Three development groups are competing to build a townhouse development in Howard County for moderate-income families and first-time homebuyers.
The proposed development sites are in Elkridge, Guilford and Columbia.
The three proposals are in response to a request issued last month by the Howard County Housing Commission. The commission invited developers to submit plans for a 30- to 54-unit townhouse development. The project, to be financed with state and county money, will be targeted at families who earn between $20,000 and $35,000 a year.
"We're looking at doing a program which will afford our citizens an opportunity to achieve home ownership," said county housing director Leonard S. Vaughan.
"And, for those not quite ready, they can get into a program of leasing which would hopefully lead to home ownership."
Mr. Vaughan estimates the project will cost $4.5 to $5.5 million and will take about two years to complete. According to commission guidelines, the townhouses must have at least three bedrooms, and two-thirds of the development must be for rental housing, while one-third will be for sale.
The commission heard presentations last week from the developers whose proposals met its criteria for the project. Commissioners expect to choose a developer this week.
The first presentation was made by three companies working together on the project: Orchard Development Corp., of Ellicott City; Ryland Homes, of Columbia; and Unified Resources, a group of minority investors in the county.
The group has proposed to build the project on two sites. The 30 rental units, called Orchard Crossing, would be built on two acres behind the Oakland Ridge Industrial Center off Route 108. They would be on the same site as the Orchard Crossing apartments, a 187-unit garden apartment complex to be developed in the fall by Orchard Development.
The 24 Orchard Club townhouses would be built on a site off of Rowanberry Drive in Elkridge as part of the Orchard Club condominiums, a Ryland project under construction. The development group told the housing commission it could complete the project in five months.
Bozzuto and Associates, a Greenbelt-based developer, submitted a proposal to the commission calling for 42 townhouse units on a site in Guilford near Mission Road. The project, called the Courts at Guilford, calls for between 26 and 28 rental units and 12 to 14 units for sale.
