When Towson activist Cynthia Bledsoe heard bulldozers were ravaging the abandoned Shell station on the Towson roundabout, she raced “with glee” to snap photos of the demolition.
Long considered a hurdle to the redevelopment of Towson core, she couldn?t wait to see it go.
“With all the current, preliminary and proposed plans now being considered for Towson, this eyesore on such prime property was deemed no longer tolerable,” she said. “We are on the cusp of major revitalization to make Towson a desirable place to live, work and play for everyone.”
Baltimore County officials are expected to announce Tuesday that they are acquiring the site through condemnation and planning a public park, according to e-mails among community leaders. Members of the county council will discuss possible condemnation at its work session later that day, and vote on the measure at their Aug. 7 meeting.
County spokesman Don Mohler declined to confirm the news, but said discussions on the matter are under way and County Executive Jim Smith is scheduled to publicly address the station Aug. 1.
While Bledsoe, executive director of the Greater Towson Committee Inc., emphasized the organization has not examined the issue formally, many agree the station?s demolition is a cause for celebration. The site?s redevelopment was included in a laundry list of recommended improvements to the county seat after a team of developers, architects and landscapers ? known as an urban design assistance team, or UDAT ? visited Towson in June.
