Engineers union to run training facility on site

by Joseph M. Giordano

    An 11.5-acre tract of industrial land in Sparrows Point will be bought by Baltimore County, according to county spokesman Don Mohler. 
    The property, which is owned by the state, was up for sale due to a “reconfiguring” of the I-695 and I-95 highways and will be used to house a school for the International Union of Operating Engineers, according to Mohler. 
   

The land, at the corner of Bethlehem and North Point boulevards, was bought for about $500,000, Mohler said.
    The Baltimore County Council  voted unanimously  for  the purchase, agreeing with the union on a 10-year lease.
    The union will pay  $35,000 for each of the first five years, which will climb to $45,000 annually for the last five years, according to Mohler.
    “It’s a win-win situation for this district,” said County Councilman John Olszewski Sr. (7th District). “The deal keeps the school in our county, and the businesses of Edgemere will benefit greatly from the new students patronizing the businesses there.”
    The union’s current space in White Marsh was sold to a developer in August, Mohler said.
    The trade union did not return phone calls seeking comment earlier this week.
    The county’s plan for the site includes an office building and classrooms, according to Mohler.