A hearing regarding a former Towson nursing home's status as a historic landmark has been delayed from Oct. 13 at the request of the property's owner, The Presbyterian Home of Maryland — a turn of events that some residents of the Southland Hills community, where the building is located, say has cost them time and money, as they had prepared for months to testify in favor of the proposed designation on the day scheduled for the hearing.
In May, the Presbyterian Home announced it would be leaving the Towson facility after nearly 90 years of operation, putting the building, parts of which date to the mid-19th century, up for sale. While the original structure, called the Bosley Mansion, has been added on to over the years, the mansion is still distinguishable by its tall white pillars.
Over the summer, Caves Valley Partners, a Towson-based developer, signed a contract to buy the property and proposed turning it into office space for Baltimore County, a prospect neighbors protested, saying that they feared such a use would lead to traffic congestion and put stress on street parking in the neighborhood.
Although Baltimore County officials eventually withdrew from the, Caves Valley is studying options for the property "and is continuing a [dialogue] with the stakeholders in hopes of reaching an agreement on the preservation of the original Bosley Mansion," according to a letter sent from Presbyterian Home officials to Baltimore County Sept. 28. The Presbyterian Home still owns the building.
Even before Caves Valley signed its contract, neighbors were taking steps to protect the property. The Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County submitted a request to have the property, which is located on Georgia Avenue, added to the county's historic landmarks list in May, shortly after the owners announced the sale. Submitting that request was essentially a way to pause the process of deciding the property's future, because while the designation is being considered the building can't be demolished, according to county officials.
The alliance made the request at the behest of the Southland Hills community. Some neighbors have said they use the property and its large lawn as an unofficial neighborhood park, and that the mid-19th century building was a factor when they purchased homes in the area.
The Oct. 13 hearing before Baltimore County's Landmarks Preservation Commission regarding the property was postponed at the request of the property's owners, the Presbyterian Home, county spokeswoman Ellen Kobler said, and the meeting's agenda was updated to reflect the postponement.
The hearing was delayed until the commission's next scheduled meeting on Nov. 10, according to Kobler.
The commission is the first governmental body that must approve the Preservation Alliance's request before the property can be added to the county's list of protected landmarks. Ultimately, the Baltimore County Council would vote to add it to the list.
In a letter dated Sept. 28, addressed to the Baltimore County Planning Department's Director Andrea Van Arsdale, the chairman of the Presbyterian Home's Board, Joseph Slovick III, requested the postponement "so that an amicable agreement can be achieved," between stakeholders, which include the Presbyterian Home, the neighborhood and the Preservation Alliance. In the letter, Slovick also stated that the board hopes to reach an agreement in which the property can be preserved, but has a fiduciary responsibility to protect its assets until the property is sold, and therefore is fighting the historic designation.
A historic designation would restrict what changes can be made to the property, such as those to the building's appearance.
Some residents said they were disappointed with the decision to postpone the meeting.
Therese McAllister and Kate Knott are two Southland Hills residents who are leading the effort to make the building a landmark; a group of about 20 volunteers have been researching the history of the building to support the designation, they said. The community wasn't consulted about the postponement, McAllister said.
The improvement association's subcommittee to preserve the building spent more than $350 on yard signs announcing the date, time and location of the meeting to spur neighbors to attend and testify in favor of the historic designation, Knott, adding that those signs now have the wrong meeting date.
The group also organized witnesses to testify on the historic value of the building during the Oct. 13 meeting, who took steps to attend, such as taking time off work or securing child care, McAllister said.
Rob Brennan, the chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, said he granted the request to be fair to both the owners and the advocates for preservation.
"Ultimately, if they can work out any differences prior to the meeting, that's better for the process," Brennan said, adding that between three and five commission members will visit the site before the hearing and write a report on the property for other members.
In addition to the loss of money from purchasing the signs, the postponement was a hardship because some of the witnesses who had agreed to testify in October are unavailable in November, said Joshua Glikin, an attorney who is providing free service to the Southland Hills community on the issue.
Glikin said he spoke with Slovick on the phone Oct. 7 about the postponement and that Presbyterian Home officials are willing to meet at a mutually agreed upon date in the future to accommodate the schedules of the witnesses.
That means the hearing could potentially be delayed until the new year, as the Landmark Preservation Commission does not meet in December.
Officials of the Presbyterian Home of Maryland declined to comment for this story. Officials of Caves Valley Partners did not return multiple telephone calls seeking comment.