Columbia's Troubled Guilford Gardens Redevelopment Plans Announced

By Susan Kim

Amid financial irregularities and a deteriorating facility, Howard County has announced redevelopment plans for the county-owned Guilford Gardens housing community.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced last month that the county terminated its management agreement with Vision Realty Management LLC of Columbia, which was handling the management of Guilford Gardens. The tenant-controlled leasee, Guilford Gardens Cooperative, also received a letter of default from the county.
An investigation is ongoing through both state and county-level attorneys, Ulman said. The property is also under review by the Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development on behalf of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the wake of an inspection that cited an extensive list of health and safety issues. If Guilford Gardens does not pass the next inspection, the property stands to lose $80,000 per month in HUD funding.
After seizing the books, the county learned that the cooperative is more than $200,000 in arrears. "The books are a mess," said Ulman. "We have moved quickly. We have had staff from the housing department there for the last few weeks working to clean it up."

Redevelopment Opportunity
The 18-acre community has 100 units of garden-style apartments and townhouses. The county envisions "redeveloping the property to incorporate and maximize buildable acreage and workforce housing that is truly mixed-income," said Ulman.
"We'd like to improve the aesthetics and the quality of the units," he said. "One way to add more affordable housing units is to add them ourselves on properties that are already low-income properties."
Ulman said many people ask him if it's really possible to truly mix housing in terms of income levels. "Across many avenues, a lot of people are anxious. But we can demonstrate that some fears are unfounded."
Additionally, the new development will feature "green building" techniques that will make it a more energy-efficient and cost-effective property, said county leaders.
Stacy Spann, director of Howard County's Department of Housing and Community Development, said he regards the redevelopment of Guilford Gardens as part of a countywide vision to make more affordable housing available to local residents.
"Obviously everyone is impatient for us to generate solutions to what are difficult problems," he said. "I think, largely, we're still very new at the job. But we are finding that folks are meeting this new housing administration with positive thoughts."

More Moderate-Income Housing
Howard County has nearly eight times more moderate income housing units (MIHUs) in process compared to last year and community leaders are urging local officials to keep up the momentum.
As of Sept. 30, 2006, there were 898 MIHUs in process - 10 single-family detached homes, 125 townhouses and 763 apartment or condo units, according to a Development Monitoring System Report released in March. About 70% of the units are in Elkridge, the report indicates.
During the previous year, there were 107 MIHUs in process countywide. The increase is encouraging, said county leaders. But they also cautioned that, for now, it's largely on paper.
Since the MIHUs are part of larger market-rate developments that must meet all regulatory requirements, people should expect a two- to six-year wait, said Marsha McLaughlin, director of the Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning. "All 800 of these units are not going to come stampeding here," she said.
On the other hand, the gain in affordable homes is a clear move in the right direction, McLaughlin said. "We're very excited. We're seeing the fruit of the zoning changes from the past few years. I wish we had a lot more and I wish they were all going to be happening this year."
The definition of "affordable home" is complex, McLaughlin said. "It differs on a one-, two- or six-person house. In general, we believe a home has to be affordable to people making 80% or less of the Howard County median income."
The county's median household income in 2005 was $91,184. In its 2006 report, the Howard County Task Force on Affordable Housing said there is "an undeniable gap" in houses capable of serving households with incomes below $100,300 or 110% of the median county income.

Faster Way to Build
Delays are typical when moderate-income housing is integrated into market-rate communities. In some hot real estate markets across the country, communities are exploring faster ways to build affordable homes.
School boards in some states are considering giving developers low-cost, long-term leases to school property. In exchange, developers would build apartments with below-market rents. Teachers, police, firefighters and hospital workers would get the first shot at renting.
Proponents of the idea say readily available affordable housing attracts workers and decreases turnover.
But there are potential problems, said Dorothy Brillantes, senior vice president for human resources at Howard County General Hospital. "People might object to living in a community that has been designated as affordable housing," she said.
Many hospital workers, along with many other employees in the county, would like a more affordable place to live, she said.
"But people want to be integrated into an apartment complex," Brilliants said. "People pride themselves on diversity. And if you lost your job, what happens? Do you lose your place to live?"
It's also difficult to think about building affordable housing on school-owned property, said Diane Mikulis, chairman of the Howard County Board of Education.
"We don't have any land to give," Mikulis said. "We are trying to get developers to set aside land we can purchase to build schools. We may need to build additional schools. We don't have a choice. It comes up as a topic of discussion, but I don't see what we could do."
And for many workers, an affordable place to live means nothing if there's no way to get to work, said Brillantes.
"On the lower end of the middle-income scale, when we talk about affordable housing, the complicating factor is transportation," she said. "You can build affordable housing, but if people don't have transportation to get to work, it's hard to talk about one without the other. You have to consider the cost of a car, gasoline and insurance."
The hospital's housekeeping staff, dietary staff and other support workers make anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 per year, said Brillantes. "Many of our housekeeping staff live right around the hospital, or they take the Columbia Shuttle."

Realistic Goals
Half the battle is accepting what Howard County can do and cannot do with regard to affordable housing, said Kevin Kelehan, a local real estate development attorney and former chair of the Howard County Task Force on Affordable Housing.
"We can't build our way out of this," he said. "Our county can't. But we should have a commitment to building our fair share of affordable housing. As long as we continue that, it makes sense. We still need to keep addressing the issue. The county needs to look at the most effective use of land, which it is already doing along Route 1."
Kelehan commended all the groups - from the religious community to builders to architects - that have come together to address affordable housing. "I'm encouraged by the effort of the community across the board to recognize it as an issue," he said. "That's a small victory right there."
Maintaining this momentum is vital, agreed David Roura, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Howard County.
"We have to continue to work together to come up with a solution for a larger number of families and not just a handful. I think we're getting better at it," he said. "I think we're showing improvement based on the groundwork that's been laid. It's important for us to continue to collaborate and not get complacent."

learned that the cooperative is more than $200,000 in arrears. "The books are a mess," said Ulman. "We have moved quickly. We have had staff from the housing department there for the last few weeks working to clean it up."

