The Bel Air Planning Commission this week granted a 12-month site plan extension to developers working to reimagine the Harford Mall.

CDP North, LLC, developers of the second phase of the mall project, requested the deadline extension saying they needed more time for the complicated project. Their original site plan was approved in January 2024 and had an expiration date of January 2026. With the extension, the expiration is pushed to January 2027.

Under Bel Air town code, only one 12-month extension may be granted.

The mall redevelopment project is envisioned as mixed-use — combining residential, retail, and community areas — and is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of dollars in new tax revenue to Bel Air annually.

Phase 1 of the mall project has full approval; it involves the former Sears, which closed in 2019, being rebuilt to accommodate an Amazon Fresh grocery store. The town expects Amazon Fresh to move in sometime in 2026.

Phase 2, known as the Residence at Harford Mall, aims to convert the mall’s parking lot that backs up to Boulton Street into a 33,200 square-foot, 4-story parking garage, and add two 4-story apartment buildings, two residential courtyards and 12,000 square feet of “amenities.”

Phase 3 known at The Shops at Harford, hasn’t been approved yet, but Georgia-based developer, SJC Ventures said it would include five commercial buildings and 1,472 parking spaces where Macy’s used to be. A 35,600-square-foot Whole Foods grocery store is expected to occupy one of the five buildings, with the other four expected to be luxury boutiques and restaurants with outdoor seating.

Developers said in July that there would be a fourth phase to the mall project, but did not state specifics.

“I don’t know that I’ve worked on a more complicated project than this one,” said attorney Christopher Mudd, who represents developers for the second phase. “It’s a great project to work on, but it is extremely complicated.”

Mudd said complexities rise when the different phases are to be owned and developed by different companies.

Mudd said the mall project takes a significant amount of capital, with roughly 70% coming from conventional lenders and 30% from high net worth individuals looking to invest in the project.

“People who are making those types of investments just don’t do it on a whim, they want to make sure that when they’re doing it, they seek to eliminate and mitigate risks,” he said. “They want to make sure there are certainties in what they’re investing in and the items described above are big risks that you would be asking these folks to take on.”

Reporter Matt Hubbard contributed to this story. Have a news tip? Contact Shaela Foster at sfoster@baltsun.com or 443-836-5894.