Baltimore County officials are pushing ahead with a vision to redevelop the struggling Security Square Mall in Woodlawn after finalizing a $6.5 million deal to buy its anchor department storein the Macy’s building.
County officials said Tuesday that they closed Friday on a contract, approved by the Baltimore County Council last summer, to buy the 9-acre Macy’s site. It was the county’s third mall property acquisition since 2022 in a plan to revitalize the aging center with mixed-use, transit-oriented development.
Macy’s had announced Thursday that it will close 66 of its least productive stores nationwide, including Security Square, which opened in 1972. Macy’s at Harford Mall in Bel Air also will close by the end of March along with locations in 20 states.
“Our goal for Security Square is broad, mixed-use redevelopment of the site informed by prior work engaging the community,” Sameer Sidh, Baltimore County senior deputy administrative officer, said Tuesday in an interview. “A big initial step … is gaining control over property.”
The retailer said last February that it would close 150 department stores as part of a turnaround plan. It did not announce specific store closures at the time but said it would target an unproductive 30% of its store base. That plan called for about 50 stores to close this year.
Macy’s declined to comment on its recent Maryland store closures, but said it was looking for work elsewhere in the company for employees displaced by the move.
Meanwhile, the chain had been quietly shopping its store sites around and last May had approached county officials, who ultimately were successful bidders on the 150,000-square-foot building.
The county and state had set aside $30 million for property acquisition since 2022 and have spent more than $23 million of that with the most recent sale, making it the largest of about five separate mall property owners.
County officials said Macy’s ownership gives them a crucial piece of the redevelopment puzzle.
“It was critical that we were able to secure this property to have a connection between the parcels we own,” Sidh said, calling the deal an “important milestone.”
The county, which now owns 39 of the mall’s 88 acres, is continuing to have “productive discussions” with other mall property owners, Sidh said. Other owners include Set the Captives Free Outreach Center, which runs a nondenominational church, and mall owner City View Commercial.
“I’ve been impressed by their interest in embracing our vision for redevelopment of the site,” Sidh said.
City View could not be reached Tuesday.
The county has hired a consultant to explore development options. At some point, the county said it expects to offer land to private developers that buy into the county’s vision.
The amount of property the county is able to control will ultimately determine the type and scale of development, which could be built around a planned Red Line transit stop.
Planning has been underway for several years to redevelop the 53-year-old shopping mall near Interstates 70 and 695.
The county is leasing back the store space to Macy’s until the closure. Before that deal, the county purchased a former Sears and parking lot on 18 acres for $10 million, then a 12-acre parking lot at a former Montgomery Ward for $6.85 million. Chase Brexton health care now occupies that building.
Community members envision a plan to add places for recreation and entertainment, an outdoor greenway network and a mix of residential, office and retail development. Revitalization efforts would entail either razing the mall or redeveloping around it.
Area residents have long pushed for the mall to be redeveloped and complained about inaction by its owners. In 2021, the Randallstown NAACP formed a task force to call attention to the lack of investment.
A 2023 report by the county and consultants found that residents want to see walkable, green areas with mixed-use development and entertainment options.
The long-term “aspirational” vision would add places for recreation and entertainment, an outdoor greenway network for walking and biking, and a combination of residential, office and retail.
Last summer, Burlington announced that it would leave Security Square to open an outlet in nearby Catonsville.
Macy’s operates 14 Maryland stores, including seven in the Baltimore region. Those locations are Annapolis Mall, Security Square Mall, Harford Mall, Mall in Columbia, Marley Station in Glen Burnie, White Marsh Mall and Towson Town Center.
Have a news tip? Contact Lorraine Mirabella at lmirabella@baltsun.com, (410) 332-6672 and @lmirabella on X.