Redevelopment Opportunity
The 18-acre community has 100 units of garden-style apartments and townhouses. The county envisions "redeveloping the property to incorporate and maximize buildable acreage and workforce housing that is truly mixed-income," said Ulman.
"We'd like to improve the aesthetics and the quality of the units," he said. "One way to add more affordable housing units is to add them ourselves on properties that are already low-income properties."
Ulman said many people ask him if it's really possible to truly mix housing in terms of income levels. "Across many avenues, a lot of people are anxious. But we can demonstrate that some fears are unfounded."
Additionally, the new development will feature "green building" techniques that will make it a more energy-efficient and cost-effective property, said county leaders.
Stacy Spann, director of Howard County's Department of Housing and Community Development, said he regards the redevelopment of Guilford Gardens as part of a countywide vision to make more affordable housing available to local residents.
"Obviously everyone is impatient for us to generate solutions to what are difficult problems," he said. "I think, largely, we're still very new at the job. But we are finding that folks are meeting this new housing administration with positive thoughts."

More Moderate-Income Housing
Howard County has nearly eight times more moderate income housing units (MIHUs) in process compared to last year and community leaders are urging local officials to keep up the momentum.
As of Sept. 30, 2006, there were 898 MIHUs in process - 10 single-family detached homes, 125 townhouses and 763 apartment or condo units, according to a Development Monitoring System Report released in March. About 70% of the units are in Elkridge, the report indicates.
During the previous year, there were 107 MIHUs in process countywide. The increase is encouraging, said county leaders. But they also cautioned that, for now, it's largely on paper.
Since the MIHUs are part of larger market-rate developments that must meet all regulatory requirements, people should expect a two- to six-year wait, said Marsha McLaughlin, director of the Howard County Department of Planning & Zoning. "All 800 of these units are not going to come stampeding here," she said.
On the other hand, the gain in affordable homes is a clear move in the right direction, McLaughlin said. "We're very excited. We're seeing the fruit of the zoning changes from the past few years. I wish we had a lot more and I wish they were all going to be happening this year."
The definition of "affordable home" is complex, McLaughlin said. "It differs on a one-, two- or six-person house. In general, we believe a home has to be affordable to people making 80% or less of the Howard County median income."
The county's median household income in 2005 was $91,184. In its 2006 report, the Howard County Task Force on Affordable Housing said there is "an undeniable gap" in houses capable of serving households with incomes below $100,300 or 110% of the median county income.

Faster Way to Build
Delays are typical when moderate-income housing is integrated into market-rate communities. In some hot real estate markets across the country, communities are exploring faster ways to build affordable homes.
School boards in some states are considering giving developers low-cost, long-term leases to school property. In exchange, developers would build apartments with below-market rents. Teachers, police, firefighters and hospital workers would get the first shot at renting.
Proponents of the idea say readily available affordable housing attracts workers and decreases turnover.
But there are potential problems, said Dorothy Brillantes, senior vice president for human resources at Howard County General Hospital. "People might object to living in a community that has been designated as affordable housing," she said.
Many hospital workers, along with many other employees in the county, would like a more affordable place to live, she said.
"But people want to be integrated into an apartment complex," Brilliants said. "People pride themselves on diversity. And if you lost your job, what happens? Do you lose your place to live?"
It's also difficult to think about building affordable housing on school-owned property, said Diane Mikulis, chairman of the Howard County Board of Education.
"We don't have any land to give," Mikulis said. "We are trying to get developers to set aside land we can purchase to build schools. We may need to build additional schools. We don't have a choice. It comes up as a topic of discussion, but I don't see what we could do."
And for many workers, an affordable place to live means nothing if there's no way to get to work, said Brillantes.
"On the lower end of the middle-income scale, when we talk about affordable housing, the complicating factor is transportation," she said. "You can build affordable housing, but if people don't have transportation to get to work, it's hard to talk about one without the other. You have to consider the cost of a car, gasoline and insurance."
The hospital's housekeeping staff, dietary staff and other support workers make anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 per year, said Brillantes. "Many of our housekeeping staff live right around the hospital, or they take the Columbia Shuttle."

Realistic Goals
Half the battle is accepting what Howard County can do and cannot do with regard to affordable housing, said Kevin Kelehan, a local real estate development attorney and former chair of the Howard County Task Force on Affordable Housing.
"We can't build our way out of this," he said. "Our county can't. But we should have a commitment to building our fair share of affordable housing. As long as we continue that, it makes sense. We still need to keep addressing the issue. The county needs to look at the most effective use of land, which it is already doing along Route 1."
Kelehan commended all the groups - from the religious community to builders to architects - that have come together to address affordable housing. "I'm encouraged by the effort of the community across the board to recognize it as an issue," he said. "That's a small victory right there."
Maintaining this momentum is vital, agreed David Roura, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Howard County.
"We have to continue to work together to come up with a solution for a larger number of families and not just a handful. I think we're getting better at it," he said. "I think we're showing improvement based on the groundwork that's been laid. It's important for us to continue to collaborate and not get complacent."