Baltimore County officials said today they will not pursue the idea of moving about 200 county employees into the Presbyterian Home of Maryland in Southland Hills.
The historic building is now home to an assisted-living facility, but that is closing and moving to Howard County. Developer Caves Valley said it wanted to buy the property, and it approached the county to ask if there was any interest in having county workers housed there.
“We had been actively looking for 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of office space in Towson’s core for about two years,” said Don Mohler, chief of staff for the county. “So we said if and when you get it under contract, we’d be glad to talk to you.”
Mohler said that when it became clear many people in Southland Hills were wary of having that many people driving into their neighborhood every day, they decided not to pursue it. He said they told Caves Valley earlier this week the county was no longer interested in the space.
“We simply called the developer earlier this week and said that the community was not enthusiastic, and we had no interest in upsetting the community,” Mohler said. “We thought we were doing [the community] a favor but when we heard there were concerns, we said hey, no problem.”
The community is seeking to have the building designated as a historic landmark. The county’s Landmark Preservation Commission will discuss the property at a meeting at 6:00 PM on September 8. The meeting will be in room 104 of the Jefferson Building at 105 West Chesapeake Ave.