Politics & Government

Bosley Estates Condo Project Moves Ahead In Planning Process

The Baltimore County Council adopted a resolution that would allow developers to submit plans for 45 condos at the Bosley Mansion site.

TOWSON, MD — The Bosley Mansion campus is one step closer to turning into a condo project, after a vote by the Baltimore County Council this week. The project would reportedly be called the Bosley Estates.

The mansion at 400 Georgia Court was built in the mid 1800s by Dr. Grafton M. Bosley, who inherited much of the acreage making up west Towson and donated the land for the county's courthouse.

The Bosley Mansion, which the doctor built as his residence, was privately held until 1929 when faith-based nonprofit Presbyterian Home purchased the property for a nursing home; the facility closed in 2016.

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After extensive conversations with community members, the principals of the property Martin P. Azola and Delbert D. Adams reached a proposal that sat well with the council and several community organizations.

The council voted unanimously this week to green-light redevelopment plans for Bosley Estates, according to The Baltimore Sun, which said the plan required a vote because it had been zoned for 28 homes.

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Next, Azola and Adams will proceed through the county's review process for a planned unit development that would preserve green space and the mansion and create 45 condominiums on the 4.5-acre site, according to the resolution that the council adopted.

The mansion is one of a few buildings of its kind remaining in the area from that time period, according to the Maryland Historical Trust.

Presbyterian Home owned the building until deciding to move out in 2016. Citing the saturated Towson nursing home market, Presbyterian Home closed its facility in Baltimore County and focused instead on building in Harford County, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

When a buyer emerged for the Towson property, Baltimore County was said to be first in line with a vision.

The county proposed using the campus for office space but after community members expressed concern that offices filled with county employees would congest the area with traffic, the county scrapped the idea due the lack of "community consensus," according to The Baltimore Sun.

In support of the new plans to create condos and preserve green space were the Southland Hills Improvement Association, the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations and the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County, according to Councilman David Marks, who also supported the project.

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