In 1999 the HRD proposed that an additional 517-acre tract be annexed to Columbia as Kings Contrivance's fourth neighborhood. The tract, initially known as the Key property, but later called Emerson, was located on Gorman Road and bordered Route 216 and straddled I-95. It had been acquired by HRD in 1971 from a firm led by Kingdon Gould, and was about two miles from the nearest part of Kings Contrivance. Opponents of the proposal contended that Emerson was too distant from the rest of Kings Contrivance and that the Columbia Association would be required to make expensive near-term expenditures to provide amenities for the new neighborhood, including a swimming pool and pathways. Supporters of the proposal argued that annexation of Emerson would generate considerably more revenue for the Columbia Association in the long-run. In November 2000 the Columbia Council, governing board of the Columbia Association, rejected the annexation proposal by a 7-to-3 vote, with Kings Contrivance's representative supporting it. Emerson was subsequently developed separately from Columbia.