Mark Building Helps Pioneer Movement West as Home Buyers Seek Alternative to DC Beltway Congestion
Martinsburg, West VA June 21, 2006 ? National home builders are just discovering what regional pioneers including The Mark Building Company
have known for several years: there?s gold in West Virginia?s hills.
Home buyers in the D.C. suburbs as well as western counties of Maryland
are migrating over mountain passes into West Virginia?s eastern
panhandle in search of homes, land and security ever since 9-11
ratcheted up the fear factor of living near the nation?s capitol and
beltway congestion more frequently turned 30-minute drives into three
hours.
Bob Crawford, director of economic development for Berkeley County, West Virginia sums the movement west this way: ?9-11 made a lot of people living close to major cities think twice, that maybe they should move a little farther away.?
Then, says Crawford, there was the ?no-growth factor in Loudoun County (VA) as well as in Winchester and Frederick (MD). Major developers could not build there so they leap-frogged over the mountains to Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, and southwest into Hampshire County.?
Wild and wonderful West Virginia over the years developed a patina of sophistication as it attracted even more highly educated and skilled workers who moved there and then tried to keep the ?Almost Heaven? aspects of it secret.
Larry Rosenberg, president of The Mark Building Company, was in on the secret well before word leaked out about West Virginia?s livability, attempting to duplicate in the Jefferson and Berkeley counties of West VA what he has done in Maryland: create award-winning communities built to benefit the entire areas they serve.
One recent example is WaterView, ?A New American Town? created in a section of east Baltimore County once considered a pariah by developers. The area was put on the map during World War II when it was the center of construction for American aircraft. During the ?70s, it started to decline, affected by the drug trade and other forms of social and economic blight.
Rosenberg saw the potential in WaterView well before his peers and knew the region was ready for an up-turn. Plus, it had one of the best-kept secrets around ? a location close to Middle River, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay ? a fact amazingly overlooked by many Baltimoreans. County Executive and current MD Congressman C.A. ?Dutch? Ruppersberger billed WaterView as the ?cornerstone? of Baltimore County?s plans to ?re-energize? this eastern section of the county. WaterView broke ground in January of 2001. From the start it was destined for success, beginning with a waiting list of 100 people for this community of 175 single-family homes joined by an adjacent retail center. Residences started in the $170,000s. Early buyers have seen a 100 percent increase in their investment, with recent resells going for more than $350,000. And yes, other developers are now in hot pursuit of land there.
WaterView won numerous civic and professional awards with Rosenberg himself winning the title of ?Visionary Developer? from the Essex/White Marsh/Middle River Chamber of Commerce. Mark Building established storm drainage systems that actually improved water quality in Middle River, created an environment where home owners could walk to the grocery store or bank, and not only preserved mature trees on the land, but added more and saved much of the acreage for parks and open spaces.
That same type of vision was brought to West Virginia two years ago when Mark Building purchased 56 acres in proximity to historic Shepherdstown and began development on Colonial Hills, a community of single-family homes, villas, townhomes and apartments. Most development in the region previously had been done by locals. Builders elsewhere had yet to catch on to what Rosenberg instinctively knew: for Mid-Atlantic builders, West Virginia was the new frontier.
Just two months after breaking ground in Shepherdstown, WVA in January of last year, Rosenberg found himself in a highly unusual situation: another builder called seeking entry into this gold mine of an area that?s become chic to the well-heeled District of Columbia set. It was a win-win situation.
Mark Building decided to handle construction of 20 villas and an apartment complex in Colonial Hills, turning the single-family homes and townhomes portion of the project over to the highly respected Beazer Homes? Virginia division. The sharing of Colonial Hills allowed Mark Building to simultaneously focus on development in Martinsburg, WVA.
Recently, Mark Building received plat approval there for 325 singles and townhome units off I-81 bordered by Route 11 and Weaver Lane. Called The Lakes of Martinsburg, the community will center around four man-made lakes plus a pond. Mark Building is constructing a village-style town center with complimentary mix of retail; townhomes; plus The Lakes Club which will serve as the social hub of the community with a clubhouse for gatherings and planned activities; pool with a sloping entry perfect for children; tennis courts; playing fields and other amenities.
Other well-known builders were selected by Mark Building to create other residential dimensions to The Lakes:, constructing single-family residences and townhomes.
David Hartley, executive officer for the Eastern Panhandle Home Builders Association, says larger regional as well as national home builders are coming to the eastern panhandle because of ?the availability of land (and fact) the cost of land to develop is less, relative to the DC metro market.?
Home buyers, Hartley says, are attracted because they ?get more house for their money and can afford bigger homes and they realize there?s a good quality of life here with lower crime and good schools. The area also is well-located geographically, off major Interstates, with good transportation in and out of the area.?
Martinsburg alone, for example, admitted 700 new children to its school system by the end of last May, according to Crawford.
The Lakes, with its gently winding streets, landscaping that adds 65% more trees than originally existed and homes that speak to the individuality of their owners, will look like an established community that?s always been there, blending well with the surrounding area.
Rosenberg is betting that ?feeling of familiarity? will appeal to many seeking alternatives to living in and around D.C., but liking the easy access to both Baltimore and D.C., more countrified air of West Virginia and its mix of intellectual, artistic and sporting pursuits.
The Mark Building Company is based northwest of Baltimore in Owings Mills, MD. Rosenberg is a fourth-generation home builder/developer.
