COLUMBIA, Md. — After nearly a year of construction, final touches are being put on a new apartment complex at 2901 Rosewood Drive.
The company in charge of the development is Cason Development Group. Frank Cason, president of the group, says the building has presented some unique challenges.
"Every week, we're looking at something different, certainly on the front end when we're deciding, 'Do we keep this wood molding, do we keep this paneling that's here? How do we keep it? How do we blend it into the new stuff that's here?'"
The original use for the building was a community church. Since taking over the property, Cason has already opened a drive-thru Starbucks and completed three new retail spaces. According to Cason, two of these are already rented and a they are working on filling the last spot. Above the Starbucks, Cason has put even more housing options. There are three short-term rental spaces that are designed for Airbnb.
Cason says the new apartment building will have 49 units, with roughly 60 percent single bedroom and the rest two bedroom layouts. The units come with private bathrooms and kitchens. He adds that rent will range between $1,700 and no more than $2,500.
"We see it as a major connection and hopefully connectivity between Rosewood community and Shandon community, that we just felt was the right time for that."
Nearby businesses are also optimistic about the development. Bryan Tayara, the owner of Rosewood Market, is happy to see new neighbors that will potentially increase foot traffic.
"We're a grocery store. We thrive on having lots of people in the area. People normally grocery shop close to their house. So the more people we have in the neighborhood, the more business we'll see."
Neighbors in Shandon also have mixed reactions. Concerns were brought up about traffic in the area and whether the complex will make the neighborhood less safe. Maya Jordan lives behind the construction. She says, "We were definitely worried about traffic, especially with the entrance to Starbucks and those areas being on Sloane street."
They tell News19 that Cason Development Group agreed to cut off traffic from Sloane Avenue to Rosewood so there would be no through traffic. Jordan adds, "I think this will be great to bring other businesses to the Rosewood area. It's great for use because we can walk to Starbucks or whatever else is being put up next."
The building will be called "5th and Sloane." The name stemming from the Sloane avenue behind the apartments and '5th' coming from '5th Ave' which was the original name of Rosewood Drive.