Sculpture Near White Marsh Dedicated To Kevin Kamenetz
A sculpture honoring the vision of the late County Executive Kevin Kamenetz was dedicated near White Marsh.
BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — A sculpture honoring the late Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz was dedicated with a special event Wednesday at the Greenleigh at Crossroads. Developers commissioned the artwork to honor Kamenetz’s vision for the project off MD 43.
“There is no other project like this in the county,” Kamenetz said in a statement as the mixed-use development project broke ground in May 2016. “This is placemaking at its best.”
Located on 1,000 acres off MD 43, Greenleigh at Crossroads will include 2,000 residences, from single-family homes and townhouses to multi-family residences; nearly 4 million square feet of commercial and retail space; and a 120-room SpringHill Suites hotel by Marriott.
“None of this would have been possible without Kevin’s urging, vision, support, and leadership,” Edward St. John, chairman of development company St. John Properties, said in a statement.
“During a meeting with Kevin in 2012 about the future direction of Baltimore Crossroads, he challenged us to return to the drawing board and configure a new section that reflected the most creative and forward-looking thinking for mixed-use communities,” St. John said. “This new direction became the inspiration for Greenleigh at Crossroads, which was designed to serve the evolving needs of local companies and residents.”
Greenleigh at Crossroads is located off MD 43 between US 40 and Eastern Boulevard. Michael’s Cafe, Royal Farms and other businesses are part of the development.
Kamenetz also advocated for a loan for Stanley Black & Decker to expand from its Towson headquarters to Greenleigh, where the company announced in early 2018 it planned to invest $8.5 million to build out a 92,000-square-foot facility for marketing, human resources, finance and electrical and electro-mechanical engineering workers.
The projected tax value of Greeneleigh at Crossroads will be just under $2 billion, with an estimated $15 million in real estate taxes paid annually, according to a statement from St. John Properties.
Currently, more than 6,000 people are working at Greenleigh at Crossroads, and 3,000 more are expected by the time the project is built out.
At an event in June 2018 marking the development’s halfway point, St. John told the Baltimore Business Journal that the late county executive would be memorialized with a public park at the center of Greenleigh at Crossroads featuring a statue of him. It would pay testament to his vision for turning the site into a project rivaling Maple Lawn in Howard County, his widow told Baltimore Business Journal.
The tribute to Kamenetz evolved into something more abstract.
A 20-foot-tall brushed metal sculpture, called “Turning Winds,” was created by an artist from the Eastern Shore. A special plaque honoring Kamenetz, who served as count executive from 2010 until his untimely passing in 2018, was also installed.
Kamenetz died on May 10, 2018. He was 60 years old.
Artist William Hemsley of the Eastern Shore created the “Turning Winds” sculpture. His sculptures also grace the campuses of Aberdeen Proving Ground and Salisbury University.
Hemsley showed progress on the “Turning Winds” sculpture about two months ago.
St. John Properties and Somerset Construction are hosting the community event dedicating the finished sculpture at noon Wednesday, Sept. 25.
READ FULL ARTICLE (PATCH, PERRY HALL, MD)
