Old Towson fire station demolished
Site of the old firehouse at York and Bosley, courtesy of Roger Gookin
Site of the old firehouse at York and Bosley, courtesy of Roger Gookin
The old Towson fire station at York Road and Bosley Avenue was demolished today.
Caves Valley, a Towson-based developer, is seeking permission from the county to build a large 24-hour Royal Farms at the site — a plan that many in the community have vigorously opposed. Caves Valley is also the developer of the stalled Towson Row development on York Road across from the library.
The application for the Royal Farms “is nowhere near being approved, so I am at a loss to explain why the county felt the need to demolish the structure — unless there was some safety hazard,” said Councilman David Marks, who represents the Towson area.
“As happened with the Towsontown Boulevard expansion and the construction of the Drumcastle garage, the Kamenetz administration did not bother to notify my office or the community about this work. I have checked with the Auditor, and we believe the demolition was done through a construction contract, which does not require County Council approval.”
Marks said the next step in the Royal Farms project, known as Towson Station (and sometimes as Towson Gateway), is another community-input meeting. After that, the County Council has three months to kill future review of the plan, Marks said, or let it proceed.
County Executive Kevin Kamenetz’ administration could not be reached for immediate comment.
It is not the fire station. It is the old fire academy only
Who can trust what David Marks says anymore? He’s been talking out of both sides of his mouth on this project for months.
Don’t worry, this property will turn into another chained-off blighted disaster like every other proposed development that succumbs to fear mongering.
Well, you cannot blame any parts of the community for the worst blight imposed on it in decades: the stalled Towson Row 6 acre demolished area which had all its variances and plans fast-tracked with very little community opposition. The one exception being a negotiated contribution to its tiny open space fees (by David Marks), which seems highly favorable to the developer, although now doubtful of ever being collected. It seems evident the developer failed to do the most basic of due diligence on the planning of that complex failure. Again, speaking of blight, for the benefit of Towson Row, the County removed 9 mature Zelkova trees in 2015 from the median strip of TT Blvd, before the hottest summers on record. Thanks Baltimore County, and to heck with the citizens and commuters. The politically pampered Towson Row is allegedly soon to be re-proposed with allegedly far less community friendly features and more help from the County till. So it behooves us, Sam C, to have a little more balance in our comments don’t you think? Or is that not your mission?
Towson Row may not be ideal, but it is a far, far better option than the current embarrassment and years of neglect and abandonment in that area that preceded the demolition. It would be nice to have a walkable community with businesses to walk to. I like contributing to my local economy beyond my property taxes. I don’t live in fear of progress. I fear that Towson will continue to deteriorate because entitled complainers get their way. Money is already going elsewhere as Towson clears out. Call me skeptical, but I don’t buy for a second that a multi-billion dollar developer doesn’t know the geology beneath the ground in this part of the state. I’m more inclined to think the old guard’s anti-business. anti-change, xenophobic climate made it not worth Cave’s while. Would you invest in this community with all the phony outrage? I wouldn’t. You don’t see many local business start up, do you? Wonder why…… Look at the hyperbole and fear mongering that killed other projects. I do offer balance. I don’t rant and cry about any and all change. I support a growing Towson and economic progress. You would think those living in fear of change would at least spruce up the blighted disasters they so ardently protect. I’ve actually cleared invasive species and planted needed native trees in public space. Want to know how the local community reacted? They called the cops! I only wish this weren’t true. In the meantime, I’ll continue to make a… Read more »
Sam, you cannot possibly blame the Towson Row disaster on “entitled complainers”. They submitted and pushed through a PUD that, according to them, was unfeasible with their current financial model (because the demo of the rock would be too expensive). This had nothing to do with communities or “entitled complainers”, rather with greedy developers who care nothing for residents who will be impacted by their developments.
You have a point that Towson residents can be a bit reluctant to change and concerned with the intended “urbanization” of Towson. However, progress for progress’s sake is silly. You write “It would be nice to have a walkable community with businesses to walk to”: is the Towson Gateway/Royal Farms project what you have in mind? I’m sure walking to a 16-pump gas station is exactly the type of perambulation you have in mind, especially with the 18 foot wall along the corner of York/Bosley…
Developers like Caves Valley are here today, and gone tomorrow (Towson City Center is currently on the market); yet the residents will always remain.
My prediction: CVP submits a NEW PUD for Towson Row based on the new Downtown Towson Zoning District (on which they heavily lobbied), which will require additional variances and exemptions than they have already helped write into law.
Hopefully, we can get a pro-community Executive and councilpersons before Towson is sucked dry by our current government’s money-hungry associates.