News Article

New $12.5M road would bisect Odenton Town Center, spur development


(2/23/2010) State and federal officials have signed off on a $12.5 million road plan vital to jump-starting 1,600 acres of development in Odenton, but several more challenges remain before much of the construction can begin there.

Odenton Town Center Boulevard would connect state Routes 175 and 32, cutting through a 125-acre property owned by the Halle Co., which wants to build 3.5 million square feet of office space on the land. It has been unable to do so because of the unresolved road issue and other needed county infrastructure upgrades.

The Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved plans for the roadway earlier this month, said Robert L. Hannon, CEO of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp.

Hannon, speaking at West County Chamber of Commerce meeting Tuesday morning, said those agencies’ approvals were needed because the road would pass over wetlands on Halle’s property.

The approval is just one step in a long and complex process to redevelop what the county has designated as Odenton Town Center. The project has been among the county’s plans for decades, but water, sewer, electrical and road upgrades are needed before much of the 1,600 acres of land can be developed.

The site is one of the choicest development opportunities in the county because it is across Route 175 from Fort George G. Meade. The National Security Agency headquartered there is rapidly expanding, and the Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closure plan is expected to bring thousands more military jobs to Fort Meade from bases slated to be closed or downsized by September 2011.

As the Baltimore Business Journal reported Jan. 15, Hannon has tried to work out a number of deals with developers to resolve most of those issues, including how to pay for the upgrades. He has worked out a tentative agreement under which Halle would pay for the new road in exchange for a reduction in impact fees Halle would pay for the right to develop the land.

But the county also wants to improve the sewer and water systems in the area, and those underground pipes would need to be installed beneath Town Center Boulevard. Developers, including Halle, would then need to pay connection fees to offset the county’s cost of upgrading the water and sewer systems. The total cost could hit $30 million.

Other developers waiting on the outcome of those negotiations include AJ Properties Inc. Osprey Property Co. and StonebridgeCarras.

By Daniel J. Sernovitz, Staff

© 2010 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors.

Link to the article: New $12.5M road would bisect Odenton Town Center, spur development

Source: Baltimore Business Journal