Developers Break Ground on Burke Avenue Townhouses
Towson Green, a 121-home project, to be completed in 2014
Photos
A long-awaited residential project on the edge of Towson Manor Village is finally underway, transforming a long-neglected tract of real estate that once housed rental homes for Towson University students into more than 100 high-end townhouses.
The Greenbelt-based Bozzuto Group is behind the Towson Green project, which broke ground in January and is slated for completion in 2014.
The 121 townhouses in the development will each cost upwards of $300,000. The new development runs parallel to York Road, from Susquehanna Avenue in the north to Burke Avenue in the south.
Towson Green, a $40 million project, is the latest large-scale residential development to sprout up in Towson in the last several years, joining recently-opened properties like The Promenade, on York Road, and the Palisades apartment complex on Washington Avenue.
All three are targeted toward higher-income residents. In Towson Green's case, that's a different kind of clientele than the college students and other renters who were there before and who rent homes just on the other side of Burke Avenue, in the Burkleigh Square neighborhood.
"I think we need more quality projects for the empty nesters and the people that want to retire," said Nancy Hafford, executive director for the Towson Chamber of Commerce.
Clark Wagner, vice president of development for Bozzuto, said the company was attracted to the area's potential.
"Towson, historically, has sort of been the place to be in Baltimore County, from the standpoint of the higher-quality retail and education locations," he said. "We've always been really high on Towson."
Bozzuto also owns the Woodbrook on Charles development on North Charles Street in Towson and the Fitzgerald apartments in Mount Vernon.
The 9.2-acre development has been a long time coming. Houses that once stood there were often over-rented and under-maintained. Owners rented to more students than zoning code would typically allow to live under the same roof.
"The community had been trying to get Code Enforcement to actually enforce the code… and (the houses) became run down," recalled Paul Hartman, the president of Aigburth Manor Community Association.
After property owners failed in a 2003 attempt to change the zoning on the area to 16 units per acre, they sold the property to Bozzuto in 2006. After a two-year planning process, Bozzuto put the brakes on the project in 2008, when the national real estate market collapsed. For several years, the space lay dormant.
"I'm just glad that we're going to actually see something there and that it will be productive space rather than just weeds," he said.
In addition to Towson Green, the Shelter Group is building a 90-bed assisted living facility nearby.
The name "Towson Green" isn't just for show—eco-friendly features are a centerpiece of the development's design. Wagner pointed to three main factors: proximity to central Towson, a rain garden on the grounds and energy-efficient design.
All the homes in the development are Energy Star-certified and carry a silver certification as green buildings from the National Association of Home Builders, Wagner said. In addition, some recycled materials are being used in the construction.
The energy-efficient design helped Bozzuto qualify for lucrative tax credits, and Wagner said homeowners at Towson Green can expect "between 30 and 40 percent lower utility costs" and lower property tax bills.
"Buyers will get a direct benefit on that," he said. "It certainly did make our project go over quite well internally."
Though the whole project won't be complete for another three years, Wagner said the company is building and selling as they go. Model homes will be available to check out this fall.
Hartman said Bozzuto has been "forthcoming" with their plans and has held multiple community meetings long before shovels hit the ground.
"That's the way that development should be done," he said.
An earlier version of this article mis-identified Paul Hartman's neighborhood.
Elliott R Plack
8:13 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Finally! I live in TMV on E. Susquehanna and have been waiting for this improvement for years now! I also await the new road they plan to build connecting Burke and Towson Town Blvd.
Tyler Waldman
9:03 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thanks for the comment, Elliott. Are those photos you added of what the area looked like before?
SteveK
9:34 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Great. Where will all the new children go to school? Hampton? Over-crowded. Stoneleigh? Also overcrowded. Perhaps a school should have gone here instead?
Elliott R Plack
9:39 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tyler, that's right, those are the old houses on Burke, before and during their demolition.
Steve, Buzzuto isn't targeting the demographic with small children, at least that's what they said at the community meetings. So while there may be new kids at school their impacts should be minimal. As far as new schools go, didn't BCPS just open a new school in Towson? http://towson.patch.com/articles/teachers-students-settle-in-at-west-towson
Buzz Beeler
10:36 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Elliott, I grew up in Towson and still have one parent living there.
