Plans to build a reproduction of the 18th-century Samuel Owings House are moving forward, with blueprints showing that developers of a Jewish day school in Owings Mills have set aside more than 2 acres for the building.
A replica of the Owings House -- which was razed two years ago despite the objections of historic preservationists -- would be built next to a $5 million Torah Institute of Baltimore school in Owings Mills.
The site set aside for the house is within a mile of its original location and within a half-mile of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, where Samuel Owings is buried.
Hillel Tendler, president of the Torah Institute, said plans are for the house to be sold as a private residence.
Howard Brown, the developer who razed the Samuel Owings House, might donate the reproduction to the school, which would then sell it, Tendler said.
"It was a natural fit to put all these things together: Mr. Brown's philanthropic leanings as well as his commitment to the county to build the house," Tendler said.
Brown won approval for his plan to raze the Samuel Owings House from County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger after promising to build a replica elsewhere. The house, one of the county's oldest, was built in 1767 by the mill owner for whom Owings Mills was named. It was demolished to build a nine-story office tower.
Brown has said he would incorporate bricks from the original house into a reproduction based on the original design. In October, county officials confirmed that Brown planned to build the reproduction at the 12-acre Torah Institute site.
Attempts to reach Brown for comment were unsuccessful.
The house would be built on a corner of the school property, with a driveway to St. Thomas Lane. The 60,000-square-foot school building would be the Torah Institute's first permanent home in its nearly half-century existence. The school rents facilities in the Ten Hills section of Baltimore.
Tendler said construction on the school and Owings House could begin by late summer and the school could be open by September next year.
The developers and an engineer representing Brown are scheduled to meet privately with area residents this week to discuss the projects.
Pub Date: 4/06/98
