Content provided in partnership with

New landlord weighs future of apartment complex in Northeast

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 29, 2005 by Jen DeGregorio

A 365-unit apartment complex in Northeast Baltimore near the Baltimore County line sold this month for $14.3 million to Virginia developer East Belvedere Realty Inc.

The company is considering knocking some of the units down to make way for commercial space, specifically medical offices that would complement nearby Good Samaritan Hospital, said Bret Hopkins, an operating manager of East Belvedere and management company Fairfax Station Enterprises LLC.

While plans for the property are still tentative, Hopkins said he is entertaining a number of ideas.

Plans range from rehabilitating existing apartments with features such as central air conditioning, to building a retirement community to demolishing the entire 260,000 square feet of apartment space.

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

Land is a very valuable asset and we bought 20-plus acres with lots of buildings on it, and if someone wants to talk to me about doing something different, I'm all for hearing it, Hopkins said.

Fairfax Station Enterprises manages two other apartment buildings in the Baltimore market: the Sam Esther apartments in West Baltimore and West Cliff Apartments in Bel Air, Hopkins said.

The company also manages a number of other properties in Northern Virginia.

The location was good. It was a good value and the community was a good, quiet community, Hopkins said of Lochwood.

The strong Baltimore real estate market also affected Hopkins' decision.

It is a good time to buy, he said. You can get apartments at a reasonably good price at low interest rates.

Before being sold to East Belvedere, Lochwood Apartments was owned by Maryland-based RLA Management LLP for more than 30 years, Hopkins said.

RLA has a history of controversy in the area.

According to a 2002 report in The Daily Record, the company was sued in 1998 for neglect of the property, which plaintiff Suzette Hemmings said led to a murder in one of its properties, the 460- unit Pelham Wood apartment building in Baltimore County.

The Baltimore County Circuit Court granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of RLA and holding company Pelham Wood LLP, saying that a landlord could not be held responsible for a crime that occurs inside a building.

RLA could not be reached for comment.

Tenants in Lochwood Apartments have also been dissatisfied with RLA, according to apartmentratings.com.

Three of four people rating Lochwood on the Web site, who claimed to be present or former tenants, said they would not recommend the apartment to prospective renters. One gave it a qualified approval.

Hopkins did not comment specifically on the previous owner but said that East Belvedere would be making significant improvements to apartments if the company decides to keep them.

New landlord weighs future of apartment complex in Northeast

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 29, 2005 by Jen DeGregorio

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Arts

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business