New $175 Million Complex in Howard County Anticipates Planned Growth

While one member of the DCmud team fondly remembers a dive bar he frequented in decades past along the old industrial rail lines in Savage, Maryland, the proposed $175 million complex just announced for this area should contain a few watering holes to cheer him up. Petrie Ross Ventures, an Annapolis-based developer, has been granted the right (the state will sell the company the land) to transform the 15-acre state-owned parking lot next to the Savage MARC station (bordered by Route 32 and Dorsey Run Road) into a pedestrian-friendly complex of offices, residences and shops – all geared toward the public transportation and housing needs of nearby Fort Meade, the population of which is expected to grow as a result of the Pentagon's recent decision to expand operations at this Army post (almost 10,000 new personnel are expected to work there within the next few years). The proposed Savage Towne Centre will contain two 13-story buildings with 260 housing units (no decision yet on if they will be apartments or condos), as well as two office buildings, two restaurants, a hotel, and 53,000 square feet of retail space. There will also be a five-story garage with 1,000 spaces built alongside the MARC station, plus another 1,000 spaces for use around the complex. Construction is expected to begin in 2008, with completion in 2011.