While construction is set to begin on the Finksburg branch of the Carroll County Public Library, green building is also about to start in the private sector.

Eldersburg will get the first green shopping center in the mid-Atlantic region with the addition of Main Street Eldersburg, a 90,000-square-foot shopping center on 12.5 acres on Londontown Boulevard, behind Wal-Mart.

Owings Mills-based Black Oak Associates Inc. will break ground later this month on the new shopping center, which is slated to open in fall 2008.

Michael C. Trenery, vice president of development for Black Oak Associates, said Main Street Eldersburg will offer smaller, boutique-styled businesses, restaurants and a bank. The lifestyle center is designed to create an environment where visitors are comfortable hanging out in a town-like setting.

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