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GROUND BROKEN ON ANNAPOLIS TOWNE CENTRE AT PAROLE, NEW $400 MILLION MIXED-USE PROJECT
Donations presented to local community groups representing six letters from iconic “Parole Plaza” sign
Owings Mills, MD (December 21, 2005) – Ground was officially broken on Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole, the $400 million re-development of the former Parole Plaza project in Annapolis, MD last week. Officials from Greenberg Commercial Corporation – which will change its corporate name to Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation on January 1 – presided over the ceremony which was attended by Anne Arundel County officials and business leaders. The first phase of the mixed-use project is expected to be completed in 2008.
Plans were also revealed for the future of the Parole Plaza sign, a five-story tall, multi-colored structure that graced the former strip shopping center since the late 1950s. The center, which is situated on 33 acres near West Street, MD Route 2 and Riva Road is considered the second oldest retail venue in the State. “Annapolis residents have fond memories of this iconic sign from their childhood, and we agreed that it was extremely important to preserve the landmark in a meaningful way,” stated Brian J. Gibbons, President and CEO of Greenberg Commercial.
Each of the six, six-foot tall letters in the name Parole was the subject of a donation to a local community group, with the total amount raised totaling approximately $15,000. The beneficiaries were the Hospice of the Chesapeake from Petrie Ventures; the YWCA of Anne Arundel County from Sturbridge Homes, the Anne Arundel Medical Center from K. Hovnanian Homes; Lighthouse Shelter from Bozzuto Homes; the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts from PREI and the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis from Greenberg Commercial. Bozzuto Homes, K. Hovnanian Homes and Sturbridge Homes are all developing residential product at Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole.
“A major re-occurring theme that surfaced from our input meetings with local community groups was the need for a plan to incorporate the Parole Plaza sign into the new project. Although final details are not complete, we hope to locate the sign in the new Clara Barton Park that we are creating within this development,” Gibbons explained.
Upon completion, Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole will be a combination of commercial office and retail space, restaurants and entertainment uses, along with for-sale and rental residential units and a full-service hotel. Retail leases have been signed with Target and Whole Foods Market, which is building the second largest grocery store in its chain at the project.
“Annapolis Towne Center at Parole is about to emerge from its hibernation and is a sleeping giant that is ready to rise,” stated Erwin L. Greenberg, Chairman of the company. “We have invested a great deal of energy listening to the concerns and desires of local residents, and we have integrated many of their ideas into our comprehensive plan. Of course, you cannot take without giving, which is why we have also worked hard to identify these six organizations that provide so many valuable services to the community,” he added.
A full-scale model of the project was also unveiled at the groundbreaking, which will be on permanent display at the on-site sales and leasing center beginning in the Spring.
Recent successes of Greenberg Commercial include the re-development of Hunt Valley Mall into Hunt Valley Towne Centre, a 980,000 square foot lifestyle center that features the first Wegmans Food Market in the State of Maryland and the Village at Waugh Chapel in Anne Arundel County, which is recognized as among the first in the new wave of “Main Street lifestyle” projects that are sweeping the country.
Greenberg Commercial Corporation focuses on the acquisition, development, leasing and management of mixed-use properties and retail shopping centers in the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm builds value in these holdings through asset management, re-development and leasing activities. The company presently owns and manages eighteen properties totaling more than three million square feet of space.
For additional information, Contact:
Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corporation 410-559-2500
Larry Lichtenauer, LH&A 410-833-6205
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