Townhouses

Flooding from heavy rains and melting snow forced five families out of their townhouses in the Oakland Mills section of Columbia early Saturday, according to Howard County police. A team of volunteers from the Red Cross of Central Maryland provided 15 adults and children with food, clothing and an overnight stay at a hotel, according to a Linnea Anderson, public relations director for the Red Cross. The homes, in the 9400 block of Indian Camp Road, were without heat, Anderson said. Up to three other homes appeared to have been affected, but their residents were not at home at the time of the flooding.

Situated in the city's Bolton Hill neighborhood is a relatively new development of brick townhouses solidly placed among the late Victorian and early-20th-century structures that once housed the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Woodrow Wilson and, more recently, pianist Leon Fleisher. This little enclave within an enclave is called Lions Park Fountains. The two-story houses hug the periphery of an open, brick-paved courtyard with benches and fountains. Large statues of lions guard the entrance to the 1980 development.

A midday, two-alarm fire heavily damaged the western Ellicott City townhouse where it began and two adjoining units Monday, according to Howard County fire officials. Howard County Fire Department Battalion Chief Gordon Wallace said the fire in the 10500 block of Old Ellicott Circle was reported at 12:50 p.m. and arriving crews found the garage townhouse engulfed in flames. Units on both sides of the three-level house were also damaged, and two vehicles in the garage were destroyed, he said, though the homes are equipped with sprinklers.

Many Marylanders live on the water, but the owner of this contemporary townhouse in Baltimore can walk out on three balconies and be over the water. The five-level home, built in 2006, sold for $1,125,000, about $100,000 less than the asking price. "This home was fun to sell because it showed so well and had excellent views of Baltimore's Inner Harbor from every level," said real estate agent William J. Ganz III, who listed the townhouse at 647 Ponte Villas South. "Combined with the fact that it is located in the private, gated Pier Homes at Harborview community, it was just a matter of time before it sold.

A townhouse complex in Owings Mills erupted in flames Tuesday afternoon, and some 80 firefighters battled the blaze. The 3-alarm fire, reported shortly after 2 p.m., affected at least 13 townhouses in the complex at 15 Old Coach Lane, according to Jay Ringgold, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Fire Department, who was speaking from the scene. The fire was under control by about 3:50 p.m., officials said. Ringgold said the fire burned in a stretch of 3-story houses that occupy "one long building.

In the area around Hollins Market in West Baltimore, more than 50 restored town houses used as rental housing have been put up for sale, at prices ranging from $60,000 to $120,000.Known as the Hollins Townhouses, the 54 historic properties represent one of the largest single groups of rehabilitated residences ever to go on the market at one time near Hollins Market and Union Square.With state funding assistance that enables them to be sold for little or no down payment and at below-market interest rates, they also represent an opportunity for renters to become first-time buyers.

Accusing town and county officials of hypocrisy, a lawyer for a Sykesville developer told the town Planning and Zoning Commission last night that his client should be allowed to build townhouses in an area zoned for industrial use.Attorney Clark R. Shaffer chided County Planner Helen Spinelli and Sykesville Town Manager James Schumacher for not giving full consideration to a petition for rezoning offered to the commission by the developer of the 32-acre Raincliffe...

The Howard County Planning Board last week approved plans for 58 townhouses next to Snowden River Parkway in the Kendall Ridge neighborhood of Long Reach village.The townhouses would be across Snowden River Parkway from the planned Eastern High School, a source of some concern for the Long Reach village association. Kathryn Mann of the association told Planning Board members during their Thursday meeting that village board members were concerned that children would be crossing a four-lane, divided road to play.

A three-alarm fire swept through eight townhouses in Edgewood yesterday just before noon, leaving 26 residents with little more than the clothes they were wearing.In all, 12 adults and 14 children were displaced from the Meadowood complex.About 75 firefighters from Joppa-Magnolia, Abingdon, Bel Air, Aberdeen, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Kingsville, Fallston and Cowenton battled the blaze that rose from the kitchen at 1630 Candlewood Court. The flames fanned out through the attic, Mr. Thomas said.

Vincent J. Gardina, the Baltimore County councilman who has crusaded for more single-family homes and larger lots as the county redevelops the east side, said he plans to ask for less restrictive zoning to allow a townhouse development in the Bird River area. The County Council will vote today on a community development plan for a largely undeveloped 1,000-acre tract in the Middle River and Bird River area. Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, said he will submit the zoning change for 50 acres as an amendment to the community plan, although he did not present it when the council discussed the plan at its work session Tuesday.

