Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, The Cordish Companies and Heritage Properties announced on Tuesday the first three restaurants that will be housed in Towson Square, located in downtown Towson.
Nando's Peri-Peri, a flame grilled chicken chain from South Africa; La Tagliatella, a European chain featuring Northern Italian cuisine and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, a Southwestern style family chain, will join Cinemark Theatres—the first confirmed tenant—at the $85 million entertainment center.
"We're going to make Towson a regional destination," Kamenetz said.
Blake Cordish, a vice president of The Cordish Company, said announcements about five more restaurants expected to join Towson Square—including one owned by a well-known celebrity chef—will be made in the coming months. Few—if any—retail stores are expected.
"We've put together an eclectic mix of terrific operators," Cordish said.
Cinemark is also debuting a VIP experience at Towson Square, which will feature a 200-seat balcony level with full bar service and premium food choices for customers over the age of 21. The 90,000 square foot complex will include 15 screens and 3,400 stadium-style seats.
"Really, it's going to be bigger and better than we planned," Kamenetz said.
Cordish said construction crews are formally mobilizing on the site, a 4.2 acre parcel bounded by East Joppa Road, Pennsylvania and Virginia avenues, Tuesday, and the entertainment center is scheduled for a summer 2014 opening.
The project faced delays because of economic troubles, said Cordish and Mike Batza, chairman and CEO of Heritage Properties.
"It's a complex project with many moving parts but developers are always optimistic," Batza said.
Towson Square is projected to create 1,530 jobs, including 660 in construction and 870 once Cinemark and the restaurants open, according to a county news release. Once the jobs are open, they will generate an estimated $16.4 millionin annual payroll. Additionally, the county will collect $1.75 million in taxes.
Councilman David Marks, who represents Towson, said he was pleased with the announcement.
"I think we have a number of very good options," he said. "Those are nice, relatively upscale, restaurants."
Greater Towson Council of Community Associations President Paul Hartman said he was similarly impressed, and thought Towson Square would be a great option for locals.
"It was definitely a different mix than what was expected," he said. "There were rumors about another Olive Garden or California Kitchen—not that those are bad—but now Towson has its own identity to build on."
Marks and Hartman both said conversations about the crowds the entertainment center would likely attract such as security and traffic concerns would need to be ongoing.
Stay with Patch for updates.
I'm so scared! That's just the same-old racist/classist nonsense from the same-old crew, "gangs! from buses! black youth!" ...nothing to see here folks.
I don't see why the county has to raise millions and give it to support this sort of project - isn't capitalism about risk/reward? We subsidize the risk, they get the rewards... and after a while (and after local businesses take the hit), we get yet another abandoned movie theater, more empty storefronts, and unused parking garage to deal with. Is it any wonder folks aren't choosing to support this thing? (We are supporting it none the less, it's not like we have a say)
It'll be awesome.
But hey Stark, nicely played you ignorant bigot.
Again, why are we selling county land at cut rate prices to developers without a clear spot for the new firehouse? Oh yeah, white people from Perry Hall don't come to Towson.
And by the way, Marks found a new site. He's limited development on 60 acres in Towson - but you can't ever say something nice, race baiter.
I'd be very interested in seeing the Patch detail the proposed ingress and egress of Towson Square and what the traffic count projections are for the site. It wasn't until the circle was built, that the Dulaney Valley, Joppa intersection was lifted out of failing..and even now traffic isn't a picnic near there. Oh, and Mr. Kamenetz, if you would like to be like Bethesda, you are going to have to pour significant money into infrastructure improvements and figure out a way to lure independent, innovative eateries to Towson. Chain eateries are not the draw in Bethesda, the one-of-a-kind, (particularly ethnic) restaurants are!
Cinemark is a theater chain from Texas, Nandos is an international chain, La Tagliatella is really AmRest (KFC mogul from Poland) and On the Border is mid-line and owned/operated by a private equity firm (Golden Gate Capital)... I would rather see the local businesses supported (or at least US businesses) than to see them displaced by fast food chain restaurants and (yet another) theater and garage complex. Only time will tell if the third iteration of the Towson Commons is a benefit or a another bane. (By the way, the old Commons was literally attached to the parking garage, you don't get much closer than that, and it's the same deal with this new mall. Now we'll have three empty parking garages in the center of Towson, but at least Cordish/Heritage will make a buck)