Touring newly renovated apartments in the Dundalk Village Center on Tuesday, friends and neighbors saw for themselves Dundalk?s ongoing revitalization.
“We?ve been waiting for this for a long time,” longtime Dundalk resident David Crews said. “You have a nice shopping center surrounded by parks ? I always knew this place had great potential for the community.”
JMJ Dundalk Properties LLC spent more than $2 million on renovations to the historic retail, residential and office development. The firm upgraded stores and office properties in the six-building shopping center and is close to completing renovations on more than 60 efficiency, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Six tenants have already signed leases and are living in the market-rate apartments.
JMJ Dundalk Properties purchased the 88-year-old Dundalk VillageCenter in March 2005 for $3.7 million.
“Dundalk is being put back on the map,” said Jack Jacob, owner of JMJ Dundalk Properties. “We want this to be something the community can really be proud of.”
Baltimore County partnered with JMJ Dundalk Properties, investing $3.5 million in loans and renovations to Dundalk Village Center, a piece of the community?s continuing renaissance, County Executive Jim Smith said.
“Canton can?t hold a candle to Dundalk ? It?s the place to be,” Smith said. “The symbolic heart of this community is the Dundalk Village Center.”
Smith commended JMJ Dundalk Properties for investing in the historic property. “They have agreed with the vision of the community and saved the historic character of the village,” he said.
Area residents toured the renovated apartments Tuesday, noticing the restored hardwood floors, brand-new kitchens and modern light fixtures.
“You?re not going to believe the transformation,” Baltimore County Councilman John Olszewski Jr. said.
The Dundalk Village Center?s renovation occurs as the county continues to revive the aging suburb.
A $2.5 million Dundalk streetscape is complete, with new street furniture in Veteran?s Park and new curbs, sidewalks, medians and street trees along Dundalk Avenue. Plans are also in the works for a new Dundalk Community Center.
