Hot House: 2908 Saint Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218
Charles Village five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath townhouse with over 3200 square feet of living space, plus an 800 square foot carriage house with hayloft. Many original details — newly refinished white oak parquet floors with inlay, mantels, leaded glass, transoms, period light fixtures. Recent updates include a two-zone Sila high-velocity air conditioning system, Two-story enclosed porch addition with half bath, new boiler (2017), new water heater (2017) and kitchen counters (2018). Rear patio with fishpond. Carriage house facing Lovegrove Street offers opportunity for workshop, studio or additional living space. $529,000.
What: If you love city living and want a large house, but don’t want to worry about mowing the lawn and garden chores, this house offers a lot of space without a lot of outdoor maintenance. Many of the original details are intact, but the house also includes essential modern conveniences, like a high-velocity, zoned air conditioning system. Although it faces St. Paul Street, which is generally very busy only during the morning rush hour, it won’t be a bother after a few days. The commercial areas on Charles Street and St. Paul Street are close — only a five-minute walk — with restaurants, banks, a pharmacy and more. Also close by is the Book Thing, which offers free books every weekend (you could convert one of the bedrooms — or the carriage house — into a library). The house has plenty of room and loads of light.
Where: The house is in mid-Charles Village, with beautiful townhouses and loads of things to do. It’s convenient to JHU Homewood campus, Penn Station, the BMA, Wyman Park Dell, Waverly Farmers Market, shopping, restaurants and coffee shops. It’s also in close proximity to numerous public, private and charter schools. It’s subject to Charles Village Community Benefits District surtax.
Final Appraisal: If you want a house with many period details, not a cookie-cutter box, and the convenience of city living, this might be the perfect house. It would suit a professor at JHU or a family with younger children who want an urban lifestyle. It might not be suitable for those who are getting older and find stairs becoming an issue. The house also needs some work. While there are many of the traditional details, which lean towards formality, there is also a lot of exposed brick, which is more informal.
