A two-story, 22,000 square foot office building planned across from Festival at Bel Air Shopping Center, between Laurel Bush and Wheel roads, is the newest entry to the busy corridor.
The office building would join a flurry of development in the Routes 924 and 24 corridor, which has been prominent for the controversy over a planned Walmart at the Plumtree Road intersection west of 924. In addition to commercial construction, several apartment complexes are also in the works.
MedStar Health celebrated a construction milestone last week on its 107,000 square foot building going up on Plumtree Road's east side, as crews secured the pinnacle beam atop the outpatient health care facility. County Executive Barry Glassman was among those who attended the topping off ceremony Friday.
The new building planned across from the Festival at Bel Air will face away from Route 924, Mark Mueller, a leasing agent with Sierra U.S. Commercial Real Estate, said.
"If you are like me and you know that area, it gets pretty backed up on Emmorton Road, so [the building] will have good access via Old Emmorton Road," Muller said.
No construction timeline has been set, he said. The project was recently reviewed by Harford County's Development Advisory Committee. No building permits have been issued.
Sierra U.S. is negotiating a lease with a potential tenant for the whole second floor, Mueller said. The building will have elevator service, parking facing Old Emmorton Road and the possibility of "quasi-retail" use, such as a medical use, on the first floor, he said.
The site would have 74 parking spaces and is zoned for B2, medium-density business, and RO, residential-office.
The owner is Riverwatch, LLC, of Abingdon, and the developer is Bay Developers, Inc., of Dover, Del.
MedStar's new outpatient building will have more than 300 rooms, according to a news release.
Construction started in October 2014 and is set to be done in spring 2016 at the 16-acre site, which will mark MedStar's continued expansion into Harford County.
According to the company, which offers services featuring outpatient surgery, urgent care and a "comprehensive cancer center," the new site will consolidate its current Bel Air locations under one roof.
A bit farther south, closer to the I-95/Route 24 junction, the Enclave at Box Hill apartment-and-townhouse complex is coming to fruition off of Box Hill Corporate Center Drive.
The first units of the project's 240-unit first phase are expected to be leased this summer. Construction is also underway on a Kiddie Academy day care center around the corner at Woodsdale and Box Hill Corporate Center Drive, which will bring a roundabout to the intersection as part of a traffic improvement package required of the developer.
A 198-unit apartment complex is also planned for the 17-acre Evergreen tract on the southwest corner of Route 24 and Plumtree Road. That project received approvals from Harford County in 2013.