Towne Centre Is Mix Of the Old and New

Some Residents Wary About Upscale Development

For decades, Annapolis has counted on the charm and old-town feel of its historic streets to bring in tourists. But a new sight now greets visitors heading into town.

Rising up like a modern-day luxury palace just outside the city limits is a cluster of high-rise condominiums, stores and offices that make up Annapolis Towne Centre, an upscale development that opens its doors tomorrow.

The 32-acre, $500 million project, which features some of the tallest buildings in Anne Arundel County, has produced mixed feelings among locals: excitement over the slew of upscale stores it brings to town but also concern over the high-density project and how it will change the look and feel of Annapolis.

"It feels out of place. It reminds me of the suburbs you pass on your way into Washington, not something you'd pass going into Annapolis," said Alexandra Fotos, a lifelong Annapolitan. Fotos, 54, said that this summer, while flying home from vacation, she looked out the window and suddenly realized that the plane was passing over her home town. And the landmark that jumped out at her most? Not City Dock or even the State House, but the looming towers of Annapolis Towne Centre.

"It was a little strange that this is now the first thing you see coming into town," she said.

But for all her reservations, Fotos said she, like many others around town, are eager to check out the new shops.

The project's planners said they tried hard to design a look that fit the old-town feel of Annapolis -- at least as much as a 12-story structure could.

"With it being located at Annapolis, we wanted to respect the historic nature with all the brick and white precast blocks," said the site's master planner, Charles Harker. Old-fashioned streetlamps line the streets and small storefronts line the walkways in an attempt to re-create a Main Street look, he said.

Even the large, attention-grabbing domes that cap the high-rises were designed with Annapolis in mind, in the tradition of the domed roofs at the State House and the Naval Academy, he said. "The idea was to do classic and traditional with nouveau twist to it."

The center -- office space, condos and storefronts built along two intersecting walkways -- features a Target that is atypical of most big-box stores and is built on the third floor with small stores and parking on the two floors below. Also in the works is the country's second-biggest Whole Foods stores.

Only Target and two other stores, Coldwater Creek and Great Gatherings, will have their grand openings tomorrow. Nearly two dozen more stores and restaurants are expected to open by Thanksgiving. The condos and the site's three other anchors -- Whole Foods, 24 Hour Fitness gym and Bed Bath & Beyond -- aren't due to open until spring.

County officials are touting the project as a success. At a pre-opening reception this week, leaders praised the developer, Greenberg Gibbons, for building a center that allows people to live, work, dine and shop in one location.