Towson Commons Gets A Second Life

TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- Breathing new life into Towson Commons. Baltimore County is about to benefit from another investment in downtown Towson.

Pat Warren reports the property is one of many projects changing the face of the York Road corridor.

While contractors are busy building the $350 million Towson Row, just a short trip down the street, the iconic rotunda Towson Commons is entering a second life. The former retail section has been purchased by local investors.

"And we believe that the local tie here is what's important," said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. "The investors have no concerns about the great strength that downtown Towson holds."

And the developers promise that once the project is finished, all of this will be something else---as in "something else."

"This project---the time is right with the increased investment in downtown Towson, the new First Class Theater Project, the expansion of the mall, the expansion of the university," said Michael Stoltz, MFI Realty. "The residential communities, the local businesses that have been here for generations---when all those things come together at the same time, it creates a place that we know Towson can be."

That includes 115,000 square feet of retail space at York and Pennsylvania and the hotel, office space and shops going up at Towson Row.

Since 2009, Towson has seen more than a dozen major projects and renovations, to the tune of a billion dollars. That money is in private investments.