IN DEPTH: COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
MONTHLY
Horseman's gift expands Maryland's parklandsA gift of more than 382 acres of land will provide horse enthusiasts with a wide swatch of Montgomery county on which to pursue their equestrian joys. Longtime real estate developer Hermen Greenberg signed over the land this fall to the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission in memory of his father Moritz Greenberg. "I wanted to do something meaningful for my father," said Greenberg, a District resident and avid horseman himself. "Also, at this stage in my life I don't just want to keep seeing land get developed. I want to see some open space and some parks. As you develop real estate, you eventually realize that there is more to it than just buildings lot line to lot line. There has to be some outdoor space for people to enjoy." Valued at $2.48 million, the property fronting Maryland Route 28, West Hunter Road and Wasche Road near Beallsville will be incorporated into a network of parks and open spaces to create a riding trail that will stretch from Great Seneca State Park to the C&O Canal. "This gift is a jewel in the crown of the county's nationally renowned park system," said William Hussmann, chairman of the park and planning commission. He said the land would be combined with an adjacent 300-acre site the commission is purchasing with a $1.2 million grant from the state. That sale should close within the next few months. Although this is the largest gift of land to the commission, it is not the only one in recent years. In August 1997, Potomac resident William H. Rickman signed over the 100-acre Rickman Farm, which will likewise be dedicated primarily to equestrian uses. The horse already plays a substantial role on the Montgomery County economy, with sources estimating a $130 million annual economic impact from riding and related activities. Informed sources say the Greenberg gift should bolster that bottom line considerably. "This will be very beneficial for economic development in the county. It will impact everyone from feed growers and hay farmers to veterinarians, carpenters, blacksmiths, groomers, fence installers and even insurance agents," said Denise Hill, a District resident who co-chairs the steering committee that deals with equestrian activities at Rickman Farm. The Greenberg site will have more than just riding trails. Tentative plans call for Olympic-quality competitive facilities, including a jumping area, stabling, paddocks and even polo grounds. Hussman estimates the cost of the project at about $10 million. "I don't see this a s a big public budget item. We will have to piece together grants and gifts, as well as income from the site itself, for the eventual development of the property," he said. The land might have gone to other uses. County zoning allows for houses on 25-acre lots in the area, and Greenberg said he "could have sold it many times" over the course of the past decade. Instead he chose to set the land aside, partly in order to check the growth of such sparsely distributed homes. "A lot of people have been building a house here or there, and it is ruining the open space. They might take 200 acres and put a house right in the middle of it, and it ruins the open space there," he said. A vice president with the District-based Southern Engineering Corp., Greenberg's name appears on the donor rolls of numerous local institutions, including Suburban Hospital in Bethesda and Loudoun Therapeutic Riding in Lessburg, a nonprofit organization that provides riding as therapy for persons with mental and physical disabilities. The Greenberg land becomes a part of the sprawling holdings of the park and planning commission. The commission oversees some 380 parks and manages about 30,000 acres of land. It operates golf courses, ice rinks and neighborhood parks, and works to conserve all the streambeds in Montgomery County. The commission also operates four horse centers, but the professional-quality offerings envisioned for the Greenberg site should exceed those presently available -- and that comes as welcome news to area horse enthusiasts. "To the equestrian community, this adds open space, well-cared-for trails, an Olympic caliber [competitive] course and a dressage and show-jumping arena. It's a very important gift," Hill said. "We don't have anything remotely like this in the county now."
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