Our project will generate hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue to the county and the state over the next many years.
August 16,2024
The controversial Lutherville Station project is seeking a new lease on life by doubling down on previous plans.
Now, the developer wants to build additional new apartments and create retail space and parks near the light rail station on Ridgely Road.
The developer is pushing for a designation as a transit-oriented project, which would allow higher housing density. The area is right next to a light rail station.
Lutherville Station is a transit stop next to vacant property — the developer and local leaders, like Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, want to see a development project around it.
Developer Mark Renbaum talked about his project with WBAL’s Jayne Miller.
His modified plan calls for 560 apartments to be built next to offices with retail spaces and a park.
“Our project as redeveloped will be a ($250 million) investment,” Renbaum said. “It will generate hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue to the county and the state over the next many years.”
What’s missing is public trust. Neighbors are outspoken in their opposition, as some fear school overcrowding.
“If your school system suffers, the property values go way down,” said William Stokes. “People have a lot of equity built up in their houses, and they would hate to see hundreds of thousands of dollars go off their property value.”
The proposed development would also include an event yard, a community dog park, a five-story parking garage and a five-story office building.
“What are some of your concerns? Traffic, as you can see right here,” said James Zawacki. “I walked my other dog and there’s 50 cars in eight minutes. The congestion is going to be crazy.”
But Renbaum refuted the claim, saying there is no traffic problem.
“We don’t have a traffic problem, and we have several traffic studies that show the project we are going to propose will actually generate less traffic than if the existing building and the existing site were filled up per existing code uses,” Renbaum said.
The area is zoned commercially. The developer wants to go through the county’s planned unit development process to include the public. A new state law clears the way for development near transit stops.
Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach, R-District 3, is opposed to the project, saying:
“This latest action by the developer to designate Lutherville Station as a transit-oriented development site flies in the face of efforts to reach an agreement on a redevelopment sensitive to this area’s uniqueness.”
Renbaum emphasized that he wants to work with the community to address concerns and that the project is years away from being shovel-ready.
Read the article on WBAL.
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