A groundbreaking Wednesday morning for the new Swan Creek Village, located along the Route 40 Corridor between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace, marked the start of a new retail and professional development complex that will occupy land where an Ames department store once stood.
“This is a county that is really setting the bar for the rest to follow,” said Tom Sadowski, former director of Harford County Economic Development, said of the new $14 million professional and retail center. Sadowski is now the executive vice president of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore.
Originally developed in 1965, the Route 40 parcel soon saw an Ames department store that eventually closed after Harford Mall was built in Bel Air. The old strip mall structure was demolished in 2004 to make way for future development.
Harford County Executive David Craig welcomed the new Swan Creek Village by telling the story of how he and his wife bought their first Christmas tree at the old Ames. Craig said after a mouse was discovered in the tree, he and his wife did very little shopping at the strip mall again.
According to a news release issued by the Harford County government, the mixed-use project, which is adjacent to Bulle Rock Golf Course, will include a 22,000 square foot office space facility and a 61,000-square-foot stretch dedicated to retail.
Thomas L. Fidler Jr., senior vice president and principal of Mackenzie Retail Estate Services LLC, said Wednesday that some of the business that have already signed on to lease space in Swan Creek Village include Happy Harry pharmacy, based in Delaware; a branch of BB&T Bank; a wine store and cafe; an Italian restaurant; a dry-cleaning business; an ice cream parlor; a “dollar” discount store; and a day spa and salon.
Swan Creek Village ? the result of a partnership between Harford County developers Robert Hockaday, Richard Streett and William Cox, Swan Creek Village ? is expected to open in October.
