Kimco building lifestyle center on site of former mall

Kimco Realty Corp. is to build an open-air center on the site of the former Owings Mills (Md.) Mall that will house restaurants and green space as well as a range of national and local retailers. Construction on the 575,000-square-foot Mill Station will begin early next year for completion in early 2019.

“Mill Station will be a dynamic retail destination that breathes new life into the Owings Mills community,” said Kimco CEO Conor C. Flynn in a press release. “Kimco is transforming this asset, delivering an impressive mix of national brands, local shops and dining options in a modern, open layout that better reflects the desires of local shoppers and the character of this area.”

Owings Mills Mall was a 1 million-square-foot center opened by The Rouse Co. in 1986 and which closed in 2015.

The $108 million Mill Station, to be anchored by a 148,000-square-foot Costco, will offer about 30 retailers and restaurants linked by a network of walkways to existing retailers and office properties. The Costco, which will include a gas station, a deli, a bakery, a food court and a garden center, will be that retailer’s only store within a 15-mile radius. An existing AMC cinema  will be completely renovated.

The site is near I-795 and some mass-transit stops. The population within a five-mile radius is about 166,000, and the area’s average household income is about $93,000 yearly, according to Kimco.

“We are confident that Mill Station will be a lifestyle destination that the Owings Mills community will enjoy for years to come,” said Wilbur (Tom) Simmons, Kimco’s president for the mid-Atlantic region, in the press release. “We’d like to thank the Owings Mills residents, area businesses and local officials, whose voices and opinions were heard and appreciated throughout the planning process.”

New Hyde Park, N.Y.–based Kimco owns interests in some  500 shopping centers across the U.S., encompassing a collective 84 million square feet of leasable space.