Penn Avenue Townhomes Ready Ahead of Schedule

inte8821 • April 2, 2012

Penn Avenue Townhomes Ready Ahead of Schedule

Kristin Harty Barkley
Cumberland Times-News
Published March 28, 2012

2012 — CUMBERLAND — The first group of townhomes at the site of the former Pennsylvania Avenue School should be ready to rent by the end of May — ahead of schedule, thanks to a mild winter.

“We didn’t think we’d get the first building until the end of summer,” said Patti Penn, property manager with Interfaith Housing Alliance Inc., which is building 25 townhomes for low- to moderate-income families. All of the homes should be ready for tenants by summer’s end, she said.

“These townhomes are going to have new washers, dryers, balconies, yards, central heating, air conditioning,” Penn told Cumberland Mayor Brian Grim and members of city council during a brief presentation Tuesday night.

“There’s huge walk-in closets, lots of storage space. There’s dishwashers. There’s so many amenities. It’s going to be a wonderful place for people to live.”

To qualify to live in the development, applicants must earn 50 percent or less of the average median income for the area, said Penn, who has received around 50 applications so far and is beginning to narrow the pool. Tenants can opt to buy their townhome after 15 years.

Councilman Nick Scarpelli said that he has driven by the development recently and is impressed by how nice the townhomes are. Councilman Butch Hendershot, who grew up in the neighborhood, agreed.

“I’m just delighted that you came along at this time and changed a property that was blighting into a property that’s beautiful and is going to do a lot of things for our families,” Hendershot said.

To get more information or an application to rent one of the homes, call Penn at 301-687-0363. For more information about Interfaith, a regional nonprofit that provides affordable housing opportunities, go to www.interfaithhousing.org.

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kbarkley@times-news.com.

Voices of Affordable Housing

By Jodie Ostoich • May 25, 2025
Voices of Affordable Housing: Affordable Housing

Gary Free resident at Residences at Railroad Square Apartments

March 3, 2025
Gary Free grew up in Brunswick, MD. The first time he saw the Residences at Railroad Square, he knew he would love to live in the apartments. Now all he can think to himself is, “I am living here!” Gary said the day he signed his lease he was so happy! He has a picture hanging in his apartment that says, “You’re Home.” Gary looks at it often and says to himself, “I am!” He finally feels at peace. Gary feels his home is nice! He also feels one of the ways of living at Residences of Railroad Square is that he now has everything he ever wanted, asked for and needed. The only thing he feels is a concern is that most of the time he gets lonely. His goal is to try to meet people. He says, “I’m a very friendly person.” Gary says his experience living at the Residences at Railroad Square has been rather good. If he has any concerns he can talk to the office staff. He feels it can’t get any better than this!

Lease-up of Residence of Railroad Square

By Crystal Thomas • March 3, 2025
With excitement and anticipation, I watched the groundbreaking on June 29, 2023, with my assistant Vickie and IHA’s Supportive Services coordinator, Sandi. By the middle of September 2023 concrete walls were being set up. We watched as the roof was completed; then the windows and doors were installed. We impatiently waited for the day we received permission to see the inside of the Residences of Railroad Square property. Finally, on September 25, 2024, we had the privilege to tour the inside of this beautiful property. On the weekend of September 27, 2024, the IHA property management team along with the CEO Jodie, held a two-day in-person application event. The owners of First Stop Brunswick generously donated their space at 2. E. Baltimore Street. That lease up kick off generated 56 applications. Over the next three months, ninety more applications were submitted. Each applicant came with their own story which stirred our hearts. No matter how different their stories may have been, they all had the same wish, a place to call home for Christmas! On November 5, 2024, the first resident signed their lease and on December 23, 2024, the last empty unit was filled! Not only were we able to fulfill these residents' Christmas wishes but it also filled our hearts with joy!
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