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	Courtesy rendering The Galleria, a $30 million project on East Street, has been honored by the Smart Growth Alliance for its design and innovation.

"When you come across the ridge line you can really see the city," said Bert Anderson, who is developing the Monocacy Valley Canning building.

The new section of East Street, connecting to I-70, could be finished by late this year, said Richard Griffin, director of the city's economic office.

Seven major projects directly on South East Street are either under construction or in the planning stages. Other projects are also in the pipeline along Carroll Creek such as the McCutcheon's and the Union Mills buildings.

The seven projects total an estimated $100 million in cost, including $30 million for Wormald Cos.' The Galleria, $24 million for the McHenry Building site and $20 million for One Commerce Plaza.

The extension of East Street to I-70 links the city to that second gateway, bringing visitors to two new parking decks and a new tourism center. That center, to be located in a historic building once part of a canning company, will cost an estimated $3.2 million and offer 6,250 square feet of office space. Visitors can easily walk from the 105-year-old building to the Carroll Creek Linear Park and downtown restaurants, shops and historic sites.

The largest building is the Board of Education's 90,000-square-foot structure at East and South streets. Scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010, the building will house about 260 employees, said Ray Barnes, executive director of the school system's Facilities Services Division.

A parking deck, owned by the city, with 550 spaces will be located behind the Board of Education building and open for public parking. Another parking deck, already under construction off Carroll Street, can hold 400 vehicles.

At Commerce and East streets, a four-story, 80,000-square-foot building is planned by Mainstreet Development and MacRo Ltd.

Earl "Rocky" Mackintosh, president of MacRo, said the building was initially planned for six stories and 115,000 square feet.

That redesign and delays in some construction is hitting properties in the corridor. Anderson, who plans to add two three-story wings to his building, is holding off for a while on that extra space.

But he is completing the renovation of the existing structure that features historic brick archways and 70-foot timber beams. About 5,000 square feet is planned for retail, he said of the building across from the BoE site. The remaining 30,000 square feet will be for office space. Anderson added dormer windows in some sections for more light, but saved rock from the former Frederick Brickworks across South Street to be used for landscaping and accents.

There are no plans at this time for the former Brickworks site, said Clayton Minnick, general manager of the company, which built a new operations center on Monocacy Boulevard. Part of the new East Street went through, literally, the Brickworks property, though the retail and warehouse structure are still on the site.

Behind the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, the Wormald Cos. plan The Galleria, with 120 residential condominiums, 34,000 square feet of retail space and 550 parking spaces.

The McHenry site, on the corner of East and Patrick streets, is planned for nearly 80,000 square feet of office space and 22,000 square feet of commercial space.

It is one of two projects by Douglas Development in that area. The other is Union Mills, a former textile factory, located along Carroll Creek and East Patrick Street. Estimated at $20 million, it will offer 41,500 square feet of office space and nearly 26,000 square feet of commercial space.

Robert McCutcheon III is planning a $5 million project at the building along Carroll Creek off East Street. He is waiting to be sure he has space leased.

"That is the holdup right now," McCutcheon said. That project, which would include 34,000 square feet of commercial space, will include a large water wheel (not on the creek) and a tower that would allow visitors to view much of the creek's parkway.

Other projects nearby include Hope VI, a residential site on South Street, and condominiums and commercial and office space along Carroll Creek from Court Street to South Carroll Street.

Design work has been approved for the next section of Carroll Creek, estimated at $12.6 million, from East to East Patrick streets.

"The great part of this," Anderson said, "is that because of all of this land available along the creek, you can have the growth without destroying the historic fabric of the downtown."