Howard Community College, faced with budgetary strains, has decided to sell the Belmont Conference Center, a historic Elkridge estate purchased by the college’s foundation in 2004.

But Howard County, for one, is not a potential buyer.

Despite talk in recent years of the county buying the site, county officials currently have no plans to pursue Belmont, according to County Executive Kenneth Ulman.

“It’s going to be a challenge for whoever does operate Belmont,” Ulman said. “It’s much deeper than the purchase price. Whoever buys this is buying a historic property. It takes money to keep up.”

Meanwhile, critics of the college’s management of the property reacted with a mixture of relief and trepidation to news of the pending sale.

“Belmont isn’t out of the water. There’s some relief, but there’s also some trepidation about what will come next,” said Cathy Hudson, an Elkridge resident and member of the Save Belmont Coalition, a group that aims to preserve historic and environmental easements at Belmont.

“Belmont has still not been saved. When we’ve got an owner who understands the easements and can live with them, then we’ll be relieved.”

The college’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the idea of searching for a buyer at its meeting last Wednesday, according to HCC President Kate Hetherington and board chairman Jim Truby.

“It was a tough call, but the board feels it’s the right call, given the economic situation and in the best interest of students,” Truby said.

The board plans to market the property nationally, because of its historic significance and assets, Truby said, adding that the board does not have any concrete prospective buyers.

Purchased in 2004

The college’s educational foundation purchased the 68-acre Belmont estate from the American Chemical Society for $5.2 million in 2004.

The focal point of the property is its manor house, which dates back to 1738 and was originally the home of Caleb and Priscilla Dorsey.

The manor house hosts weddings, conferences, retreats and other events. The college uses the property as training grounds for its hospitality and culinary programs, and will continue to host events and hold classes there for the time being, Hetherington and Truby said.

“Our objective is to maintain Belmont as an operating conference center for as long as we own it,” Truby said, adding that existing contracts there extend well into 2010.

The decision to sell Belmont is the latest in a series of cost-saving measures college officials have taken in the past year, including the elimination of salary increases, freezing some positions and downgrading others from full- to part-time. The college’s budget received an additional blow last week when the state slashed $653,174 in its funding for the current year.

“This is a really tough decision,” Hetherington said about selling Belmont. “It’s an incredible, unique facility.”

She said college officials learned that initial work planned for a barn renovation would require twice what they’d anticipated, Hetherington said.

The college has received a total of $5 million from the county toward the purchase and renovation of the property. Of the $2.8 million that went toward renovations, $600,000 was spent on planning and the remaining $2.2 million will revert to the county.

The board has been reviewing all of the college’s programs in order to cut expenses, Truby said, adding that in making its decision to sell Belmont the board weighed the expense of operating two programs at Belmont vs. the college’s nearly 190 other programs.

Controversial from the start

The college’s purchase of Belmont had been criticized from the start by some in the Elkridge community who felt the college’s plans there — including new structures, a second access road and a senior housing development deal — violated the estate’s historic character. Also critical were some county officials who felt operating the conference center served as a distraction from the college’s mission.

Even in the face of criticism, college officials have defended their investment in Belmont as a “learning laboratory” over the years.

Former college president Mary Ellen Duncan, who was in office when the property was purchased, repeatedly told residents that the college’s plans for the site were not intended to damage its integrity, but to put it to better use.

“There are community colleges out there that are always pushing the envelope. We aspire to be among those colleges,” she said in an interview in March 2006.

Proposals for the county to buy Belmont from the college were considered — including an idea floated by then-County Executive James Robey in 2006 — but never went anywhere.

Ulman said the county is not in a position to take on the property’s purchase price, ongoing operating costs and maintenance costs.

Ulman also acknowledged Belmont’s embattled history, however brief, under the college’s ownership.

“The legal battles, the legislative battles and the budgetary battles certainly took their toll,” he said. “It took a lot of time and energy from the trustees and the college staff and the county. I completely understand their decision to move away from it.”

Dale Schumacher, a resident of Belmont Woods Road involved in a lawsuit against the college over its operation of Belmont, called the decision to sell a “win-win situation.”

“It’s a win for taxpayers and the students,” Schumacher said. “Now the college can focus more on its educational mandate and less on property development issues.”

County Council member Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat whose district includes Elkridge, said she supports the college’s decision to sell.

“I felt that it was a risky investment for the county and the college,” she said. “I wasn’t sure that Belmont could be self-sustaining and it would be a drain on the county.

“It’s a unique property and it needs a unique owner — I just don’t think that’s the taxpayers of Howard County and that’s been my feeling all along,” she said. “Hopefully, they’ll find a perfect match. But nothing’s worth what it was a few years ago right now.”

HCC's troubled Belmont tenure

2004

* Howard Community College's educational foundation purchases Belmont from the American Chemical Society for $5.2 million.

* Area residents form a group called the "Save Belmont Coalition," to preserve the historic and environmental easements on the property.

2005

* HCC unveils plans for 100,000 square feet of new construction and renovation at Belmont, including academic buildings, 40 new guest rooms, a health and wellness center, a conservatory and a new access road.

2006

* County Council member Christopher Merdon calls for the college to sell Belmont, calling it a "distraction" from the college's mission.

* County Executive James Robey announces his intention to have the county buy Belmont from the college foundation and operate it through the Department of Recreation and Parks. The sale never happened.

* College officials announce they will quash a deal with a local developer in which the developer gave the college foundation $1 million toward the purchase of Belmont in exchange for the ability to develop housing on a portion of the property.

* Planning Board recommends high budgetary priority for a plan to renovate a barn at Belmont, despite some members' concerns over the economic viability of the property.

2007

* Neighbors along Belmont Woods Road sue the college over fees associated with the use of the sole entrance road, which residents own portions of, and ask a judge to halt operation of the conference center. The suit has yet to be resolved.

* County Council approves $5 million for the college to buy Belmont from its foundation and begin renovations.

2009

* HCC's Board of Trustees votes unanimously to sell Belmont.

---

user comments (0)