As historic Aigburth Vale in Towson continues to decay, negotiations for the 1868 mansion's sale and restoration also are falling apart.
"This is D-Day week," builder Martin P. Azola said, referring to a deadline tomorrow set by Baltimore County, which is selling the mansion for $500.
Azola, who has restored historic properties such as the Rockland stone houses at Falls and Old Court roads, has been working with the county since April to buy the French-style mansion -- the once-grand home of John Owens, a renowned comedic actor in the 19th century.
But now a tiny creek has threatened Azola's plans to restore the exterior of the house and to refurbish the interior for offices.
Although no one remembers the creek ever flooding, surrounding land was recently included in a wide flood plain that reaches two outbuildings crucial to Azola's development plan. That has jeopardized his ability to finance the almost $1.5 million cost of restoring the manor house near Towson High School.
Azola had planned to use the former garage and maintenance building to generate rental income and as collateral. Buildings in flood plains, however, can be susceptible to higher insurance rates and possible restricted use. He said he expects to meet with county officials Tuesday.
The builder, who has a financial partner he did not want to name, hopes the county will agree to reassess the property, given the enlarged flood plain, or will provide services such as cutting overgrown trees or razing an old addition.
"[The property] is worth less even less than zero," Azola said. "I want to get the economics back to where we started.
"If we're not agreeable, we'll go our separate ways."
Beginning in 1950, the county school system used the 22-room mansion and other buildings for offices.
But the county government took control of the property last year after the estate -- a former summer boardinghouse and sanitarium after Owens' death -- fell into disrepair.
The original site plan showed a small flood plain that did not include the two outbuildings. The swath grew by several hundred feet, expanding to 1 1/2 acres of the 3 1/2 -acre site, after the county called for an appraisal of the property this summer.
Shirley Murphy, chief of the county Bureau of Land Acquisition, said last week that the county would not reassess the Aigburth land.
"We don't feel there are any new facts to warrant reappraisal of that property," Murphy said.
