District Court land swap looks grim

Old library site likely to house new courthouse as planned

But county officials are poised to kill the proposed land swap, intending to exercise an option to buy back the former library site if a courthouse is not built there.

The state bought the old library property on the corner of Maryland Avenue and Vinson Street from the county in order to build a new courthouse.

The sales agreement gave Montgomery County the repurchase option. Interviews with County Executive Isiah ‘‘Ike” Leggett (D) and County Council President Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown indicate they intend to exercise that option.

‘‘We have a real strong need for additional space,” Leggett said, referring to county services in Rockville.

Knapp confirmed the council’s position is in line with Leggett’s.

‘‘I think people realize it’s important to have that in place for delivery of other county services,” he said.

Mayor Susan R. Hoffmann has asked Leggett to reconsider the matter with the council, which could repurchase the property for $5 million, plus 6 percent interest from the sale date. Leggett has agreed to discuss it with the County Council, but that does not necessarily mean the county will reverse its opinion, he said.

The council was ‘‘pretty firm about the need for space when I talked with them earlier,” Leggett said. ‘‘But we need to wait and see.”

Situated across the street from City Hall, the Council Office Building and the District Court, the old library site is an attractive location for all three governments. City officials want to convert it into a police station, possibly doing away with Vinson Street in order to create a city government campus.

Another obstacle facing the city is opposition from the state delegation.

A majority of the Montgomery County delegates and senators support funding the District Court project at the old library as planned. The key issue is getting the project funded in the legislature if there is a delay.

The project sits atop a funding queue expected to be presented by the governor.

Despite Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) commitment to preserve the project’s place in a future budget, legislators worry a redesign to accommodate the old Giant site would delay the project and put that funding at risk.

‘‘If we don’t take the funding from the state now, it may not be there,” Rona E. Kramer (D-Dist. 14) of Olney, Senate chair of the Montgomery County Delegation, said.

Del. Brian J. Feldman, (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac, chair of the county’s House delegation, agreed.

‘‘The idea that somehow we would be in the same position in the queue a year down the road, I think most people are suspicious that that money would not find its way to some other part of the state,” he said.

Trying to make the deal work, Hoffmann met with the governor, legislators and other key players Monday afternoon in Annapolis.

Despite O’Malley’s advocacy for the Giant site, legislative and state officials did not move from their positions.

‘‘It was like riding down the road as people threw telephone poles in your way,” Hoffmann said, describing the meeting.

The new mayor admits a land swap does not look promising at this point.

‘‘Even if the delegation could have promised to do everything in their power, the county isn’t there,” she said.

Rockville residents oppose locating the planned courthouse at the old library site, contending the new building would clash with a nearby school, historic homes and pedestrian safety concerns along busy Jefferson Street (Route 28).

‘‘It looks like the court is going to go on that site,” City Manager Scott Ullery said. ‘‘The governor was willing to put additional money into the project to redesign and possibly pay for some of the purchase of the Giant site, but he didn’t sound too enthusiastic about putting additional money into mitigating the pedestrian impact on [the old library] site. Hopefully, we can get some mitigation.”