Farmers Supply

A development plan by Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. for a critical downtown Westminster property was approved last night by city officials and the new nonprofit Westminster Town Center Corp.The bank's proposal for the old Farmers Supply Co. property would move its operations center to new office buildings on the site, along with the corporate headquarters of its parent company, Mason-Dixon Bankshares Inc.The plan features brick retail and office buildings, a parking structure with 210 off-street spaces -- and the rehabilitation of a historic stone building on the site at Liberty and Green streets.

Housing had never been part of the original plans for developing the old Farmers Supply site at the corner of Liberty and Green streets in downtown Westminster.But it is an important component of each of the proposals from three developers eager to transform the site into a place that would be used around the clock with retail, office and apartment space.One outside observer who is an expert in land use is glad to see plans that could rejuvenate Westminster's Main Street by having more people live there.

Westminster's admission to Maryland's small group of "Main Street" communities may help trustees of the Farmers Supply Co. sell the property, which once housed a farm equipment dealership and a coffee shop.The Main Street designation links local government officials to state officials with resources to help solve community problems. Maryland towns compete for the designation, which the state has given to 10 communities in the three years the program has been in effect."It's not like a grant program.

As Westminster officials consider proposals for a key downtown parcel, the North Carolina bank that acquired Carroll County Bank & Trust Co. -- and ended a $6 million development deal -- will present the city with $2.25 million and the deed to the one-acre site.The donation from BB&T Corp. of Winston, N.C., will include $2 million toward a planned parking garage, $125,000 to the city for remarketing the property and $125,000 to the Town Center Corp., a nonprofit entity created to handle that and other key sites.

Westminster officials hoped to pick and choose among several proposals to develop the Farmers Supply Co. property, but received only one formal application for the crucial downtown site.The mayor and City Council, and the new nonprofit Westminster Town Center Corp., which was formed to help develop the site, will review the proposal and decide whether to enter a partnership within the next few weeks.Karen K. Blandford, administrator of the city's Housing and Community Development office, said although a flurry of interest was expressed in the 1-acre site, only one developer submitted a proposal by Tuesday's deadline.

The directors of Carroll County's largest locally owned bank will meet late this month to decide whether to go ahead with development of the long-vacant Farmers Supply Co. site -- a critical downtown Westminster property -- as its operations center.Michael Oster, president and chief executive officer of Carroll County Bank & Trust Co., said he expects the bank's board of directors will review final plans for the project at its next meeting, but he cautioned that the board "might not get that far on its agenda."

The Westminster Common Council took steps last night to bolster the downtown business district.The council:Applied for a loan to finance its share of the cost of a parking garage at the former Farmers Supply Co. at West Green and Liberty streets.Bought a former fertilizer plant in the first block of Railroad Ave. to raze the building for a parking lot.Purchased a grassy plot in the first block of E. Main St. for a minipark, which will include a downtown business directory and kiosk. City officials plan to landscape the plot, at the entrance to Locust Lane shops, and might use it for small events.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening took some not-so-ceremonial whacks at a decrepit building in downtown Westminster yesterday, crumpling metal and crashing boards to begin project that many see as the crown jewel of the city's revitalization.The $6.6 million redevelopment of the former Farmers Supply Co. complex, one block off Main Street at Liberty and Green streets, is foremost among developments downtown.Carroll County Bank and Trust Co. plans for the one-acre site include a parking garage with a two-story office building above it, a five-story retail and office tower, and renovation of a stone building dating from 1866.

Shadows of Westminster's agrarian past linger as its old buildings turn into restaurants, shops and offices -- part of the city's transformation from a hub of services for Carroll County farmers into a suburban retail center.Fast-food and chain restaurants, a full-sized mall and discount stores line Route 140 -- built to bypass Main Street and now so congested that it needs its own bypass.Downtown, the fortunes of Main Street have risen and fallen as various waves of the highway culture swept outward from Baltimore: Route 140 in the 1950s; the first mall in 1987; Interstate 795; and the discount stores.

The nonprofit Westminster Town Center Corp., Carroll County Bank & Trust Co. and the city of Westminster were honored by state officials for their efforts to redevelop the old Farmers Supply Co. site at Liberty and Green streets.The Maryland Economic Growth, Resource Protection and Planning Commission gave the key players in the redevelopment project a Smart Growth Award during a brief ceremony Monday at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The Westminster project was one of 13 the state recognized.