Baltimore County Announces Major Investment in Pikesville Armory

PIKESVILLE – Baltimore County today announced a partnership agreement featuring long-term, multi-phased plans to build a state-of-the-art senior center and indoor and outdoor recreation facilities at the historic Pikesville Armory. The 14-acre Armory property – located in the heart of the Pikesville revitalization corridor – was transferred to the Pikesville Armory Foundation (PAF) from Baltimore County in 2023 to support ongoing efforts to reimagine the site into a community hub and provide much-needed recreational space in the area.

“Pikesville community members and stakeholders continue to be critical partners in our work to reimagine and transform this historic property into a vibrant regional hub,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “Our announcement builds on this partnership and demonstrates that – by working with our federal, state, and local counterparts - we can continue delivering modern and high-quality opportunities for our residents to build connections, stay active, and celebrate everything that makes our communities a special place to call home.”

Redevelopment of the historic property has long been supported by the Olszewski administration, with nearly $6 million already provided in capital grants to support pre-development activities. The administration most recently included an additional $500,000 in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget to support the development of outdoor recreation fields, a long sought-after request of Pikesville residents and community stakeholders. 

As part of the partnership – with terms agreed upon in a now-signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) – Baltimore County will commit to investing an additional $9.5 million over the next several years to support the planning, design, and construction of outdoor athletic fields, a walking path, and destination playgrounds. 

In recognition of the County’s capital funding commitment and partnership, Seawall Development and the PAF — contingent on state and additional outside funding – will cover the costs of planning, design, and construction of the core and tenant fit-out of 30,000 square feet of indoor multisport courts as well as a new 25,000 square foot senior center. Should expected outside funding not materialize, the outdoor recreational amenities will still be constructed and Baltimore County will not be responsible for absorbing any budget shortfalls. Additional terms will be included in soon-to-be executed letters of intent. 

Baltimore County’s continued support for the Pikesville Armory is the latest of the Olszewski administration’s investments in the second district, which has received $172 million in capital funding for 124 projects since 2018. Notable projects include the recently completed Meadow Creek Park, new Bedford and Summit Park elementary schools, renovations at the Pikesville Library and Senior Center, sidewalk improvements on Seven Mile Lane and throughout Pikesville and the acquisition of the 3.9 acre-Pahl’s Farm property. 

“We are pleased to be part of this project that will bring such a positive impact to the greater Pikesville Community and Reisterstown Road corridor,” said Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks Director Bob Smith. “We recognize that this region has long needed free standing recreation space for growing programs and we are extremely thankful to County Executive Olszewski and the Pikesville Armory Foundation for the vision to finally see this need met.” 

The Pikesville Armory Foundation – which will continue to lead the redevelopment process along with developers ONYX Development and Seawall – released official renderings in January 2024. A community engagement process contributed to plans for the property renovation and adaptive reuse of the main Armory building.

“The redeveloped Armory campus will be the realization of the community vision initiated six years ago by an in-depth citizen participation process. The partnership with Baltimore County announced today will create intergenerational opportunities and benefits for the entire northwest Baltimore City and County region,” said Pikesville Armory Foundation (PAF) Board President Shelley Morhaim.

The project’s first phase is the renovation of the property’s NCO Club building – a key component of the campus’ inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places – which kicked off in April 2024. Expected to be completed by spring 2025, the building will house Pikesville-based Recreation and Parks employees and continue to provide meeting, event and office space for community members and local organizations.

Groundbreaking for the larger second phase is scheduled for early 2026, with the remainder of the construction taking approximately two years to complete.

Project updates and announcements will be posted at transformpikesvillearmory.org.