Help a Future Frederick Resident
I received this email from a future Frederick resident …
I will be moving to Frederick in January to start a new job. I was there yesterday (Saturday, Dec 8th) looking at an apartment and was wondering if you could give me some insider info on the area. I really like the apartment but I have concerns about the area. They’re called Elmwood Terrace Apartments. It’s off route 40 right next to Frederick Towne Mall on Waverly Rd. I currently live in Philadelphia so I was surprised to see that the first floor patios had no railings and that the buildings don’t have controlled access. I want to think it’s because the area is just so safe that those things are not necessary. But then the leasing agent told me that they have hired security to patrol at night and that “crime has no address.” So I guess my main concerns are related to crime and safety. I will be working at Ft. Dietrick and found these apartments to be a good location and have the qualities I wanted. I’ve looked online for infomation but would really appreciate information from someone who knows the area. Thanks so much for any help!!!
Can you all provide any help in his apartment search?
~Guy~
It’s not such a great area. I had a friend who lived there and said he had no problem, but he’s 6’3″. It’s nothing like inner city Philly, though. For Freserick, it’s not great. If you want to be close to Detrick, try the apartments by the Safeway on 7th street.
Elmwood Terrace is the only apartment complex that I have lived in. We lived there for 6 months back in 1993 while we were waiting for a house to be built. I would definitely NOT recommend them. While the apartments are large, it’s not a very nice area of town. In fact, I found it kind of scary to live there.
I know someone who was happy with their apartment at Crystal Park apartments which are actually closer to Ft. Detrick. I also know someone who is happy with their apartment at Wellington Trace, which is more west of town down New Design rd and not so close to Detrick.
I’m sure others will have suggestions as well.
I don’t know about Elmwood Terrace, but I recall that someone was murdered several months ago in the apartment / townhouse complex across Route 40 from Fredericktowne Mall. So, I’m not too sure about the entire area along Route 40.
On a related note, my family and I are looking at houses in Baker Park. What’s the nightlife like in Baker Park, especially around the pool / tennis courts along Fleming? Are there gangs there, especially since Frederick High School’s so close? I’m worried that as Frederick grows, so will crime and problems in Baker Park.
What in the world does Frederick High have to do with gangs? High school kids aren’t all that bad!! (speaking as the mother of teens!haha).
Fleming is a very nice quiet street, especially since it was made one-way. Now, I have walked through the park and seen homeless people there, especially around the tunnel. And I wouldn’t be surprised if people “hang out” in that part of the park, but I haven’t heard anything about gangs in that area. And I have a good friend who’s back yard backs up to Frederick High, and she loves her neighborhood. Who knows what things will be like with all this new growth, but I think real estate around the Hood College/Baker Park area should stay pretty stable, and fairly safe.
I would not recommend Elmwood Terrace. There is a small , older apartment building right next to the 7th Street entrance to Fort Detrick. There probably aren’t many openings, because it is a smaller complex, in a great location, but it is worth a check. Also, the apartments near the Safeway, off of Fairview Avenue, are very nice. They are probably more expensive, but you do get what you pay for. Remember that crime can happen anywhere.
To Proudgeek: There are no gangs roaming around Baker Park. There really is nothing at all there to attract “gangs.” Unless they are a tennis playing gang. It is a small park and fairly open. There has been crime there over the years, but the incidents are isolated. The area is patrolled. There are homeless people who sleep on the sheltered picnic benches on Fleming Avenue, under the tunnel and on benches along Carroll Creek. But I wouldn’t say the homeless are to be feared.
The Frederick County public schools have gang policies and I don’t think there are gang problems in the schools. Frederick High School is a wonderful and diverse school. The administrators and the teachers are the best. My kids have gone to private high schools and to Frederick High School. Frederick High School gets my vote as the better school, by a long shot. The school is an asset to the neighborhood, not a detriment.
Do not rent there. I have a friend that use to manage the place and she told me a lot of stories – all negative – to include a rape, break-ins, and a murder. This was about 4-5 years ago, but I don’t think it’s improved much. I live in a single family home, so I can’t give you any recommendations.
Monica
My friend. DO not move there. It is a bad area. there are many other complexes near Detrick that would better suit you. Elmwood Terrace is the worst followed by Applegate. Try Summit Farm (?) off of Fairview and West 7th or The Residences at the Manor.
