CARROLLTOWN CENTER: ELDERSBURG, MD
Wendy Jaklitsch's Commentary
Posted November 20, 2006 (user submitted)
On the fifth anniversary of my first dead mall photo excursion to Hunt Valley
Mall, I trekked westward to see what became of Eldersburg's Carrolltown Center.
Most of the area's dead and dying malls were demalled in the past 5 or 6 years,
while Carrolltown seemed perpetually stuck in a time warp. As a Baltimore
transplant, I don't know a great deal about the history of the mall; it stands
at 333,450 square feet, and it appears to have been built in the '70s, along
with the surrounding neighborhood of middle-class homes. Carroll County is
mostly rural or exurban, and most of its retail is 15 miles away in
Westminster; as a result, Carrolltown commanded a captive audience into the
90s. As more Baltimore commuters fled into Carroll County from the declining
suburbs to the east, their money and purchasing power followed, but Carrolltown
rested on its laurels instead of expanding or otherwise improving. It honestly
amazes me that the mall has gone on this long without a renovation and
aggressive leasing strategy or a demalling. Considering the rapid population
growth and economic stability of the area, as well as the consequent arrival of
big-box stores, this mall could have had a chance as a strong local/regional
contender if the owners didn't neglect it. Even the precipitous decline of the
Liberty Road corridor in Randallstown could have been used to Carrolltown's
advantage, as it is only a few miles west on the same road and in an area that
is considered much safer. Instead, Carrolltown has gone from the only game in
town to a blighted liability in less than 10 years.
On this latest trip, I struck dead mall gold. Carrolltown is in the process of
meeting its maker. Much of the corridor between the forlorn, messy Kmart and
the dated-looking Peebles (which is the only one I've seen in Maryland, and
which approximates a smaller, rundown Kohl's in merchandising strategy) is now
sealed off. I asked a Kmart employee about the closure.
Me: Excuse me, but I haven't been here in a few years, and I was wondering what
happened to the rest of the mall.
Elderly Kmart Clerk: They're tearin' it down...buildin' something new.
Me: Do you know what they're putting in?
Elderly Kmart Clerk: No idea.
Carrolltown was apparently purchased for redevelopment purposes
(
http://www.inacom-sby.net/BlackOakUsa/ShowProperty.aspx?PropertyId=15), but
the details on what will be done with it are vague. My guess is that it's the
latest victim of the big-box "lifestyle center" demalling craze. A Wal-Mart
went up about a mile to the west, at the busy intersection of Route 32 and
Liberty Road, about 7 or 8 years ago; it has since been joined by a Kohl's and
a Home Depot. The SuperFresh at Carrolltown closed along with most of the
Baltimore area's smaller SuperFresh stores as the chain concentrated on its
"super centers"; the area is now served by Food Lion, Martin's, and Safeway. It
was replaced by a Big Lots, and I'm pretty sure the Dollar General was part of
it too. More than anything else, the loss of SuperFresh seemed to mark the end
of Carrolltown as we know it.
I feel bad for this poor little mall. Even though it's been on its deathbed for
years, with a table-tennis center, gaming meetup room, and locally run antique
and collector stands taking up much of its real estate, it was clean and
friendly. The brightly lit, stark white hallways of decades past and the dated,
quasi-Western-themed entrance were somewhat endearing, and the Kmart and the
smaller chain stores always seemed to do okay. Not anymore. The Kmart was a
disorganized ghost town with entire sections that were twisting in the wind.
One of the paint section's two chip displays had only a handful of colors; the
other was empty. The other mall stores are gone; pretty much all that's left
are the anchors, the Big Lots, the Dollar General, and the movie theatre.
Strangely, the usual "never say die" culprits (Radio Shack, GNC) are gone, but
the table tennis center remains.
Links
public.fotki.com/failuretothrive/dead_malls/carrolltown_center/ - Pictures of A Job Fair Held Inside the Mall
Have information on this mall's history, current conditions,
future plans, personal memories, corrections or general comments?
Please let us know using the contact form!
Thank you to all those who have
contributed to DeadMalls.com!
|
Deadmalls.com makes no guarantee of the completeness or accuracy of any
information provided herein. You, the reader, assume the risk of verifying
any materials used or relied on. Deadmalls.com is not liable for and does
not necessarily endorse viewpoints expressed by the authors of
content presented.
Information is presented as a historical account and may not reflect
present-day status.
All submissions become property of
DeadMalls.com and are posted at will.
By using Deadmalls DOT com in any manner you understand and agree with
these policies.
|
©2000-2009 deadmalls DOT com
unless otherwise noted, All Rights Reserved.
All company names are
property of their respective owners.