Published: September 09, 2008 09:44 am      

City’s ‘housing plate is full’

Economy has caused several projects to stall

CUMBERLAND — As he drives about Cumberland, Mayor Lee Fiedler has no doubt the city’s housing market will be taken care of over the next couple years.

With monikers such as East Side, Klots Mill, Allegany Station, Residences at Cumberland Country Club, Gateway Town Homes and Cornerstone Hill either started or on the drawing board, the housing tour can take one to all sections of the city.

“Our housing plate is full,” Fiedler said.

That doesn’t mean the city will wash its hands of future development; rather officials are looking at how to work with developers to keep the momentum going.

Some of the current projects, however, have stalled or are looking for new developers.

“Everything is because of the economy,” Fiedler said, noting lending institutions are hesitant to lend money for large projects.

Two that quickly come to mind are Allegany Station and Residences at Cumberland Country Club, both under the development of Kevin Bell through The Bell Group in Crofton. Alleged problems, both legally and financially, with an initial partner have put Bell’s numerous projects on hold.

Bell purchased land at 215 Decatur, the former site of Sacred Heart Hospital, from the city for $100 in 2004. The proposed development of Allegany Station includes 33 townhouses in three rows of 11. To date, the first row of 11 has been constructed.

Fiedler is optimistic work will resume soon.

“I think it will move on probably this fall,” he said.

Bell entered the country club project in 2005 following the death of John Robb, who began the dream of homes along a fairway.

Billed as “single-level villas,” 15 homes were to be built near the 11th fairway with about 50 homes constructed upon the project’s completion. The first phase has not been finished.

Bell also is behind Evitt’s Landing, a project that has yet to move beyond an April 2006 press conference. Plans were unveiled then for 100 townhomes and single-family dwellings as well as 75,000-square-feet of office space. The property sits behind Allegany College of Maryland, and the first residence and office space were expected to be occupied in fall 2007.

“I believe in Cumberland, I’m committed to Cumberland,” Bell said at the time. “A renaissance has begun here and I’m proud to be here.”

He has, however, completed The Cascades, a multihousing unit on Fourth Street but is also facing difficulties in Frostburg with Prichard Farms, another housing project off Cherry Lane.

Attempts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful.

Cornerstone Hill is the most recent project to hit a snag. Fraught with issues since it began, new life could come to it soon, though.

Miguel Zavaleta found the old Navy ballfield on McKaig’s Hill along James Day Drive to be the ideal place for 62 townhouses. Development got as far as three rows of homes, in various stages of completion.

A chain-link fence now surrounds the property, which is in the hands of Sandy Spring Bank. A “halt on preceding” is in place until a new developer is found.

It isn’t all bad news, though,

The construction of Gateway Town Homes along Vancouver Street and the intersection of Oldtown Road and Wempe Drive is a bright spot. Under development by PIRHL Inc., the Vancouver site will see 26 townhouses and the Wempe Drive area four.

Raymond Skinner, from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, recently toured the city with the mayor, who quickly pointed out the project.

“It was a proud moment,” Fiedler said.

He expects the city to continue to work with the Warrensville Heights, Ohio, firm to provide infill housing — similar to the Wempe Drive project.

That project, as well as the upcoming renovations and construction at East Side School and Klots Mill, is the beneficiary of the state’s Community Development Association Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Al Borvice of the Housing Development and Neighborhood Preservation Corp. in San Francisco has been the point person on East Side School, which has been vacant since 1984. That project involves 48 units.

Klots Mill at 917 Gay St. is under the direction of The Landmark Group — Fitch Development in Winston-Salem, N.C. Also expected to get under way soon, that project will see 36 loft apartments and townhouses nearby.

When it comes to housing, Fiedler also fully expects the city to continue to tear down blighted properties and then see new homes built in those locations.

Contact Maria Smith at msmith@times-news.com.