I am not sure, but the high end condos at Fairmount and Dulaney have not done well and are now being leased. At night they are mostly dark.
I had also heard rumblings that the Towson Mall is also facing some issues.
I also know there is and has been ongoing problems with TU students and their interaction with the surrounding communities.
Congestion, problems coming north on the York Road corridor and a down real estate market, tight credit for mortgages, I can't follow the logic for the development in this stage of our economy?
Its their project, its just the logic that puzzles me at the moment.
Elliott R Plack
11:08 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Buzz,
Ha, I know what you mean. I'm not sure adult oriented housing is best located here either. This whole thing (with this neighborhood) started before the economic collapse, so by the time Buzzuto had it, their original plans were probably shattered. So perhaps this is a stop gap measure? I like the idea of new development in general. I'm not a staunch supporter of this plan, but it is better than several vacant acres with 2 meter high weeds right in the middle of Towson.
The article doesn't seem to mention it, but there will also be a senior citizen home in there somewhere. Who knows, in ten years these could all be filled with students.
Tyler Waldman
11:12 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
I believe I mentioned it. It's a 90-bed facility run by The Shelter Group.
Elliott R Plack
1:30 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Oops, my mistake.
David Frieman
10:44 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
What about the already congested traffic problems on Burke?
Elliott R Plack
11:01 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
David, that is indeed an issue. I believe that prior to approving this kind of thing, the developer has to provide the county with traffic impacts, among other things. The plan I last heard of is to have a new through street tying Towson Town Blvd and Burke though that neighborhood. If they have garages in the back, the new residents should be able to avoid that crazy Burke/York intersection, as well as even getting on to Burke. I do wish the county would have stepped in and taken a few feet off those lots to widen Burke, at least to allow a dedicated left turn lane at the light.
Buzz Beeler
11:12 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
David, I have been criticized for being naysayer, but 39 years as a cop tends to dull the shine a little. Adam 12 always had a happy ending, but in real life its a little different.
Developments can pose as many problems as they attempt to solve.
I spend almost as much time in Towson as I do in my own part of town. I worked with a community leader out there while on the job. The issues they faced bordered on nightmares.
If this was going on back in the days when I saw my humble home value rise by 50% in a matter of months, I wouldn't give this a thought. It ain't the same now, no where no how.
Your concern and those of, and I'm quite sure, countless others should be voiced.
I'm just curious as to the timing and realistic expectations of the project, not to mention how much they cost.
Elliott R Plack
3:15 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Money is just it Buzz. The county is not rich right now, and is probably happy to rely on developers to make infrastructure improvements, rather then do it themselves. These days it seems like it takes some kind of big talk "green way" project or what have you to get a road widened.
Buzz Beeler
11:30 am on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Elliott, you would make a good cop. Get all the facts. I whole heartily agree that vacant unattended land is not conducive to community endearment.
You may not remember, but many years ago, when Towson Plaza was king and the old Hutzlers store was queen, between the two there were acres of free parking. Everything in the heart of Towson was accessible within walking distance.
As time and development grew the landscape changed. The once laid back TU exploded into its own metropolis, traffic became congested, parking disappeared and the area along the Rodgers Forge is not the same.
Driving past Calvert Hall one day I saw graffiti on one of their walls. Now I see it in Campus Hills.
Heck, I can't even find reruns of Adam 12 anywhere!
Stranger
1:14 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Buzz -- a few comments/questions re. your post above...
If the high end condos at Fairmount and Dulaney are leasing at a price that draws a comparably "high end" tenant, that hardly spells a negative -- at least in the short- to mid-term -- no? As far as being mostly dark at night, Towson is pretty sleepy. These particular condos don't seem appreciably darker to me than other, similar set-ups.
What are the specific issues facing the Mall, of which you hear rumblings?
I live adjacent to the TU, on another side of the campus: the problems I encounter tend to deal with the parking and traffic. Are the ongoing problems that you mention serious? More so than one might find at any other school, in a comparable town?
Buzz Beeler
2:28 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
My comments were purely speculative. I am basing my speculation on comments from cops that work the area.
I was surmising that the prices would have to be reduced if they weren't selling as designed. As I often drive by those units, I don't see many cars in the parking area. I look closely at the balconies for any signs of life. There are a lot of units at that location. I wonder what the situation is regarding the rent and occupancy rates.
