Caves Valley Partners, the developer behind a controversial proposal for a Royal Farms gas station at the corner of York Road and Bosley Avenue, has reached a deal with the county on a revised purchase price, one that is several million dollars less than its original bid.
The gas station element of the project was removed under an agreement between Caves Valley and the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations (GTCCA). That agreement, signed Jan. 12, 2018, says that a new purchase price must be approved by the County Council within 90 days or the developer can revert back to its plan for a gas station. The Council, however, is not scheduled to vote on the deal until after the 90 days have passed.
Caves Valley’s offer in 2013, which the county accepted, was $8.3 million for the 4.6-acre parcel. The land’s appraised value was $8.6 million.
“The annual property tax at full build-out is anticipated to be approximately $26,125. The present value of sales price plus 20 years of property tax revenue is estimated to be approximately $8.7 million. With a five-year Revitalization Tax Credit, the present value is estimated to be $8.5 million,” the county said in a 2013 press release.
But now that the developer and community leaders have agreed to a plan that does not include a gas station, Caves Valley and the county have agreed on a new price: $6.9 million, minus $1.9 million in tax credits, for a final price of about $5 million.
It is unclear how the $1.9 million figure was reached. The county’s website says that such tax credits run for five to 10 years, depending on how much the developer spends improving the site, and are equal to 100 percent of the county property taxes charged against the property.
Under the gas station proposal, the county estimated the site would bring in $26,000 per year. If that number remained roughly the same (Caves Valley plans to replace the gas station with a drive-through bank or fast-food restaurant), then a five-year tax credit would be $130,000, and a 10-year tax credit would be $260,000.
The county has not yet replied to a question about how the tax credit was calculated. This article will be updated if more information becomes available.
When the land was valued at $8.6 million in 2013, the zoning did not allow for a gas station, and the appraisal does not mention the possibility of a gas station. The original appraiser, citing client privacy, declined to comment on the 2013 estimate, and the county has also not commented.
The county had the parcel re-appraised in February 2018 by two firms. One valued the land at $5.03 million, and the other valued it at between between $5.8 million and $7.8 million.
One of those appraisals noted that “no development plans were proposed at the time of the [2013] appraisals,” meaning a gas station was likely not factored in to the calculated value.
The county says the original agreement, in 2013, included a parcel near the Towson Diner, but the new agreement does not include that parcel.
The new purchase price is expected to be discussed by the Council on April 10 and then be voted on at the April 16 meeting.
“I’m reviewing the methodology and look forward to the discussion at the work session,” said Councilman David Marks, who represents the Towson area.
Caves Valley has not responded to questions.
The agreement to eliminate a gas station, signed by representatives of Caves Valley and the GTCCA in January, has wording that:
- includes a binding land covenant that prohibits a gas station at the site for 25 years
- prohibits a 24-hour business from locating at what would have been the Royal Farms gas station, unless it is a medical clinic — although the other buildings at the site don’t have the 24-hour prohibition
- prohibits many fast-food chains from locating at the site, although a Chick-fil-A would be allowed
Some in the community had hoped that Caves Valley would not only remove the gas station from the plan, but would also revise the overall project to make it adhere to Towson’s Overlay District, which calls for, among other things, buildings that have easy pedestrian access instead of being set behind large parking lots.
In addition to the question of price, there are several more layers of approval that Caves Valley needs from the county, and if those are not forthcoming, the developer still has the right to pursue the gas station as a Planned Unit Development (PUD). PUDs are a way of allowing land to be used for something not normally allowed under the zoning rules.
Caves Valley is allowed to revert back to its planned 24-hour Royal Farms gas station PUD, per the agreement, if any of the following occur:
- the new plan (without a gas station) is denied by the county
- the new plan is appealed
- the county approves a plan that is materially different than what Caves Valley submitted
- a law is passed that would prohibit the new plan from going forward
- the county fails to approve a contract amendment and/or purchase price reduction within 90 days that Caves Valley finds satisfactory.
If Caves Valley does go back to its gas-station plan, the GTCCA still has the right to fight it, according to the agreement.
West Towson resident Ron Council, who helped negotiate the agreement on behalf of the GTCCA, said that even though the 90-day deadline will have passed, he and other community leaders “expect Caves Valley Partners to honor the spirit of its agreement with the community and not revert to the PUD immediately upon the expiration of the 90 day timeframe but delay such a move until a new price can be voted upon by the County Council in the coming weeks.”
-Kris Henry
The Towson Flyer