Baker Park? Gangs? Worried about the ‘hood ’round Hood?
WTF?
It’s odd, looking around the steady gentrification of the historic district and how Frederick’s immigrant and “inner city” issues seem most pressing in the suburban areas along 40, I’m reminded – on a much smaller scale – of Paris, where the modern public housing “cities” that ring the city of light are the scene of frequent rioting and unrest.
Look downtown. You’ll be much happier there.
I would not recommend that end of Frederick. That area is right now having a problem with crime. There are other areas of Frederick that are better.
And there is a gang problem in Frederick but the police try to keep it quiet. For the most part, the gangs are nothing compared to other areas. But they have a foothold in the area. Most of the gang members in the area are what you would ca;; “wanna bes.”
Dear Future Resident,
When I moved here in 2006, I was told to avoid living on or near “The Golden Mile” (a.k.a. West Patrick Street), even though that was the area where houses were within our price range. Only you can say what your comfort level is for various neighborhoods. I assume that buying a home is not an option for you at this time – you may not know that home prices have dropped considerably in the past 6 months. Now that the housing sales market is soft, many houses are also available as rentals. You might be able to rent a nice house in a nice neighborhood for the same cost as an apartment. Good luck and welcome to Frederick!
Future Frederick Resident, my handicapped Uncle has lived at Elmwood Terrace for as long as I can remember. It may not be the greatest area in Frederick, but I can’t recall him ever having a problem there. They’ve also worked with him to make sure that his place fit his needs.
My husband, 2 children and I lived at Elmwood Terrace in the 90′s and although at first it was ok, it later became a scary place to live. Like others have said – the apartments are large – but it’s not worth it. Stay away from Route 40 period.
While we were in the market for a new house, we ended up renting an apartment short term almost 2 years ago and looked at Wellington Trace, The Reserve at Ballenger Creek, an Kingsbrook apartments. All 3 were nice – but we ended up at the Reserve because of it’s location and the cleanliness of the apartment. There are also brand new, very nice luxorious apartments behind the Superfresh on Ballenger Creek pike, but I understand they’re a bit on the expensive side.
Good luck in your search`
Also- near me there are condos for sale for less than $200K. I think they are called Jefferson Chase. This neighborhood isn’t the fanciest, but there are lots of super people around and it seems pretty quiet to me. I like it here.
Thanks, everyone, for your responses about Baker Park! This helps, this really does.
I can’t recommend an area, however I can send you a list of available rentals in the area in your desired price range. My contact information is on my website.
Does anyone know about Brookside Apartments? My boyfriend and I are moving to Frederick in a month and need help finding a safe, but reasonably priced place to live. I saw these apartments, but they seemed “ify” because of the low deposit and rent. Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
Personally? I wouldn’t want to live on that side of town again although I am not familiar with those particular apartments. If I were you, I’d contact Bob in the comment above yours for help.
Laura,
Brookside is iffy, too. My sister lived in them 25 years ago, when they were brand new. That area has changed so much over the years, though.
My 2 cents on Elmwood Terrace/ Rt. 40 area–
My husband and I lived in Elmwood Terrace for 3 years and had no problems with crime, nor did we hear of very much going on from others. Sometimes there was a problem with noise at night (just people being loud, playing music, etc.) but we had no safety issues at all. In fact, there were a number of concerned, conscientious neighbors in our building who served as a good “Neighborhood Watch” and even erred on the safe side and called the police when a couple got into a very loud argument.
We moved out 8 years ago, though, and I’m not sure how much it has changed. Driving through now, I do seem to notice that it doesn’t ‘look’ as well-taken-care of. Not the same as a safety issue, but for what it’s worth…
Good luck and welcome to the Frederick area!
I looked at them too, and they aren’t that great! We chose to pay a little more, and lived a few blocks up Key Parkway. Baker Place at the Manner Apartments are VERY nice, but you will pay for it. I was paying like 1200 for a 2 bed 2 bath.
Good luck with your move!
My boyfriend works security at Elmwood and is always kept busy by some type of activity in the area. I’m not saying its crime related activity but it is definitly necissary to have security around just because of the amount of people going in and out of the facility.