In the beginning, the search for a new home was all about studio space for artist Tendai Johnson, an instructor at Montgomery College. When his former work space in a large building in Washington's Chinatown was sold and working in his house in the H Street corridor became impossible, he and his family made the move north to Baltimore. Realtor Marci Yankelov of Century 21 found them a three-story stone Victorian townhouse in Baltimore's Reservoir Hill neighborhood. It was love at first sight.

When considering where to watch a Ravens playoff game, Harbor East doesn't come immediately to mind - or really at all. It's a place for fancy dinners and shopping sprees, not for cheap beer and bar food. Townhouse Kitchen and Bar is an exception, even if the industrial-chic bar doesn't look it. With its modern artwork, open space and touch-screen taps at select tables, it's a bar that certainly feels as if it belongs in Harbor East. But on Saturday, it will likely be a sea of purple, and many of those fans will be enjoying reasonably priced food and drinks, thanks to Townhouse's surprisingly good gameday offers.

Like many young professionals who work in or near Baltimore, Jon and Jenny Kraft searched for city properties when they decided to build a home together. "We looked at myriad different houses and could not find one that was designed for how we live and was also located in a walkable community," said Jon Kraft. His wife noted that parking, open layout, roof deck, fireplace and a minimum of three bedrooms were also priorities. They ultimately found a tailor-made answer to their requirements in The Townes at Locust Point, an enclave of 71 three-story brick townhouses built by Ruppert Homes Urban Redevelopment.

Occupants of an Edgewood townhouse escaped without injury Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen, according to one of the responding fire companies. At 2:35 a.m., Harford County 9-1-1 received a call for a house fire in the 600 block of Harpark Court, near Edgewood Road, according to a media release from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which was alerted to respond at 2:38 a.m., along with the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department, Edgewood Station.

Chris and Jamie Swann's Baltimore townhouse off Key Highway features what many would consider a million-dollar view of the city's busy waterfront and beyond. That was reason enough for them to purchase the four-story brick home with rooftop deck in June 2011. "Chris and I fell in love with the views from our house," Jamie Swann said. "We looked at many units, and although the interior initially wasn't exactly what we wanted, we couldn't pass up our view of the harbor from every level.

Baltimore's urban design panel on Thursday approved a developer's request to build townhouses on land in Locust Point that had been slated for residential towers and a mixed-use complex. The two parcels, on either side of the Silo Point condo building, will have about 50 townhouses divided between them, according to plans presented to the panel by the architects for Mark Sapperstein, the developer of McHenry Row. The decision to build townhomes instead of taller residential office buildings was a reaction to market demands and input from the community, which would prefer shorter structures on those sites, Sapperstein said.

Relay residents battling the proposed Hilltop Place townhouses won at least a temporary victory yesterday, in a state appeals court decision that could significantly limit the development's size.The Court of Special Appeals reversed a decision allowing 198 townhouses on land once designated a Baltimore County park, saying the builder did not demand the release of his land once it became clear that the county wouldn't buy it.Developer Carl Julio also failed to prove that the county acted in bad faith, the appellate court ruled.

On Saturday, Barbara Henry will move into a new, three-bedroom townhouse in a blighted area of East Baltimore."I've been looking for decent, low-income housing for a long time," Ms. Henry said yesterday at the official opening of a $4.1 million, 55-townhouse development in the 1100 block of Aisquith St. in Johnston Square."

Jay Dackman's Canton home is bright, open, contemporary and directly on the waterfront at the Anchorage Marina. The three-story, six-level brick townhouse is filled with framed puzzles of Impressionist masterpieces, hung as they are completed by the 54-year-old attorney and real estate investor. In addition to the puzzles, a hobby which Dackman says relaxes him after a busy day, he revels in the whimsical collectibles placed on every wall and in most corners of his 2,000-square-foot interior.

Once in a while, a new bar comes up with a gimmick intriguing enough to merit a trip. Townhouse Kitchen and Bar, which opened next to Ra in Harbor East in late May, is one of those places, thanks to its touch-screen "table tap technology," which dispenses beer and vodka at four of its dining tables. Given Townhouse's prime corner location, huge size and sleek presentation, this ultra-modern amenity just adds to its allure. While it's not the only bar to offer such an experience (Leinenkugel's Beer Garden at Power Plant Live has patrons playing bartender at a couple of its tables, too)