Wilde Lake has perhaps the largest number of small developments with many different housing choices. Some have aged better than others. Those that haven't aged well were published in my Wilde Lake Redevelopment post back in 2008. Those that have aged better are for the most, larger homes that have been privately owned their entire lifespan, those that haven't were converted as such and maintain a high home ownership rate. In order for these homes, when they start coming on the market again not to be skipped over by potential Buyers and Real Estate Agents alike their exterior facades are due for a major reinvestment to keep them viable for decades to come.
First we start with Columbia's very first homes, Bryant Gardens. Originally Apartments these have been created into Condos and the upkeep is great. However, the exterior facades mimic those of dated crime ridden Apartments despite their great upkeep. Unlike many many older Columbia Neighborhoods, trees appear very healthy and green grass can grow all around.
The updated Bryant Gardens will feature vinyl siding where the stucco was and new bricks where the old ones are. The windows will be upgraded allowing for decks and balconies. Buildings will be enclosed and guests will be "buzzed" in. The interior of the Buildings were be illuminated and carpeted and the steps will be upgraded.
The Cove is almost identical to Bryant Gardens with both developments being built in 1967 as Apartments and being converted into Condos in the early 1980s. One the Cove does have a leg up on Bryant Gardens is the fact that it's on Wilde Lake. If ever Columbia had Million Dollar Condos outside of Town Center, The Cove might be it. Getting their facades upgraded might be a challenge seeing that Oprah lived here they might qualify for Historic Designation.
Be that as it may, I still say a more modern look is needed. Seeing that Bryant Gardens has been a virtual twin to the Cove for 43 years, I say their updated looks be identical as well. The Cove will feature new windows, siding, and balconies, and enclosed buildings. Like Bryant Gardens The Cove already has great landscaping.
Russett Ridge town homes, located along Windstream Drive, Greek Boy Place, and Barcan Circle appear to have aged worse than Bryant Gardens and the Cove despite never being rentals and being two years younger having been built in 1969. Homes here are either two or three stories as depicted by the photos above.
The revamped Russett Ridge will feature updated siding, bricks, or stone with new windows and decorative dormers. As you can see I've provided examples of what the two story and three story homes would look like.
Beechin Hills Town Homes have aged very gracefully. As Columbia's first town homes a mild freshening with new siding is all that's in order. The structures don't really warrant much overhauling like other developments.
Like I said just fresh siding and trim. Very little is needed for these diamond in the rough town homes.
Hollow Oaks features town homes that are three to a row. Unlike Beechin Hills they need more than just a freshening. But don't fret! I have a good idea on how to transform these threesomes.
I found some three to a row town homes in Baltimore that part of a Hope VI redevelopment known as Heritage Crossing. Like Hollow Oaks Heritage Crossing has the two end units larger than the middle one. Hollow Oaks can adapt the brick end units and the vinyl siding middle unit.
Also in Hollow Oaks lies large three story split foyer town homes. These are more than three in a row but reinvestment is needed none the less.
Here we have brand new large Town Homes that also happen to be split foyer. These would be the perfect model for the larger Hollow Oaks Town Homes.
In Hollow Oaks there is space for new construction! With the existing homes redone new homes won't look out of place. 
The new homes in Hollow Oaks will be two car garage Town Homes. The ones pictures above are in the same development as the split foyer ones I suggested for the existing Hollow Oaks.
Finally we come to Cross Fox. Cross Fox is Condos and back to back Town Homes which started as rentals and were converted to home ownership. These are a little than the other developments listed here being built in 1975. Their brick exteriors lack any accessories.
The perfect solution is to give them partial siding and window treatments as shown here in an Apartment Complex that was all brick lack luster and has been transformed into what you see here. These original Apartments were built in 1974.Well that's it for the reinvestment of Wilde Lake! This one's been a long time coming.
10 comments:
Good post as always. Just curious, what are your thoughts on Tidesfall and Tidesfall II ?
I moved here in 1971. While your blog is insulting and juvenile, currently town homes sell for $200,000. What would your new homes cost? Where should the people who live there now move to when they can't afford the new ones?
In this particular post nobody would go anywhere, this just new siding and exterior facades. Not a single home would be demolished, not a single family displaced. Given the current Real Estate Market, I can't really say what the prices of the renovated homes would be. As for the Tidesfall comment I love those homes and wouldn't touch them.
You can also look at post that do propose redevelopment of certain neighborhoods and you will see how the new homes will be priced and that a generous portion will be below market value whether for rent or for sale, espcially for seniors.
The photos that you post of the "Re-developed" facades are of Ryan Homes built tract houses. What happens in 15-25 years when that architectural style is nolonger in vogue? Most of the properties that you feel are in need of a facelift, where done in the mid-century modern style, which has become very in demand again. Personally, I find it refreshing that not every house in columbia is covered in tacky vinyl siding, fake shutters, and cheap vinyl windows. We should be reveling in the architectural diversity found here, not trying to make everuthing look like the rest of suburbia. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Those houses are not mid-century modern.
If they're so in demand why aren't they being built as new homes?
Speaking of how ghetto parts of columbia are getting.A couple of black guys recently tried to burn down the Wilde Lake village center. They were seen on the Citgo's cameras but not clearly enough to ID them. You wont see any news articles on that (or the guy who was shot in the head on Gov. Warfield near the mall in broad daylight a couple months ago) but you can drive up and see all the fire damage and boarded up windows. There is also a lot of gang spray paint signs going up in the neighborhood. I've seen "B'ULLS" & "Fk" sprayed a lot of places. Hopefully the redevelopment will bring in some classy people to improve the neighborhood and not more section 8. There is a lot of crime here that you don't see reported (in the news) anywhere. We need to push the thugs out of Wilde Lake, not add 500 more rental properties to house them.
I hope you are including yourself in the lack of classy people. I've lived in Columbia over thirty years and currently rent. I suspect that the doctors, nurses, military officers and other professionals in my complex don't have criminal records. I know I don't.
I agree with some of the more skeptical comments; while the "before" pictures don't exactly match my idea of "mid century modern", I wouldn't be surprised if what I would call "70s bland" comes into vogue eventually. Anyway, even ugly brick is less tacky than vinyl siding, which is right on par with tar paper when it comes to cheap house makeovers. It takes some effort to build a really ugly building out of brick, but if I owned one, I'd be inclined to cover it with stucco (or cement board with a stucco finish), more brick or some kind of thin stone veneer. Some of the ugliest brick (late 60's red-brown stained cement brick, for example), can be improved with just a coat of paint (white looks OK, red usually looks like a sad attempt to imitate unpainted brick). Even the most pretentious varieties of these materials can't come close to the tackiness of vinyl siding, they also tend to age more gracefully.
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