BALTIMORE — Construction has begun on what will soon be an Aldi grocery store in Edmondson Village.
A project developers say will transform the shopping center.
The construction of the new Aldi is just the beginning of the changes that are coming to the shopping center, changes that lifelong community members say are needed.
"We've lived in the community and Edmondson Village stay there for years. Some of my neighbors still live there on Wildwood Parkway, and so I'm very proud of the fact that I have a chance to uplift the community."
Keith Adams' company, K&K Adams, is excavating the area within the shopping center, the first step in the new development.
Adams says he is proud that Chicago TREND has local contractors involved in the project.
"And TREND could've went anywhere else to do what they wanted to do. They are doing it here and using local contractors, and then that way it helps local contractors to rise along too as they become, you know, more sustainable and have work for their employees," says Adams.
And it's not only local contractors.
"This center is not only owned by Chicago TREND; it's owned by, you know, 200 other community local investors as well," says William Beckford.
A crowdfunding campaign led by a trend brought the 200 local, small-impact investors together.
Because of that, the community has a hand in the changes coming to the shopping center.
"It just makes so much more sense for a community to own and local folks to have a piece of ownership in the shopping center. That's gonna be great."
Marty Glaze represents the project's owners and is a lifelong resident of the area. He says this project will have a huge impact on Edmondson Village.
"You know I'm born and raised in this community, and it's looked like this since I was a kid, and when we're done, it's gonna look completely different. It's a really exciting project." .
The new Aldi is just the start; Chicago TREND also announced a partnership with Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland.
The Edmondson Village Shopping Center will be the location of its new headquarters.
"And once we get done with this development, the entire community is going to be ecstatic about what happens here," says Glaze.
Developers say they anticipate both the Aldi and the Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland headquarters to open in 2026.
Here's the before...
