Armory building to be part of Towson Row; Whole Foods on the fence

Rendering of Armory

Greenberg Gibbons, the developer that has taken over the long-stalled Towson Row project, said today it has purchased the vacant Maryland National Guard Armory and will fold it into the project, making it into retail and office space.

Rendering of Armory interior

Brian Gibbons, chairman and CEO of the firm, said the developer will work with the Maryland Historical Trust to preserve the exterior and interior integrity of the building.

“This is one of the best opportunities for adaptive reuse,” he told a group of local officials and developers Thursday at a groundbreaking for the project.

The hotels that will be at Towson Row were also identified. One will be a 120-room Hampton Inn and the other a 100-room Home2 Suites. Both chains are owned by Hilton.

Gibbons said Whole Foods has not yet committed to Towson Row. He said they are hopeful another grocer will come in if Whole Foods declines, but that is not yet a certainty.

The project is expected it bring 3,500 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent jobs to Towson. It will include the hotels; more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; 150,000 square feet of office space; 250 luxury high rise apartments; and 300 student-housing units.

The project was started by Caves Valley Partners, which demolished the buildings at the site — the corner of Towsontown Boulevard and York Road — and then let the site sit vacant for two years. One year ago, Greenberg Gibbons took over the project. Greenberg Gibbons is the developer behind Foundry Row in Owings Mills and Hunt Valley Towne Centre.

The project has drawn criticism because Greenberg Gibbons was able to secure public financing for a portion of the $350 million project. Instead of taking advantage of the Commercial Revitalization tax credits it’s entitled to, the developer will instead get $26.5 million up front from the county. Additionally, the county will give the developer a $16.4 million grant that will be paid back through the hotel occupancy tax. The financing package was approved by the four Democrats on the county council, with the three Republicans voting against it.

County Executive Don Mohler said the project will bring in $4.7 million per year in tax revenue and he praised supporters for their optimism.

“It’s very easy to be a naysayer. It’s very easy to put up roadblocks. It’s very easy to talk about why things should not happen,” he said. “But it’s much harder to stand up and say, ‘We’re going to work through these issues. We believe in the end that bringing these kind of jobs and this kind of tax revenue, this kind of entertainment venue, this kind of residential venue — we believe that bringing Towson University and downtown Towson together is a good thing.’ When you have that courage and you have that optimism, you stand up and get it done.”