OELLA, Md. — Some changes are proposed to a plan for a major redevelopment of a historic mill on the Patapsco River, directly across from Old Ellicott City.
The Ellicott Mill project was first introduced several years ago, to transform the 108-year-old, eight-story flour mill in Oella into a mix of "apartments, a destination restaurant, some retail and a historic display."
The project was originally expected to be done in 2023. The developer, David Tufaro, has also remodeled two historic North Baltimore mills: Mill No. 1 in Remington, and Whitehall Mill in Hampden.
This week, the project was up before Baltimore County's development review committee, because the developer wants to make changes that include requests to "update unit mix while maintaining total unit count; revise size of restaurant, retail, and historic display; revise floorplans; modify the parking lot layouts to increase total number of spaces; move the pedestrian bridge to align with the building; and revise [stormwater management] and utilities per layout changes."
A representative for the project said they're not proposing any density changes, just a different mix of units.
The project would also have more parking than proposed before.
The changes include more retail space (3,678 square feet, up from 1,975), doubling the size of the historical display, and more space for apartments (151,103 square feet, versus 148,028) - and moving the pedestrian bridge to "better align with the building."
Senior planner Lloyd Moxley said at the development meeting that the plans significantly change the concept of the project.
"This should have, at minimum, a spirit-and-intent letter, because it doesn't match what the board originally approved," he said. "It's a lot of changes to see in red. We just need to know what's going on."
