Two women who plan to open an upscale children's clothing and furniture store in Baltimore will be the first new merchants in Belvedere Square, the long-neglected shopping and office complex that planners hope to transform into a renewed economic anchor for the city.

Leslie Kamali, 39, and Courtney Gardner, 36, will launch their business venture in the middle of this month in a 2,000-square-foot space on the north side of the nearly empty North Baltimore shopping square close to the crossroads of York Road and Northern Parkway.

The business' name will be Raw Sugar, they said, with "Raw" using the initials of their children: Reza, Astrid and William. Reza and Astrid are Kamali's children, and William belongs to Gardner.

Kamali, who lives nearby on Rosebank Avenue, and Gardner, who grew up on Rosebank and lives in Charles Village, remember Belvedere Square in its heyday about a dozen years ago.

"We have a personal interest in this being successful," she said. "We both have a nostalgic attachment to Belvedere Square."

Retailers, restaurants

The development team that acquired Belvedere Square from longtime owner James J. Ward III this year said revitalization efforts will rely on locally owned businesses. They are betting on this store, which will cater to young families, and its ability to draw customers to Belvedere Square.

Michael Ewing, a partner at Williams Jackson Ewing Inc., is lining up retailers and restaurants to fill nearly 100,000 square feet of space that was once a bustling market, filled with people on weekend mornings.

Ewing's Baltimore-based firm is known for its work in designing urban retail hubs in public gathering places. Among them are New York's Grand Central Terminal in the 1990s, and the original Belvedere Square in 1985, which, Ewing said, "had a nice run for seven or eight years."

Kamali and Gardner pitched an idea that looked like a winner, Ewing said. "It was good timing, and our first choice is a good, locally owned neighborhood business," he said.

The children's boutique will offer furnishings by Bratt Decor, also based in Baltimore.

"We seek out people who have a passion for something," Ewing said. "That adds character you can't get at a mall."

Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse, Hawkins Development Group and Manekin Corp. are the other principal partners in the $16 million deal, finalized in July, to take over the ailing complex. City and state funds contributed about $4 million to the total.

In anticipation of most of the square being open by spring, city workers have added sidewalks and crosswalks on Belvedere Avenue near York Road.

Brewing their plan

Kamali and Gardner met when both worked at the Downtown Baltimore Children's Centers in 1999. Gardner had owned a small vintage-clothing shop in Waverly for a few years. A graduate of Hunter College, she also had worked in New York's garment district and for a French clothing store, Agnes B., in New York.

As the partners shaped their concept at a coffee shop in Mount Washington, they noticed that the subject interested mothers around them, which the two entrepreneurs found heartening.

Kamali and Gardner said their experience in child care meant they could offer community sessions on art, CPR and resources for parents.

The business plan looked good on paper. Then Kamali called Gardner and asked her if they should try to make it real.

"I'm in, let's go," Gardner replied.