Living in Towson was fine when her children were young, but after they grew up and her husband died, Paula Glowacki found that things became too quiet.
"I was lonely. Everyone worked," she said. "It wasn't like when we had kids. I was older ... and so unhappy."
After plenty of reflection, Glowacki decided to try going home to Highlandtown. In February, she moved into a completely renovated rowhouse near Patterson Park.
Now friends and family surround her. A sister lives next door, another sister lives two doors down, and still another sister lives across the street.
Glowacki and dozens of other new residents credit the move to the Patterson Park Community Development Corp., a 6-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to reviving Patterson Park and Highlandtown.
The corporation helped Glowacki determine if she could afford to move into one of its rowhouses and then designed and renovated it to her specifications.
"They're a godsend," Glowacki said. "It has changed my life. They changed all kinds of little things, plus they upgraded my appliances and the kitchen floor, put in bathroom upgrades, did wall-to-wall carpeting and a hot water heater."
Today, Glowacki and her sisters are hardly ever home. They've become part of the community's renaissance. They help pick up trash, "get after" neighbors who don't clean their portions of the alleys, and attend numerous local activities.
Glowacki is exactly the kind of soldier the corporation wants to enlist in its war against absent, uncaring landlords and their problem tenants. The organization wants to fill the streets with stable homeowners like her.
To achieve its goal, the corporation buys homes around Patterson Park and nearby streets and then resells or rents them. "The people here are desperately trying to save the area," said Ed Rutkowski, the organization's founder and a Highlandtown native.
That's not to say that the 12,000 residents in the area let their homes fall into disrepair. Most don't.
But the corporation has been fighting an uphill battle against local "flippers" - speculators who buy dilapidated rowhouses for quick resale at inflated values, using falsified documents to obtain mortgage loans for the buyers.
Flipping leaves victims with little money to spend on their homes beyond making the mortgage payment. A sudden, expensive repair can prove disastrous for the new owner, who is often forced to abandon the home.
"Let's say it's a single mom with kids, and money is dear. Now her boiler breaks and it's $4,000 to replace it. They walk away from the home and the house is vacant. That means more crime and vandalism," said Tara Tyler, the development corporation's sales manager.
The flipping cycle creates about 300 vacant houses in the area at any one time, estimates Bill Henry, assistant corporation director.
In six years, the Patterson Park Community Development Corp. has given a helping hand to 317 properties. It has sold 74 of its custom-rehabilitated homes and has 20 more of those homes under contract. Fifteen rowhouses were sold "as is" to other developers or individuals who did their own renovations. The corporation also has 141 rental rowhouses.
The group also has three office buildings and 64 houses designated as inventory.
"We're doing much more than we expected," Rutkowski said of the corporation, which is supported by foundations and government funds.
The group's target area is bounded by Patterson Park Avenue on the west, Fayette Street and Pulaski Highway on the north, Haven Street on the east and Eastern Avenue on the south.
The zone takes in five neighborhoods: Patterson Place, Baltimore Linwood, Baltimore Highlands, South Ellwood and Highlandtown. It contains 12,000 people and 5,500 houses.
Usually, the corporation buys homes at foreclosure auctions. Right now, its primary focus is on Baltimore Street along the park, and a few side streets close to the park.
Fetching highest prices
The rehabbed homes are now fetching their highest prices. In 1997, the average sales price of a park-side home in need of renovation was about $57,800, with an average of 201 days on the market.
Last year, similar homes spent only 56 days on the market, said officials at the local Long & Foster Realtors office. Many rehabs sold for $130,000 and higher - prices unheard of in past years.
Recent park improvements made by the city have been a blessing for these homes, corporation officials say. These include the planting of trees, better lighting and the renovation of the park's 1891 "Pagoda," also known as the Patterson Park Observatory.
(The Pagoda was designed by Charles Latrobe, grandson of Benjamin H. Latrobe, architect of Baltimore's Basilica of the Assumption.)
The park acts as the "natural draw," as does the waterfront in Canton. Among the park's attractions are its pool and its tennis courts.
"The strength is the park front," said Dahlia Kaminsky, the corporation's marketing manager. "In Canton, the expensive homes are on the water and less so as you go out. Now we're seeing a boom of park-front homes here."
"It's 155 acres of yard and someone else mows it," added Tyler, the corporation's sales manager. She liked it so much, she, too, invested in the area - and now lives in a home rehabbed by the corporation.
The development corporation's efforts also are boosting private home sales in the area.
Long & Foster agent Adrian Sushko, who grew up on Baltimore Street near the park, has marketed several local homes, including one for sale now by a private owner for a milestone $325,000. He expects similar sales to follow and feels Patterson Park is one of the best-kept secrets in town.
"So many agents focus on Fells Point and Canton, but I love to work here," Sushko said.
"The [Patterson Park Community Development Corporation] has restored legitimacy to home sales here. Five years ago people feared to venture out here. Back then I wasn't a believer, either. My mom lives there, and a few years ago I told her to get out while she could and still salvage some money. She didn't. Now the houses are going in the $140,000s. It's raising eyebrows."
