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Village Of Cross Keys Gatehouse Dedicated To Iconic Developer

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland lawmakers participated in a ceremony to celebrate the life of James Rouse—the developer of the Village of Cross Keys —in Baltimore on Tuesday.

Maryland State Delegates Samuel "Sandy" Rosenberg, Dalya Attar, D. Antonio Bridges, and Baltimore City Councilmember Sharon Green Middleton participated in the festivities along with Rouse's son, Ted, according to development company Caves Valley Partners.

They gathered together to dedicate the refurbished gatehouse at the village to Rouse. A plaque commemorating the dedication was unveiled during the ceremony, the development company said.

The Village of Cross Keys was Rouse's first mixed-use project and served as the prototype for the future development of Columbia, Maryland, Rouse's ideal community. 

Both developments served as model projects for mixed-use properties across the country, according to the development company.

The land for the project was acquired from the Baltimore Country Club in the early 1960s and developed by Rouse in 1965.

Rouse envisioned building on it a village where residents lived around a central area that met their everyday needs. This area would also serve the broader Roland Park community.

"The Village of Cross Keys you see today is essentially what Jim Rouse planned," developer Arsh Mirmiran of Caves Valley Partners said. "We are striving to live up to his standards as we reinvigorate the Village of Cross Keys and complete the final pieces of his original vision."

Renovations of the Village of Cross Keys commenced in 2020 and are ongoing, the development company said.

The 290,000 square feet of commercial space includes the retail space at Village Square, the offices at Village Square and the Quadrangle, the land between the commercial buildings and the former "tennis barn."

To date, the gatehouse entrance roadway, landscaping improvements, office lobbies, and common areas have been renovated. Additionally, the façade at Village Square is being updated, with completion expected by this fall; garage renovations will begin in the coming months.

Future proposed additions include new restaurant and retail space with a valet zone, 450 structured parking spaces, a 330-unit luxury apartment building, electric vehicle charging stations, and a Class A office building.

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