Local businessman abandons Perry Hall Mansion purchase

PERRY HALL, MD—A Baltimore County businessman who initially agreed to purchase the historic Perry Hall Mansion for $5,000 has pulled out of the deal, according to The Baltimore Sun. The mansion sits on a four-acre property and was being sold by the Baltimore County government because it had become too expensive to maintain.

The property was being sold to a limited liability company owned by Kingsville landscape business owner Robert Lehnhoff. The $5,000 sale price was a fraction of the mansion’s assessed property value. The county had hoped that it could sell the mansion for $5,000 to Lehnhoff, who was planning to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast and part-time event venue.

The mansion was built in 1773 and is part of a 1,000-acre estate that was originally owned by Corbin Lee. The estate was then sold by Lee’s widow to Harry Dorsey Gough.

The Baltimore County Council approved the sale of the mansion in June. If the sale had gone through, it would have included a $250,000 county grant to reimburse Lehnhoff for capital expenditures.

According to an email sent from Lehnhoff to county property management chief Debra Shindle, the company he owns has found that the property purchase “is not feasible at this time.” They said that the challenges with the property and its use within the residential community surrounding it appear to be too significant. “I really appreciate everyone’s help with getting us to this point and I am sorry we couldn’t find a way to make it work,” Lehnhoff said.

If the property is not sold, the county will continue to search for the right person or entity to acquire the mansion.

“I wrote a history of Perry Hall and helped initiated the process that protected the mansion from demolition and destruction- so yes, I am profoundly disappointed by this turn of events,” said Councilman David Marks on Wednesday. “I also spent months working with the prospective buyer and meeting with the adjacent neighbors. I am committed to finding the right buyer or entity, particularly as we near Perry Hall’s 250th anniversary. But please know, it’s not easy.”

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo: Pubdog, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons