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 Photo by Lisa Helfert
Greenberg Gibbons sets the bar with Parole project
By Michele Lerner | Contributing Writer
Originally published February 2008
As construction cranes rise skyward, so does the excitement of Anne Arundel County residents and government officials about Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole, an upscale mixed-use development which will become a new destination for locals and visitors.
Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, an Owings Mills-based real estate development firm, is responsible for the design and construction of this 32-acre site.
“At Annapolis Towne Centre we're delivering a unique product, selling a lifestyle in which residents can walk to Whole Foods and a variety of restaurants and shops,” said Brian J. Gibbons, president and CEO. “We're creating a place like Reston Town Center.”
Annapolis Towne Centre, with residential units built above retail, will have a total of about 2.2 million square feet.
The $800 million project will include 700,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space, a 100,000-square foot hotel and nearly 1 million square feet for residential use including luxury condominiums.
The retail component is anticipated to open in October and the first phase of residential development will begin occupancy in March 2009. Additional phases will open each year until completion, expected in 2012.
“Westfield Mall, a juniors-oriented shopping center, is across the street, and we wanted to differentiate ourselves by focusing on a mature audience and more high-end amenities,” said Gibbons.
 Greenberg Gibbons Commercial’s Brian Gibbons, president and CEO (left) and Erwin Greenberg, chairman, tour the site of the Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole. The 2.2 million square feet of office, retail and residential is expected to be complete in 2012. Photo by Lisa Helfert.
Restaurants will include P.F. Chang's, the Chop House, the Daily Grill and the Real Seafood Co.
“We wanted to be really careful of the lifestyle quality of the buildings so we were not willing to accept everyday mall tenants,” said Erwin L. Greenberg, chairman of the board.
Walt Petrie, chairman of Petrie Ross Ventures, an Annapolis-based development company which is a minority partner in Annapolis Towne Centre, said that this project rounds out the retail market in Anne Arundel County, particularly by bringing in Target and the second largest Whole Foods store in the area.
 The Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole will include 700,000 square feet of retail space, 150,000 square feet of office space, a 100,000-square foot hotel and nearly 1 million square feet for residential use. Photo by Lisa Helfert.
“Our companies have a lot of respect for each other, and we were brought in at Annapolis Towne Centre for our local presence since our offices are one-half mile from the site,” said Petrie. “We consult every week on every aspect of the development.”
Gibbons said that mixed-used development brings the unique challenge of spreading the market risk throughout all sectors, which can be both good and bad.
“Each real estate sector goes through cycles,” he said. “When we started planning Annapolis Towne Centre the residential sector was hot and the office market was a little slower. Now the office sector has picked up in Annapolis as the residential has slowed down.”
Robert Hannon, president and CEO of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp. said that the Annapolis Towne Centre is a prime example of an intensive mixed-use development which is consistent with the county's master land-use plans.
“The plans for the Towne Centre are a reflection of our growth management policies so that growth takes place in areas where substantial investment in infrastructure has already taken place,” he said.
 Courtesy of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial.
Developing landmark locations has become a trademark for Greenberg Gibbons, best known for transforming Hunt Valley Mall in Baltimore County from a dingy aging shopping mall into an outdoor destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. The company plans even further expansion at Hunt Valley.
“Hunt Valley Towne Centre has exceeded our expectations in terms of the looks of the project and the volume of business generated there,” said Greenberg.
Gibbons said, because they are a local company, they understand the market and can capitalize on the demographics in the area.
Nine years ago, when Gibbons joined the company, he and Greenberg agreed on a new vision: to focus solely on building larger shopping centers in primary markets and to be on the cutting edge of developing mixed-use projects.
Greenberg, in business since 1968, has successfully steered his business through four decades of real estate cycles, beginning as a residential builder and moving into the development of shopping centers. Today's staff of 35 handles development, leasing and management for the company's projects.
Greenberg Gibbons has set its sights on Anne Arundel County because of the area's potential.
“Anne Arundel County has good quality demographics, it is close to both D.C. and Baltimore, near the water and is home to the state capitol,” said Gibbons.
In Crofton, the Village at Waugh Chapel, a horizontal mixed-use development with retail, residential and commercial sections located adjacent to each other, opened in 2000 and has become a neighborhood destination. Plans call for a new Bally Total Fitness to open in the next 14 to 18 months.
“Phase I of Waugh Chapel created a new paradigm for mixed-use development in Anne Arundel,” said Greenberg. “We built two man-made lakes on the 71-acre site, with four restaurants facing the lakes, senior housing, 100,000 square feet of retail space, an office building, banks and more restaurants.”
The second phase, the Village at Waugh Chapel South, will add another 600,000 square feet of retail space, including a Wegmans grocery store, a Target, a 16-screen movie theater, more office space and additional age-restricted condominiums.
Construction on this expansion is expected to begin in the next 12 months.
“At the time we planned Waugh Chapel, in the late 1990s, a lifestyle center, mixed-use development was an unusual concept for a suburban location,” said Gibbons. “This was the first in Anne Arundel County.”
Greenberg Gibbons expects to finalize plans in the spring for Arundel Gateway, 300 acres near the intersection of Route 198 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Proposals for this $500 million mixed-used development call for 15 acres of retail space and 1,600 condominiums and town homes.
“We see [Anne Arundel County] as an under-served market with great potential for growth,” said Gibbons. > Michele Lerner is a contributing writer in Washington, D.C. |
