The Mathews Land Conservancy is gearing up for a major fundraising initiative for the final phase of Owens Landing at Williams Wharf, a $12.5 million maritime education and rowing center on the East River that’s been in the works for nearly 25 years. MLC spokesman Chris Bridge told the Mathews County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that, with $8 million already spent, Phase III of the project—completion of the building itself—will cost $4.5 million. Most residents are familiar with the pavilion and boardwalk at the site, she said, and with the annual activities that occur there, such as the Tour de Chesapeake, regional rowing regattas, and summer youth camps. But “there was a time when it would have been hard to imagine that the site would exist in its present state,” Bridge said. In the mid-1900s, Williams Wharf housed an oyster shucking operation and an oil depot. By the 1990s, she said, “the businesses had closed down and the future looked pretty ...