Hot House: 5521 Mattfeldt Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209
Cedar shingle farmhouse in Sabina-Mattfeldt, circa 1900, with front porch and back deck, completely and recently renovated. Two bedrooms, one bath over three stories, 1,905 sq. ft with basement. Hardwood floors throughout. New Pella windows. Open living/dining room area, new kitchen with stainless appliances opens to family room with fireplace and new back deck. New bathroom with ceramic tile. Two bedrooms with closets. All new HVAC and electrical systems, central AC, recently updated roof, driveway with off street parking, .12 acre lot: $299,000
What: Houses rarely come on the market in Sabina-Mattfeldt, and homes like this one, stylishly renovated from top to bottom, are rarer still.
Located down in a secluded dell between Falls Road and the I-83 access ramp to Northern Parkway, many native Baltimoreans are unaware of Sabina-Mattfeldt’s existence. A rural calm prevails, although thousands of cars pass by every day. Every house has a yard and, it seems, a garden. A vintage Cadillac is parked on the street next to a Sierra Club sign. Children play on a rope swing in a long green swath of park owned by the city, but maintained by the residents. You can see the appeal.
5521 Mattfeldt Ave. faces the park and looks west over the Jones Falls. It’s brand new inside (the owner fixed it up for her son, who then moved–bummer–to the Bahamas). Big windows and a nice paint job make it light and airy. Old floors have been restored where possible, and new Brazilian hardwoods added where not. A glass wall in the bedroom lets in the sun. The backyard feels bigger than it is because it adjoins a neighbor’s double lot.
Where: Built in the late 1800s for workers at the Jones Falls fabric mills, Sabina-Mattfeldt consists of just two streets, with about 30 homes and a hard-to-spot entrance on Falls Road, south of the Kelly Avenue bridge. Kids here can attend well-regarded Mt .Washington public elementary and middle schools. Starbucks and Whole Foods are a walk away, as is Roggenart, a new Austrian bakery on Falls Road. One resident describes the vibe as “slightly off-center, in a good way.”
Why: High quirk quotient, unique small town atmosphere, green space in the city.
Why Not: Northern Parkway access ramp. There’s no denying it’s there, and it can be hard to navigate at rush hour.
Would Suit: Artists, professors, creatives.
NB: Mortgage payment is at $1,700, according to Zillow. You’d pay that in rent…
