The “Spooky” house to get demolished soon
The much discussed abandoned property (aka “Spooky House”) at the north east corner of Route 1 and Edgewood Rd is expected to be demolished soon.
The property has been an eyesore for a long time and has only contributed to give a negative impression of our neighborhood. We hope once the demolition is completed, the site will help attract a quality development / business there, preferably benefiting City residents. We will get the residents involved once any such project comes before us.
The owner of the property has agreed to share the demolition cost with the City (through a State grant). This was not the case with the other 2 demolition projects on Route 1, where the City took up the entire cost. The total cost of the project is around $32,000, about $18,000 of that will come from the State grant. The demolition project is expected to be finished by the middle of next month.
Unfortunately, there isn’t anything inside the building that is valuable for someone to reuse. The inside of the house is is a very dangerous condition for anyone to go.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Harry
Would be great if that property could be turned into a park which would be more beneficial to city residents instead of a commercial building that would generate more parking and congestion to an already over crowded intersection.
DAK4Blizzard
I agree with Harry. Maybe something to complement the planned Hollywood Park across Edgewood Road. It could create a prominent gateway into the Hollywood neighborhood.
Btw, what’s the status on the Hollywood Park? Is it in the construction bidding process?
Fazlul Kabir
Harry and DAK4Blizzard,
Many thanks for your comments and questions. We actually looked into the idea of having a park there and spoke with a number of residents in a town hall meeting last summer. Interestingly, we found the community wasn’t quite solidly behind the idea. That said, the option is not completely off the table.
Btw, the demolition work has started today and according to the owner, it will be completed by tomorrow.
The Council has already approved the Gateway Park design. The construction is expected to start most likely in early next year, depending on the availability of funds.
DAK4Blizzard
Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity, what were some reasons given against the park? What suggestions (if any) did residents have for the property?
As Harry suggests above, it seems it’ll be tough to develop this property without impacting traffic or forcing road enhancements. If it develops into something car-accessible, I can’t see a driveway on Edgewood Rd working out; it’d probably have to be located on 47th Pl. But that may introduce an issue of many cars turning left from Edgewood Rd onto 47th Pl. Just something to consider in the future if the city decides to develop the property.
Fazlul Kabir
There were a couple of concerns. The price was one, but also the location was another (proximity to the beltway with all pollution etc.). Most residents were however in support of getting rid of the current building because of it looks ugly and its cost prohibitive to renovate it. This is exactly what we’re doing.
The land is about 1.1 acre, which is not very large but not very small either. You’re right, there are limited options on what can be done here. Please check here to see more about the property, such as zoning and a brief history. https://www.kabircares.org/fact-sheet-of-9909-baltimore-avenue-aka-spooky-house/
Harry
There were a couple of concerns. The price was one, but also the location was another (proximity to the beltway with all pollution etc.)
So, the city would rather have commercial development that would bring more cars and add to the air pollution to the neighborhood. Just leave it an open and accessible field and people will discover uses for it. We do not need any development that would bring more cars onto 47th Pl and Nantucket Rd.
Fazlul Kabir
Harry, The only reason we had last year’s town hall meeting on the property was to explore the idea of buying the property and tuning it into a park. Though there were some residents supporting the idea, unfortunately many residents were not comfortable in going with that proposal. That said, the proposal is not completely off the table. Along the same line, we haven’t seen any specific proposal from the private owner of the property, yet. If he comes up with a proposal, we will definitely run that through the community to see what negative impact it may cause to the surrounding neighborhood. That will certainly include traffic impact to our neighborhood streets, such as 47th Place and Nantucket Rd.
Eric Olsen
I noticed the demolition work continuing this morning on my commute. I am really glad to see that place go.
A couple ideas that might be reasonable for the property and not increase polution too much:
A commercial garden center similar to a smaller version of Benkhe (maybe a subsidary) – there are a lot of big time gardeners in Hollywood who could make use and it would fit with the park across the street (just look at the vegetable operation across the street from the property at 4708 Edgewood!). Could be run on solar power based on the removal of trees from the property.
A welcome center for College Park – Also would fit with the park across the street, could have Terps gear for sale, maps and realtor information for the community, bus stop for the 83/Terp shuttle. Should be low energy enough to be run on solar, not a lot of vehicle pollution.
Real estate office – (would fit well if Greenbelt gets the FBI) Focused on Hollywood, have local College Park business pamphlets for home improvement/daycare/landscaping. Again, powered by solar.
Just some ideas.
Fazlul Kabir
Thanks Eric for stopping by (my blog). These are all good ideas and we’ll definitely take them into consideration as we move to the next steps. Fazlul