Howard County may soon make a park out of riverfront property just outside Sykesville.
The 7.4-acre commercial parcel, owned by William Tisano, a Howard County businessman, lies along the south branch of the Patapsco River, a few hundred yards from Main Street and Forsythe Road in the town.
"We have an option-to-buy contract," said Kenneth M. Alban, administrative officer for the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks.
"A few issues have to be ironed out, but we're in the signature process," he added.
The contract, contingent on an environmental analysis, must be executed within 45 days, he said.
Mr. Alban, who handles land acquisitions for the recreation and parks department and supervises the agency's planning and design, declined to reveal the contract price.
But he did say the county expects to apply a $577,000 state grant toward the purchase.
"We are working with the Department of Natural Resources for grant support and are very optimistic," he said.
His optimism, he said, is based on the results of a state inspection of the property and "the state's interest in getting a commercial operation out of the flood plain."
Maryland's Board of Public Works must approve the grant application.
The purchase would add to the public land that covers most of the Patapsco River shoreline from Carroll to Anne Arundel County.
"The purchase would fill in the gap of public ownership on the Patapsco and protect the watershed further," said Clara Gouin, a senior park planner in Howard County.
"Conservationists have long wanted the river in public protection."
In 1992, Howard officials also bought two small land parcels on the west side of Forsythe Road and razed two run-down bars on the site.
That land, coupled with the proposed new acquisition, would complete the "greenway connection" from Patapsco Valley State Park to the Hugg-Thomas Wildlife Management Area, which adjoins the Tisano property.
Both the town and the county have been interested in acquiring the land from Mr. Tisano, who, until recently, was unwilling to sell it. He had hoped to develop the property for recreational uses.
"For years, Howard County has prevented me from doing anything on the property," said Mr. Tisano, who ran Sunlight Manufacturing from one building on the site. "I have given up."
Howard officials have expressed concerns about allowing development on a site in a flood plain.
