Affordable Homes

Home is where the heart is" applies to Baltimore native Chickie Grayson. Early on, the president of Enterprise Homes lived in the up-and-coming Reservoir Hill. Decades later, she's moved on to another home in the city, and urban renewal is everywhere. Still, affordable housing for seniors and families is scarce, says Grayson, 60. Enterprise Homes, affiliated with the national nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, created by James W. Rouse and his wife, Patty, has developed more than 5,000 units of affordable housing in the mid-Atlantic region.

When Columbia founder James W. Rouse decided to spend his retirement building a nonprofit, his goal was outrageously ambitious: eliminate poverty through affordable housing and community development - in a single generation. A generation later, the gap between affordable-housing need and availability has only worsened. Home prices have skyrocketed. Manufacturing jobs that paid high school graduates good salaries are disappearing. Federal budget commitments for "housing assistance" have dwindled.

Joseph Wolf lived in a Glen Burnie apartment building for five years until noisy neighbors made it difficult for the 69-year-old man to rest -- causing his blood pressure to skyrocket.His problem was alleviated last week when he and his wife, Vivian, also 69, moved to Colonial Landing in Elkridge, Howard County's newest apartment complex for seniors.Development of senior housing is causing friction in some neighborhoods, as builders scramble to create affordable homes for the county's booming senior population -- projected to increase by 259 percent in the next 24 years.

In the fanciest new neighborhoods, builders are straining to sell a home every month or two. But in less pricey ZIP codes, low-end condos and townhomes are selling one or two a week in some developments.Although the Baltimore region's new home sales have shown signs of recovering from their early 1995 doldrums, the state of the market still varies widely from one locality and market segment to another.Overall, sales of new homes were 16 percent higher in the third quarter than in the same period last year, a relief for builders who watched sales dive in the first quarter.

Oh, what a winding, twisted road the members of the Howard County Zoning Board do travel.In their latest detour, those in the zoning driver's seat appear to be leaning toward giving developers some flexibility regarding residential densities that will be allowed on six large parcels in the county.Some back-seat drivers, however, want less density to prevail.At its core, this running dispute is over the number of affordable homes -- townhouses and apartments, in other words -- that will be allowed in these six areas.

For some, the quest for affordable housing has taken on aspects of a crusade. And like any crusade, the potential to shade the facts is incessant for those on either end of the issue.The Howard County Zoning Board recently unanimously endorsed an amendment that would allow developers to build at greater densities in some locations if they include affordable housing in their projects. The definition of affordable housing, however, was never made explicit. Councilman Paul Farragut, who authored the amendment, insists that "what we're really talking about is the $80,000 townhouse."

Suddenly, the world seems upside down. Howard County Council Chairwoman Shane Pendergrass, never a friend of affordable housing, supports an affordable housing measure? Councilman Vernon Gray, noted champion of the same cause, opposes it? Are we in Alice's Wonderland?No, what we have here is a perfectly understandable situation -- as understandable as possible given the politics of the county Zoning Board.Councilman Paul Farragut last week proposed a measure requiring developers to set aside a portion of their subdivisions for affordable housing once they reach certain densities.

Baltimore County Executive Roger B. Hayden's administration has failed to make good on its promise made nearly eight months ago to speed development approvals as an incentive to spur construction of affordable homes.The idea was that building detached, single family homes in the $110,000 to $150,000 range would keep young families from moving to more rural counties.But the idea remains mired in delay and bureaucratic disagreements.Mr. Hayden was asked about the proposal three times over two days last week, but begged off answering, saying he needed a briefing on the topic first.

Oh, what a winding, twisted road the members of the Howard County Zoning Board do travel.In their latest detour, those in the zoning driver's seat appear to be leaning toward giving developers some flexibility regarding residential densities that will be allowed on six large parcels in the county.Some back-seat drivers, however, want less density to prevail.At its core, this running dispute is over the number of affordable homes -- townhouses and apartments, in other words -- that will be allowed in these six areas.

GRAND CHENIER, La. -- Zonie Fruge lost her first mobile home to a fire. A tornado claimed her second. Tuesday -- from behind the wheel of a beat-up station wagon loaded to the brim with a niece, a grandson, a mattress and other supplies -- she waved a likely goodbye to her third."

