New apartment complex to offer electric-car charging stations
Need a place to charge your electric car? There's an apartment complex for that.
The Arbors at Baltimore Crossroads, a 365-unit development under construction near White Marsh, will have charging stations along with a variety of other high-end and unusual amenities: a pet spa, a dog run, a multi-tiered swimming pool, a Zen garden and a "Texas doughnut" layout of units and parking garage that will let residents park on the level their apartment is on.
This made me wonder what else you can find in the pricier complexes in town.
The Zenith touts its "cultured-marble vanities" and floor-to-ceiling windows. Several Baltimore complexes, including Symphony Center, have a gourmet kitchen in their community areas. Assembly Apartments has its own fire pit. Crescent at Fells Point has boat slips. 39 West Lexington offers free limousine rides around downtown. And the Palisades of Towson, in addition to its organic dry cleaning service and complementary yoga classes, parks your car for you with its automated garage.
Somerset Construction Co., which is developing the Arbors, says 100 units should be complete in October with the full complex finishing construction in April of next year.
The monthly rental costs for the one- to three-bedroom units will range from about $1,100 to $2,000, the company said.
Because Somerset is trying to win LEED silver-level certification, the apartments will include green elements -- such as energy-efficient heating and low-flow toilets -- that lower utility bills.
Why electric-car charging stations? Somerset says it hopes to encourage the use of such vehicles. (It expects that an overnight charge will cost about $1.50.)
The site is part of Baltimore Crossroads @95, the 1,000-acre mixed-use development off Route 43 and close to Interstate 95. It's in Baltimore County but isn't far from Aberdeen Proving Ground, so the developer is hoping for BRAC spillover.
Apartment-watchers: What's the most interesting amenity (or disamenity) you've come across?
What amenities do you actually want?
Categories: New developments, Renting
Sign up for the At Home newsletter 
Comments
I tried to do some apartment hunting about two years ago, hoping that i'd find rents were down with the down housing market. Of course I found the opposite, and many places were $100-$300 more than they were in 2007 when I first looked at 1 bedrooms. Many of the $650-750 apartments are now asking $800-900+. They ALL were boasting 'new' kitchens, and a free LCD wall mount tv in the living room.
There was nothing wrong with the old kitchens, and I do not need a TV - Can I go back to paying $700 a month please? To me this is a major disincentive that is just driving up the cost of what are otherwise just average older suburban apartment complexes.
Posted by: BB | March 23, 2011 9:02 AM
BB, that's a good point -- sometimes the best amenity is decent living space at a good price.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | March 23, 2011 9:33 AM
The luxury apartment complexes down town always make me laugh. Most start at $1500 for a studio. What a joke.
It's nice to see backing for electric vehicles but the price seems a little high. It's White Marsh...
Posted by: ironhide196 | March 23, 2011 10:01 AM
If you build an apartment complex out in White Marsh's sprawl, it's not green, no matter how many charging stations you put in and LEED certifications you get. The grenest home you can get is an existing building where you can walk to basic errands and entertainment.
Posted by: jfruh | March 23, 2011 11:46 AM
Years ago I had a view of what is now 39 W. Lexington from my own apartment. I always dreamed of controlling a corporation headquartered on the lower floors with a penthouse (Ed Hale style) on the upper floor(s) with huge 20 or 30 foot floor heights, an indoor swimming pool, huge ballroom and many other luxuries. I was Mark Zuckerberg's age -- and didn't invent Facebook -- so it looks like someone beat me to putting that building to good use. I bet those upper floors are magnificent so long as they're one floor and not two. I imagine that now it is two floors, but my dream always included the top being one floor boasting huge windows with sweeping city views. These days you couldn't pay me enough to live in Baltimore City, so I hope that building is a success.
Posted by: Jesse | March 23, 2011 5:36 PM
These new apartment buildings have very severe contamination of mold and midew. I was told that most of the buildings are sealed off and under mold remediation. RENTER BEWARE!
Posted by: Taylor Cabott | October 9, 2011 1:45 PM