Crews Demolish 170-Year-Old Stone Mill Houses In Woodberry Ahead Of Multi-Use Project
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Two homes in Woodberry were demolished in a matter of minutes Tuesday as neighbors said the battle they fought to preserve them came to an end after crews knocked down the homes that dated back to the 1840s.
They're now calling it a breach of trust and said they had worked with the developers to design apartment homes that included the two historic houses.
Now, those homes sit as piles of stone and brick at the end of the street where Jill Orlov said she watched Tuesday morning as trucks demolished a piece of Baltimore's history.
"These houses from 1840 are going. One is gone, it's too late, I just kept yelling at the operator I was so distraught I can't believe they would do this," Orlov said.
The houses dated back to the 1840s and were a staple in the Woodberry neighborhood. Neighbors on the street said they put up a yearlong fight to protect them when developer CLD Partners presented them with designs to build an apartment complex between Clipper Mill Road and the Light Rail.
Sheri Higgins, president of the Woodberry Community Association said the plans approved by the city and architectural design firm showed the homes would be saved and used as amenity rooms in the new complex.
Tuesday, she was shocked to see them gone.
"We had been working with them and they had been working with us and the relationship seemed to be open for conversation, this was a total surprise there was no notice," Higgins said.
"This comes as a tremendous surprise that these buildings would be demolished and we not hearing anything from the developer prior to a change in plans or a change in decision in how these buildings will be handled," said City Councilman Leon F. Pinkett III.
The building was slated to include 80 apartments.
Hours after the homes were torn down, the architect released a statement saying they were not aware of the plans to demolish the stone homes and said they are no longer associated with the project.
"The decision to demolish the previously existing historic properties in Woodberry was made without my prior knowledge or my consent. This morning I received a call notifying me of bulldozers on the property. While I was aware that the possibility always existed for the buildings to be demolished, I was not aware that a decision had been made. Had I been aware, I would have gone through the proper channels and spoken directly with the Woodberry Community Association, as I have done previously." said Christopher Mfume, managing partner with CLD Partners.
"Over the past year CLD Partners has worked to develop a trusting relationship with the Woodberry community. We have developed during that time, a mutual trust born out of our desire to make the neighborhood better. I believe that trust is everything and above all I value integrity and my ability to work effectively with communities. As such, I have notified the owners of the property that I have decided ot remove myself and CLD Partners from the Woodberry Project partnership effective immediately."
Higgins said both homes protected by the National Registry of Historic Places- now in a pile at the end of her street.
"Unfortunately when it's knocked down, what can one say, so I don't have any comment. There's nothing to be said, it is a betrayal," Higgins said.
Neighbors said they were told by the developers that keeping the houses incorporated with the new apartment was not financially feasible. We did reach out to them for comment but did not hear back.