Advocates for Howard County mobile home park residents are renewing a push for a law that would give them the first chance to buy the land under their homes if a sale is imminent. The leaders of People Acting Together in Howard, a church-based community organizing group affiliated with the BUILD coalition in Baltimore, are preparing to meet Monday with Gov. Martin O'Malley to get his support for a possible statewide bill in next year's General Assembly session. Higher land values are pushing park owners across the country to sell their land to developers, displacing hundreds of working people with modest incomes and retirees who for years have enjoyed spacious, affordable homes on lots they rent.

More than a year after Baltimore passed a law intended to keep housing affordable for working-class families, City Hall is testing the limits of its newfound power on a prominent stretch of waterfront property. Relying in part on the new law, the city is negotiating with Turner Development Group to build at least 200 affordable homes and apartments alongside the massive residential project proposed for the Westport neighborhood on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco, The Sun has learned.

When Columbia founder James W. Rouse decided to spend his retirement building a nonprofit, his goal was outrageously ambitious: eliminate poverty through affordable housing and community development - in a single generation. A generation later, the gap between affordable-housing need and availability has only worsened. Home prices have skyrocketed. Manufacturing jobs that paid high school graduates good salaries are disappearing. Federal budget commitments for "housing assistance" have dwindled.

A long-planned effort to revitalize Baltimore's Oliver neighborhood got a jump-start last night with a commitment for millions of dollars from the city and private investors. Members of the faith-based nonprofit organization Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) said that the money will help their plans to build affordable homes on what is now vacant property blighting the neighborhood. The group hopes to start construction in February on 40 affordable homes along Preston Street.

Home is where the heart is" applies to Baltimore native Chickie Grayson. Early on, the president of Enterprise Homes lived in the up-and-coming Reservoir Hill. Decades later, she's moved on to another home in the city, and urban renewal is everywhere. Still, affordable housing for seniors and families is scarce, says Grayson, 60. Enterprise Homes, affiliated with the national nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, created by James W. Rouse and his wife, Patty, has developed more than 5,000 units of affordable housing in the mid-Atlantic region.

New zoning displacing trailer park residents The roughly 180 families living in the Aladdin Village Mobile Home Park in Elkridge must move within one year -- another step in the redevelopment of the U.S. 1 corridor. Aladdin, with capacity for 241 families, is the latest and largest example of how rising land values and large-scale rezoning by Howard County is prompting major changes along the old industrial corridor. It is a change county officials welcome, but the price is high -- the loss of hundreds of affordable homes for lower- and moderate-income people.

Erika Middleton had done everything right. She was working full time, was saving instead of spending and had qualified for a rare, moderately priced condominium going up in a plum new location: 1901 West. After plunking down a $1,000 deposit, she signed a contract on a two-bedroom, two-bathroom model offered for $179,500. She was looking forward to moving out of her parents' city home in late August or early September. "I was very excited with still being able to live in Annapolis, and I just thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime," she said.

MARYLAND IS experiencing significant population growth, particularly in and around the suburbs of Washington. But the Baltimore region is also attracting more people, lured by jobs and somewhat more affordable housing. Much of the state's overall growth is being fueled by minorities, and the increasing diversity is a growing national trend as Maryland is one of nine states in which minorities account for at least 40 percent of the population, according to 2004 data from the U.S. Census.

Not long after Betty Bland-Thomas moved into her home on Cross Street in Sharp-Leadenhall four years ago, she began hauling a broom outside and sweeping the street. Not just the part in front of her home - the entire block. "People would come up and ask me what I was doing, saying that's crazy," she says, laughing. "I'd just say I want it to look nice." The determined Bland-Thomas is poised to take on a more daunting task: The community president wants to turn the tide of market forces and block the sky-high home prices of neighboring Federal Hill and the Otterbein from spreading to Sharp-Leadenhall.

Despite acknowledging a shortage of "work force housing" in the county, Anne Arundel leaders are poised to kill a bill that would require builders to set aside more affordable units at new developments. The bill, introduced by County Council members Barbara D. Samorajczyk of Annapolis and Pamela G. Beidle of Linthicum, both Democrats, would require developers to devote 10 percent of each new subdivision to more affordable houses and townhouses. In return, developers would be allowed to build more units.