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.
