Properties along Aberdeen's Old Philadelphia Road could be turned into industrial development sites, city Planning and Community Development Director Phyllis Grover said Monday.
The owners of two parcels across from Walmart, known as the Pomeroy properties, are asking the city to rezone the sites to allow for M1, light industrial use, Grover said during a City Council work session.
The parcels, at 727 and 811 Old Philadelphia, are zoned B3, for highway commercial use, she said. Together, they make up roughly 38 acres.
One building at 811 Old Philadelphia, technically on Poplar Hill Road, is very old, Councilman Stephen Smith said. He wondered what might happen to other old buildings on Poplar Hill.
Grover said she does not know the owners' plans for the properties but they will make a presentation to the council at its March 23 meeting.
She agreed the house Smith referred to is probably 250 years old.
"I believe they are not taking very good care of the houses," Mayor Mike Bennett said.
Councilwoman Ruth Ann Young also wondered if city leaders would discuss any wellhead protection that needs to be done in the area and hoped the city could get "some financial assistance to upgrade that road."
The wood shingle home at 727 Old Philadelphia, which directly fronts Walmart, was built in 1875, according to state property tax records. online.
Another annexation request also is up before the city, Grover said, this time for the Hardy property at 249 East Bel Air Avenue, where the street connects with Route 22, near the Aberdeen Proving Ground gate.
Grover said the city's comprehensive zoning plan was amended recently to include this planning area, called the Swan Creek area.
The Hardy property is the site of a public self-storage facility.