East Side ready in 2009

A renovated East Side School, including town homes and garden apartments — 48 in all — should be ready for occupancy in mid to late 2009.

Michael A. Sawyers

CUMBERLAND — A renovated East Side School, including town homes and garden apartments — 48 in all — should be ready for occupancy in mid to late 2009, according to Al Borvice of Housing Development and Neighborhood Preservation Corp. in San Francisco.

“We received our Maryland tax credit. Construction should begin in the July-to-September time frame with one year of construction after that,” Borvice said Friday. “Whiting-Turner (Baltimore) will be our builders and Chaney Architects (Cumberland) is doing the design.

“We will simply call the new building East Side School,” Borvice said. “I think that name may have had a negative feel among some people because of the deterioration of the building over time, but once they see the revision and the renovation I think it will be a positive name. We wanted to stay plugged in historically to the name and the location.”

Although the number of units has decreased from the original plan of 52, many of the details remain the same, according to Borvice.

Within the school building there will be one studio apartment, 12 one-bedroom, five two-bedroom and six three-bedroom apartments. The town homes will be new construction and will contain 12 three-bedroom units. Atop the townhomes will be 12 garden apartments. In all, the project will provide 58,334 square feet.

A one-bedroom unit of 665 square feet will rent for $530 a month plus utilities. A two-bedroom unit will cost $630 and one with three bedrooms can reach the $725 mark.

“The renovation will include the creation of a community room that could be used for a variety of gatherings,” Borvice said.

City Councilman Butch Hendershot welcomed the news.

“That building has been a sore spot with me for years, a blight sitting on the hill,” Hendershot said. “I’ve been quietly cheering that the renovation would be successful, but you never know how those applications for tax credits will go. The developer seems very conscientious. I know he’s flown here twice (from California) to give us updates and that’s impressive.”

East Side School, easily visible from westbound Interstate 68 on East and Reynolds streets, closed in 1984.

“It is a signature building coming into Cumberland,” Mayor Lee Fiedler said during an earlier interview about the $10.5 million project.

The project has been awarded $7.5 million Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a $2 million Rental Fund Loan from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. The project will also have a private mortgage.

East Side School will be a sustainable green community because of environmentally friendly construction, Borvice said. There will be two play areas, a gazebo and a fountain. Laundry facilities and high-speed Internet access will be available.

City support for the project would include a 15-year abatement of up to 60 percent of property taxes as well as about $200,000 in public improvements including water, sewer, road and storm water infrastructure, Cumberland officials have said.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com..