Former Mondawmin Target space to be called The Village at Mondawmin (2024)

Joseph Jones — founder, president and CEO of the Center for Urban Families — said he wished there was a one-stop shop of community resources for him and his mother when he was growing up in Baltimore. The opportunities may have prevented him from getting involved in the drug trade and ending up incarcerated, he said.

The former Target building at the Mondawmin Mall will soon house such a space, TouchPoint Empowerment Center, that will also serve as an anchor for surrounding neighborhoods.

Tim Regan, president and CEO of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and the lead on the development, said the center will offer mentoring, job opportunities and training and other services from nonprofits. It will also house TouchPoint Baltimore, a collective of different nonprofits, founded by Regan and president and chief operating officerof Exelon Calvin Butler Jr. after the 2015 uprising following the death of Freddie Gray.

A few of the nonprofits that will have a presence in the community hub are Thread, Baltimore Corps, and Jones’ nonprofit, which helps fathers and families achieve stability and economic security.

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At a press conference Thursday morning in front of the old Target, Regan gathered with Mayor Brandon Scott and City Council President Nick Mosby, as well as other community and political leaders, to celebrate the groundbreaking for the project and to announce the development’s new name.

“We’re please to announce, ‘The Village at Mondawmin,’” said Regan, as a poster with the name was unveiled. It was chosen after discussing options in community planning meetings, he said.

Leaders discussed the loss of the old Target, and what it had meant to the community.

“It shuttered on us overnight. And we said, what are we going to do?” Mosby said Thursday.

“This is an example that will provide a roadmap of how you take a loss and make it into a win,” he said. Later, the crowd cheered as part of the old Target’s front wall was torn down.

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Regan, in an interview prior to the press conference, said couldn’t go into detail about certain parts of the project, but said the development will have a PACE — or Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly — facility and that the team is “working really hard” on establishing a child care option. There have also been serious discussions with a primary care operator and interest from a corporation to put in a training facility for customer service personnel, he added.

For those who live in the community the project is a welcome sign of investment in a community, still recovering from the blow of the surprise departure of Target in 2018. Anchors are also important in providing a synergy with neighborhoods to more intentionally address community needs and desires, a community engagement expert said.

Regan said he was distraught by the closure and saw purchasing the 127,000-square-foot building as a chance to provide a solution with extensive community involvement and hopefully catalyze other developments or initiatives.

“It’s really important to show other potential investors that when you go in, in the right way, and you make a bet on an underserved underresourced community, you really have the opportunity to unlock tremendous potential,” he said.

District 7 Councilman James Torrence said one of the recurring questions that came up when he was running for office was what was going to be done with the Target footprint. For many, the store’s closure left a void in the community.

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“When people see that there’s been significant investments in an anchor institution like Mondawmin Mall, you start to think, ‘What’s next for my neighborhood?’” said Torrence, who noted investments can empower communities to aspire for more.

One expert said it’s important for anchor institutions to address needs that have been identified by the community, decide who to partner with when they aren’t equipped or qualified to address certain needs and buckle in for a long-term commitment.

The Greater Mondawmin area has existing established institutions like the mall, which first opened in 1956, Baltimore City Community College, Coppin State University, several churches, nonprofits and more. Yet despite these assets, it has experienced negative social and health impacts because of disinvestment and marginalization, said Bill Joyner, assistant vice president for community engagement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

“Institutions like hospitals, universities, local government and museums, have a duty to address some of the underlying issues around things like poverty, violence, and health disparities," Joyner said.

Anchor sites and institutions, he added, can be symbolic in the first phases but should ultimately lead to concrete investments.

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Jacqueline Caldwell, Whittier-Monroe Community Association president, said communities aren’t often consulted about development projects. During brainstorm sessions and outreach with Regan, she said, people pitched ideas such as a crab restaurant, jazz club or event space. Ultimately, the community hub, she said, can connect people to more opportunities. She also said it had the potential to reach people outside of the neighborhood who take public transportation through Mondawmin Station, a major transit hub at the mall.

The redevelopment of the Target property is happening along with other new additions and efforts in the area. Caldwell said it’s “another example of what can happen in Baltimore to make Baltimore the best that it can be” and proves that the communities are worth investing in.

Earlier this month, Chase opened a bank branch at Mondawmin Mall with a community-inspired model that has plans to help more veteran, minority and women consumers with business ventures, achieving homeownership and improving financial health. A Baltimore Banner analysis found that West Baltimore has the most communities lacking a local bank branch.

