The more things change, the more they stay the same.

That’s a good thing at the just-reopened tearoom of the Woman’s Industrial Exchange.

Irene Smith, new operator of the landmark Baltimore City restaurant located at 333 N. Charles St., placed a bright oil painting of the tearoom’s former waitresses above the mantle Tuesday. In their starched white aprons and blue uniforms, this legendary crew led by the inimitable Marguerite lends a nostalgic touch to the bright pink walls.

Talk about your welcoming committee!

Smith said business has been steady since the tearoom reopened Dec. 7. Patrons are still sticking with the old house favorite, the chicken salad, deviled egg and tomato aspic platter for $9.

Other menu items include vegetable pot pie, meatloaf and Tina’s mushroom pie with mixed greens — all served with delicious, bite-sized Maryland beaten biscuits.

Even Jacques Kelly, a staff writer at The Baltimore Sun and one of the city’s unofficial historians, has visited and loves the re-do, Smith said.

“We are seeing the old schoolers who are here who were skeptical,” she said. “And there have been lots of kids from Peabody coming in who we love seeing sitting next to the 70-year-old patrons.

“One guy comes in four times a week, orders the chicken pot pie and cleans his plate.”

Besides the new oil painting, by local artist Mark Becker, Smith has supervised other adornments.

The tearoom, open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., is decorated and dedicated to Baltimore icons, cultural leaders and famous daughters. One dessert is dedicated to the two daughters of other local restaurateurs at the Chameleon Café in Lauraville: Fern and Gertie’s vanilla ice cream with chocolate Grenache.

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Andy Georgelakos

For the sixth time in seven years, Towson commercial real estate broker KLNB LLC has posted annual leasing income of more than $1 billion, the company reported Monday.

Last year’s $1.2 billion figure was a 10 percent increase over 2010, KLNB executives said. The company leases commercial real estate from five offices that focus on the Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia markets.

The sales figures were the highest mark since the company was founded in 1968 and represented the lease or sale of more than 1,000 transactions covering nearly 9 million square feet of commercial office, industrial, warehouse and retail space.

“Our brokerage team has become increasingly creative with our sales and leasing tactics and this strategy has resulted in the highest transactional value in our nearly 45-year history,” said Andy Georgelakos, managing partner of KLNB. “We envision another strong year ahead as companies and retailers continue to recognize the importance of maintaining a real estate presence in the fourth largest market in the United States.”

KLNB has 77 full-time real estate brokers and is planning to hire four more by March, Georgelakos said.

The 2011 results represent an approximate 10 percent increase from the reported figures of 2010, when KLNB achieved a $1.03 billion leasing and sales transaction volume.

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A small Baltimore news website met its fundraising goal… and then some, and Hunt Valley-based AAI Corp. laid off nearly 200 employees this week. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Cross Keys sale appears near – by Melody Simmons

The sale of The Village of Cross Keys in North Baltimore to an Olney-based developer is under negotiation and could close as early as March, sources close to the pending deal said Tuesday.

General Growth Properties Inc., which put the upscale shopping center on the market last summer after it emerged from bankruptcy protection, is finalizing the sale to the Carl M. Freeman Companies for an undisclosed price, sources said.

2. AAI lays off 184 in Hunt Valley – by Maria Zimmerman

AAI Corp., a Hunt Valley-based aerospace and defense company, laid off 184 employees Tuesday at its Baltimore County location as part of a 217-person, companywide reduction.

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In an effort to cut costs and maintain the right level of staffing during busy hours,  Walmart has removed greeters from its 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Over the past six months, the company has been reassigning these people to other positions, such as stocking shelves and manning cash registers.

The majority were able to find positions within the same store or another one close by, said company spokeswoman Ashley Hardie.

“Same-store sales at Walmart’s namesake U.S. locations declined for nine straight quarters before snapping the streak with a 1.3 percent gain for the quarter ended in October,” according to a report by Bloomberg.

Greeters have been a 32-year tradition at Walmart. The superstore chain has more than 3,000 locations nationwide and 45 stores in Maryland, including 16 Supercenters, which are typically open 24/7.

What do you think — will you miss someone standing at the door when you come in for a midnight snack?

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St. John Properties has announced the purchase of a one-acre parcel at 56 Timonium Road for redevelopment into 10,000-square-foot retail strip mall. Known as Timonium Exchange, the site is configured to hold a medley of tenants with businesses ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 square feet.

St. John said this week that it plans is to develop a mix of fast food tenants and small retailers and service businesses like hair salons and dry cleaners. The area is blessed with heavy traffic — data shows that more than 40,000 vehicles travel by Timonium Exchange daily. A report by NAI KLNB for the office market shows that the area has more than 7 million square feet of commercial office space, and a vacancy rate of 10 percent.

“This area remains under-served in the convenience retail and quick-serve food categories as consumers and businesspeople are constantly in search of amenities that address their busy lifestyles,” Bill Holzman, assistant vice president for retail leasing at St. John, said in a statement.

St. John also owns and manages Timonium Business Center, Yorkridge Center North and Yorkridge Center South, near the Exchange.

*****

Last week at a community meeting in Columbia, General Growth Properties unveiled plans to build a 75,000-square-foot lifestyle center at the Mall in Columbia. The changes are in the planning phase, and another meeting is set for Feb. 8.

