Smart growth pilot project in Maryland

The state and Baltimore County are partners in the Owings Mills Town Center, a transit-oriented development. Owings Mills, a rapidly growing “edge city” in Baltimore County, is about to get a main street and town center on what is currently 46 acres of transit parking. The state Mass Transit Administration, which owns the property, and the county have entered into a partnership to build up to 220,000 square feet of retail, 600,000 square feet of office, 450 units of housing, a hotel, a library, and an education center. The plan includes more than 3,000 structured parking spaces to support the existing transit stop (at the end of Baltimore’s Metro line), and the new development. The heart of the main street is a one-acre plaza that will support festivals and special events for the community, which currently does not have an urban center. The county and state have so far committed $2 million each to design the project and create engineering drawings for the structured parking. Much more public sector money will likely be required for infrastructure development — but the exact amount will depend on negotiations with a master developer. The county and state are reviewing development proposals from five private firms, one of which will be selected by early summer, according to Louis Pinkney, director of real estate for the state Mass Transit Administration. LDR International of Columbia, Maryland, created the concept plans. Owings Mills Town Center is viewed as a major demonstration project for Gov. Parris Glendening’s “smart growth” program, which targets public infrastructure spending in designated growth areas, and seeks to foster compact development. Owings Mills is one of two designated growth areas in Baltimore County (which surrounds but does not include the City of Baltimore). The state currently has a $1 billion budget surplus. Maryland estimates that continued sprawling growth patterns would cost the state $10 billion over more compact development in the next 15 years. Owings Mills Town Center is part of a nationwide trend to build pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use town centers. Although this trend has been reported on for several years, few true new urbanist town centers have been built, and fewer still are connected to transit.