A medical care office, Dunkin’ and Charleys Cheesesteaks will be among the tenants at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center in West Baltimore — a community-boosted redevelopment that Gov. Wes Moore and Mayor Brandon Scott celebrated Monday.

The project’s developer, Lyneir Richardson, CEO of Chicago Trend, and local investors and business owners joined elected officials to tout progress at the site, which is behind schedule for its grand opening, but moving along.

“I’m really optimistic about the next 12 to 18 months,” Richardson said, addressing a crowd. “There’s momentum here, and I believe we’re just beginning to see what’s possible when all of this vision, the investment and community investment come together.”

Quickway Japanese Hibachi, fashion retailer DTLR, Ascension Saint Agnes Primary Care and grocer Aldi have also announced plans to open at the newly renovated shopping center.

Landing Aldi, the low-cost grocery chain that signed a lease for a 21,000-square-foot space at the shopping center, was a win for the community that’s been a long-time food desert.

But it’s not just big names joining the list of tenants. Last month, Ashley Dixon and her mother, Katrina Armwood, opened their small business, shipping service United Postal Express.

“What we are building is bigger than a storefront,” Dixon said. “The demand is here, the growth is already happening and this is just the beginning.”

The locally owned Platinum Amala Spot, a restaurant serving West African cuisine, will open its third location in the Edmonson Village Shopping Center.

The shopping center’s newest and largest tenant is Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland. The organization signed a deal last week to move its headquarters there and will build a new 39,000-square-foot office and distribution center starting this summer. Once complete, it will bring around 145 new jobs to the area.

While the event showcased the progress made in keeping and securing new retail businesses, restaurants, a grocery store and access to primary care, the shopping center is nowhere near ready for its official unveiling.

Construction to repair and renovate the site started in summer 2024 and was expected to finish last year. But the building that will house Charleys Cheesesteaks, Quickway Japanese Hibachi and Platinum Amala Spot is still under construction.

Upgrades to the parking lots, utilities and open spaces also are ongoing.

The shopping center has received an estimated $7.5 million in investments from Baltimore — a move that was more than “just a check,” Scott said.

“We closed deals, we knocked doors. But most importantly, we invested in people and a neighborhood that had been ignored for far too long,” he said.

Another $4 million came from Maryland, and 200 community investors put in another $454,000, Richardson said.

The improvements to the site represent progress in health care and access to fresh food, as well as investments in supporting older adults and child care, Moore said. “This is representing the kind of progress that people can see and feel.”