Turf Valley is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Ellicott City
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, United States. The resort is situated in a wedge between Route 70 and U.S. Route 40, with the
David Force Natural Resource Area along the northern border.
Construction contractor Samuel M Pistorio (1902-1998) purchased 1000 acres of farmland west of Ellicott City. He introduced the $1 million Turf Valley Country Club in 1958. The 1500 person club featured two 18-hole golf courses designed by Ault and Jaminson. The Clubhouse opened in December 1959.
Turf Valley proposed falling under the "New Town" zoning proposed in 1965 or the creation of the
Rouse Company
The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company.
Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company
T ...
development Columbia. Amendments were placed in the New Town Zoning increasing the minimum required acreage owned by a project from 750 to 2500 acres, effectively removing Turf Valley from immediate competition to the project.
The Resort later was purchased by Nicholas B. Mangione of Mangione Enterprises. In 1979, Mangione in combination with the Gudelski family company Percontee, planner William P. Brendle and attorney Bernard F. Goldberg petitioned to rezone the 646 acre project from three-acre lots to half-acre lots claiming 50 acres would be open space. The property was redeveloped for housing units alongside the golf course with sewer service approved in 1989. In 1985, the Catholic Archdioceses sold Donald R. Reuwer Jr. the graveyard of St. Mary's Church for $10,000. In 1991, H. Allen Becker developed Turf Valley Overlook housing development on a 3.5 acre St. Mary's Church parcel that contained
Doughoregan Manor
Doughoregan Manor () is a plantation house and estate located on Manor Lane west of Ellicott City, Maryland, United States. Established in the early 18th century as the seat of Maryland's prominent Carroll family, it was home to Founding Fath ...
worker graves. Protesters requested
Charles I. Ecker purchase the land for open space, but the development and clearing were allowed to proceed.
References
Unincorporated communities in Howard County, Maryland
Unincorporated communities in Maryland
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