Friday, March 15, 2013
Baltimore County sold the property to a Towson developer in 2011, against community protests.
Construction for a Walgreens drug store on Lavender Avenue is slated to begin this fall. David Schlachman, founder and principal of DMS Development, said Friday that the store, part of a national chain, should be open for business within a year. Baltimore County sold the property, a half-acre parking lot, to the Towson-based developer for $530,00 in May 2011. Some Parkville residents advocated against the sale, arguing that the lot was critical to local economic revitalization, serving as convenient public parking for nearby businesses in an area with limited parking and public space for events. Schlachman said public parking would not be permitted to continue at the property as it could hinder business and expose the store to liabilities…
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Ruth Baisden, president of the Greater Parkville Community Council, wants the Revenue Authority to formalize promises for money and parking at a meeting Thursday.
The leader of a Parkville community group wants the Baltimore County Revenue Authority to formalize concessions to help revitalize the Harford Road corridor as part if its sale of the public parking lot on Lavender Avenue. Ruth Baisden, president of the Greater Parkville Community Council, sent the letter to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority on Dec. 13. The quasi-public agency is scheduled to finalize a sale of the property Thursday morning. Last year the Baltimore County Revenue Authority voted to sell the 56-space public parking lot, located along Harford Road between Lavender and Taylor Avenues, to Towson-based DMS Development for a sum of $500,000. The developer would turn the parking lot into a Walgreens store. "These concessions…
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
State Comptroller questions appraisal on the two-tenth acre parcel.
UPDATED (12:16 p.m.) The state Board of Public Works Wednesday morning approved the sale of a portion of the Lavender Avenue parking lot. The sale to to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority for $53,950 clears the way for the county agency to sell the property in turn to a developer. Towson-based DMS Development plans to purchase the property for $530,000. The company plans to build a Walgreens on the current site of the 56-space public parking lot. Community leaders have opposed the sale saying the parking is important to the economic viability of adjacent businesses. The authority promised to earmark $100,000 from the sale of the land to go specifically to the Parkville community. Comptroller Peter Franchot voted against the sale after …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Baltimore County Executive wrote to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority Thursday afternoon in support of keeping a $100,000 grant in what he called a "very important commercial district."
The latest in the continuing saga of the Lavender Avenue parking lot: Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz wrote to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority Thursday afternoon asking them to deliver on a promise to the Parkville community. As part of a deal to sell the lot the authority promised a $100,000 grant to Parkville community, but at a meeting this month expressed concerns about delivering on that promise. In a letter to authority chair Donald Hutchison, dated Nov. 1, Kamenetz writes that his staff has reviewed the history of the parking lot and expresses his support of the grant concept. "We reviewed the history of the Lavender Lot issue, including discussions by the Authority that $100,000 generated by the sale of the …
The sale of a state-owned portion of the public parking lot in Parkville is delayed at least two weeks and possibly longer.
A state panel has delayed the sale of a small state-owned portion of a public parking lot in Parkville for at least two weeks and possibly longer. The state Board of Public Works was initially scheduled to take up the request to sell the two-tenths of an acre portion of Lavender Avenue parking lot on Oct 31. Comptroller Peter Franchot, one of the three members of the panel along with Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp, requested that the sale be pulled from the agenda. "There were a number of concerns from local elected officials, business and community leaders that were brought to [Franchot's] attention," an aide to Franchot said. Included in those concerns was a letter sent to the board by Del. John Cluster raising …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Baltimore County legislators recently said they believe that money promised to the Parkville community by the Revenue Authority should stay in Parkville.
Two Baltimore County legislators say that a $100,000 grant promised to the Parkville community by the Baltimore County Revenue Authority should stay in Parkville. The grant, promised after the authority decided to sell the Lavender Avenue parking lot, was called into question during a Revenue Authority meeting last week. In a letter dated Oct. 31, Sixth District Councilwoman Cathy Bevins—whose district includes the Lavender lot—and Fifth District Councilman David Marks express their opinions to the authority. "As the representative in whose district the Lavender Avenue lot is located, Councilwoman Bevins advanced the idea of designating a portion of the sale proceeds for economic development in Downtown Parkville," the letter says. "Both …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Parkville community leaders were promised $100,000 from the sale of the Lavender lot.
A promised $100,000 grant to the Parkville community from the sale of the Lavender Avenue parking lot could be in limbo. Members of the board of the Baltimore County Revenue Authority discussed possible changes to to the deal during a meeting Thursday. Among the possibilities is a proposal to allow communities from all over the county to apply for a portion of the money or to have the authority spend the money on behalf of the Parkville community rather than handing the money over to one or more civic groups. The board is also considering the creation of a committee to create a process for handing out the grants and oversee the spending of the money from the sale of the 56-space public parking lot and other lots that might be sold in the …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The state Board of Public Works is expected to decide next week whether or not to sell a state-owned sliver of land near the Lavender Avenue public parking lot.
An upcoming state Board of Public Works hearing could be the last, best hope to save Parkville's Lavender Avenue parking lot, according to one local legislator. Del. John Cluster, who represents the Parkville area, said that legislators have been working to stop the sale of the Lavender Avenue parking lot for close to two years but have met with "brick walls" at every turn. The state Board of Public Works is expected to make a decision regarding the sale of a state-owned piece of land that surrounds Parkville's Lavender Avenue public parking lot at a hearing next week. Cluster said he thinks that the upcoming hearing could be the last hope for saving the lot, which was sold to a developer by the Baltimore County Revenue Authority over a …
The sale price for the state-owned portion is expected to be more than three times higher than what the Revenue Authority expected to pay.
The sale and redevelopment of a public parking lot in Parkville could be another step closer to fruition after a Board of Public Works meeting next week. The three-member state panel is scheduled to take up the proposed sale of a state-owned sliver of land along Harford Road that is part of the Lavender Avenue public parking lot. The board, comprised of Governor Martin O'Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp will be asked to approve the sale of the two-tenths acre property to the Baltimore County Revenue Authority for $52,950. The proposed sale price is more than three times higher than the $14,000 the authority expected to pay for the property. The proposed sale price, however, is lower than two independent …
Monday, May 7, 2012
Former board member calls on his colleagues to resign after approving deal with Bill Madonna Golf Academy.
A controversial contract between the Baltimore County Revenue Authority and a Florida-based golf pro has been cancelled less than a year after it began. The termination of the contract less than a year after it was approved led one former board member—Les Pittler—to call for the resignation of several of his former colleagues. Donald Hutchinson, chairman of the authority's five-member board, said he negotiated a buyout of the contract. Bill Madonna will receive $25,000 and the right to teach at the authority's Greystone course for three consecutive weeks later this year in return for an early termination of the four-year agreement. "This is not a reflection of our unhappiness with the quality of the academy and the quality of the …
Tom
4:09 pm on Thursday, March 28, 2013
there are never cars in that lot. Most people park in the back of Jerry D's or on the street for the pool hall. Do we need a Walgreens NO but the lot is taking up space. more ›