Wednesday
9
May
9
May
North Point Village Community Welcomes Craftsmen Developers’ Project
It seemed that most development proposals spark a tug-of-war battle between communities and developers, but that’s not the case with Craftsmen Development LLC and their Townes at North Point project in North Point Village. Not only does North Point Village Community Association president Dave Patro support the development of 108 housing units at the site of the old North Point Drive-In, he said he talked with Craftsmen president Dennis Gilligan about coming to the North Point Village area during a Wells-McComas meeting.
Patro lived in Canton when it was an old area and the community was reborn when new condominiums were built. He is hoping for the same results with this development in North Point Village.
“It’s going to help support the neighborhood and will help give us a facelift,” Patro said. “It is better to get new houses into the community instead of seeing a factory. “We are adding to the community not subtracting. I want to see families with young kids come live here.”
The development was approved as a planned unit development (PUD) by the Baltimore County council. The next step is to hold a conference with the county and Gilligan anticipates a community input meeting will be held on his project sometime in the beginning of July. Gillian doesn’t foresee any major opposition as Craftsmen has a good relationship with the North Point Village community. He admitted the community was concerned the 108 homes were going to be rentals, but Gilligan promised all the houses will be owned by their residents “The neighborhood has been nice to work with,” Gillian said. “It’s important to have the community on board before we proceed.”
Craftsmen Development LLC started in 2007, but Gilligan founded his own company (Gilligan Homes and Development) in 1972. He is grateful for the opportunity to invest into North Point Village and is glad to give back to the community with a fishing pier and upgraded facilities at the park. “There are no concessions or toilet facilities,” Gilligan explained. “We will extend our facilities into the park with no cost to the community or the county.”
Patro has been frustrated that the area has not been able to attract retail, but Gilligan’s son and Craftsmens’ Vice President — Land Development and Acquisition Conor Gilligan — believes the new development will help bring in those retail stores “St. John’s Properties has the retail space and their intent is to have an AppleBee’s restaurant with three to four tenants south to the Burger King that will be near our development,” Conor said. Gilligan said his company is a strong believer in creating environmentally-friendly projects and hopes to find a builder with those same values. “We are a four-star green developer,” Gilligan said. “It’s important that our builder supports that green initiative. We want to develop North Point with that high standard.” Craftsmen hopes to break ground by the summer of 2013.