The blighted blocks of crumbling apartments behind Edgewood Middle School were officially turned over to developers Tuesday, when the Harford County Council declared them surplus.
The abandoned Washington Court development ? 28 acres of crumbling, county-owned brick buildings adjacent to the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground ? will be demolished and replaced with apartments, town houses, parks and a community center by Baltimore-based Shelter Development.
“This has been a blight on our community for a long, long time,” said Councilman Dion Guthrie, who represents the area. Built as Army housingin the 1950s, the projects were abandoned more than 20 years ago, except for sheriff?s office cadets practicing forced entries.
By declaring the development surplus, the county clears the way for Shelter to take over.
The developer, which has built and managed senior housing in Aberdeen and Bel Air, plans to put in single-family town houses, apartments for senior citizens, a community center, athletic fields and a basketball court for the adjacent Edgewood Boys and Girls Club, said Beth Hendrix, deputy director of the county?s Office of Community Services.
When Shelter Development was chosen to take over the site in October, Harford Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Don Mathis called it “nothing but good,” lauding the company?s record of community contribution and response to their concerns.
The group has already offered to pay “scholarships” for many children in the Boys and Girls Club programs, covering the $5 membership fee, Mathis said.
“It is rewarding that such a fine firm has been awarded to move ahead with this project,” said District B Councilwoman Roni Chenowith. “I know it will go a long way toward helping the folks in the Edgewood community.”
