The state will not buy the building that housed the Presbyterian Home of Maryland, leading local elected officials to look elsewhere for a new owner for the historic West Towson property.
The Presbyterian Home, which has operated as a senior living center in the former Bosley Mansion since 1929, announced earlier this year it would close its doors and sell the building. The Presbyterian Home is building a new campus in Harford County.
Baltimore County Councilman David Marks and state Sen. Jim Brochin hoped to convince the state to buy the property and use it for agency offices that are housed elsewhere in Towson.
But the state wrote back that buying the building "does not seem feasible."
Nelson E. Reichart of the state Department of General Services wrote to Marks and Brochin that it's often cost-prohibitive to terminate existing leases and move offices. And in order to buy the property, it would have to be put into the state's five-year capital budget and be subject to appraisals, environmental review and other reviews.
Marks said he'll now see if Baltimore County might want to buy the 4.4-acre property, which sits at the center of the Southland Hills neighborhood and has served as an unofficial community park.
"My paramount interest is preserving the historic property and the green lawn that's in front of it," said Marks, a Perry Hall Republican who represents Towson. "I would prefer for the owner and operator to be local because it would be better for the county."
Marks acknowledged it might be a long shot to get the county to buy the Presbyterian Home.
"I don't know how realistic it is," he said.
The Presbyterian Home remains listed for sale. The property's zoning allows for detached homes or townhouses to be built.
The historic central part of the building was built in the 1850s or 1860s by Dr. Grafton Bosley, who practiced medicine in what was then known as Towsontown and who donated land to the county to build a courthouse and jail. Additions were added later on either side of the Bosley Mansion.
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