Catonsville Home Makeover: Inside of a Home Reborn in Academy Heights

As the owner of Maryland Residential Realty, George Brookhart knows Catonsville well, having grown up in the area. He recalled wanting to live in Academy Heights in the early 1970s but the homes were just beyond his finances at the time. He has lived in other places, including Howard County and Carroll County, but knew he wanted to return to Catonsville.

When this home on Northdale Road came on the market, originally he planned to list it. He is a realtor, after all. Instead, he chose to buy it himself. That was nine years ago. 

This year, Brookhart—a strong champion of the community—assumes the volunteer leadership post of president of the Academy Heights Civic Association. He is also actively engaged as a board member of the Catonsville Community Foundation and the . 

Strict architectural guidelines are in place for the community of nearly 500 red brick neo-Colonial row homes and these are spelled out on Academy Heights’ comprehensive website. 

Catonsville Patch: What do you know about the history of Academy Heights?

George Brookhart: All this property was owned by the Archdiocese. The school [just down the street] is , an all-girl high school. Back in 1950, the same person who did this development also did Loch Raven Village in Towson. The name of the company was Welsh.

Mount de Sales Academy is located on one of the highest points in Baltimore. If you are going over the Key Bridge you can see the academy from the bridge. Supposedly, when these homes were built officials didn’t want to see the back porches of each of the homes. So, you will notice that they all go down in layers. The property was developed between 1950 and 1953.

Patch: What are the restrictions about exterior alterations?

Brookhart: You have to keep the slate roof and all the windows must have the dividers in them. All the front iron railings have to be painted black.

You can’t change the footprint of the house. Most of the homes have a small galley kitchen. I tore the half wall out to open it up to the dining room.

Patch: When did you buy the home?

Brookhart: This home was originally sold in 1951 and I bought from the original owners, the Casio family, in October 2003. It has 1,280 feet of living space, not counting the basement. 

As was the custom of many Italian families, they had a summer kitchen downstairs. I tore that out. The upstairs kitchen still had the metal cabinets as many of the older homes did.

Patch: You said that you spent about $60,000 in renovations. Where did the money go?

The kitchen cost about $19,000 to $20,000. The porch, which included new railings, a roof with skylights and LED fixtures added another $12,000.

Last year, I put in all new windows; these are Anderson E-glass windows.  I also did some things to upgrade systems. It had central air but I put in a new furnace and installed a tankless water heater about five or six years, which is energy-efficient as it only heats water as you use it.

The most expensive renovation is the basement, which is nearly done, and will likely run about $30,000. Everything has been rewired downstairs. Had all of the plumbing moved and created a laundry center and an electrical center. And added a gas fireplace. A home theater system will soon be installed as well as carpeting.

Patch: What advice do you have for someone considering a renovation? 

Brookhart: Two things.

One: Really do some research about your contractor and don’t go with the cheapest guy. I’m a firm believer that you get what you pay for. Look at their quality; look at their reliability. 

Jeremy Murry was the contractor for everything but the upstairs bathroom and he works for Colorite, which is a painting firm. I didn’t know him personally. Another contractor, whose business was insurance-related work, referred him to me. I can’t say enough good things about him. If he told me he was going to be here he was.

Two: I renovate because I want to live here; I want a comfortable home, a pretty home. That’s my philosophy. Do what you want to do to make a house a home. If you buy a home for, say, $240,000 and put $30,000 into it, you may not get it back. But if you rent a home, you don’t get it back either.

Patch: Is there anything you would have done differently?

Brookhart: I would do a couple of things differently with my kitchen cabinets. I would go with 42” cabinets instead of  [standard 36”]. At the time, I didn’t think it would work. No one else in the neighborhood had renovated a kitchen. Since then, others have done and I see that the 42-inch would have worked—going all the way to the top of the 8-foot ceiling.

And, I would have gotten pullout drawers for pots and pans.

Patch: What is your favorite feature of your home?

Brookhart: The size is just right for me. I like the flow of it. The next feature is not the house but the community. At night, we all stand outside and talk. I lived in Carroll County for a while and in Howard County for five or six years and I didn’t know my neighbors. Here, within a year, you get to know everybody.

People walk up and down the street and talk to you. The nuns from Mount de Sales will visit with us. We have a block party that we hold in September and the nuns come. We have music and draw about 200 people.