Brunswick officials discuss selling former police department building

Apurva Mahajan, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·2 min read

Brunswick officials are considering selling the site of the city’s former police department at 20 E. A St.

The Brunswick Police Department, along with the city’s Public Works and Planning and Zoning Departments, moved into a new 15,200-square-foot, $6.8 million building at 811 W. Potomac St. in November 2023.

According to Maryland property records, the old 3,186-square-foot police department building was first built in 1948.

Multiple potential buyers have expressed interest in purchasing the site, Brunswick Mayor Nathan Brown said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“We’re at a place where we believe that we should move forward with the public process of selling the building while there is an interest in it,” he said on Tuesday.

Brown said he does not want to see the building become blighted because it doesn’t sell in the real estate market and the city does not have resources to put into it.

City officials have thought about other uses for the building in the past, such as future city operations or recreational facilities, but the building would not be adequate for them, he said.

The city would have to go through a public process at future meetings and declare the former police department building no longer needed by the city to put it up for sale for the best offer, Brown said.

The City Council will also talk with the planning department to see how the city can use the building, Brown said.

“My only concern would be that it is somewhat of a historic structure for us,” Council Member Andy St. John said at Tuesday’s meeting. “That used to be the city hall for many years, and it’s been there for a long time, so I would not want to see it torn down.”

Brown said none of the potential buyers he heard from are interested in tearing down the building, and instead are looking to rehabilitate it for commercial uses.

“I would love to see it turned into something good for the community versus sitting as an empty police building,” Council Member Daniel Yochelson said.