Hot House: 4404 Buchanan Avenue, Medfield, Baltimore 21211
Cape Cod house with front porch and back deck, circa 1910, brick with slate roof, recent renovation. Three bedrooms, two full baths over two stories and 1,510 square feet. Updates include refinished original North Carolina pine hardwood floors, remodeled kitchen with stainless appliances and island, new HVAC, new water heater, electrical system and newly poured basement floor with french drains. Living room with fireplace. Dining room with french doors to large deck for entertaining. Fourth bedroom/den/office upstairs. Fully finished basement. Central a/c. On-street parking. $309,000
What: Lots of potential. A rarely available detached, single-family home in Medfield, where well-maintained brick row homes are the norm and people tend to stay a long time. It sits nicely on its lot behind a low stone wall and could be a real charmer with some front landscaping and a snazzy paint job. Inside, original architectural features are set off by recent updates, and beautiful pine floors unify the whole. It might be less authentic if you wanted to knock down a kitchen wall, but a more open floor plan would take advantage of the french doors that lead out onto the big (24′ x 27′), sunny, west-facing deck. It would also get you an eat-in kitchen and family room. The bedrooms, all upstairs, are fine but nothing special. The master has a good-sized closet. The extra bedroom would be a great home office. Both bathrooms are new. There’s one full bath upstairs (with shower) and one downstairs (with a tub).
Where: Medfield is north of Hampden, south and west of Roland Park. It is a warm and friendly community with lots of children, below-average crime and good access to I-83 via Cold Spring Lane. This house is on Buchanan Avenue, two blocks from Medfield Heights Elementary, which gets an above-average Good Schools rating.
Parents and children love the school and believe it should be rated higher. According to the Baltimore City 21st Century Schools Revitalization Act, Medfield Heights Elementary is slated for a major overhaul next year, which may do the trick.
Online commentary from Medfield residents indicates that “neighbors look out for each other,” that it’s “like a small town” and that there is a “diverse group of people — artists, young professionals, hipster types and old-schoolers.” Also, “it seems like almost everyone has a dog.” The Wicked Sister Tavern, which just opened last year on Falls Road a little south of here, has extended the cool Hampden vibe within spitting distance of cozy little Medfield.
Why: Close to Hampden.
Why Not: Not too close to Hampden.
Would Suit: Couple on the road to parenthood. (Forty percent of residents are families with children.)
NB: Medfield is named after Medfield Academy, an 18th-century prep school, now long gone, with an interesting history. Here’s the link (scroll down to the “Where” section).
