Questionable Land Acquisitions Have Poisoned the Project The “Reader’s Digest Condensed Version”

In the beginning…. Atapco, LLC built Howard Square at Rt1 and 175 displacing residents of a trailer park, a form of low and moderate income housing

Atapco bargained with the County to locate the replacement Moderate Income Housing Units (MIHUs) elsewhere, trading 3 MIHUs for each 1 low income housing unit (LIHU) And suggested the Beechcrest Mobile Home Park site in North Laurel for those low income apartments

Due to steep slopes and insufficient land for parking, Beechcrest’s owner had been unable to get a permit to displace the mobile home residents there and build a 35 unit apartment complex Beechcrest’s owner was convicted, with PG Executive Jack Johnson and his Housing Director, for fraudulent use of HUD funds and bribes Then Atapco purchased and transferred the Beechcrest Mobile Home property to Howard County for $1.6 million

Then…… North Laurel residents became aware the apartments were to be for the chronically homeless and expressed their objections to the facility in a residential neighborhood, so the new Guilford Road site was selected. Subsequently, at considerable State and County expense, Beechcrest residents began to be relocated $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Coincidence???? The Guilford Rd site, The Beechcrest site, Site of the current Day Resource Center and the hotels which are being used for vouchered shelter rooms ……are all affiliated and seeking up zoning.

But wait there’s more…. A single attorney orchestrated changes in zoning for ALL of the sites (to CR) and is working for consolidation of properties to further benefit his clients all along Route 1. The same architect for the proposed Beechcrest and Guilford sites had previously developed unsuccessful plans for industrial development on the Guilford Road site in 2008.

No bargain for taxpayers! In May of 2008 TSC/Route 32 LLC purchased the property on Guilford Road for $1,300,000. Again steep slopes and a stream made development of this property challenging, yet In July of 2013 Howard County paid TSC/Route 32 LLC $3,250,000 for it

We have to ask? Was sheltering the chronically homeless misused to benefit landowners and contributors? Will groups who have interests in the project try to trivialize citizen concerns with well rehearsed rhetoric? Will a new administration reevaluate this project before moving ahead?

To date, a lot of money has been spent….. But the homeless are still in the woods

…..And under bridges Stop insisting on constructing a new building. Get our resources to the people in need NOT the people in greed Get people into homes distributed throughout the County NOW