Balt. County Acquires New Land For Future School

County to acquire Rosewood parcel
Jaime Malarkey, The Examiner

Owings Mills -
State officials Wednesday announced plans to sell a significant Owings Mills land parcel to Baltimore County as a future school site.

The county is the only entity expressing interest in a 54-acre site on the Rosewood Center campus that Maryland’s Board of Public Works declared surplus Wednesday. County officials said they are negotiating a price and celebrated what they called a long-awaited decision.

“From my standpoint, it’s a huge win,” said state Sen. Bobby Zirkin, D-District 11, who represents the area. “We’ve been looking for years for a potential school site, and others have been gobbled up by development. There isn’t much space left suitable for what I’d like to see.”

A county spokeswoman emphasized that no specific project is planned for the parcel on the southeastern corner of Gwynnbrook Avenue and Owings Mills Boulevard.

But in a statement, County Executive Jim Smith said the county determined the most critical use for the property is a school, based on the region’s growth projections.

The state’s Department of General Services will determine market value, officials said, and proceeds from the sale will be deposited into a Developmental Disabilities Administration trust, which generates interest for community-based services such as respite care and living accommodations for people with disabilities.

The deal serves as a model of “what can be accomplished by people working together to chart the future of their communities,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley, Smith’s friend and co-campaigner.

Zirkin said the sale does not necessarily indicate legislators aim to close the Rosewood Center, the state’s largest residential facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.