Lutherville Station redevelopment wins support at Baltimore County Council hearing

“It is wasteful to have a light rail train stopping next to a defunct shopping center.That is wasteful when we as taxpayers have paid this transit system to run and operate.”

September 15, 2026

Supporters of a plan to redevelop the aging Lutherville Station shopping center into a mixed bag of apartments, restaurants and businesses told the Baltimore County Council Tuesday night that it’s the perfect project for a site that needs to be reinvented.

“It’s the best idea in 20 years for this site,” Lutherville resident David Frederick told the council. “We’ve watched all of that concrete and parking lot just sit there.”

In what would be a major step forward for the long-delayed development, the county council is considering County Executive Kathy Klausmeier’s request that Lutherville Station be designated a “transit-oriented development,” or TOD.

It’s adjacent to the light rail. The designation would make the development eligible for state money.

For years there has been strong opposition to the development from nearby residents who said it would attract the wrong people, increase traffic and overburden schools. They packed a recent community public hearing on the proposed transit oriented development proposal.

At the council’s hearing on Tuesday night, opponents were outnumbered by supporters and they complained primarily about the process.

Pamela Shaw, the president of the Lutherville Community Association, said she was surprised when Klausmeier introduced the transit oriented development resolution last week.

“We had not been given any kind of advance notice,” Shaw said.

The resolution Klausmeier sent to the county council for approval says, “Lutherville Station will provide an active pedestrian connection to the adjacent Lutherville Light Rail Station and connections throughout the project in the form of public sidewalks, hardscaped areas, and gathering places that support the use of public transit and enhance the walkability of the project within its larger context in the neighborhood.”

In speaking in favor of the resolution, architect Klaus Philipsen said Lutherville Station should have been designated a TOD years ago.

“It is wasteful to have a light rail train stopping next to a defunct shopping center,” Philipsen said. “That is wasteful when we as taxpayers have paid this transit system to run and operate.”

Others speaking in favor of the project said it helps to address the county’s significant housing shortage.

If the county council approves the TOD resolution, it will go to the state for final approval. That vote is scheduled for September 21.

The developer Mark Renbaum wants to transform the old Lutherville Station shopping center into a mix of 325 apartments, restaurants and businesses. The project has been stalled for years.

The actual development plan with specific details has yet to be filed with the county.

Councilman Nino Mangione, a Republican who represents Lutherville Station, says he expects that will happen soon as the final details are hammered out in an agreement between the county and the developer.

Mangione said the agreement will have built-in protections for the community.

“I am fully engaged with the Greater Timonium Community Council and the builder in these negotiations and I expect a successful resolution to these negotiations in a matter of weeks,” Mangione said.

Read the article on WYPR.