Greenberg Gibbons, in partnership with Somera Capital Management and AEW Capital Management, has broken ground on the $130m Towne Centre at Laurel, Maryland, US.
As per the plans, the existing Laurel Mall site will be redeveloped into an open-air centre featuring retail, dining, entertainment, residential housing and green space, as well as areas for community events.
Redevelopment of the site will create 400,000ft² of retail space, featuring a supermarket, sports shop, cinema and 435 residential units.
City of Laurel Mayor Craig Moe said, "This new centre will serve not only as a community focal point and meeting place, but also as an economic boon to our city, creating more than 1,500 jobs and renewed interest in this area."
The town centre is expected to open in late 2014. Greenberg Gibbons plans to announce proposed tenants for the centre by the end of 2012.
Greenberg Gibbons chairman and CEO Brian Gibbons said, "The time is right to breathe new life into this prime location, making way for the kinds of high-quality retailers and restaurants that the Laurel community deserves."
Built 31 years ago, the Laurel Mall indoor shopping complex was closed in May 2012 after experiencing a period of decline over the last decade.
Originally the city was planning to invest $450m to renovate the mall but Greenberg Gibbons came up with an economical design to demolish the mall for the redevelopment.
Regal Cinemas will construct a 12-screen cinema near the Fourth Street side of the mall to anchor the project.
Prior to Towne Centre at Laurel, Greenberg redeveloped a dead mall at Hunt Valley Towne Centre into a shopping destination and an abandoned shopping centre on 35 acres at Annapolis Towne Centre into an open-air, 2-million ft², mixed-use development.
