Reasons for Optimism in Downtown Towson

Nancy Hafford's phone is ringing a little more often these days.

The executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce is fielding calls from retail stores and others who want to come to Towson or, in some cases, come back.

Hafford won't name names but she thinks that the calls are a sign that downtown Towson has the whiff of success lately, including the launch of a trendy retailer, the re-opening of a larger commercial space and the promise of a new movie theater complex.

Hafford, other area leaders and analysts feel Towson is set to rebound in 2012. And the rebound could beat market expectations as Towson makes strides in retail, commercial and residential development in the town's core.

For instance, the once-mothballed Investment Building reopens this year as Towson City Center.  New tenants will include Mile One Automotive headquarters, Towson University clinics, WTMD radio studios and a farm-to-table restaurant. All but two floors of the building are fully leased, according to County Councilman David Marks.

Towson Circle III has evolved from a dream and a vacant lot to landing the movie theater chain Cinemark with a ground-breaking  planned for later this year.

Developer Bozzuto Homes has sold nine of 121 luxury homes now under construction at Towson Green. That development joins other downtown-area luxury properties, such as the Palisades, Penthouse and Promenade apartments.

"What I'm starting to hear is that we are definitely in a strong recovery," Marks said.

Marks is talking to Towson-area property owners about accelerating his long-term goal of creating a business improvement district for the town, which could happen in several years.

"I do think that seeing is believing, more or less," said Michael Mull, who works for Towson-based real estate company KLNB. "And I do think that when you see things like the former Investment Building … taking shape and all these good positive things in and around the new apartment complexes, they're trying to make this a live-work environment" 

"Slowly but surely, these different segments of Towson are getting cleaned up and a lot of traction is being created, which is exciting to see," Mull said.

Hafford said the first sign of good things to come was the Urban Outfitters clothing store opening at York Road and Pennsylvania Avenue, a sign that upscale street-level retail could succeed outside Towson Town Center.

"That's 100 percent of the reason that I've gotten calls that I've gotten," she said.

A commercial real estate report researched and released by KLNB (attached to this story) said that Towson had a "remarkable year" in 2011, considering the challenges of the national and regional economy. Towson's class A vacancy rate, a barometer of commercial health, improved slightly to 10.5 percent last year from 11.7 percent in 2010. For all Baltimore County, the class A vacancy rate improved even more, to 9.5 percent in 2011 compared to 13.8 percent in 2010.

A large portion of those vacancies can be found at Towson Commons, where retail space has sat empty for many years (although office space is still occupied there). Last year, Towson Commons' owners ended a lease with anchor tenant AMC Theatres.

Finding tenants to fill space such as the Commons, or less visible property like Nottingham Center, remains a challenge because Towson has a reputation within the real estate market as a "red-headed stepchild," said Matt Mueller, vice president of Mackenzie Commercial Real Estate Services in Lutherville.

A business can easily move to a place like Maryland Executive Park on East Joppa Road or to Timonium and still have easy access to Towson and even Baltimore without the hassles of Towson's parking garages, to cite one example.

Parking, congestion and the age of the town's buildings are still disadvantages for some potential retail and commercial tenants, Mueller said.

"It is still hard to do deals in downtown Towson unless tenants really need or want to be there," Mueller said.

Mackenzie, the company Mueller works for, used to own four buildings in downtown Towson.  No longer. Now it owns just one, at 22 W. Susquehanna Ave. But Mueller added that he is by no means sour on the county seat. He notes there are postive indicators, such as the new developments and the new downtown Towson leases by agencies like the Social Security Administration.

Most important to downtown, Mueller said, would be an increased Towson University presence in the town's core. That would add stability and energy to downtown, he said.

"I really feel that if things hit the right way, Towson could come up smelling pretty good here," he said.

To Hafey Hyle, owner of Ridgely and Ferrens, hope smells a little like hamburgers and crab cakes. His shop, just steps away from Towson City Center, is a popular Allegheny Avenue lunch destination.

"When (Towson City Center) opens in the spring, I have every expectation to see some activity from it," Hyle said.