The Coldspring Community
The Coldspring Community Association
Census
2000 data put Coldspring's population at 880 and the number of housing
units at just more than 500. Of the latter number, half are Coldspring's
original futuristic "deck
houses" -- townhouse condos linked by plazas and walkways, with
parking spaces underneath -- designed by internationally renowned architect
Moshe Safdie and built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The remainder are in two senior citizen buildings and The Woodlands,
a small complex of suburban-style detached and semidetached houses --
all built later among the community's winding roads and forested hills.
Coldspring -- bounded by Cylburn Arboretum on the north, the Jones Falls
Expressway on the east, Coldspring Lane on the south and Greenspring
Avenue on the west -- is also home to the private Waldorf School.
That's a far cry from the ambitious plan for the community. Hatched in
the late 1960s and early 1970s, the plan called for a "New Town" of
about 3,800 units on both sides of Coldspring Lane with more than 12,000
residents, offices, stores and a conference center
There are many advantages to living in Coldspring Newtown. Our community
features attractive combinations of well-designed homes and landscaped
open spaces. Our houses may even cost less than traditional housing due
to more efficient use of land. Parks, pools, tennis courts and other
amenities, often too expensive for you to own alone, can be yours through
shared ownership. What's more, you won't have direct responsibility for
maintenance, so you won't have to clean the pool, fix the tennis nets,
and you may not even have to mow your lawn or shovel snow. But that doesn't
mean you'll never have to think about it.
The community association operates and maintains these shared facilities.
Of course, you'll pay your share of the expenses and, as an association
member; you'll have a voice in the association's decisions. The
Coldspring Community Association annual
fees are separate from condo fees. They are paid once each year in January
The
Coldspring Community Association (CCA) is the organization which addresses
the common concerns of all Coldspring residents.
This includes The Woodlands, Section 1A, Section 1B, the Ruscombe
Gardens and Parkview.This organization oversees the swimming pool,
tennis courts, ball field, and our relations with The
Waldorf
School, The Ruscombe Mansion, The Stone Mansion, Cylburn Arboretum and
Baltimore City.
Paul Trattner
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Coldspring
Condominium 1A was the first component of an architecturally designed
Baltimore City community, consisting of 124 residences with
many unique features, including enclosed parking and the separation of
vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The Coldspring community is centrally
located and, while physically dense, it has a sense of space and privacy
in a park-like setting with extensive landscaping. Coldspring New
Town was originally conceived in the 1970's as a ‘community
in a park’ and a ‘town within a town,’ and is one
of Baltimore’s most innovative planned communities. Among it
s most striking features are the “deck houses” which
showcase the architectural styling of Moshe Safdie and Associates,
and its abundant community spaces.”
Coldspring 1A is governed by a five (5) member-elected board of directors which
carries out the traditional duties of a condominium board, i.e., maintains the
common areas including landscaping, property maintenance, and cleaning, collects
condo fees, pays bills in accordance with an approved annual budget, contacts
with service providers, maintains records, convenes meetings, provides written
communications, assures safety for the community and establishes and enforces
condo rules and regulations in order to assure a pleasant living experience for
condo residents.
A Coldspring 1A condominium is a home within a community. You own the inside
of your home (including the inside parts of walls, floors, and ceiling), and
the doors, windows and utilities that serve only your home. Your fence, yard,
balcony and back stairs are yours to enjoy and maintain, but they belong to the
condominium community (limited common elements). The condominium, of which you
are a member, owns everything else as “common elements”: the roofs,
the external concrete siding, the grounds beyond your fence, the garages, the
decks in front of your home, and the planters and lighting on the decks.
Coldspring 1A was originally built in 1978. It completed major renovations and
replacements of roofs and pedestrian terraces/garage roofs in 2004.
Gordon Bonham
January 2006
Porter for 1A is Larry Snowden
Monday - Friday (5am to 11am)
Coldspring
1-B consists of 128 units and was completed in 1982. These units followed
the design of 1-A and were part of the overall "Coldspring Newtown" plan
that originally called for a large "town within Baltimore City" of
more
than 2000 dwelling units. While the overall plan was not completed, these
modern condominiums are a unique design in the region.
Because the completion of 1-A and 1-B was separated by four years, each
condominium complex established its individual governance. Thus, the
residents of Coldspring 1-B elect their own five member Board to supervise
the governance and financial apsects of the 128 units. These Board members
are elected for two year terms. In addition, 1-B residents also elect
annually two representatives who serve on the Coldspring Community Assosciation
Board.
The budget of the 1-B Board is established every year by its Board and
is based on the operating costs of maintaining the "common elements" as
well as maintenance of a reserve for ensuring the ability of the residents
to take care of future and unexpected expenses. Condominium fees are
collected monthly and are based on the percentage of the individual's
unit of the common
elements. In addition to these fees, each unit owner pays an annual fee
to the Coldspring Community Association. This fee is based on the assessed
value of the unit as established by the State of Maryland.
