Letting Hagerstown be Hagerstown

Avisitor to Gateway Crossing in the West End of Hagerstown, Maryland, might not sense that he has encountered a “project” or “development.” Gateway Crossing appears more like, well, Hagerstown — a small city with streets lined by two-story, single and two-family dwellings, some clad in brick, others in wood, most of them with porches overlooking the sidewalks. The houses being constructed in the $27.3 million HOPE VI public housing redevelopment follow town-building patterns that prevailed in western Maryland decades ago: Dwellings in relatively simple styles march down the blocks, with continuous rows of front porches tying the scene together. “The Housing Authority wanted its project to fit in, not seem to stand apart,” says David Stembel, project manager for the architects, the Philadelphia office of Wallace, Roberts & Todd. On 15 acres where 210 barracks-style public housing units were razed and on 30 adjoining acres that used to contain a trailer park and industrial uses, Pennrose Properties of Philadelphia and the Hagerstown Housing Authority are building 60 for-sale housing units (for buyers with incomes not exceeding 80 percent of the region’s median) and 290 rental units for subsidized or public housing residents. Two other for-sale houses are being constructed through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The overall project, including low-income tax credits from the state and community development block grant funds from the city, amounts to $73.5 million. All 60 of Pennrose’s for-sale houses have been sold, the great majority of them prior to completion, at prices of $75,000 to $88,000, says Glenn Worgan, project manager for the company, which specializes in developing HOPE VI projects. The homeownership units typically contain 1,500 square feet and cost nearly $150,000 to build, according to Worgan. They are aimed at diversifying what had been a declining neighborhood in this city of 37,000, about 70 miles northwest of the nation’s capital. using the vernacular Some rental houses resembling American Foursquares from 90 years ago contain two, one-bedroom flats, one above the other, each with its own front door on the ground floor. To help generate a congenial atmosphere, corner houses using this design feature twin porches — one facing the front street, the other facing the side street. Eighty-four percent of the units in Gateway Crossing are designed so that a person in a wheelchair can visit. Most two- and three-bedroom houses recall the side-by-side duplexes that have long been common in Hagerstown, an old railway hub and manufacturing center. On houses with brick fronts, the brick continues partway along the sides, often under a pent roof, to make the masonry veneer more convincing. As a cost-saving measure, vinyl clapboard siding is also used. The project achieves an overall density of 12 units per acre, with off-street parking along alleys. Because of noise from nearby rail lines, a sound wall has been built along part of the development’s edge. Intensive tree planting will mask its presence. “In addition, we are rehabbing 49 existing homes in the West End and installing street trees and lighting in much of the West End, not just our Gateway Crossing site,” says Hagerstown Housing Authority Executive Director Ted Shankle. A $4.8 million, 23,000 sq. ft. community center called Elgin Station offers numerous programs for children and adults, including a Boys & Girls Club, Head Start, a computer lab, and athletic facilities. Scheduled for completion in 2006, the development has spurred other owners to carry out renovations. “We hope to be the first HOPE VI grantee to complete the project on time and under budget,” says Shankle. Some of the property was land that the big railroad company CSX was not using but was not eager to dispose of. “It took 2-1/2 years to get CSX to sell property to us,” Shankle says. “They have a general policy that they don’t sell anything unless it’s worth $100,000 or more. I’m glad my dad taught me perseverance.” u