Chateau proposes 284 town houses

Chateau Builders is proposing 284 town houses on land beside Red Run Boulevard that was previously slated for commercial development.

The Columbia-based builder submitted plans to Baltimore County in September to create the Enclave at Red Run on 46 acres.

The parcel, west of Red Run Boulevard and south of Church Road, is designated for 500,000 square feet of warehouse, laboratory or office space in the county's master plan. The County Council, however, has agreed to consider Chateau's proposal as a planned unit development.

In documents submitted to the county, Chateau Builders argued that the addition of homes, as well as planned retail developments and trails, would make the area attractive to business owners as well as homeowners. The project would place residents within a 10-minute walk of more than 1 million square feet of employment space.

A concept plan conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 26 at the County Office Building, 111 W. Chesapeake Ave. in Towson.

- Linda Strowbridge

Pikesville residents lose case on appeal

Pikesville residents who hoped a judge would overturn a county Board of Appeals decision involving a proposed project at the Druid Ridge Cemetery lost their case in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

In a Sept. 16 opinion, Judge Christian Kahl affirmed the board's stance on county approvals of a lot-line adjustment and a development plan that included a forest buffer variance allowing 56 houses on 36 acres - to be known as The Heights - along Park Heights Avenue.

"We are very pleased that Judge Kahl quickly, completely and decisively affirmed the holdings of the Board of Appeals as they pertained to the development plans for The Heights," Arthur Adler, of developer David S. Brown Enterprises in Owings Mills, said in an e-mail message.

Although neighbors of the cemetery expressed concerns that development would exacerbate flooding problems in the area, the developer said it would take steps to actually improve conditions.

Alan Zukerberg, one of the parties in the appeal, declined to comment until he had read the decision.

- Virginia Terhune

State to pay $75Kto move old school

The state Department of Transportation has agreed to pay an estimated $75,000 to move a former segregated school on Philadelphia Road 125 feet east and 45 feet north of its current location.

Since the state expanded Philadelphia Road in 2003, the historic building has sat mere feet from the busy road.

"We regret that the road was built so close to the lodge," said David Marks, chief of staff for the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The 153-year-old building, at 11646 Philadelphia Road, is now owned and used by the Union Brothers and Sisters Fords Asbury Lodge No. 1, which bought it from the county school board in 1922.

The title to the new property - in a forest conservation area, in which development is forbidden - will be conveyed from owner David S. Brown Enterprises to the lodge, which will also retain ownership of the land where the building currently sits, Marks said.

The department will pay all costs, including preparation of the structure for the move, which is schedul ed for the spring of 2006, he said.

- Lauren Taylor

Lockheed division wins contract worth $124M

The Social Security Administration picked Lockheed Martin's information-technology division, which has operations in Woodlawn, to provide document-scanning services in an arrangement worth up to $124 million, according to company officials.

Bethesda-based Lockheed employs more than 1,100 people in Woodlawn. An additional 80 to 90 employees will work in three scanning centers in Kentucky, Illinois and Utah, said Joe Wagovich, of the information-technology division.

- Virginia Terhune

Goodwill opens store near mall in Eastpoint

Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, which closed its Dundalk store in August, will open a bigger location - with a new look - near the Eastpoint mall today.

The staff will include nine people who transferred from Dundalk to the new store, located in the former Frank's Nursery and Crafts store off Rolling Mill Road, plus three additional employees, said Tom Gentry, Goodwill sales director.

The store, which will open at 9 a.m., reflects a new emphasis on Goodwill's image, Gentry said.

"You won't get that secondhand look when you walk in," he said. "It'll be carpeted, and there'll be a more relaxed, pleasant atmosphere."

Such changes, which were implemented first in Goodwill's Washington-area stores, are designed to present "a fresher appearance, a more modern look" to attract more customers, Gentry said.

The new Eastpoint store will have a juniors section, for example.

"It'll look more like a boutique store," Gentry said.

At 12,000 square feet, the 7928 Eastern Ave. location is about 3,000 square feet larger than the old store, off Merritt Boulevard.

- Virginia Terhune

Villa Julie pays $8.4M for two-story building

Villa Julie College in Stevenson bought a two-story office building from David S. Brown Enterprises of Owings Mills for $8.4 million as part of its development of a second campus in Owings Mills.

Villa Julie's graduate and professional-studies division already occupies one-third of the 60,000-square-foot building, on a hill overlooking Owings Mills Boulevard, said Brian Shea, the college's public relations director.

The college plans to expand into the rest of the building with additional offices and classrooms as leases held by other tenants expire, Shea said.

The building is part of the 55-acre Boulevard Corporate Center, which eventually will include housing for 1,200 students. The complex is adjacent to a former Baltimore Ravens training facility, which Villa Julie is converting for its use.

- Virginia Terhune

Essex resident faces fraud, theft charges

A former employee of Calvary Healthcare Inc. was charged with felony Medicaid fraud and felony theft.

State prosecutors allege that from May through November 2003, Moses Ige, 44, of Middleborough Road in Essex, caused Calvary to submit claims seeking payment from Medicaid for services which Ige knew had not been provided.

Ige is scheduled for arraignment Oct. 17 in Circuit Court in Baltimore. If convicted of Medicaid fraud, he faces up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine. If convicted of felony theft, he could be sentenced to 15 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.

The case is being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Maryland Attorney General's Office.

- Lauren Taylor

Et cetera

> Williams Scotsman International in White Marsh priced its initial public offering of more than 15 million shares of its common stock at $16 per share. The stock opened at $15.86 and closed at $15.82 cents per share Sept. 20, the first day it was offered on the Nasdaq market.

> County officials and the Maryland Department of the Environment are considering asking a judge to declare James Riffin in contempt of court for digging a deep hole on his property on York Road in Cockeysville, next to a stream that flows into Loch Raven Reservoir, according to Robert Loskot, with the county's Office of Law. In November 2004 a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge ordered Riffin to stop working, an order that Riffin has appealed to the Special Court of Appeals in Annapolis, Loskot said.

> The intersection of Route 702 and Hyde Park Road in Essex will be closed until Oct. 1, while the State Highway Administration builds a temporary roundabout. Drivers are advised to anticipate delays on Marlyn Avenue and Back River Neck, Middleborough and Turkey Point roads.

> A Carvel Ice Cream store, operated by franchisees, opened Sept. 19 in the Hunt Valley Towne Centre. It is the second Carvel store in the county; the other is in Fullerton.

> The Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland- Baltimore County received a $50,000 donation from the AT&T Foundation. The money will support the center's Computer Mania Day for middle school girls in May and a scholars program for undergraduates in computer-related majors.

- Staff