What Towson Place's Neighbors Got in Writing Before BJ's Arrives
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
"All trash or garbage collection is prohibited before 7:00am." That line comes from a Baltimore County zoning order signed on December 9, 2025. If you live near Putty Hill Avenue and East Joppa Road, it may matter more to your mornings than anything else written about Towson Place in the past two years.
Walmart left Towson Place in April 2024, and its two-story building has been empty since. Most coverage of what's next has been one sentence long: BJ's Wholesale Club is taking over. The longer version is in the Office of Administrative Hearings order. It shows that the store coming to 1238 Putty Hill Avenue already has a set of operating rules, and many of them track what nearby community associations asked for at the hearing.
The case turned on whether BJ's counts as a retail store or a warehouse. A retail store is allowed by right in the center's zoning. A warehouse would have needed a special exception and a tougher review.
The hearing ran on Webex on December 1, 2025. Kimco Realty, which owns the center, appeared alongside BJ's, its civil engineer at Bohler Engineering and a traffic engineer from Gorove Slade. The judge ruled that a modern BJ's works "substantially in the same manner as other large 'big box' general retail stores," with the members-only model as the one exception. That made it a permitted use, and the special exception question became moot.
The conditions are what matter on a block-by-block level. Kimco accepted them on the record, and they were written into the approval. They include:
The last two items mean the job isn't done. The landscape buffer along Joppa Road still needs a final plan and approval, so the project has more steps to clear before construction starts.
The Associates of Loch Raven Village sent written comments before the hearing. Its representative said the association consented to the BJ's use with conditions. He also asked for a full development plan hearing and argued the concept landscape plan didn't give enough detail to judge the buffer along Joppa Road. Residents of Towson Estates and Fellowship Forest testified about traffic on Joppa Road, Goucher Boulevard and Putty Hill Avenue. They asked about a possible signal at the Joppa Road entrance and raised concerns about noise and trash pickup. One of them pointed to the restrictive covenant that already exists between the shopping center and the surrounding community associations.
Here's how each issue lines up with the testimony and the order:
| Issue | What was said at the hearing | Where it stands in the order |
|---|---|---|
| Buffers facing homes across Joppa Road | Kimco said landscaping will meet the County Landscape Manual and screen views from homes across Joppa Road | Final Landscape Plan required |
| Trash and noise | Kimco said BJ's will run much like the old Walmart did | No pickup before 7 a.m., and enclosed trash areas |
| Trucks and storage | Kimco said tires will be stored indoors, new loading docks will be built, no trailers will be kept on the lot, and trucks will use only Putty Hill Avenue | No outdoor tires, trailers or containers, and no truck access on Putty Hill Avenue east of LaSalle Avenue |
| Lighting | Kimco said a revised lighting plan will cut down light spilling toward homes | Joppa Road lighting must be pedestrian-friendly and limit light reaching nearby homes |
| Traffic and a Joppa Road signal | The traffic engineer said BJ's traffic would be materially similar to Walmart's and recommended better entrances and new parking striping | No new signal in the conditions reviewed |
Kimco's vice president of development told the hearing that the company is a long-term owner, that talks with nearby communities have been positive, and that the goal of this partial redevelopment is to improve the site as it stands today.
The Walmart won't simply be refitted. Kimco testified that the vacant building "will be razed and replaced by BJ's Wholesale Club."
The new building is smaller. Kimco lists the Walmart space at 154,828 square feet. BJ's site development manager testified that the Towson store will be the chain's typical size of 106,000 square feet. Bohler's chief engineer said the plan adds new stormwater facilities, including underground capture, and more pervious surface through landscaped islands in the parking lot.
Councilmember Mike Ertel described the same plan to The Baltimore Sun, saying it "calls for a new building and a reconfigured and more level parking area," and that BJ's would "fill a need for a wholesale shopping venue inside the Beltway in central Baltimore County."
The timing is a projection, not a schedule. In November 2025, WMAR-2 reported that construction could begin sometime in 2027, with an opening possible in mid-2028 if things go to plan. No newer public timeline has replaced that one. Kimco's property page for the space already shows BJ's as the tenant. If the mid-2028 date holds, the box will have sat empty for about four years by the time the new store opens.
Towson Place has already shown what a shorter path looks like. Dick's Sporting Goods moved into the former Bed Bath & Beyond space, about 49,000 square feet, and held its grand opening May 15 through 17, according to the Baltimore Business Journal. WMAR-2 covered the opening, which featured Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and the store's "House of Cleats." That wall holds more than 400 cleats, and the store also has a golf-hitting bay.
The difference between the two spaces is easy to see. Dick's moved into a building that already worked for retail. BJ's needs demolition, a new building, a regraded parking lot, a rebuilt retaining wall along Joppa Road and a landscape plan that still needs approval. That's why one empty space filled within about two years and the other has a projected opening in 2028.
The rest of the corridor kept moving in the meantime. Rocco's Old School Italian & Wine Bar opened in April at 1220 E. Joppa Road, in the old Glory Days Grill, Nottingham MD reported. The menu leans classic Italian-American, with meatballs, Sunday gravy, steaks, chops and parmigiana dishes, plus wine and cocktails, per Baltimore Magazine. The Towson Torch reported in September that Flagship Carwash opened a large new location at 1630 E. Joppa Road.
People who drive East Joppa Road will deal with a second project well before BJ's opens. Baltimore County is replacing about 7,600 feet of 20-inch water main under East Joppa Road, from Fairmount Avenue to LaSalle Road. The $7.1 million job started in summer 2026 and is scheduled to finish in summer 2028. The County says to expect lane closures and flagging for the entire project. In its August 15, 2026 Council District 6 update, the County listed the work as zero percent complete.
Put the two timelines side by side:
Read together, the County's schedule and the reported BJ's timeline put the end of the water main work and the possible BJ's opening in the same stretch of 2028. Until then, the conditions in the December order are the clearest public record of what the new store has to do once it opens. This post is general information drawn from public records. It isn't legal advice, so anyone with a question about how those conditions apply should check with the County or a qualified professional.
If you live near Towson Place and want to talk about how the BJ's project, the Joppa Road work or the new openings could affect your home's value or your plans over the next two years, Christina Giffin follows East Towson closely and is glad to help. Let's Connect.
Christina take great pride in the relationships. She builds and always works relentlessly on the client's behalf to help them achieve their real estate goals.