Renovation

The Randallstown Library has undergone a nearly $500,000 renovation that includes upgrades to the entrance and lobby, the addition of three tutoring rooms and a new elevator to improve access to the building at 8604 Liberty Road. The project was completed for $60,000 under its $510,000 estimated budget. The state will reimburse about $255,000 of the cost. Officials will mark the renovation at a ceremonial ribbon cutting at 11a.m. on Feb. 14.

A decade since the 2003 tropical storm that began its fiscal and operational woes, Market House in downtown Annapolis is expected to reopen in the coming weeks with a lineup of vendors selling falafel, gelato, sandwiches and crab cakes from the historic building. Since Tropical Storm Isabel blew through and flooded the building in 2003, the Market House has operated in fits and starts as the city struggled to repair the building and attract a stable lineup of vendors. Between renovations and lawsuits from former tenants, the city has spent millions of dollars on the Market House since 2003.

Baltimore's former Highlandtown Library would be renovated by mid-2011 to house a mixture of office and classroom space on the upper levels and retail space at street level, if the city accepts a $1.5 million proposal submitted by the Southeast Community Development Corp. The Baltimore Development Corp. sought proposals last year for the surplus city property at 3323 Eastern Ave. and announced Wednesday that the bid from nonprofit Southeast CDC is the only one it received. Under the proposal, the renovated library would house the headquarters of the Southeast CDC and other tenants.

"Have I ever got a house for you!" The call came a few months ago from Matt Knoepfle, co-owner with his brother, Mike Knoepfle, of the construction company Building Character LLC. That remark is always an invitation to be amazed at a challenging project that has come to fruition. The brothers are in the business of buying up Baltimore's old and crumbling properties (often in the most sought-after downtown neighborhoods) and adaptively reusing them. This particular property, the subject of Matt Knoepfle's call, was the conversion of a late 19th-century carriage repair shop in Federal Hill into a single-family home on two levels, with over 3,000 square feet of living space.

Harbor East Delicatessen and Pizzeria will close for renovations on Sunday. When it reopens, a short time later according to co-owner Alexander Smith, it will start breakfast service and unveil new menu items. Smith is also a partner in the neighboring Harbor East restaurants Ouzo Bay and Manchurian Rice Co. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

Baltimore Museum of Art leaders unveiled plans on Tuesday to complete a $24 million renovation in time for the institution's 100 t h anniversary in 2014, a three-year project that will require some galleries to be closed in phases starting early next year. The museum's director, Doreen Bolger, and its fundraising campaign co-chair, Sandra Levi Gerstung, announced that the museum has raised more than half the funds needed for the project, including a commitment of $10 million over four years from the state of Maryland and a $1.25 million bond issue from the city of Baltimore.

Managers of West Baltimore's historic Lexington Market are looking for a consultant to help them plan a multimillion-dollar renovation to transform the market into a regional draw. Lexington Market released the call for consulting services on Monday and expects to pick a firm by September. The 231-year-old market wants a face lift that will make it into a "food destination" attracting a "broad mix" of customers, according to the request for consulting services. Owners want the renovation to make the market better looking inside and out, improve the flow of customers in the building, and for the consultants to give recommendations on whether to promote things like healthy eating.

Renovations of the Columbus School (also known as public school 99) began this week and the developers expect that people will be able to occupy the new affordable housing units there this fall. The $13 million conversion of the school, in Baltimore's South Clifton Park at the northeast corner of the intersection of E. North Ave. and N. Washington St., will create 50 residences for people who make 60 percent or less of the city's area median income, according to a statement by the developers.

That schools CEO Andrés Alonso deplores the lavish renovation at headquarters only after the work has been done says a lot about why he should go. Mr. Alonso has abused having a driver, and he brings in outside auditors when standardized tests are given because he doesn't trust the people who work for him, He and the mayor were pictured with President Obama when he signed a wavier to do away with certain requirements of the No Child Left...

Just as houses come in all different designs and sizes, so do the families that live within them. The large, end-of-group rowhouse in Federal Hill that belongs to the Johnson family shelters multiple generations. "We are three generations of women, a poodle and two goldfish all living in this home that we decided to make 21st century," laughed Gilda Johnson, who lives there with her 94-year-old mother, Carlyn Johnson, and her 16-year-old daughter, Ce Ce Johnson. This family of women own three residential properties and five parcels of commercial property in Federal Hill.

