Amid the rolling hills and tranquil fields at Nixon’s Farm in West Friendship, change is afoot.

Under a proposal by owner Randall Nixon, part of the family’s 127 acres of land — backdrop to countless  local weddings and company picnics — would be sold for development and the business itself would be expanded. The idea is to create “West Haven at Nixon’s Farm” — a multi-generational housing community that would allow senior citizens to live with their children and grandchildren.

“This is consistent with our values,” said Nixon, 52, whose 81-year-old mother lives in a home on the property, next to him and his wife. “Because of the recession, I think there’s going to be a paradigm shift in how people live.”

But in order to make that vision a reality, Nixon must first deal with a pending foreclosure case that threatens to derail his plans.

Roughly 97 acres of land off of Route 32, including the former Pennsylvania Dutch Bank barn that years ago was converted into a ballroom, are set to be auctioned off by American Auctions & Appraisals at 11 a.m. June 24, in front of the Howard County courthouse in Ellicott City. The auction is intended to satisfy a nearly $2.9 million debt owed to Columbia Bank on a promissory note issued in July 2002.

The Nixon family has had three foreclosure cases filed on three parcels of land since 2006, all stemming from loans taken to support a previous plan to develop the property, Nixon said. One of the cases has been closed, court records show, and the Columbia Bank case — which also involves the most land — is the only one were an auction date has been announced.

Nixon said this week he is confident the bank will agree to postpone the sale. He said he will have financing lined up by July 1 that will help settle the case and put his plans into motion.

An attorney representing the bank did not return a call for comment.

As of Tuesday, the auction was still on, according to the auctioneer’s Web site.

The Nixon family has owned the property since Nixon’s parents, Roosevelt and Mildred Nixon, bought it in 1956. His parents originally turned the property into a country club that catered to blacks and Jews, who were excluded from other recreation areas at the time, Nixon said.

After Roosevelt was killed in a robbery in 1972, Mildred took over the business and it evolved over time into what it is today, Nixon said.

The current problems with creditors have not hurt the business itself, which remains successful and busy, he said. Corporate parties are down, but weddings are up significantly and he continues to operate as usual, he said.

A previous plan to develop the property — crafted in 2004 at the height of the real estate boom — was sunk after the developer, whom he declined to name, pulled out of the project in December 2007, Nixon said. That plan, would have shut down the family’s business in order to build multi-million dollar single-family homes on the property, he said.

Nixon said he was always ambivalent about the deal, but felt it was in the best interest of his family. The economic downturn, though, has allowed the family to reevaluate its options.

It made him realize he liked operating the wedding and special event business, and wanted to find a way continue it but still allow for development.

“The thing I love about this business is meeting people,” Nixon said. “I’m a people person. You really get to develop relationships with people doing this.”

Nixon’s plans call for building up to 47 homes, about half of them set aside for assisted living, he said. The plans would keep much of the open space and the scenic views, concentrating the homes around the central banquet hall, which would expand from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet.

The banquet hall would be the scene of once-a-week community dinners and offer concierge-style services to residents in the community, he said.

The family currently farms alfalfa and clover on the land, as well as rotating between corn and soybeans, but those operations would be scaled down under his plans. Some type of farming — most likely on a small, community-garden-style scale — would continue, he said.

Initial reaction to the development has been positive, Nixon said, and he plans to reveal a more detailed proposal in September. Ideally, he would break ground next spring and complete the work in the fall of 2012, he said.

The farm might not be able to host special events during part of the construction, but Nixon said the business will continue to remain open for the foreseeable future.

State Del. Gail Bates, who lives less than a mile from the farm, said Nixon has talked to her about his plan, and she likes it.

“I haven’t seen the details, but I think the general concept’s great,” said Bates, a Republican whose district includes all of western Howard County. “They’re very respectful and they’re good neighbors.”

The business itself provides a great service to the community, Bates said, and she hopes it stays open.

County Council member Gregory Fox, whose district includes Nixon’s Farm, said the concept of extended families living together is something some families already do on their own.

“Generally it seems like an interesting concept,” Fox said. “We’ll have to see what he has to fully present as time goes on.”

---

user comments (0)