A former funeral home at 3818 Roland Avenue in Hampden sold at auction on Wednesday for $388,500.
More than a dozen people gathered to watch as the vacant two-story property, a local city landmark, drew a high bid of $370,000. A five percent buyer’s premium brought the purchase price to $388,500. Charles Billig of A. J. Billig was the auctioneer.
The high offer was submitted by Malkom Mansa, who said he was bidding for Inner City Restorations. Mansa said he didn’t know exactly what the company planned to do with the 5,277-square-foot building, which is boarded up on the first level, but its work generally involves restoring buildings for residential use.
The auction was a voluntary sale on behalf of the previous owner, 3535 Chestnut LLC. The Renaissance Revival-style building was constructed in the late 1800s and has had a variety of uses, including a funeral parlor. Some longtime neighborhood residents remember it as Donovan’s Funeral Home or the Seitz Funeral Home. A dressmaker named Katherine “Kate” Chambers owned the property from 1900 to 1944, according to city records.
The property is zoned R-6, for residential use, and includes a garage large enough to contain two hearses. In 2022, Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) designated it a local landmark, which means that any changes proposed for its exterior must be reviewed and approved by CHAP before the city will issue a building permit.
