County exec and RPAI remake a town center together
More impressive than Kevin Kamenetz’s having served as county executive of Baltimore County, Md., in his 23 years in county government is the fact that, during that time, residents there have not seen a rise in income or property tax rates.
Kamenetz cites sound management for the achievement, accompanied by an open attitude to new development.
“In order to maintain stable tax rates, we have to expand our tax base, and what better place for developers to do that but inside the Baltimore Beltway?,” Kamanetz said.
Baltimore County surrounds the city of that name like horseshoe, but does not include it. What it does include is lots of prime territory to accommodate high-end Washington suburban sprawl and the County Seat of Towson -- home to two colleges, three hospitals, and 55,000 residents. A GGP-owned mall downtown flourishes, but Kamenetz and his colleagues felt that new residential and retail across the street could make Towson’s core even stronger.
“We wanted to encourage more residential with the idea that retail would follow rooftops,” Kamenetz said. “I met with RPAI and talked to them about how they could redevelop and expand here. [VP of development] Nick Over and I drew it up on a napkin.”
RPAI has since purchased the shopping center across from the mall, acquired the adjoining Towson Square center with its Cinemark theater and a variety of restaurants such as Bobby’s Burger Palace, Bonefish Grill, Nando’s, World of Beers, and On the Border, and has partnered with Avalon Bay to erect 370 residential units above the retail. The completed project will be known as Circle East.
It wasn’t the first time Kamenetz has succeeded in keeping Baltimore County taxes low at an ICSC show. “I’ve been very successful at ICSC in meeting with upper-level management decision-makers eager to make deals,” he said.
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Kamenetz cites sound management for the achievement, accompanied by an open attitude to new development.
“In order to maintain stable tax rates, we have to expand our tax base, and what better place for developers to do that but inside the Baltimore Beltway?,” Kamanetz said.
Baltimore County surrounds the city of that name like horseshoe, but does not include it. What it does include is lots of prime territory to accommodate high-end Washington suburban sprawl and the County Seat of Towson -- home to two colleges, three hospitals, and 55,000 residents. A GGP-owned mall downtown flourishes, but Kamenetz and his colleagues felt that new residential and retail across the street could make Towson’s core even stronger.
“We wanted to encourage more residential with the idea that retail would follow rooftops,” Kamenetz said. “I met with RPAI and talked to them about how they could redevelop and expand here. [VP of development] Nick Over and I drew it up on a napkin.”
RPAI has since purchased the shopping center across from the mall, acquired the adjoining Towson Square center with its Cinemark theater and a variety of restaurants such as Bobby’s Burger Palace, Bonefish Grill, Nando’s, World of Beers, and On the Border, and has partnered with Avalon Bay to erect 370 residential units above the retail. The completed project will be known as Circle East.
It wasn’t the first time Kamenetz has succeeded in keeping Baltimore County taxes low at an ICSC show. “I’ve been very successful at ICSC in meeting with upper-level management decision-makers eager to make deals,” he said.
Connect with me on LinkedIn | Follow me on Twitter