Coldspring 1B is governed by a five (5) member-elected board of directors
which carries out the traditional duties of a condominium board, i.e.,
maintains the
common areas including landscaping, property maintenance, and cleaning, collects
condo fees, pays bills in accordance with an approved annual budget, contacts
with service providers, maintains records, convenes meetings, provides written
communications, assures safety for the community and establishes and enforces
condo rules and regulations in order to assure a pleasant living experience for
condo residents.
A Coldspring 1B condominium is a home within a community. You own the inside
of your home (including the inside parts of walls, floors, and ceiling), and
the doors, windows and utilities that serve only your home. Your fence, yard,
balcony and back stairs are yours to enjoy and maintain, but they belong to the
condominium community (limited common elements). The condominium, of which you
are a member, owns everything else as “common elements”: the roofs,
the external concrete siding, the grounds beyond your fence, the garages, the
decks in front of your home, and the planters and lighting on the decks.
Zoltan Annau
E-mail 1B Board of Directors
The Woodlands at Coldspring is a two- and three-story
award-winning affordable
garage townhome community, nestled between Coldspring Newtown and the
Cylburn Arboretum. This highly successful
multi-use subdivision features a combination of 56 townhomes and 43
single-family homes. The Woodlands acclaimed success comes from its
unique design within the marketplace. The townhome elevations feature
up-scale vinyl siding, architecturally designed covered entry ways,
and metal standing roofs. The Woodlands landscape architecture stands
out among others, as its plan was designed to utilize and implement
on-site reforestation.
Ruscombe Gardens offers senior citizens planned activities
and health care in a clean, safe, and friendly environment.
The Ruscombe Mansion Health Center
An integrative approach to health care is provided at the Ruscombe
Mansion Community Health Center by over two dozen certified, licensed holistic
professionals in private practice.Ruscombe is the oldest, free-standing center of its kind and size in North
America, and our goal is to address the unique needs of each individual
by focusing on the whole person, not simply the physical malady or symptom
of disease. When working with an adult or child, all aspects of the person
- the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - are considered for the
achievement and maintenance of optimal health. Specializing in preventive
medicine and health maintenance, as well as caring for the acute and chronically
ill, practitioners at Ruscombe combine ancient and modern diagnostic and
therapeutic systems to support the natural healing process within the individual.
Emphasis is always on the use of non-toxic and non-invasive procedures.The Waldorf School of Baltimore
The
Waldorf School of Baltimore is a co-educational school
that has been serving families of the greater Baltimore community for
over 30
years. The School offers Parent/Child classes for infants and toddlers,
a Nursery and Kindergarten program and Grades 1-8.This school is one
of more than 800 Waldorf schools worldwide based on the educational philosophy
of Rudolf Steiner.The success of our students and this educational approach
has been proving itself for over 80 years. The Waldorf School of Baltimore
is licensed
by the State of Maryland Board of Education and is a fully accredited
member of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS).
The children learn not only to read, but to find a joy in language;
not only to calculate, but to find order and patterns in numbers;
and they not only discover the laws of nature, but develop a sense
of kinship with all life. - Alumni Parent
The
Stone Mansion
The
Stone Mansion (the original Ruscombe Mansion ca. 1863) will be restored
for use as offices, pending a successful zoning change. The building has
been nominated for the Baltimore City Landmarks List, andis eligible for
inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.These designations
will ensure Ruscombe's perpetual existence.
Rehab should begin in the Spring of 2006, with completion within a year. Exterior
work will include stone pointing, roof repair, window and door restoration, replacement
shutters, and painting. Inside, the remnants from the school use will be removed,
and original moldings, hardwood floors, historic trim and hardware will be restored.
New HVAC will be added, as well as modern data and electrical wiring. The basement
and attic may be upgraded, in conjunction with the primary 1st and 2nd floors.
The original floor plan will be maintained. In the yard, plans include tree pruning,
removal of "weed trees" particularly near Springarden Drive, fence
repair, replacement or selective removal, garden and lawn improvement. The carriage
house willbe rehabbed and rented too, with 17 on site parking places provided
basically on top of the existing blacktop area. New 
landscaping will be added
to screen the parking here as needed. Some public use of the building and grounds
has been discussed. It has always been our plan to make the Stone Mansion the
centerpiece of the community, rather than and inaccessible property located in
the center of the community. Details will follow further discussions with the
Woodlands and CCA boards.
Marty Azola
January 2006
Cylburn
Arboretum is a nature
preserve and city park of about 207 acres, located in the city of Baltimore,
Maryland. The Arboretum's center is Cylburn Mansion, Baltimore City's
horticultural headquarters and home of the Cylburn Arboretum Association,
part of whose mission it is towork with the city
to preserve Cylburn's historic grounds and buildings by its horticultural
and educational activities.