Neighborhood Housing Services also has a goal to eliminate vacancies in Greater Mondawmin within the decade. To help reach that aim, it will use $2.8 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding on development and efforts such as helping residents with home repair and working on modifications in the area. Vacancies in the Mondawmin neighborhood are at 13.5%, according to a Baltimore Banner analysis in June.

Brookfield Properties, which manages Mondawmin Mall, has a program to provide resources and support to Black-owned and minority-owned businesses. South of Mondawmin Mall, one of West Baltimore’s first food halls — The Mill on North — is brewing and expected to open in 2023.

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This story will be updated.

jasmine.vaughn@thebaltimorebanner.com

Former Mondawmin Target space to be called The Village at Mondawmin (2024)

FAQs

Former Mondawmin Target space to be called The Village at Mondawmin? ›

Former Mondawmin Target makes way for redevelopment, new community hub. WBALTV December 15, 2022 What was once a Target store in west Baltimore will become a community hub to be called The Village at...

What is the new building at Mondawmin Mall? ›

BALTIMORE — Construction is in full swing in West Baltimore to build The Village at Mondawmin. A development that will provide healthcare and job opportunities. The University of Maryland School of Medicine signed a lease at Mondawmin Mall to establish a new community 'health village' as part of the development.

Who owns Mondawmin Mall? ›

How did mondawmin get its name? ›

Mondawmin takes its name from the estate owned by Dr. Patrick Macaulay (1795–1849), physician, city councilman, B&O Railroad director and patron of the arts. Tradition relates that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited Dr. Macaulay, who asked him what to name his home, then surrounded by corn fields.

What are they building next to Main Place Mall? ›

UPDATED: January 26, 2022 at 9:16 a.m. With golden shovels and white hard hats, city leaders and mall executives scooped up clumps of red-brown earth from a metal bin and tossed them into the air, marking the start of construction of a new 309-unit apartment complex on a parking lot at Santa Ana's MainPlace Mall.

Who owns the Maine mall? ›

Owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, it is the largest shopping mall in the state of Maine, and the second-largest in northern New England, behind New Hampshire's the Mall at Rockingham Park.

Who is the McCain mall named after? ›

The shopping center was built on McCain Boulevard near Highway 67/167, a major thoroughfare. McCain Boulevard had been named for civic leader Edward A. McCain, who died in 1967. McCain had managed the Park Hill-Sylvan Hills Water Company for three decades and was a colleague of developer Justin Matthews.

What is the oldest mall in Maryland? ›

MARYLAND: Harundale Mall in Baltimore opened in 1958.

Not only was Harundale Mall the first shopping center in Maryland, but it's also the second oldest mall in the country.

What does the word mondawmin mean? ›

It is Mondawmin (the name for corn). We need no longer rely on hunting alone; for, as long as this gift is cherished and taken care of, the ground itself will give us a living." He then pulled an ear. "See, my father," said he, "this is what I fasted for.

What city was named after a lord in Maryland? ›

Founded in 1724, Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and one of the largest seaports on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The city is named after Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a member of the Irish House of Lords and founder of the colony of Maryland in 1634.

How did Anne Arundel County get its name? ›

Origin: Anne Arundel County was created in 1650 (Chapter 7, Acts of 1650, April Session). The County was named for Lady Anne Arundell (1615-1649), daughter of Thomas Arundell of Wardour, and wife of Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore and founder of the Maryland colony.

What is the new mall building in Miami? ›

Location site plans: The American Dream Miami mall would be built on 175 acres of undeveloped land in Northwest Miami-Dade where Interstate 75 meets Florida's Turnpike. The land is west of Miami Lakes and north of Hialeah.

What is the new building that is being built in Cross Creek Mall? ›

January 2021 - CBL announces plans to start construction on Rooms To Go as part of the redevelopment of the Sears parcel at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The 45,000-square-foot store will be located in a portion of the former Sears parcel.

What is being built at Hawthorne Mall? ›

Updates as of Spring 2024:

Centennial has submitted plans for the next development phase, which will include a new row of first floor retail space topped by luxury apartments. Perry's Steakhouse, 1050 N. Milwaukee Ave., anticipates a mid-April open – exact date to be determined.

What is being built at Cumberland Mall? ›

Construction is underway for apartments at Cumberland Mall to be completed in early 2024. The new residential community, Tallulah by Brookfield Properties, will have 327 units located on the outskirts of the shopping mall.

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