Press Room
Two big changes have taken place at the Savage Towne Centre project at the Savage MARC Station, putting it on course to move ahead. Wait, make that three big changes.
The first big change is that Somerset Construction has assumed the developer role at the mixed-use project, having acquired the position of Petrie Ross Ventures. Second, Somerset has finalized the introduction into the project of the adjacent Boise Cascade property, enlarging the project area by a third. And finally, it's no longer the Savage Towne Centre. It's the Annapolis Junction Town Center.
That's a lot of change for one project, but some things are staying the same, like the location. It's still the parking lot at the Savage MARC Station, just off Route 32 at Dorsey Run Road and Henkels Lane. The planned density also isn't changing dramatically, but the approach is. Bethesda-based Somerset has bumped the apartment count up from Petrie's planned 260 all the way to 416, and reduced the retail from 53,000 to 17,000 square feet. Given that its apartments will be some of the closest new units to the Fort Meade gates, Somerset appears to be reorienting the project more heavily toward residential.
Beyond the residential and retail, Somerset envisions a 150-unit hotel and 100,000 feet of office space.
In adding the approximately six-acre Boise Cascade property just to the south of the parking lot, Somerset opted not to add a lot of density, but to use the additional room to re-site some of the component parts, like the parking garage and the stormwater management.
This Monday, Somerset is hoping the Howard County Council will confirm a $17 million special-taxing district for the reshuffled partnership and now 18-acre tract. Armed with the taxing district, Somerset could begin construction for a parking garage - needed to replace MARC station parking - in the summer. A year later, it would start work on the residential and retail, building them for its own account. Somerset will likely look to sell the office and hotel development.
The project will be the third major effort by Somerset, as it is building out 1,000 acres in Baltimore County, as well as continuing to develop Arundel Preserve in Hanover.