Have you ever wanted to live in a Swiss chalet? A Japanese pagoda? What about a Dutch windmill or a 1920s Gothicinspired ballroom? In Silver Spring’s National Park Seminary, dozens of quirky historic buildings are being restored and transformed into single-family homes, townhouses, and condos.
The buildings on the campus-like grounds were built between the 1890s and the 1920s when the property was used first as a summertime resort and then as a girls’ finishing school. Following World War I, the Army annexed the property and converted it to a medical facility, and it remained an extension of Walter Reed Army Medical Center through three wars. The Army left by the 1970s, and the campus and buildings fell into disrepair.
The Alexander Company, a historic preservation and development group, along with homebuilder EYA, is rehabilitating the dilapidated schoolhouse, chapel, headmaster’s home, music hall, and other unique buildings, including an American-style bungalow and a small-scale English garden castle. New Tudor and Arts and Crafts-style townhomes have been built on the site, and many already have sold.
What: National Park Seminary
Where: 2801 Linden Lane in Silver Spring, near Rock Creek Park
Number of Units: 80 condos, 12 single-family homes, and 66 apartments, all built in existing structures. There will also be 90 new townhomes. The historic units feature tall ceilings, park views, and access to a fitness center, lounge, and other community areas.
Pricing: Historic condos range from $350,000 to $850,000; new townhomes from $450,000 to $1.1 million. Nearly 60 historic apartments will be used as affordable housing
Expected Completion: mid to late 2008
Closest Metro: Forest Glen