The mall opened in 1971 and has 1.4 million square feet of retail space. The last renovation came in 2004 when an LL Bean store was added. This gussy up will see that store replaced to make way for the new lifestyle center.

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The Daily Record’s “Photo of the Day” is a chance for our photographers to capture slices of life in their travels across Maryland. But we know there is much more going on in the state than what their lenses find.

That’s where you come in.

The Daily Record wants your photographs of what’s happening in Maryland for a new feature, “Maryland Moment.” The photo could be related to the news of the day or it could be a shot right outside your window. It can be an action shot (left) or just something very adorable.

You can send us your photos by using the form here. We ask that the photos be of something from the last week or so; we don’t want photos of Fourth of July fireworks in February.

If we like your Maryland Moment, we’ll post it online where our Photo of the Day normally resides and might publish it in the print edition as well.

So happy picture-taking. We can’t wait to see what develops.

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To tax? To build? To reprioritize? Regardless the answer, all of the state leaders who gathered Monday morning for the Greater Baltimore Committee’s legislative forum wanted to talk transportation.

The debate sparked after Paul Kelly, chairman of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, said that the proposed gas tax, coupled with proposed increases in registration fees, meant “[the legislature’s] just driving business away from Maryland.”

The panel, headed by Donald C. Fry, president and CEO of the GBC, consisted of E.J Pipkin, Senate minority leader; Edward J. Kasemeyer, chairman of the Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee; Anthony J. O’Donnell, House minority leader; and Michael E. Busch, speaker of the House.

Pipkin, who staunchly opposes the proposed tax, said the real need was to re-prioritize funds, adding that, “If it’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs, we should be working to improve our road networks, not building mass transit.”

The proposed tax would help fund a Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton and a Red Line in Baltimore.

Fry, though agreeing maintenance and repair is important, said that a growing population needs new transportation.

The Red Line, which would provide access to about 175 job sites along its route “would also help spur economic growth around the various stops,” Fry said. The line would connect Baltimore’s light rail and metro line.

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A Mt. Vernon landmark restaurant that closed down could be open again by spring and three annual coin shows threatened to leave Baltimore if Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget eliminates their tax breaks. Those stories and more in this week’s business top 5.

1. Brass Elephant could reopen by spring – by Melody Simmons

The “old lady” is coming back.

Baltimore’s historic Brass Elephant restaurant could reopen as early as spring with new owners, a real estate agent said Wednesday.

Workers were busy Wednesday inside the Mt. Vernon landmark checking the restaurant’s kitchen and operating systems, and the sale could close within 30 days, said Martin Kibbe, a ReMax Studio Realtor who listed the upscale eatery.

2. Coin show threatens to leave Baltimore over O’Malley budget – by Nicholas Sohr

An Atlanta company threatened to uproot three annual coin shows from Baltimore and move them out of state Thursday after Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposal to cut a tax break for precious coins and bullion sales.

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Sold-out, New England-bound buses carrying the Purple Nation are set to roll out of Baltimore early Saturday, tour promoters said.

The groups are heading north for Sunday’s AFC championship game between the Ravens and the Patriots – with a little partying along the way.

“We have sold 80 seats,” said Marc Komins, owner of Superior Tours in Pikesville, which will take two full buses to the Boston area leaving at 8 a.m. Saturday. “People can’t wait.”

The website for Canton-based Ravens Tours said the 60 packages offered on Monday that include a downtown Boston hotel room, game ticket and bar credits, but no transportation, were also sold out.

Nestor Aparicio, owner of the website WNST.net and WNST-AM, is also taking two buses to Providence, R.I., leaving Baltimore at 7 a.m. Saturday. His game packages, that include a hotel room, “purple pep rally,” upper deck game ticket at Gillette Stadium and liquid refreshments, sold briskly, he said.

Dubbed the “Miller Lite Festivus Roadtrip,” Aparicio said his total count is 100 fans. All are optimistic as they prepare to launch from Charm City.

“There’s a positive vibe about winning the game,” he said Friday afternoon.

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Construction is expected to begin at a $150 million Social Security Administration complex after a ceremonial groundbreaking set for Jan. 26 at 10:30 a.m.

More than 1,600 federal employees are expected to work at the site, at 6100 Wabash Ave., once it opens. The transit-oriented building will be built on state-owned property directly across from the Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station.

JBG Companies of Chevy Chase was selected in 2010 to design and develop the project. The new complex will replace the aged SSA Metro West facility at 300 N. Greene St. that opened on the city’s Westside more than 30 years ago. Federal officials have said they plan to sell the building once the employees transfer to the new location.

Clark Construction of Bethesda will be the general contractor.

The new complex will encompass more than 11 acres and result in 538,000 square feet of office space and 1,076 parking spaces.

Expected to help in the groundbreaking are Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, SSA Commissioner Michael J. Astrue and Baltimore City Councilwoman Rochelle “Rikki” Spector.

*****

St. John Properties Inc. has broken ground on a fourth building at the successful Liberty Exchange complex west of Eldersburg near Randallstown. The building will be part of a planned 215,000-square-foot mixed-use space on Liberty Road near the intersection of Routes 32 and 26 in Carroll County that when complete will total 10 buildings.

St. John’s newest addition will be a single-story, 25,000-square-foot structure, near the company’s other existing spaces: a 16,645 square-foot-retail space, a 25,000-square-foot office building and a 61,000-square-foot research and development-flex space project.

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