It was a day of celebration and hope for the future as County Executive Jim Smith was joined by Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Councilmen Joe Bartenfelder (D-6) and John Olszewski, Sr. (D-7) and representatives from Enterprise Homes and The Mark Building Company in breaking ground on Renaissance Square. The new neighborhood will feature a variety of housing on the former Kingsley Park Apartments site in Essex. The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Thursday, March 26.
"We are very thrilled to be having the official groundbreaking ceremony for Renaissance Square," explained Chickie Grayson, President and CEO of Enterprise Homes, Inc., which will develop the community through a partnership with The Mark Building Company. "The community has been very patient and persistent in waiting for this. The response has been overwhelming. I want to thank the vision of County Executive Jim Smith for allowing people from all walks of life to live in an extraordinary new home community."
The 17-acre Renaissance Square will consist of an apartment building with 81 workforce housing units for seniors over the age of 62 and 115 units of for-sale housing of townhouses, detached cottages and two larger single-family home designs. Sixty of the for-sale homes will be eligible for families with incomes as low as 60 percent of the area median income. Through an agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Baltimore County acquired the troubled Kingsley Park Apartments, which had suffered from crime and drug activity, and had them demolished."After years of sub-standard and crime ridden housing that plagued Kingsley Park, Renaissance Square will be home to beautiful new housing for seniors, for young families, and it will provide opportunities for home ownership," said County Executive Jim Smith. "This groundbreaking is an outstanding achievement for the people of Essex. I also thank Enterprise Homes and Mark Building Company for their commitment to working together with this community to make Renaissance Square something that will be truly special."
In May of 2005 a charrette process was held to collect community input for the design of the new neighborhood. A naming contest was later held and a long-time resident of Essex submitted the name Renaissance Square.
"I am overwhelmed by the work the County and the community did," said Grayson. "People voted and supported every inch of this project. You get your best homes and your best neighborhoods that way."
"This was a long time coming but it?s here and it?s worth the wait," added Smith. "Renaissance Square is the poster child for the Renaissance in Baltimore County."
Lt. Governor Anthony Brown attended the groundbreaking ceremony and praised Smith for his work on Renaissance Square and in providing affordable housing for residents of Baltimore County.
"Jim Smith?s passion and commitment bleeds through in everything he does," said Brown. "We have a lot of work cut out for us. Between now and 2015 Maryland will be 140,000 units deficient in affordable housing."
"This would not be happening without the 150 percent commitment of Jim Smith," added Councilman Joe Bartenfelder. "Today is a day of dreams becoming reality."
"This is the end of a long journey but the beginning of another journey," said Councilman John Olszewski, Sr. "This is a great day for Essex and a great day for all the people of Baltimore County."
While celebrating the revival of the Kingsley Park site, many speakers remarked on their memories of the former neighborhood.
"I remember visiting this site in 1999," explained Raymond A. Skinner, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. "It had very little to offer. Many of the units were vacant with boarded up windows and it was a haven for crime. I look forward to a rebirth of this community."
Norman Taylor, a former resident of Kingsley Park who still lives in the area, talked about life in his old neighborhood.
"I?ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly here," said Taylor. "There were gunshots all hours of the day and people shooting at one another down the street. This is a very good thing. I?m sure everyone will be happy in this new community."
Completion of the entire Renaissance Square development is expected by mid-2012, however, the Evergreen senior apartments are expected to be open later this year. The Enterprise/Mark Building Joint Venture is the master developer of the community. The project is valued at $43 million in total development costs, which includes financing from Susquehanna Bank, the State of Maryland, Baltimore County, Enterprise Green Communities and a tax credit equity investment through Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. Through funding from the Enterprise Green Communities grant, the homes at Renaissance Square and the Evergreen senior apartment building will include a variety of green design features such as green label carpet, energy-efficient HVAC systems, Energy Star appliances and heat-and drought-tolerant landscaping.
"There is currently a waiting list of people interested in this community," said Larry Rosenberg, President of The Mark Building Company. "I?m one of the few builders in the nation right now who can say that."
