Community Leaders Mulling Towson Square Impact

Towson Square isn't set to open until 2014, but community leaders are already anticipating the crowds the retail center is expected to attract.

Councilman David Marks said he's currently in talks with county traffic engineers about accommodating the additional traffic the center will bring to the area, and police officials about increased security.

"These are ongoing discussions," Marks said.

Towson Square, an $85 million project that is being developed as a partnership between commercial real estate developers Cordish Cos. and Heritage Properties, will include a movie theater, restaurants and an 862-space Baltimore County Revenue Authority garage. Construction for the center began in recent months. 

The developers did not return multiple calls for comment on how they're planning to deal with the crowds internally.

Marks also noted that the center underscored the importance of turning downtown Towson into business improvement district, an idea he first floated in June 2011. A county council resolution would need to be passed for the designation to become official.

If a resolution does go through, business owners in the area may be required to pay additional fees for services such as security, street cleaning and events. Marks cited Rockville and Bethesda as models.

"Ultimately, I think this is the direction [the area] needs to move in," he said.

Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce, said she's interested in hearing more information about the proposed district, but is concerned about the economic impact to local business owners.

"With this economy, some business owners are struggling to stay open and to put a monkey on their back and ask them to pay for something else may be too much," she said.

Despite violence erupting among crowds outside Recher Theatre late-September, Hafford isn't too concerned that a similar incident will occur with the opening of Towson Square.

"We've got to make sure the ducks are in line," she said. "But I think it'll be a great addition to the business community."

David Kosak, president of the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations, is similarly cautiously optimistic about the retail center. He said the council's primary concern is managing traffic flow in the area. 

"Recher was an isolated incident, an unexpected fluke," he said. "But it did show that we need to have the proper resources in place. We need to take a proactive approach not a reactive one."