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The site actually consists of four parcels of landAccording to Karen Everett, County PIO, on April 3, 2009, the Hayden Family told county officials that they had an offer for approximately $7 Million from a commercial real estate developer.
The subject property is located just outside the incorporated town of Leonardtown, west of Hollywood Leonardtown Road (Md. State Route 245), on Hayden Farm Lane, in the Leonardtown Development District. The property is located within a mile of the County Courthouse in Leonardtown and approximately twelve miles west of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.=== Egress to Main Thoroughfare ===
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[[Image:hayden-farm-aerial.jpg|right|thumbnail|Aerial view of the "Hayden Farm" with the 4 separate parcels designated. Source: St. Mary's County Government.]]A 172-acre site, known as the Hayden Farm, was purchased by St. Mary's County Government for a new elementary school and other public facilities. The site actually consists of four parcels of land. The subject property is located just outside the incorporated town of Leonardtown, west of Hollywood Leonardtown Road (Md. State Route 245), on Hayden Farm Lane, in the Leonardtown Development District. The property is located within a mile of the County Courthouse in Leonardtown and approximately twelve miles west of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. == Issues == === Price Paid === The [[St._Mary's_County_Commissioners|Board of County Commissioners for St. Mary's County]] approved the purchase for $5,259,500 at a meeting on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2008. The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R) dissenting. Jarboe is quoted as saying, "I do not believe this is right. This stinks more than a whole bushel of rotten crabs." Jarboe reportedly argued that the value of the land was more like $2.5 million<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.somdnews.com/stories/12262008/entetop110342_32179.shtml
|title=County buys 172 acres for schools, library
}}</ref> The price paid was $1,189,500 more than the highest appraisal made 18 months earlier. It should also be noted that real estate prices nationally had dropped significantly since the time of the appraisals due to the collapse of the so-called real estate bubble.
One issue of concern is that the property has no frontage along the Leonardtown-Hollywood Road (MD ROUTE 245) -- the main thoroughfare from which traffic would have to access the county facilities which will be constructed on the land. There are approximately 9 parcels of land that lie in between the roadway and the property purchased by the county.
