The Baltimore County Council greenlit a plan to spend $10 million in state funds to buy part of the former C. P. Crane Generating Station site in Bowleys Quarters and turn it into a waterfront park.
In March, Baltimore County announced that it intended to acquire part of the decommissioned coal plant near Carroll Island and use it as a park after years of lobbying by nearby residents and environmentalists.
The former 400-megawatt facility is on a 118-acre site that faces Seneca Creek, Saltpeter Creek and the Gunpowder River near Middle River. Since its 2018 closure, multiple owners have contemplated reopening it as a natural gas plant or building housing there, neither of which came to fruition.
The $10 million will come from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Project Open Space, a fund that helps local governments finance and develop green space. The county will buy 85 acres from Bowleys Quarters Investments 1 LLC, a firm tied to Forsite Development, which owns the site. Baltimore County has an additional $1.7 million in federal funding and $1.25 million in state capital grants to spend on the project.
The land consists of “vacant redeveloped residential land,” which includes a “pier in poor condition,” paved parking areas, a warehouse and security fence. The current owner will continue to own 33 acres of the site, according to fiscal notes.
The county intends to build a walking and biking trail and connect it to nearby parks like the Eastern Regional Park and Gunpowder Falls State Park, according to a promotional video Councilman David Marks showed other members during Tuesday’s meeting. Marks, an Upper Falls Republican, has shielded a number of former industrial properties in his district from further development.
“This not only eliminates development from a sensitive area of the east side, but helps create a nearly unbroken green space from Carroll Island to Gunpowder Falls State Park,” he said in a statement. “It is a huge win for nature and our communities.”
Retiring U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Baltimore County Democrat, and County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., who is favored to win Ruppersberger’s seat in November, both supported the project.
The coal plant began operating in 1961 when it was owned by Baltimore Gas and Electric. Exelon, BGE’s parent company, first sold the property in 2012, which then changed hands multiple times. The plant closed in June 2018 in a settlement with state environmental regulators, who fined the operator $105,000 for not properly testing emissions and violating pollution limits.
An affiliate of Middle River Power wanted to reopen the plant in 2019 as a natural gas fire facility, but those plans fell through even after it won a court battle against environmental groups who worried reopening the plant would further pollute the area and contribute to climate change.
North Carolina realty agency Forsite Development bought the site in October 2021 and began dismantling the facility. In August 2022, it demolished the facility’s iconic stacks, which for years had served as a “navigational beacon” for boaters, according to the promotional video.
Former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican now running for U.S. Senate, advised Forsite as its owners pondered what to do after residents pushed back on plans to build 285 townhomes there. Under the terms of the sale, Forsite will retain 33 acres, where it plans to build a battery storage center.
Forsite will also be responsible for razing the remaining warehouse; removing fencing, trash and debris; and filling and capping any remaining wells and septic and storage tanks, according to fiscal notes.
