Town House

Breton Woods, a development which will eventually encompass 231 town houses and 29 ranch and two-story detached homes in Owings Mills, recently opened 24 town houses, and construction on the next section of 17 town houses began last week.The development, just south of Hammershire Road, features four-bedroom town houses with 1,551 square feet, and two three-bedroom models that are 1,496 and 1,360 square feet."We have the only four-bedroom town house in Owings Mills," said Bonnie Julian-Silbert, sales broker for the development and president of Landmark Realty Group.

House hunters searching for an in-town, historic mansion in Mount Vernon, the heart of Baltimore's cultural center, need look no further than 514 Cathedral Street. The address is home to a 9,000-square-foot town house lovingly restored over the last eight years by its owner, Drew Rieger. Dating to 1847, the six-level, elegant home was once the residence of a commander of the Civil War. "It's the only house in Mount Vernon that has been restored back to its original 1840s floor plan," Rieger said.

Although the century-old Town House in Sykesville provides ample work space for municipal employees, it is far from accessible for handicapped residents.The town Historic Commission will meet with an architect at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Town House to discuss options for improving accessibility to the mansion."We are familiar with the regulations and have reviewed much information," said Rebecca Herman, commission director. "This is more of a brainstorming session. We are taking suggestions from the public and the architect."

A pair of side-by-side brick townhouses might be two of the most lovingly restored homes in the historic neighborhood of Federal Hill. They sit off a wide, brick-lined street. Separated on the ground level by a sally port (a narrow, open passage way), each has a door painted soft gold, each features third-floor garrets and each has windows cloaked in black shutters. These are the homes of Dr. John Hawkins, a dentist who practices in Federalsburg, a small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where he lives in another home during the week.

Although most local homebuilders saw a drop in sales last year as a result of the economic downturn that hit Maryland, the town house market proved to be the most resilient to the sales slump.New town houses outsold new detached houses in the Baltimore area last year -- the first time that's happened since analysts at the Legg Mason Realty Group began monitoring sales in 1985. That's a sign that many buyers in the market during the downturn were seeking affordable, "entry-level" housing rather than more luxurious "move-up" housing.

Central air conditioning will cool the Sykesville Town House in about 30 days.An energy-efficient system will replace the aging and noisy window air conditioners that are scattered throughout the building."

The ill-fated collaboration of two 1980s money-making machines will be put to rest Friday as the land for a proposed Baltimore County town house development goes on the auction block.The auction at the county courthouse in Towson comes as a result of NVR L.P.'s default on a $15.3 million loan from the credit subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Corp. for the Villages at Lyonsfield Run development in Owings Mills.An NVR unit planned to develop the project jointly with Crown Development Corp.

David Rossi has only lived in his new town house for a week, but he's already used to conditions that would make most people want to move.He has no grass. When he looks out a window -- any window -- he sees dirt. Construction workers outnumber neighbors, and he has to share parking spaces with bulldozers.But Rossi doesn't mind at all. He was sick of paying $720 in rentfor an apartment in Laurel and thought it would be a good time to buy a home -- even in a brand-new development like Piney Orchard.

Provident Bank of Maryland has sold 253 town house lots in Timonium that it repossessed last year to Pulte Home Corp., which is planning its first community in the Interstate 83 corridor at the site off West Padonia Road.Provident took the land back last year from a partnership led by a unit of NVR L.P., the McLean, Va.-based parent of NVHomes and Ryan Homes. At an auction in August, Provident was unable to sell the lots and ended up buying them back for about $8.05 million.When the partnership led by NVR, the second-leading homebuilder in the Baltimore market, defaulted on the note last year, it owed more than $11 million.

THE TOWN HOUSE in Sykesville is getting a face lift, or at least a make-over. Some minor renovations and a good deal of cosmetic work have already begun in the town offices.Since 1968, the town offices have been in the historic house. Most town officials believe that was the last time work was done on the Town House.Town records date the house to 1883, when local architect J. H. Fowble built the residence for John McDonald. The house is an example of Colonial revival with Greek revival influences.

