Cider Mill Farm, a 59-acre rural Elkridge enclave where generations of suburban children have milked a cow, watched chickens and ridden in a hay wagon, will soon sprout 94 expensive new homes instead.
The farm will remain open at least one more season as the family of the ill owner, Tom Owens, and Keelty builders oversee the development of the farm's most profitable crop yet.
"The last cows in Elkridge live on the corner of Landing and Ilchester roads. Everything is just falling like dominoes," said Sally Voris, a community activist and local historian.
"My son milked his first and only cow there. It's such a fun place. I will miss it tremendously," said Cass Anania, an Ellicott City resident whose two young children - ages 2 and 4 - have visited the farm repeatedly.
Owens bought the 85-year old apple farm in 1970 and slowly rebuilt a business making cider and adding other attractions on a small part of the land. Owens, 73, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2000, and manager Cheryl Nodar has been operating it since then.
The farm "could be open for another year or two," said Jerry Katz, an attorney who represents the Owens family. "The cider mill is one small piece of a big piece of land."
He said the family has hired a land planner to maximize open space and walking paths. Family members were not available to speak about the deal yesterday.
In recent years, hundreds of expensive new houses have been replacing woods and fields along the rustic, winding roads between Elkridge and Ellicott City.
Kent T. Finkelsen, assistant supervisor of assessments in Howard County, said land for the Grovemont development next to Cider Mill sold for $78,200 an acre in 1999, and land in the area is now going for up to $100,000 an acre.
That would place the value of the Owens' farm between $4.6 million and $5.9 million, though the family is developing the land themselves rather than selling it outright.
"That's riskier, but they can get more money," Finkelsen said. Taxes are relatively low, however, since the land is assessed for agricultural use at $176,870.
Mark Buda, vice president of Keelty, a Timonium-based builder, said his firm reached agreement with the Owens family in late November to be development manager on the land, which will be sold after houses begin rising.
The old barn where cider is made is "a dilapidated building" and likely won't remain once development begins, Buda said. The Owens family wanted to develop the land partly because "they are concerned about the way the job will look," Buda said.
