I moved to Baltimore in the 70′s (to attend graduate school at Hopkins)and remember a friend who bought a huge Victorian in Reservoir Hill from the city for one dollar ($1).

He did the renovation while living in it (what a mess to live with). It took him years, as he didn’t have any money or credit and just did what he could with what he brought home from his day job.

I lost track of him, so I don’t know how it turned out, but I always admired his courage to be an urban homesteader in a blighted neighborhood.

Reservoir Hill has always been on the cusp of a resurgance and it was exciting to see the rehabs happening a couple of years ago. I thought that the neighborhood re-birth might actually have a chance this time.

Unfortunately, speculators came in, artificially inflated prices and the area fell victim to the RE crash that other over-priced neighborhoods have suffered.

It would be good if the city would re-visit the $1 house idea again. Reservoir Hill (and a lot of other neighborhoods) would benefit from the hard work and commitment of urban homesteaders. Homeowners who care about their neighborhoods are the best asset the city has.

Yes, there is a lot of pride in Reservoir Hill and a large amount of concerned and active residents… Myself and my wife do live in ResHill and love our home.

Yes, the picture of Callow Ave is probably the most blighted, possibly holding this title along with Lakeview. That area would have been such a different place if the developer who was awarded the properties had the capacity to do all 16 homes at once, then sell around the same time. You can’t rehab 2 homes and expect to sell them with blight all around, and hinge the success and continuation of your project by monies made on the first couple being sold. I also think the failed condos on Callow are because they also thought developer of callow single properties would succeed. One of the factors which led to our decision on ResHill was the development of the two parcels on Druid Lake Park Drive, overlooking the Reservoir.. yes another failed city project..

The key to a revitalized ResHill no doubt lies at its very core. The center of the neighborhood. The Callow cooridor needs market rate home owners. The Whitelock cooridor needs to rebuild the commercial strip which was torn down in mid-90s (community is currently working on a whitelock redevelopment plan which includes firm market study and architectural studies) I have PDF concept dwgs.

Some positive aspects of ResHill development which surrounds ResHill… Revitalization of Mondawmin which includes overall facelift, addition of Target, Shoppers, and others; expansion of Coppin State; revitalization of Druid Hill Park and Maryland Zoo, new MICA expansion at North Ave, future State Center development around Eutaw, accelerating development in Station North, great access to 83, huge increase in sanitation and police presence over the last 3 years.

Yes, ResHill has its downsides, as any city neigbhorhood would have. Drug sales are diminihing but still present in blighted areas. Does this mean ALL of ResHill.. No. Just areas like pictured(Callow), which have no residents. Reservoir Hill is a huge neigbhorhood, so branding it entirely with negatives is a bit off course. Like saying don’t move into Federal Hill because of section 8 housing on Hamburg. OK, not exactly like saying that, because FeddyHill has walkable commercial, ResHill’s second downside. Third downside is low number of home owners… A well known figure of status for a ‘healthy neigbhorhood’ is at least 40% home ownership. Something ResHill has yet to achieve, but it steadily growing. Last teeny problem is a bit of underlying racism and income clash. The overall majority of people are welcoming and warm as a community goes, but there are still folks who don’t necessarily offer warm greetings to middle class or higher, especially whites. With around 90% Black (many longer time residents with many generations who never moved away, some rarely leaving the city limits) there is sometimes a feeling like Dr.King just got shot and that if your not black you caused it, even though it was nearly a half century and three generations ago. When it comes to income, many revert to color blindness. As many residents live below median income for Baltimore area, even middle class struggling to pay for their houses are ridiculed for ‘causing gentrification’, whether they are white, black, yellow, or blue… Many people living in huge delapidating victorian homes which cost 45,000$ 5 years ago, are upset that home prices have went up.

So overall, yes, it is still considered a homesteading area. But we couldn’t see where else we’d get a close to 4000 sqft house, that we could custom design from a shell, in such a great central location in the city, close to its greatest park, where we’ll take our soon to be born first child. Yes, we have to stop by the grocery on our way home from work, and can’t stagger home from the corner bar, but there are many positive stories to be told.

Just a note though, all of the foregoing means nothing if you are not the same Fred I am thinking of. I do not want to butcher your last name, but I believe it was Nesbet. You also had a house on Bellville ave. in 21207.

Anyway I hope you are good.

Thanks for your comments, Jack. Your input on my BLOG is always welcomed.

Couple thoughts on your Reservoir Hill commentary. I see that the picture you took is of the 2200 block of Callow Ave, the site of yet another stalled City RFP project. While I don’t disagree with the City’s strategy to try to help kickstart a neighborhood with a larger scale project (face it, its virtually impossible to turn a 90% boarded block 1 house at a time), they’ve done a horrible job of choosing developers and projects who actually move forward and get their projects done in transitional neighborhoods. Their underwriting is generally unrealistic and they don’t know the difficulties involved in renovating in Baltimore City. The result? – the City turns over control of a fantastic block like the 2200 of Callow to someone with an unrealistic business plan and the block remains boarded.

There are cases of this all over the
City. Go to http://www.baltimorehousing.org Developer’s section and go to Awarded Contracts. The projects in tougher neighborhoods (our favorites), just don’t get done. As a result, big blocks of transitional neighborhoods sit vacant and tied up. We little guys can’t even help these neighborhoods move forward.

Personal pet peeves:
- North Broadway Corridor (800-1800 N Broadway)
- 2200-2300 block of Callow Ave
- Johnston Square (700-900 E Preston St)

Love the forum and the renovating, Craig. Keep it up.
-jack

Keep up the good work!

I don’t have a single penny tied up into RH and I have not even wholesaled a deal in RH.

Sometime next week would great for lunch. Daycare is closed all this week and I’ll be home with the boys.

Vern