CASCADE, Md. (AP) — Ownership of the former Fort Ritchie Army base in Cascade is reverting to a public redevelopment authority after a private developer backed out.
The state-sponsored PenMar Development Corp. said Tuesday it has reached a settlement with Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust regarding the 591-acre site about 70 miles northwest of Washington.
COPT agreed in 2006 to buy the property for $9 million. Its plans included an office park for defense and national-security contractors. Redevelopment was stalled by environmental issues including news that the Army tested Agent Orange and other tactical herbicides there decades ago.
PenMar received $5 million initially. It says COPT paid another $2 million to walk away from the deal.
PenMar says it’s devising a new strategy for redeveloping the site.
