The $130 million complex sites on a 400,000 square
foot site at the former Laurel mill, on Route 1.
The local community has been waiting since 2006
for a new development on the site. What they now have is a shopping
center where the key brands are Regal Cinema, Burlington Coat
Factory, Old Navy and Sporty Authority. There is also the first
Harris Teeter in all of Prince George’s County at the new shopping
complex.
22,000
New Jobs to be Created
The development was run by Maryland based property firm Greenberg
Gibbons. They expect that the work will eventually bring around
22.000 new jobs to the city. Craig Moe is the mayor of Laurel and he
said that the new Town Centre development is a “vibrant mixed use
town center”. He stated that that he can see a lot of positive
effects on the city happening because it has been built. The mayor
went on to say that the revitalizing of this property is a sign of a
“major rebirth of Laurel’s city center”.
While
some of the stores and the cinema are now open for business, the
center isn’t yet fully open to the public. Tom Fitzpatrick is the
president of Greenberg Gibbons and he said that it is currently 85%
leased and 70% open. There are still a couple of buildings undergoing
construction work and it should be fully completed by the spring of
2015.
Fitzpatrick
also pointed out that the open air style of the mall they designed is
more viable than an enclosed type of shopping complex would have
been. In fact, he said that it was already a “premier location”
and that what they have created is “what people want today”.
