It's back to square one for the Catonsville armory in Maryland.
With plans to turn the state-owned, former military site into a first-of-its-kind cannabis incubator now off the table, the future of the vacant two-story brick building on Mellor Avenue remains uncertain. In the meantime, state officials have begun pointing fingers over why the project was ever considered for that site in the first place.
Baltimore County Councilman Pat Young, a Democrat who represents the area, said in hindsight, he "probably should have" held a meeting letting the community know about the Maryland Cannabis Administration's interest in housing the incubator there -- even though the building is out of his control as a county council member.
"I'll own it," he said of the lack of communication, during a meeting last week at the Catonsville library. "At this point, I can't fix that. What I can say is that as of right now, without a clear path forward for a vacant armory in Catonsville, this is the first step in the conversation that you wanted to see happen."
Plans to use the site as a state-run incubator for Maryland's burgeoning cannabis industry took shape last summer when the Maryland Economic Development Corporation and the Maryland Cannabis Administration began eyeing the building.
This followed years of uncertainty about the property. Young said several Baltimore County agencies toured the property in 2022, but it "wasn't in great shape," Young said. Officials scoping it out also had to wait to see if the 1950s-era building would receive a historical designation, which comes with extra redevelopment hurdles.
State and county agencies toured the building again in 2023, and Young said he was hopeful at the time that it could be turned into a community center or another public facility. But the county didn't want it due to the estimated price tag for rehabilitation -- $11 million to renovate it to a "government standard," he said.
Though an incubator would settle the building's future, the public hadn't been sold on the idea.
Young said he tried to slow the process down last year, after Baltimore County got $250,000 in state funding to appraise the building and get a more accurate remediation estimate, but there was no way to stop it unless state legislators requested a work group or commission to evaluate the project.
Young didn't believe the cannabis agency knew what they were getting into with the armory -- or what it would take to build it.
"They wanted to have this controversial opportunity to build an incubator, but then they wanted everyone else to do the work in terms of outreach," he said.
As envisioned, the incubator would serve as a secured storage site for up to 100 small cannabis dispensaries and allow other such "micro-businesses" to use shared equipment to develop products. The site was selected because it's already state-owned, centrally located and has a reinforced vault. Opponents of the project complained that the Armory is not an appropriate site because it is adjacent to a residential neighborhood and near Catonsville Elementary School.
A single public meeting on the project was held last November. No other meetings were held after that, Young said, though MEDCO sought millions in funding for the incubator project during this year's legislative session. But state lawmakers restricted $100,000 in funding for the cannabis administration in the fiscal 2026 budget until it submitted a report detailing community engagement efforts for the incubator project.
A budget analysis also indicated that construction at the armory was set to start this summer, which prompted further confusion.
Following months of community outcry about the project, Gov. Wes Moore withdrew support for the project at the armory and said the state would look at other viable sites.
"This administration -- they fumbled the ball, they did," said state Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Baltimore County Democrat. "And we looked awful because we didn't know what was going on."
What's next for the armory?
Young said he plans to meet with Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier to discuss next steps. State lawmakers are also trying to meet with the governor to request to halt the surplus process. Officials hope to pause it before the building heads to the Maryland State Clearinghouse, a part of the state's planning department that makes recommendations on excess properties ahead of their eventual sale.
Residents have recently floated several ideas for the future if it were to go under county control. During a public meeting last week, one suggested a community center with ball fields and pickleball courts. Another suggestion was to open it up for parking for nearby sporting events. A third man asked if it could be turned into an animal sanctuary.
If so, it wouldn't be the first transformed armory in Baltimore County.
Nearly two years ago, the county acquired the former Pikesville Armory for $1 and transferred it to the nonprofit Pikesville Armory Foundation to redevelop the property for future use as a senior center and recreational facilities.
But according to the cannabis administration, the armory can be sold with approval from the state's Board of Public Works and if no other state government agencies are interested. Under state law, Baltimore County would have the right of first refusal to buy it.
The Department of General Services anticipates issuing a request for bids or a request for proposals to sell the property to any buyer with the best offer.
What about the incubator?
With plans for the armory abandoned, the state is launching a new search process for potential incubator sites.
Moore asked the three agencies in charge of the project -- the Maryland Cannabis Administration, the Maryland Department of General Services and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation -- to look for new sites that aren't close to residential communities or schools.
While the 37 potential incubator sites identified in a December 2023 report are being reviewed, some counties are showing renewed interest in housing the project.
Montgomery County, for instance, submitted a revised list of potential incubator properties to MEDCO. The county had listed seven sites in the 2023 report. Dorchester County, on the Eastern Shore, is also interested in hosting the incubator.
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