East Towson is an historic African American community dating to the early 19th century, settled by the freed slaves of the nearby Ridgely Plantation. In recent years East Towson, a six-block area east of York Road, has suffered from age and neglect. The housing stock has declined, forcing the children of longtime residents to move elsewhere. The Office of Community Conservation, along with the Office of Planning and various private partners, is working on a revitalization plan for East Towson. Citizens want to improve the housing stock, yet keep the housing affordable and in keeping with the identity of the community. This is a challenge; East Towson is surrounded by valuable commercial property, which tends to drive up housing prices. The revitalization plan ultimately will provide 20 new or refurbished houses in East Towson. Seven will be ready for sale in Summer 2002. The plan also will aggressively provide and promote incentives to keep these homes affordable, in the $110,000 to $120,000 range. Using $1.3 million in local and federal grants, St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, a Baltimore-based non-profit agency, will be the principal developer of the residential redevelopment component of the East Towson plan. Two other non-profit organizations will provide support as well. Neighborhood Housing Services is offering counseling to prospective homebuyers, and Metro Housing Inc. has offered $30,000 to help a family buy one of the East Towson houses. Future phases of the East Towson plan call for additional opportunities for infill housing development; identification of green spaces; an assessment of the future of East Towson Apartments; landscape screening of a BGE substation; and traffic calming devices. The Jacob House, an historic log cabin built by a founding member of the community in 1840, has been carefully dismantled, catalogued and stored. Another historic log cabin in the community will be rehabilitated in the near future. Revised February 26, 2002 | 
Courthouse 