ANNAPOLIS, MD-Mayor Mike Pantelides says his administration is beginning to study the possible purchase of two controversial properties that have been the focus of significant development proposals.

The mayor says that based upon input from residents and activists, the city will study the possible purchase of the Crystal Springs Farm parcel and the vacant Fawcett Boat supplies building at City Dock.

Crystal Spring, a 180-acre property off of Forest Drive, has seen development proposals calling for senior living and continuing care units, an inn, an arts center, a shopping center and non-age-restricted town homes, according to the Baltimore Sun.

"If the state and the county pay the majority of the money and it's very nominal to the city, it would be worth looking into further. I would definitely explore that possibility," Mayor Pantelides says of the possible Crystal Springs Farm purchase.

The property's owner, Janet Richardson-Pearson, says the property is under contract with Marshall Breines, a Connecticut-based developer. "The land is under contract and has been basically sold for the past few years," Richardson-Pearson states.

The former Fawcett Boat Supplies building at 110 Compromise St. has been vacant since 2010. A proposal to demolish the building and replace it with a new building last summer drew protests and the prospective buyer eventually walked away from the purchase. See story in the Baltimore Sun.