Stanley I. Panitz, a former real estate developer whose Bolton Square town house community earned him national recognition, died Monday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Springwell Senior Living in Mount Washington. The Roland Park resident was 88. "Stan was a lovely, dear man who did so much for Baltimore and the Baltimore metro area. He loved both his family and his community," said Shale D. Stiller, a longtime friend who is a partner at DLA Piper and former president and trustee of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

If money were no object I'd have houses all over the country — in all different environments. A contemporary modular house in California's Napa County with a really great sculpture garden. An off-the-grid ranch powered by windmills and solar panels in the foothills of Montana's Bitteroot Range. A houseboat docked in Seattle with view of Mt. Rainier. But since money certainly is an object and one of those lottery tickets my wife keeps buying actually would have to win before my second-home dream becomes reality, I'll be sticking with my house right here in Baltimore.

Carroll County should have its first speed cameras installed this year after the Sykesville Town Council's vote this week. At its meeting at the Town House and after a second public hearing, the council voted 5-1 in favor of speed cameras. "I'm ecstatic," Police Chief John Williams Jr. told The Carroll Eagle. "Time and time again, the No. 1 issue in our town is speeding, speeding, speeding." The ordinance will take effect in 21 days, Town Manager Matt Candland said.

As Isabella Litchka awaits her husband's return from a business trip, she puts the finishing touches on a home project she has been working on in his absence - the placement of crown molding running along the base of the first-to-second-floor staircase. "I can't wait until my husband comes home and sees [this]," said the 57-year old, semi-retired teacher. It is not that she is refurbishing an old home. On the contrary, she and her husband, Peter Litchka, a professor at Loyola College, purchased their new three-story town house in the northern Baltimore County community of High View just two years ago. Empty nesters for many years, the Litchkas fit the familiar story of downsizing to a smaller home in a community that offers amenities such as lawn maintenance, an outdoor swimming pool, and clubhouse with a gym, cafe, movie theater and rentable party rooms.

Sykesville breaks ground tomorrow on nearly $600,000 in additions that will create a spacious meeting room in its Town House and double the size of its police station. The town hopes to keep construction costs down by serving as its own general contractor with Mayor Jonathan Herman overseeing the work. "We are getting local subcontractors to bid individually on the various aspects of this job," said Herman, who owns a building restoration business. "This way we can lower the costs in segments."

Sykesville will spend about $300,000 to double the size of its police station, giving the municipal law enforcement agency room for more offices, equipment, community activities and storage. Storage for aging case files has run out at the Sykesville Police Department, built 12 years ago in a restored maintenance shop behind the Town House, seat of municipal government. "We are purging files and storing them in an attic or a nearby locked shed," said Chief John R. Williams. "Everything is secure, but when we need to pull a file from several years back, it is a real treasure hunt to find which hiding place it's in."

Developing or designing a condominium or town house project can be dangerous to a professional's financial health.The risk of lawsuits targeted at the project developer or architect has been steadily growing in recent years. We live in a litigation-prone era, and many opportunities to litigate often surface after the construction of a multiunit housing project.In fact, about one-third of all recently completed condo or town house developments become involved in a lawsuit, said attorney Kelton Lee Gibson, who specializes in representing homeowners associations related to their legal concerns.

The stately Town House, seat of Sykesville town government, is looking a little scrappy but it will soon be restored to its original grandeur.A contractor has removed yellowing aluminum siding from the two-story building and exposed the bare wooden shingles underneath. Soon, a carpenter will repair the wood and prepare it for a coat of paint.In restoring the wooden exterior of its offices, the town is practicing the historic preservation that it preaches to Main Street merchants and homeowners.

Sykesville will spend about $300,000 to double the size of its police station, giving the municipal law enforcement agency room for more offices, equipment, community activities and storage. Storage for aging case files has run out at the Sykesville Police Department, built 12 years ago in a restored maintenance shop behind the Town House, seat of municipal government. "We are purging files and storing them in an attic or a nearby locked shed," said Chief John R. Williams. "Everything is secure, but when we need to pull a file from several years back, it is a real treasure hunt to find which hiding place it's in."

Sykesville will build an addition to its century-old Town House, an estimated $140,000 expansion that would preserve the building's historic character while making the seat of town government more accessible to those with disabilities. A state grant for historic improvements will pay for the work that will give the building a new entrance, a roomier meeting area and two bathrooms. "Our plans are nearly complete, and we have our historic district's approval," said Matthew Candland, town manager.