Greenleigh, in Baltimore County, could offer a way out of the housing crisis

Greenleigh, the name the mixed-use community adopted in 2015, has in some ways exceeded the expectations of local officials, who are now cheering the development as an unlikely catalyst benefitting residents of all incomes. Its two luxury-style apartment buildings are more than 95% occupied — strong showings in the multifamily industry. The average house is selling for about $700,000, Greenleigh’s master developer said, in a county where the median home price hovers at around half that. And hundreds more homes are coming amid a housing shortage that’s fueling a crisis of affordability around the country.

Observers believe the journey here offers a blueprint to the heart of the 21st century homebuyer — and, maybe, a clue for alleviating the rest of the state’s housing woes.

“This is newer, higher-quality development located in a good location,” said Richard Clinch, Executive Director of the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute, who has conducted economic analyses on high-profile development projects around the region, including Harborplace and Port Covington. “That is what is selling and attractive nationally.”

Greenleigh, which was built using private funds, is not required to bake in affordable housing. The county is under a federal consent decree to add 1,000 more affordably priced homes by 2028 — notably in areas outside Middle River, where affordable housing was considered harder to find.

Philipsen, the architect and urban planner, said the county, and the country, notably lack enough new, market-rate housing, and Greenleigh shows just how pent-up the demand for it is; the average two-bedroom apartment is leasing for $2,500. He hopes the developers, in the spirit of “new urbanism” — the movement that supports reining in sprawl and integrating more sustainability — eventually incorporate mixed-income housing to diversify the tenant mix.

Reporting by Hallie Miller.
Video by Krishna Sharma.

#maryland #baltimorecounty #housing

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