of Henry Crown and Co., plans to operate a 90,000-square-foot theater with 4,500 stadium-style seats and digital sound, said Michael S. Beatty, vice president of H&S Properties Development Corp., developer of the 20-acre retail, office and residential project between the Inner Harbor and Fells Point.

If your idea of shopping at BWI is a crab apron and a shot glass, take a new look.In time to snag Christmas travelers, Baltimore-Washington International Airport has finished opening an array of upscale shops and kiosks that provide more shopping opportunities and, at the same time, boost airport concession revenues.The retail boom is part of a growing trend at airports nationwide to accommodate harried travelers, who often have more money than time.Among the new businesses are the Museum Co., the Body Shop, Hallmark, the Tie Rack and two full-service bookstores, known as Book Corner.

Two years after a yearlong zoning battle over the biggest development in years in the center of Towson, it will be time to go to the movies next week.General Cinema Corp. has announced a May 22 opening date for its eight-screen movie theater at Towson Commons, the $70 million development that will include retail shops and 190,000 square feet of office space."We believe Towson Commons will help revitalize the downtown [Towson] area and will become the focal point for day, evening and weekend activities in Towson," said Lynne Watson, vice president of LaSalle Partners, lead developer of the project.

Two years after a yearlong zoning battle over the biggest development in years in the center of Towson, it will be time to go to the movies next week.General Cinema Corp. has announced a May 22 opening date for its eight-screen movie theater at Towson Commons, the $70 million development that will include retail shops and 190,000 square feet of office space."We believe Towson Commons will help revitalize the downtown [Towson] area and will become the focal point for day, evening and weekend activities in Towson," said Lynne Watson, vice president of LaSalle Partners, lead developer of the project.

Duty Free International said yesterday that sales at its Canadian border stores have continued to struggle under the weight of poor weather and a deep Canadian recession during the third quarter.Gerald Egan, the Ridgefield, Conn.-based company's chief financial officer, told investors at Alex. Brown & Sons' Consumer Growth Stocks Seminar in Baltimore that Duty Free's results from the northern border division, previously predicted as between flat and down 10 percent, would come "closer to the the minus 10 side."

A Savage Mill building where durable canvas once was woven for Baltimore clipper ships soon will be bedecked with fine linen.The gritty, 130-year-old building with high ceilings and elongated windows is being converted into an elegant banquet facility, retail shops and an antique dealers' market -- a project that will conclude the third phase of the Historic Savage Mill renovation.The Old Weave Building is expected to open Oct. 1, complete with a banquet hall on the top floor, called The Great Room, with a capacity of about 300 people.

Rouse Co. says its proposal to expand Columbia by 89 acres would satisfy the requirements of the county's draft adequate facilities ordinance.The plan also includes a request to rezone another 175 acresfor apartments, single-family homes and open space. Most of the annexation and rezoning would take place in the Village of Long Reach.Rouse asked the zoning board Wednesday for permission to add eight parcels totaling about 22 acres to the village. Most of the addition -- 17.2 acres -- would be used for offices and retail shops.

WESTMINSTER -- A jewelry designer and two developers have leased space at Winchester Exchange, the former Sherwood Square Mall.UniqueJewelry, owned by Kim E. Wightman of Taylorsville, opened yesterday in a shop along the main corridor of the mall's first floor.Winter Street Enterprises Inc., a partnership that has built houses in Taneytown and Westminster, opened an office in the mall basement last month, co-owner Robert A. Foster said.The shopping center,at 15 E. Main St., has been under new ownership since May 31.Thenew owners -- Robert, David and Jordon Max of Pikesville, Baltimore County -- said they hope to change the image of the building, which has been half-empty since being remodeled in the early 1980s.

Downtown Bel Air has fallen on temporary hard times. The construction of a new streetscape, begun in 2006, has been disruptive for the businesses on Main Street, but once the project is completed, it will make the area much more inviting. But with many of the storefronts vacant, downtown Bel Air now looks more like a business park filled with insurance companies and financial services than a charming collection of retail shops. Don't let appearances fool you. There are upscale boutiques and gift shops along Main Street, and it's well worth the effort to seek them out. (Not that you'll have to look too hard.

