Putting the urban in suburban: Developers harvest the best of city living
The sign on a set of new houses for sale in White Marsh reads “urban-inspired.” To the developer, it’s one way to entice buyers with a bit of city life in the middle of what once was barren hinterlands in eastern Baltimore County.
But look closer. Homes in Greenleigh at Crossroads are even nicknamed after Baltimore landmarks: There’s the Lexington, the Federal Hill and the Mount Vernon models.
“It’s suburban living re-imagined,” said Dave Murphy, vice president of Elm Street Development, a residential builder at the 200-acre Greenleigh development.
It’s also part of a growing trend.
In Greater Baltimore, the urban-suburban vibe is evident on a map, appearing like spokes of a wheel: Greenleigh in White Marsh, Metro Centre in Owings Mills, Downtown Columbia, Maple Lawn in Howard County, and Annapolis Towne Centre in Anne Arundel County to name a few. The projects are marked by dense residential, office, retail and social hamlets and have taken on their own distinct personalities with block parties, holiday fireworks, farmer’s markets and sporting events.
The urban-suburban motif has taken root as part of a reinvention of the suburbs over the past decade. It is part of a rush to create communities in newer, safer and bucolic surroundings laden with the convenience, creativity and energy of an established urban core.
“Sometimes it’s referred to as the new urbanism,” said Stephen Walters, an economics professor at the Loyola University Sellinger School of Business whose 2014 book “Boom Towns: Restoring the Urban American Dream” detailed it.
At Greenleigh, asphalt ribbons are being carved into former open space in a grid that looks straight out of Roland Park.
“It has all the elements of the urban environment without the negatives of the urban environment,” said Neil Greenberg, chief operating officer of Somerset Construction, a partner in the $750 million development.
He ticked off a list of so-called benefits: “It’s less expensive, there’s a whole lot less crime, you don’t have to worry about parking your car, there’s not the vandalism. And everything is new.
“It looks like when Baltimore was originally built a long time ago.”
The first residents will move into Greenleigh after Thanksgiving, said Richard Williamson, senior vice president of St. John Properties, another development partner.
A year from now, Williamson added, there will be a bustling social structure centered on a town square now being created just off Route 43. Already, a Class A office building is 90 percent leased there, a new hotel is underway, and retail and restaurants are thriving. Soon, the popular restaurant and bar Michaels will expand to its second location there from Timonium.
“We’re going to have real density here,” Williamson said.
About 40 miles away, Maple Lawn is already well-established.
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