March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 40 F

Parole eliminated as site for new County Library

Anne Arundel County Public LibraryIn recent talks regarding property on the corner of Somerville Road and Solomons Island Road (MD Route 2), the property owners notified Anne Arundel County Public Library that they are not interested in selling the land.

The four-acre property, divided by the city-county line, currently houses a plumbing supplies store and a garden center. The owner, TS Realty, said that the property is not currently on the market and that the company has no plans to sell.

The library system studied the Somerville site as a candidate for the location of the Annapolis Regional Library, a 65,000 square foot structure that will serve Annapolis and southern Anne Arundel County residents from Arnold to Deale. In a grading rubric laid out by AACPL’s Facilities Master Plan, Library staff members and the County Department of Public Works had unanimously graded the Somerville site substantially higher than two other sites out of about 15 that have been studied thus far.

The County sent a letter in December 2013 and a follow-up this summer inquiring whether TS Realty would be interested in selling the property. Absent a response, the Library and County set up a meeting, at which they learned that the property owners were not interested.

On Thursday, the AACPL Board of Trustees and ANNCAP (the Trustees’ Annapolis Regional Library Capital Project Committee), discussed site possibilities and public comment they received before, during and after three Community Information Sessions held at local high schools over the past two weeks.

The Library and County are continuing to explore possibilities. The goal of the AACPL Board of Trustees is to find the best possible location to meet the needs of southern Anne Arundel County for decades to come.

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