More than two years after being chosen to transform the heart of downtown Baltimore's old retail district into a revitalized urban neighborhood, developers unveiled yesterday the first detailed plans for a three-block area of the superblock showing two apartment towers as tall as 14 stories and a mix of local and national retailers. Lexington Square Partners LLC plans a $250 million mixed-use project with 400 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 900 parking spaces and 300,000 square feet of retail with small shops lining the street and destination retailers on two upper stories along Fayette, Howard, Lexington and Liberty streets on Baltimore's west side.

On busy West Street in Annapolis, it sticks out: 1.9 acres of grassy open space amid a nonstop line of shops, banks, restaurants and gas stations. But the empty land at 213 West St., former home of The Capital newspaper, is unlikely to remain that way much longer. After two years of discussions with city officials, a Virginia-based developer is one major step from getting approval to build a mixed-use complex of single-family homes, nearly 8,000 square feet of retail shops and about 45 condominiums, city officials said.

Sales of alcohol, perfume and other items at airport duty-free shops fell immediately yesterday as passengers stopped buying those items in response to new government restrictions on liquids, gels and creams in carry-on baggage. Also, experts predict that airport retail shops will continue to suffer in light of yesterday's terror scare that forced passengers to dump their beverages, toothpaste and shampoo before boarding planes. But they expect food vendors and others to benefit from passengers who will face longer airport waits for flights because of the new security measures and have more time to spend money.

The revitalization of U.S. 1, long sought but years away from being realized, will receive a major boost this summer with the first retail-residential development along the historic corridor. The multimillion-dollar project will address two critical needs: Infusing U.S. 1 with small retail shops and providing housing for workers in relatively modest-paying jobs. As part of the joint venture with the county, Orchard Development Corp. will build an L-shaped, five-story complex in North Laurel.

The city's Design Advisory Panel rejected yesterday the proposed look of buildings that Pimlico Race Course officials had hoped to erect along Park Heights Avenue in its bid to remake the horse track into a gambling and entertainment complex. The four-story buildings would be used as dormitories for trainers, other track officials and visitors and would contain retail shops on their ground floors. Walter Lynch, Pimlico's development director, told the panel that landscaping work, previously approved by the panel, was under way and that he was seeking approval for the design of the buildings as a next step in the project in Northwest Baltimore.

The ugliest lot on historic Main Street in Annapolis -- the run-down site of a burned-down building -- has been sold and soon should be transformed into a home and retail shops. "Instead of looking like there's a missing tooth halfway up the street, there's an opportunity," Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said. Developer Anthony Manganaro bought the vacant lot, which fronts on Main Street and State Circle, for $1.6 million last week and said he plans to build his residence there. He, his wife and their three dogs would join Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his family as residents of State Circle -- the upstairs residential portion of his building would face the State House.

The ugliest lot on historic Main Street in Annapolis - the run-down site of a burned-down building - has been sold and soon should be transformed into a home and retail shops. "Instead of looking like there's a missing tooth halfway up the street, there's an opportunity," Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said. Developer Anthony Manganaro bought the vacant lot, which fronts on Main Street and State Circle, for $1.6 million last week and said he plans to build his residence there. He, his wife and their three dogs would join Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and his family as residents of State Circle - the upstairs residential portion of his building would face the State House.

The price tag for a high-profile Baltimore residential and retail complex has grown between $3 million and $5 million, and developer Bank of America is quietly working with the state to close a funding gap on the Centerpoint project. Centerpoint -- a combination of renovated buildings and new construction projected to have 394 apartments as well as retail shops -- is widely viewed as key to reviving downtown's west side. The project's price tag jumped from about $70 million to "the mid-70s" after workers found more lead paint, asbestos and other environmental hazards than expected, a top bank official said yesterday.

Taking advantage of a good economy and a new affinity for old urban space, a local builder plans to develop one of the last large vacant strips of city waterfront with warehouse-style offices, shops and a pier of townhouses. Timonium-based Cignal Corp. and unnamed partners in 2301 Boston St. LLC presented a city panel yesterday with a $40 million project that could break ground in four to six months, provided tenants are found. It would rise from a 3-acre parcel off Canton's Boston Street that companies have failed to develop at least twice since the late 1980s.