Historic police station renovation project will bring luxury apartments to Towson

By Makya Kreamer
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

Renovations to turn the historic former Towson police station into an apartment complex are expected to be completed by this spring, according to property’s manager.

Ernie Rafailides, a managing partner of Bayview Management, said the project is 25 to 30 percent finished and still on track to be completed sometime in May. While the cost of rent has yet to be determined, Rafailides said they plan to price the units “pretty competitively.”

State property records list the building as having approximately 7,300 square feet of living space, which will be divided into six one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit. Bayview has posted floor-plans of the units but has not yet taken applications for leases. Real estate records put the value of the property at $875,000.

The developer announced in June 2018 that it had secured a permit for construction and would be splitting the project into two phases. The first phase included the demolition of the police station’s interior and the second the construction the apartments, leaving the face of the building unchanged.

County Councilman David Marks, R-Fifth District, has toured the property and announced it should be finished in the coming months.

“It is one of the oldest remaining structures in downtown Towson, and I am delighted that it is being adaptively reused instead of torn down,” Marks said.

According to Timothy Bishop, director of the Preservation Alliance of Baltimore County, the process of preserving a historic landmark begins with members of the communities in which the landmarks stand and with the owners of the properties themselves.

If a nominated property is approved to the list of historic landmarks, like the Towson police station, the exterior of the building is protected, and the property may receive a real estate tax incentive.

Bishop said his organization loves to see historic properties being adaptively reused and to know that Bayview Management is keeping the façade of the building intact. Bishop encourages any of the other developers in the county to follow Bayview’s lead on repurposing and preserving the county’s landmarks.

The site was originally set to become a Full Tilt Brewing pub, but the pub was ultimately moved to downtown Baltimore.

Bayview Management purchased the grounds, located at 308 Washington Ave., in 2002 and rented out the building as a commercial office space. After the commercial tenants left the property, the company began its plans to transform the building into seven luxury-style apartment units.

The Towson station was in use from 1925 until 1961, when the precinct moved to Kenilworth Avenue, according to county records and the Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Committee webpage. The station was added to the list of the county’s historic landmarks on Sept. 22, 1991 and joins 389 other registered landmarks in the county.

Marks noted the importance of acknowledging and maintaining landmarks throughout the county.

“Historic sites remind us of our heritage,” Marks said. “We should celebrate the past and preserve what is important.”

In addition to the police station’s historic significance, Rafailides said it was also used as a backdrop in HBO’s “Veep” and the 2002 film, “Tuck Everlasting.”