BALTIMORE — It's been burned out since late November; a good chunk on the west end of the Edmondson Village Shopping Center hollowed out by fire and fenced off, but soon -- look for some changes.
"Beginning in the next few weeks there will be some demolition. The long-term reconstruction, the timeline is still unclear on that," said Baltimore City Councilman Kristerfer Burnett.
And part of that is because the Baltimore Fire Department hasn't been able to determine what caused the fire.
RELATED: 10 businesses damaged, destroyed in Edmondson Village Shopping Center fire
Councilman Burnett says the investigation stalled because, thanks to a broken natural gas line caused by the roof collapse -- the fire was sustained and burned too long creating too much damage to any evidence.
"They were unable to piece together what the cause was,” Burnett said. “The owner of the property, their insurance company is also looking into it and doing their own investigation, so between the two of those, people can expect this will take some more time to get resolved."
Even so, the councilman expects new plans by the owner in the coming weeks.
Four of the ten businesses displaced by the fire have expressed interest in coming back to the shopping center once it is reconstructed.
RELATED: Businesses reopen after Edmondson Village Shopping Center fire
The first of the demolition is scheduled to begin sometime next week and both lawmakers and the Baltimore Development Corporation are working with the owner on reconstruction and redevelopment plans.
