Condo living with the best of Prince Georges and Montgomery counties

Where We Live | Maryland Farms in Beltsville, Md.

Residents say life in the condo complex is pleasant — and a home can be bought for as little as $50,000.

Maryland Farms in Beltsville, Md., lies on the border of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Literally.

The northern tip of the community — three groups of buildings — is in Prince George’s. The rest — 10 groups of buildings — is in Montgomery County.

“My 3-year-old daughter can throw a ball from our terrace into the next county,” said Rojir McCrady, secretary of the Maryland Farms board of directors. He and his wife, Megan, have lived there since 2006.

Maryland Farms is a 545-unit garden condominium community originally built as an apartment complex in 1965 and converted in the 1970s. The low-slung white-painted-brick buildings are three levels with two- and three-bedroom units and units with three bedrooms plus a den. Ground-level units have a patio; second- and third-floor units have balconies.

Advertisement

“Everyone’s friendly,” said Megan McCrady. “We had a huge get-together during Snowpocalypse. We left our shovels in the hallway and whoever needed one just took one and brought it back. No one worried about theirs getting stolen.”

“It’s nice to have that level of trust,” Rojir McCrady added.

Open land and recreation: The 13 building clusters are arranged in a triangular shape across approximately 40 acres along Cherry Hill Road on the east, from which there are two entrances into the community. Cherry Glen condominiums are on the south. A new hospital is slated for construction on the north. The Food and Drug Administration's wooded White Oak campus is on the west.

Federal property is plentiful in the area and is welcomed by Regina Coll, who moved nearby two years ago. "Open land means more birds and sunshine in my back yard," she said, adding that even the name Beltsville, "especially the 'ville' ... promotes an ease and calmness, like a good suburb should."

Advertisement

Grass surrounds Maryland Farms buildings. Each unit is allotted one parking space, two stickers and a hang tag for visitors. There are no street names. All units have a Cherry Hill Road address and Zip code 20705.

Communal amenities are in the property center. Adult and tot pools are being cleaned up now and readied to open Memorial Day weekend. A couple of tennis courts stand ready for action but “there aren’t many players here,” Rojir McCrady said. In fact, the homeowners association converted one court into a basketball court because teenagers prefer to play basketball and they wanted to see the space used.

An on-site day-care center is open to residents and the public. A recreation center with a dance and meeting hall is available for neighborly get-togethers. There are two playgrounds, dog-walk paths and a grass picnic area with grills.

Advertisement

The average $500-per-month condo fee covers electricity, gas, water and the typical ground and amenity maintenance, sanitation and snow removal. “Everything but your phone, cable and Internet,” McCrady said.

Improvements are in the works, McCrady said. “Right now we’re fixing up the neighborhood,” he said. Outdoor and common-area lights were converted to LEDs. “Now we’re down 25 percent in our power usage, McCrady said. “Later this year, we’ll install security call-box systems in every building, and we’re looking at gating the community.”

Nearby attractions: The McCradys visit Fairland Recreation Park, the Fairland Sports and Aquatics Complex and Little Paint Branch Park.

The 12,800-acre Patuxent Wildlife Research Center offers hunting, fishing, hiking and animals in their native habitat. “I believe it’s responsible for the impeccable air quality in my little yard,” Coll said.

Advertisement

A half-mile away are Target, Kohl’s, ShopRite and Babies R Us. “You can really walk there,” McCrady said. “It’s so close.” Costco and Aldi’s are on Maryland Route 1. Giant anchors Beltway Plaza Mall, six miles away, on one end with Target, Marshalls and Burlington Coat Factory on the other. The Mall in Columbia is a 20-minute drive and houses Sears, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and AMC movie theaters. Chestnut Hills and Calverton shopping centers are in Beltsville.

Living there: "This is one of those areas that's starting to get picked up," McCrady said. "The community is going up in value."

According to Larry Bivins, a sales associate with Long & Foster, four condos are for sale — ranging from $65,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit to $115,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.

Advertisement

Six condos are under contract, ranging from $50,000 for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit to $105,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.

In the past year, 13 condos have sold, from $54,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit to $110,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit.

Schools: For children living in the Prince George's County section of the community: Calverton Elementary, Buck Lodge Middle, High Point High. For those in the Montgomery County section: Galway Elementary, Briggs Chaney Middle, Paint Branch High.

Transit: "The best thing about living here is that we're central to everything," Megan McCrady said. "It's half-hour anywhere I want to go — the zoo in D.C., Annapolis, downtown Baltimore, Northern Virginia." U.S. Route 29, Interstate 95 and the Capital Beltway (I-495) are close.

Advertisement

The Greenbelt Metro station on the Green Line is a 10-minute, 4.5-mile drive, and there is ample parking. Metrobus stops on Cherry Hill Road and takes passengers to the Metro, Silver Spring and a Connector Bus to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Crime: According to the CrimeReports Web site , there was one assault in the past six months.

Audrey Hoffer is a freelance writer.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZL%2Bmrcueqq2ZpJp8pLvNnaZmpJmrtq%2BzjLCgraBdqbWmecGeqq1ln5t6o7vToWScp6Wjwaqx0mZkmmWYlrmneceorKtllqe8rnnAp7CwoJWnsnB%2Bj2psaGhlZH14e5ZpmZ5rYpiFbrGTb2dmaWGagW6EkJ6YZmhmaYZzgpefbmtxlZTAtbvRsmWhrJ2h