Residents to Present Ideas for Middle River Depot

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An expanded Glenn L. Martin Aviation museum, additional rail service and a new post office are just some of the ideas residents would like to see implemented as part of the redevelopment of the long-abandoned 55-acre Middle River Depot.

Those ideas as well as others were discussed during Wednesday’s Essex Middle River Civic Council meeting. Council members said they hope to soon meet with the owners of the depot—Mexican businessman Alberto Saba and New York developers Joey Aini and Jack Avita—to present their ideas and learn more about what the owners have planned for the site.

The current owners bought the site in 2006 for $37.5 million—then a record for an online government auction. The property includes a 1.9 million-square-foot facility once used to manufacture aircraft during World War II.  Most recently, the facility had been used as GSA warehouse.

Chuck Munzert, representing the Hawthorne Civic Association, said it is important the community presents a united front in what they would like to see happen at the depot so the owners have a clear understanding what the community needs.

“We hope to meet with them by the end of August,” Munzert said. “They paid a lot of money for this site and they have plans on making a profit, but we have a chance to influence what they do.”

Wilson Point Community Association President Bob Bendler said members in his community have had extensive talks about what they would like see happen. Among their suggestions was to find a way to bring Amtrak service to the area where MARC service already exists.

Residents would also prefer not to see additional big box stores or other businesses that could negatively impact local businesses and restaurants.

“We have to come up with a consensus because this is our chance to impact the future of the site,” Bendler said.

Much of what development occurs on the site depends on what happens once the County Council completes the quadrennial comprehensive rezoning process in about 14 months.

Sixth District Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, who represents the area where the depot is located, has met with the owners and has also sought community input on how residents would like to see the site developed.

The owners of the long-abandoned 55-acre Middle River Depot will be ready to finally begin redeveloping the property in 2012, Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins said.

The future of the Middle River Depot is uncertain since its purchase by the investors. However, the developers have paid for the property in full and are set to turn the site into the destination many in the county envisioned when it was sold, Bevins said.

“I’ve been actively seeking input of what residents want developed on the site and I’ve received a lot of feedback," Bevins told Patch recently. "The biggest thing I would like to see is a mixed-use development that brings quality jobs to the region. That is what’s most important right now.”