Two long-awaited projects are poised to move forward in and near Laurel this year, signifying an improvement in development financing availability. Each project is designed to bring significantly improved retail choices to residents and consumers there.
The respective developers for the new Konterra Town Center and for Laurel Mall, a failing retail center, have both announced their intentions to start the construction process in 2012.
Owings Mills-based Greenberg Gibbons Commercial was selected last February to form a joint venture with mall owners Somera Capital Management and AEW Capital Management, and has assumed management and leasing responsibilities for the property.
At an October meeting of Laurel’s mayor and city council, Greenberg Gibbons President and CEO Brian Gibbons presented an update on the status of the mall’s redevelopment into an open air, town center-style center.
“We’ve been working very hard for the past several months trying to put this project together and come up with concept plans that we think would really work,” Gibbons said.
He added that Greenberg Gibbons has worked similar changes at other failing retail centers, such as Hunt Valley Town Centre (the former Hunt Valley Mall) and Annapolis Town Centre (the long-time site of Parole Plaza), which was named Project of the Year for 2010 at the Land Development Council’s Excellence in Community Development Awards; the company also built the Village at Waugh Chapel in Crofton, which is being followed up with the Village South at Waugh Chapel. It will be anchored by Wegmans, Regal Cinemas, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and other big box retailers.
Demolition Delay
Redevelopment plans for Laurel Mall have been in the works since 2007, when Somera Capital Management of Santa Barbara, Calif., acquired the property from the previous owner, Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle. Despite a $16 million Tax Increment Financing tax break agreed to by the mayor and city council, the recession made it nearly impossible for Somera to arrange financing for the project.
“I know everybody … is impatient,” Gibbons said. “We have signed letters of intent with two national anchor tenants for more than 100,000 square feet, and we’re negotiating three additional anchor tenant leases right now.”
Although he declined to name the tenants until negotiations have been finalized, Gibbons said that one of the tenants is a movie theater.
Greenberg Gibbons submitted demolition plans for the mall’s front parking deck to the city of Laurel in the fall of 2011, and was on track to begin that process before Christmas.
Mayor Craig Moe, however, requested that the developer delay demolition until after the holiday shopping season to minimize any inconvenience to shoppers and tenants.
In a statement released on Dec. 9, Moe indicated that Greenberg Gibbons would submit full demolition plans and update the Laurel Town Centre development project within 45 days.
Konterra Proceeding
Another project near Laurel has been in the works since 2005. Konterra, a 1,300-acre mixed-use development on land owned by the Kingdon Gould family, is a joint venture of Konterra Realty and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland.
The developers have indicated their intent to begin construction on the project’s core in 2012. Known as Konterra Town Center East, it will be located east of Interstate 95, bounded by Virginia Manor Road to the east and Contee Road to the north, and skirted by the Inter-County Connector (ICC) to the south.
“We plan to be under construction with about $70 million worth of infrastructure this year,” said Konterra Development Vice President Caleb Gould. “We will be building a new interchange at Van Dusen Road crossing over I-95.”
Meanwhile, a Prince George’s County road project is planned for the easterly section of Van Dusen Road, as well as a realignment of Virginia Manor Road, both of which will connect with the project.
“Parts of the infrastructure phase have already been awarded to contractors, and we hope that roadway construction will be started by June this year,” Gould said.
Konterra Realty is already proceeding with construction of other infrastructure projects associated with Town Center East, to include environmental controls and stormwater management infrastructure.
“The site is prepared to rough development grade,” Gould said. “We’ve got a good start and just need to undercut for streets and start putting in utilities before we can move on to actual building construction.”
The developer is still targeting a schedule for opening roads in late summer 2013, and is looking at late 2014 or early 2015 to open the first buildings.
“It all depends on how quickly we can get to construction,” Gould said. “We’ve got about a year to 18 months of outside infrastructure work, but our work to this point has given us a jump of a good two years on a typical construction project.”
Red Zone Strategy
As for Laurel Mall, Gibbons said private agreements are still being negotiated with existing tenants. “I hope that we would be under full demolition and then unveiling our plans for this project by the beginning [of 2012],” he said. “We have great leasing momentum, and the anchors we’re talking about will be new entries to the market.”
Moe said he was pleased with the tenants that are coming and thinks the community will be happy with the finished project.
“[Greenberg Gibbons] is a breath of fresh air compared to the last mall individuals I was dealing with,” he said. “They were tough to deal with.”
He added that City Administrator Kristie Mills and Karl Brendle, director of community planning and business services, continue to receive updates from Gibbons’ staff on a regular basis.
“We’ve been through a recession, and [the mall] has been a horrible blight for the community for a long period of time,” Gibbons said, “but we are on the 10-yard line and we’re going to get in the end zone soon.”
