Greenberg Gibbons Breaks Ground on Towne Centre at Laurel

Renaissance of Laurel Mall Site to Begin Immediately

Towne Centre at Laurel, Main St. View

Owings Mills, Md. (August 14, 2012) — Greenberg Gibbons, in partnership with Somera Capital Management and AEW Capital Management, announced today that it broke ground on Towne Centre at Laurel, the long awaited $130 million redevelopment of the existing Laurel Mall site.

Today’s groundbreaking commenced the demolition of Laurel Mall, a 31-year old indoor shopping complex that experienced a period of decline over the last decade, paving the way for the site’s vibrant revitalization and new beginning as Towne Centre at Laurel. Towne Centre at Laurel will be a mixed-use destination with retail, dining, entertainment and residential housing.  Plans for the center include 400,000 square feet of retail space, featuring a grocery anchor, sporting goods store, movie theatre, and other nationally recognized retailers and restaurants in a “Main Street” setting. The open-air center will also include 435 residential units.

“It’s a great day for the Laurel community as our longstanding dream to makeover the mall has finally become a reality,” said Craig A. Moe, Mayor of the City of Laurel. “This new center will serve not only as a community focal point and meeting place, but also as an economic boon to our city, creating more than 1,500 jobs and renewed interest in this area.”

Greenberg Gibbons has managed the existing mall over the last year, while creating plans for its redevelopment and finalizing a joint venture with Somera and AEW. The center is ideally situated on Route 1 in the City of Laurel, Md., halfway between Washington, D.C and Baltimore, Md. The mall is also five miles away from Fort Meade, which is experiencing tremendous growth due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plans.

Towne Centre at Laurel, Birds Eye View

“It’s exciting to begin transforming this property into a first-class destination,” said Brian Gibbons, Chairman and CEO of Greenberg Gibbons. “The time is right to breathe new life into this prime location, making way for the kinds of high-quality retailers and restaurants that the Laurel community deserves.”

Greenberg Gibbons has a proven ability to revitalize aging properties. At Hunt Valley Towne Centre, Greenberg Gibbons turned a “dead mall” into one of the Baltimore region’s premier shopping destinations with a “Main Street” feel that features shops, dining and entertainment.  At Annapolis Towne Centre, the company turned an abandoned shopping center on 35 acres into an open-air, 2-million-square-foot, mixed-use development, winning multiple awards for innovative design and the national Phoenix Award for best practices in environmental remediation.

About Greenberg Gibbons
Founded in 1968, Greenberg Gibbons is one of the Baltimore-Washington region's premier developers of mixed-use, town center and retail properties.  The company’s portfolio includes more than four million square feet of existing and new development.  For more information, go to www.ggcommercial.com.