You would have a better grasp on the current situation as it pertains to TU. The problems I was referring to were related to renting housing to students. Other issues that were divulged in discussions with people in the area had to do with intoxicated young adults as they moved through various neighborhoods. The details were graphic and I as I recall became widely covered in the local community papers.
Things may be different now. I've been retired for almost six years and lost touch with these people.
TU's police chief is a retired member of the county force and a good man. He's the kind of man that puts his heart and soul in the job.
Stranger
2:51 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Thanks for the reply, Buzz. Humor me, and I'll add a few thoughts. Whether prices need to be reduced, seems contingent on who owns a given condo. If the developer is holding a large number of vacant units then, sure, prices will go down. Unless the developer is of a sufficient size to absorb a short-term loss. I'd guess that tax incentives (corporate welfare?) also make it a bit easier to do so. Private owners of units either live there or rent them out. In the case of the former, it's a non-issue, I think; with the latter, rent on a unit will typically cover a mortgage and fees with a small margin (I experencied this in saturated NoVA).
TU has its problems. Still. But -- and this is totally anecdotal -- I lived in a town a few years back that was home of one the top-ten liberal arts colleges in the country. Tuition and fees for three years in excess of $300K for four years. Lots of Range Rovers driven by kids in baseball caps, if you catch my drift. The public drunkeness, fights, sexual assaults, drug use, etc., were amazing. I see nowhere near that level here, with the TU kids. While they perhaps lack the SAT scores and sophistication of their peers in that town up north, I prefer the TU bunch as neighbors.
Good to hear the positive reviews on the police chief. We need people like that. Especially in campus police/security departments.
Buzz Beeler
3:17 pm on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Stanger, well articulated. Your use of the word saturated is applicable at both locations.
Life is a little like sports. City just finished a basketball with Edmondson after fights broke out in the stands and suspended the game last week. We see this more and more at all levels.
The appropriate response is the key and that applies to not only students behavior but everything in between. I remember in my much younger years, I worked at the old Crown Cork and Seal and no one was ever late for work. That little ole time clock, and the ramifications of not punching it kept all the toes in line and on time.
Glad things are better at TU. Maybe accountability is taking over, and parents are closely monitoring the money they spend on their children. Party time is over. The game is for real now. "Happy Trails to You" is a song and Roy Rogers is dead.
It will be an interesting ride to see the outcome of this as it plays out on the streets of Towson.
towson mom of 5
6:48 am on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Just another concerned mom jumping in here....have any of you tried to go to the Towson Commons movie theater on a weekend night? walked back to wherever you were lucky enough to get a parking spot and contemplated the stupidity of such a walk alone with young children, pre-teens?
I have and it is terrifying.Ditto for the mall....most especially the parking garages.
? Why are we not hearing about the crimes that occur in the mall? Ask any mall employee and they will share...it is a unsettling feeling being in an upscale retail environment and seeing private security officers in individual stores within the mall...
Not to mention all of the unaccompanied young teenagers roaming the mall or lounging in the food court/sofa areas? Hunt Valley Town Center has rules and sufficient staff to enforce the rules...shame the mall management in Towson cannot implement a similar policy? or maybe they have and I am not aware of it?
kasey
8:41 am on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
This comment is directed to Elliott. Elliott, you mentioned in one of your comments that Bozzuto has said that this new development in not targeted toward the young family demographic. As a young mom who is very interested in Towson Green as a future home, this is confusing to me. In the marketing materials I have seen (Facebook, Towsongreen.com, as well as the newsletter I just got in my inbox), they seem to be emphasizing the excellent school district Towson Green is located within. In addition, I remember reading in an article that there will be a "tot lot" as part of the development's public space. If they aren't targeting my demographic, why are they making a point to mention these things that are important to young families? I'm not yelling at you :), I am just puzzled that Bozzuto would make a point to say they are not targeting people with young children when it is clear that they are.
Elliott R Plack
12:34 pm on Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Kasey, I suppose I was a bit unclear and also had the facts mixed up. From what I've seen the units that face Burke will be senior living, thus the effects on that street would be less... Just my opinion. I am not in Md. to look at the flyers and what not, so I think you have a clearer picture. I suppose I got the senior part mixed up with the whole thing. My apologies. It seems like a nice place for the family.