Hayden Farm

Aerial view of the "Hayden Farm" with the 4 separate parcels designated. Source: St. Mary's County Government.

A 172-acre site, known as the Hayden Farm, was purchased by St. Mary's County Government for a new elementary school and other public facilities. The Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary's County approved the purchase for $5,259,500 at a meeting on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2008. The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R) dissenting. Jarboe is quoted as saying, "I do not believe this is right. This stinks more than a whole bushel of rotten crabs." Jarboe reportedly argued that the value of the land was more like $2.5 million The price paid was $1,189,500 more than the highest appraisal made 18 months earlier. It should also be noted that real estate prices nationally had dropped significantly since the time of the appraisals due to the collapse of the so-called real estate bubble.

The site actually consists of four parcels of land.

The subject property is located just outside the incorporated town of Leonardtown, west of Hollywood Leonardtown Road (Md. State Route 245), on Hayden Farm Lane, in the Leonardtown Development District. The property is located within a mile of the County Courthouse in Leonardtown and approximately twelve miles west of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

One issue of concern is that the property has no frontage along the Leonardtown-Hollywood Road (MD ROUTE 245) -- the main thoroughfare from which traffic would have to access the county facilities which will be constructed on the land. There are approximately 9 parcels of land that lie in between the roadway and the property purchased by the county.

Timeline

• 2007 June 28 -- Appraisal submitted by Treffer Appraisal Group.
• 2007 July 16 -- Appraisal submitted by Gatewood Company.
• 2008 Dec 9 -- County Commissioner closed door meeting with Larry Jarboe reportedly voting against the purchase.
• 2008 Dec 24 -- Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary's County approved the purchase at a cost of $5,259,500 4-1 at a public meeting. Commissioner Jarboe (R) was the lone No vote, saying the deal "stinks."
• 2009 April 7 -- Public meeting to discuss Master Plan for the site.

Interactive Map

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Appraisals

Two appraisals for the site were prepared: one by Gatewood Company, Inc., of Waldorf, submitted July 16, 2007 (valued as of May 16, 2007) and the second by Treffer Appraisal Group, of Arnold, Md. submitted June 28, 2007 (valued as of June 5, 2007). The appraisals were submitted to Supervisor of Capital Planning for the St. Mary's County Public Schools.

Appraisal Summary

Tract	Parcel	Gatewood	Treffer
A	Parcel 339-outparcel A 89.56 ac, zoned RL	$1,750,000	$2,150,000
B	78.92 ac, zoned RPD	$1,250,000	$1,400,000
C	339-Lot 1 1.06 ac w/Residence	$247,000	$262,000
D	225 1.69 ac w/Residence	$365,000	$258,000
	TOTALS:	$3,612,000	$4,070,000

Downloadable Copies of Appraisals

• Gatewood Company Appraisal (2.8MB PDF)
• Treffer Appraisal Group (Coming Soon)
• County Press Releases on purchase (3.5MB PDF)

News Articles

• JASON BABCOCK and JESSE YEATMAN, "County buys 172 acres for schools, library," Enterprise, Dec. 26, 2008, http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12262008/entetop110342_32179.shtml

Op-Eds

• "Why what could be a good deal smells bad," Enterprise, Jan. 23, 2009, http://www.somdnews.com/stories/01232009/enteedi103226_32223.shtml