Community viewed as a draw to city

Housing intended to serve workers relocated by BRAC

Baltimore Sun Article

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Official dedication ceremonies were held on Monday, June 9, 2008 for two communities playing an integral role in the revitalization of East Baltimore. Harkins Builders, Inc. was the general contractor for Park View at Ashland Terrace, a 74-unit affordable apartment community for active adults aged 62 and better and Ashland Commons, a 78-unit affordable apartment community designed for working professionals and families. The two communities opened their doors to residents in the fall of 2007.

The dedication was held at the adjacent properties located at 1705 E. Eager Street (Park View at Ashland Terrace) and 1715 E. Eager Street (Ashland Commons) in Baltimore and was attended by local officials, residents of the communities, and members of the development, design, and construction teams. Both Congressman Elijah Cummings and Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon attended the dedication and praised the impact the communities have had on the once-struggling neighborhood.

Park View at Ashland Terrace is the first age and income-qualified community and Ashland Commons is the first affordable workforce housing community to open as a part of Baltimore’s New EastSide, an 80-acre, $800 million urban redevelopment effort that combines significant new business activity with new housing and a high level of human services. It is a unique effort that brings together leadership from the community, business, government, and foundations to rebuild East Baltimore.

David Miller, vice president of construction at Harkins said, “We are very happy to hear all of the positive comments people are making today about the success of these two projects. Harkins and Shelter worked very hard, long before ground was broken, to build trust and confidence within the residential and contracting communities and among all the other stakeholders. We are especially proud that over 40% of the contracting dollars were awarded to minority, woman-owned, and locally-based businesses, and that the quality of the finished buildings is so very high.”

Park View at Ashland Terrace is designed for seniors aged 62 years and better. The building is replete with amenities including a multi-purpose community room with adjacent warming kitchen and computer stations, an exercise room, lounge areas for smaller gatherings, a multi-media room with a large wall-mounted flat screen television, and an on-site beauty salon.

Ashland Commons is a workforce housing community designed to appeal to and be affordable for teachers, firefighters, police officers, employees of nearby Johns Hopkins Hospital, and more. The community also benefits from generous on-site amenities including a mul

Harkins Builders is one of the nation’s Top 10 Rental Builders.

The May 2008 issue of Professional Builder magazine highlights the performance of the Top 10 Rental Builders compared with the top 10 single-family detached home builders, and notes Harkins’ 8.9% growth in rental unit completions in 2007 compared to 2006. “Six of the 10 rental kingpins finished more units in 2007 than in 2006, while the single-family builders are all down.” Harkins built 1,900 rental units in 2007 and 1,745 in 2006.

Larry Kraemer, vice president of preconstruction services at Harkins, is pleased with the recognition of Harkins’ standing in the nation’s building industry. “It’s great to be counted among the Top 10 in the country. As a multifamily builder since 1965, we have a tremendous resume of rental apartment projects, which are part of our diversified portfolio. As the market shifts its emphasis, we’re pleased to be in a position to be of service to rental developers.”

Daryl Spradley, senior vice president of Maitland, Fla.-based Charles Wayne Consulting, says rental apartments will be the top performer among all types of housing over the next few years. “Rental apartments will be the darling of the development industry,” Spradley says. “Rental produces the highest return of anything.”

Harkins currently has approximately 1,000 rental apartments under construction.

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The official kickoff for the renovation of Parkside Terrace Apartments was held at the site of the 12-story highrise in southeast Washington, DC on Monday, April 28th. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Ward 8 councilman Marion Barry, developer H.R. Crawford, representatives of the Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), and other dignitaries were on hand to take part in the ceremonial demolition by sledgehammer of a block wall.

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This vacant 12-story highrise in southeast Washington, DC is being redeveloped into 316 units of first-rate affordable housing. The building has been gutted, and will be reconfigured into 181 one-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors and 135 one- and two-bedroom units for small families. Seniors will occupy the lower seven floors, families the top five.

Planned features of the community include open floor plans with modern kitchen and bath designs. Upgrades to the units will include energy-efficient heat pump systems with individual controls, all wood cabinets, custom designer countertops, electric ranges, frost-free refrigerators, and disposals. In the bathrooms, wood vanities with cultured marble tops and ceramic tile bath surrounds will add to the new standard of living at Parkside. All units will also include high-speed internet and intranet access.

Each section of housing will also have features unique to the needs of the resident population. Seniors living at Parkside will have the added resources of a concierge desk and lounges on each floor, plus approximately 5,000 sq. ft. of community space, including an exercise room, health care suite, computer learning center, salon, and sundries shop.

The project will be complete in two years.

Harkins Builders, Inc. has built more than 600 projects in the Mid-Atlantic region, with a volume in excess of $3 billion since it incorporated in 1965.

A general and design-build contractor, Harkins builds residential projects including townhouses, garden apartments, mid-rise and high-rise apartments and condominiums, and commercial structures such as warehouse, retail, hotel/motel, medical facilities and office buildings.

The company is listed by Engineering News Record as a top contractor in the nation and is recognized as one of the largest general contractors in the Washington/Baltimore area.

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Harkins is pleased to announce that groundbreaking ceremonies were held November 13, 2007 at the Twinbrook Station mixed-use project in Rockville, Maryland.

Twinbrook Station, a joint development between The JBG Companies and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is a transit-oriented development project on 26 acres surrounding the Twinbrook Metro Station. The total project build-out will include approximately 325,000 sq. ft. of office space; 220,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail; and 1,595 multi-family residential units, 15 percent of which will be affordable housing.

Harkins is beginning construction on Phase 1, which will include 279 luxury apartments, 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space, and a six-story parking garage. The buildings are designed by Grimm + Parker Architects, and the master planner is Torti Gallas and Partners.

Harkins recently completed the Rollins Ridge mixed-use project, also in Rockville, which was a merit award winner in Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine's Best of 2007 competition.