Canton's famous renaissance, in turn, has helped inspire the corporation's efforts in Patterson Park.
Corporation officials insist they don't want a carbon copy of Canton, but a healthy Patterson Park. Rutkowski said the area is more diverse than Canton, economically and culturally.
Recent convert
Recent converts to the area are Stephen Riescher and his fiancee, who are moving into a corporation-renovated home next month.
Riescher had been renting on Eastern Avenue and decided to buy a home in the area. And he got a much lower price in Patterson Park than he would have a few blocks away in Canton.
"You can do a lot for half what it would cost in Canton," he said. "I got a new home for $130,000. In Canton, it would have been $230,000."
Riescher worked with corporation architects to give his home a contemporary, urban style.
With the corporation's help, the couple obtained a 5 percent, 30-year mortgage through SunTrust Banks. He qualified for $3,000 in closing costs from the "Tour Baltimore" program. And his fiancee, Jessica Zimbler, a National Aquarium employee, obtained another $3,000 for closing costs through the "Live Near Your Work" program.
The corporation employs a multi-pronged real estate strategy. Some homes are purchased, rehabilitated and then sold, while others are sold "as is" for the buyer to renovate.
The corporation sells directly to the public or through affiliated real estate agents it feels are sympathetic to the area's revival.
The corporation also rents out rowhouses it has restored. The organization has its own rental property management team. Rents range from $600 to $675 per month for two-bedroom units. Three-bedroom houses rent for $725 per month
If buyers choose to rehab through the corporation, an in-house architect will advise them on everything, from the floor plan to the fixtures. The design-build process takes eight to 10 months, with the corporation obtaining subcontractors at the best rates it can find.
So far, men have tended to buy homes that have already been rehabbed, while women want to customize first, working with an in-house architect, Kaminsky said.
Single, professional women have been the corporation's best customers, followed by single, professional men. Few families with children have been interested in the area.
"The idea is that this neighborhood doesn't cater to a single demographic - that all are welcome here and are, in fact, needed to play an integral part in rebuilding this community," Tyler said.
Newcomers are staying, Kaminsky said. Only two buyers of corporation homes have moved out: one because of a job transfer and the other because the family outgrew the house.
To attract more buyers, particularly families with school-age children, the corporation knows it's going to take more than just pretty rowhouses.
Serious issues facing local schools are crowded classrooms, dysfunctional families and unruly children. The area also faces crime problems linked to drugs, vagrancy and prostitution.
The corporation doesn't try to hide these issues. Instead, members are working with the school system, City Hall and other neighborhood groups to improve the situation - but they admit it's a long-term effort.
Alternatives to the public schools exist, including private and parochial schools. At one point, the corporation offered free tuition to the nearby Catholic school. It was dropped because there were no takers, Kaminsky said. Not one.
Decentralization
Another idea is to decentralize local schools, so fewer students attend the same school. The corporation is working to replace Highlandtown Middle School with a more tightly zoned grade school, Rutkowski said.
The corporation also is working with the Southeast Education Task Force and the city schools to encourage the construction of a new grade school north of Baltimore Street.
Many new residents don't seem the least bit daunted by the area's reputation and history. Some seem defiant. (Glowacki's sister successfully fought off a mugger trying to get her purse.) And they all know one another and say that many people stay home during the day and look out for one another.
"If I hollered, my neighbors would hear. It's a close-knit neighborhood," Tyler said.
Riescher wanted to see how safe the streets were for himself before he made the move. He went so far as to park his car on the street at night to see what was going on.
"It was a quiet street," he said. "Some residents have been there 50 years. I have a comfort level with it. Shootings and car break-ins can happen in Canton also."
As for school problems, Riescher, like many new residents, isn't a parent now and will cross that bridge later.
"We have time," he said.
Financial incentives
The Patterson Park area is considered one of the mayor's "Healthy Neighborhoods."
The Healthy Neighborhoods initiative is a city program that enables groups like the Patterson Park Community Development Corp. to offer financial incentives to buy in an area targeted for revival. Seven neighborhoods have been designated.
Financing includes 5 percent home-improvement loans of up to $10,000.
Three percent remodeling loans - up to $40,000 - are also available. And home-purchase loans allow buyers to borrow up to $60,000 at a little over 6 percent.
As a further incentive to buyers, the Patterson Park corporation has also created a home-value guarantee, in conjunction with the Abell Foundation, one of its major supporters.
This program offers residents who bought properties from the corporation some protection from fluctuations in the real estate market. To qualify, residents must live in and properly maintain their homes for at least five years.
The coverage, which acts like an insurance policy, requires an initial fee of $250, which includes an appraisal. Subsequent annual administrative fees range from $100 to $225.
Funds are limited. Call the Patterson Park Community Development Corp. for more details at 410-732-1609. Or visit the Web site at www.ppcdc.org