Who said there are no second acts in American dining? Clyde's of Columbia has been an anchor on the Columbia lakefront since 1975. That's impressive, but time has a way of catching up with everything. And now that Columbia is in the middle of a multi-year downtown revitalization, it was time to freshen up Clyde's, too. So Clyde's closed in late 2012, gave itself a $5 million renovation, and reopened in April. The renovations are both structural and cosmetic. Returning patrons might not notice things like the new sprinkler system, but they'll note that Clyde's has moved closer to the lake - an extension has added both breathing room and additional booth seating.

A two-story Colonial-style home set on almost 3 wooded acres in Fallston is currently on the market for $620,000. "This is a stunning home located at 3002 Sheffield Court. in Haddon Hurst, a community of 30 homes all situated on 2- to 3-acre lots," said Maureen O'Shea, the listing co-agent with Long & Foster Real Estate. "[The] welcoming two-story foyer with curved staircase leads to a custom gourmet kitchen handcrafted by Amish craftsmen with granite counters and Viking appliances.

The Baltimore school system said Thursday that it will review all contracts awarded by a former chief information technology officer after school officials in Dallas said he could face a federal indictment stemming from his tenure in the Atlanta public school system. Jerome Oberlton was forced to resign as chief of staff in the Dallas Independent School District this week after informing Superintendent Mike Miles that he was the target of a federal investigation, according to a statement from the Dallas school district.

A team of more than 40 volunteers from Tower Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Laurel, and the Gilbane Building Co. helped renovated the Laurel home of a disabled Navy veteran April 27 during Prince George's County's Christmas in April effort. Because of roof and foundation leaks, up to 2 feet of water had damaged the first-time homeowner's house after a heavy rainfall. The volunteers repaired roof leaks and gutters; replaced a storm door; installed a new front porch and repaired and painted the back porch; removed dead bushes and trees in the front yard; and added new flower beds.

Tear it down. Fix it up. Keep it here. Move it there. Many at Pimlico Race Course Saturday, from celebrated trainers to $2 bettors, offered thoughts of what to do with Old Hilltop, the methuselan home of the 138 t h Preakness Stakes. The Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the track, has agreed to renovate both Pimlico and Laurel Park with a share of the state's slots revenue - an estimated $112 million in matching funds, if the organization ponies up the equivalent.

The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point hosts its annual home and garden tour on Mother's Day, May 12. The tour will include, as usual, some of the well-known sites in the neighborhood such as the Robert Long House (circa 1765) and Colonial garden and the eclectic garden known as "the Palace on Dallas. " New to the tour is the recently renovated home of Jon and Lauren Cole, which was built in 1790 on Aliceanna Street. The brick home includes many period design details, including a marble step at the front entrance and a detailed door frame.

The Baltimore Museum of Art announced Wednesday that it has chosen the local architectural firm of Ziger/Snead to lead a $24 million renovation of the neoclassical museum building, which houses 90,000 pieces of art, including the world's largest collection of works by Henri Matisse. The Mount Vernon-based firm has designed several distinctive Baltimore buildings, including the angular, white-glass-paneled Brown Center at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Living Classroom Foundation's headquarters overlooking the harbor in Fells Point.

Sandbags lined the concrete atop the exterior basement stairs at St. Martin's Home in Catonsville, a symbol of the Little Sisters of the Poor's long — and losing — battle against summer heat and storms. After one heavy downpour, the sump pumps in the basement of the 200,000-square-foot brick home failed. Equipped with water vacs, the nuns, in starched white habits, mopped up the entire basement. They sandbagged the stairs to stave off another flood. They used emergency generators when the June derecho that left hundreds of thousands of Marylanders without power knocked out much of the air conditioning system.

The National Aquarium in Washington will close this fall as a nearby building is renovated, and some of the 1,500 animals will be sent to Baltimore, aquarium officials said Thursday. In an email to aquarium members, John Racanelli, CEO of the National Aquarium, said the D.C. location will close Sept. 30 due to renovations on the Department of Commerce building. The aquarium is located on the building's lower level. The closure will not affect the National Aquarium in Baltimore , the email said, though it will have to accommodate some of the fish, reptiles, bird and amphibians from Washington.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas cruise ship returned to the Port of Baltimore Friday after undergoing a $48 million renovation. The ship, which replaces the Enchantment of the Seas, arrived early Friday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a proclamation from Gov. Martin O'Malley, who declared May 3 "Royal Caribbean Cruise Day" in Maryland. As part of the renovation, all of the ship's staterooms have been refurbished with new carpet, furniture and upholstery and flat-screen TVs. New amenities onboard include upgrades ranging from dining to entertainment.