WHITE MARSH, Md. — A new task force is set to map out a revamped vision for White Marsh Town Center, especially the struggling White Marsh Mall - and the area's new county councilman hopes Baltimore County can focus on White Marsh the way it's now focusing on Security Square Mall.
Councilman David Marks, whose northeastern district now includes White Marsh (thanks to new redistricting), is focusing on the major retail/business district that he inherited. He announced this week that he's creating a 15-member task force to chart a new path.
He noted:
"The major concern is the future of White Marsh Mall. White Marsh Mall can be parceled out among many developments, and there's just a lot of controversy over the [516-unit] apartments [proposed at the mall]. Many people are concerned about the impact on schools and traffic, but I think generally, it's about how we create integrated community at White Marsh."
On the county's west side, Security Square Mall just got $20 million in state and county funding. Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski's administration recently committed $10 million to buy the former Sears building at the largely-vacant Security Square Mall, and Chick-fil-A is now opening in a long-shuttered Bennigan's restaurant.
Referring to White Marsh Mall, Marks said: "Many malls are struggling through the United States as we transition to an online retail economy. The county is putting a lot of resources into the Security Square Mall area. I'd like to see that type of exercise eventually, but what we're going to do is we're going to set the stage for that type of planning effort and see what may work at the mall."
Marks' new task force will be lead by Pat Keller, Baltimore County's longtime planning director and now the chairman of the Perry Hall Improvement Association. It will also include representatives from the controversial apartment complex and local community leaders - but, most notably, does not yet include anyone from White Marsh Mall.
"The developers of the apartment have agreed to be on it, but the mall management has not yet, which is a bit frustrating. So we hope to gather input and eventually bring them to the table, but, as I noted, parts of the mall can actually be outparceled, so it's not like it's one master owner," he said.
Marks hopes to look at best practices from around the county, noting that Towson has had "tremendous revitalization" and Hunt Valley Towne Centre seems to be doing better.
"We're now ready to look at land use in general, and clearly the controversy over apartments is a big part of that, but we also need to look at infrastructure - how do people get around? It's very difficult to cross from The Avenue over to the mall. We need to look at open space..." he said. "The debate over apartments is a symptom. It shows a lack of comprehensive planning and, quite frankly, a lack of community input. That's what I want to bring to the table."