I live in Elmwood Terrace and have never had any problems with anyone. I like my apartment and I mind my business. I started renting here because they were the cheapest, but after moving here all I heard was about how bad they are. I would not reccomend living in the center apartments, but my apartment is on the main street, so its fine. I signed another lease for this past year and as unless I change jobs, will renew it again. But I don’t doubt the horror stories.
I just put a deposit down on a 1BR place at The Residences at the Manor (the older apartments built in ’88).
I am a little concerned about it, given the surrounding areas looked a little shady to me. Anyone have feedback on The Residences?
Having been born and raised in NYC,I think you Fredericktonians are a little spoiled.
The only crime problem seems to be “wannabe crip” type kids around here.
I live near Jefferson Chase as well,and there is little to no significant crime in this neighborhood.The main issue is a bunch of people who have claimed the corner of Willow Ave and Shannon ct. as their own, complete with lawn furniture on the public right of way at all hours.
With the benefit of all the feedback provided, I hope the “soon to be” Frederick resident has settled on an apartment he’ll find comfortable in all respects, including security. Though crime can and does happen anywhere, I do tend to agree with Sergio that those of us living in Frederick proper and surrounding areas are a bit spoiled and rather lucky in the big scheme of things!
If you dont have to live in “Frederick” DONT! I would recommend the Middletown, Jefferson or Wolfsville area, especially if you have children.
Don’t listen to those that say “don’t live in Frederick”. Why do you think the prices for Frederick homes are holding steady at a rather high price? It is because people want to live downtown or near it. My vote if you don’t want to live right in town would be out Yellow Springs road, Cloverhill, etc. My favorite is just east in the Holly Hills area. You have easy access to the city, I-70 & 270, the new shopping along the southern part of the city and no city taxes. You can’t beat it!
I STAYED IN AN APARTMENT IN MIDDLETOWN CALLED CHESTERBROOK FOR A YEAR OR SO. IT WAS SAFE AND REALLY CHEAP 700/MO. THEN I MOVED TO CARROLL PARK MANOR I’M FRIENDS WITH THE NEIGHBORS, I GUESS IT COULD BE A LITTLE NICER. ALTHOUGH IT IS CLOSE TO 270, HOOD AND DOWNTOWN FREDNECK, MMMM IT AL GET YA DRUNK. THATS FUNNY ABOUT THE BAKER PARK POOL THOUGH, I DONT THINK I’VE EVER MET ANY ONE WHO’S SWAM IN IT.
First I would try contacting the police dept and asking for a survey of call for specific areas you are interested in, this way you can get the straight scoop and not someone opinion, granted Frederick has it’s problems with crime but comparing Frederick to Paris France and it’s suburban areas is a JOKE!!!! First of all they are specific areas around Paris that have problems (kind of like our fair city to the south, WASHINGTON DC), heck go to southeast DC. Depending on what you are looking for in an apartment Frederick has plenty to chose from, either downtown or in one of the many apartment complex’s around the city. Good luck
The Frederick County Sheriffs Office has an awesome web site that lets you see crime states for any area of the county….
I am a graduate student from St. Augustine, Florida who will be living in Frederick this summer for 3 months. Does anyone have suggestions on nice places to live that offer short term leases for two people?
@LJR, if you can swing it you should try and find an apartment downtown. You will probably get the most out of frederick in your three month stay by doing that. You may have to contact a real estate agent though.
Any of the aprtment complexes above will probably offer short term leases at a “healthy” rate if you contact them.
Hey everyone! I am going to be attending graduate school at Hood College in Fall 2008. Could anyone give me some good areas to live for college students around the Frederick area? My budget is not huge (at most $800/month) but I would be willing to travel 20-30 minutes if necessary. Thanks for your time!
Your best bet then is probably Hagerstown. There are some nice apartments here for rent right off of the first Hagerstown exit and you are approx 30 minutes away. But then you are spending a fortune in gas.
I am going to be moving up to Frederick area. I am currently looking at the many apt. complexes in the area online. Does anyone have anything on the Westwinds or Woodlawn Village?
West winds is in Hagerstown along Sharpsburg Pike. It is past Frederick. Not familiar with Woodlawn village.
Woodlawn is the complex you can see off of 15 between 40 and rosemont, I think. It is off of Baughmans behind the Fitzgerald.
Look for some off Crestwood Drive. My sister lived there for 3 to 4 years adn loved it. nice apartments, but cannot remember the name.
I’d look into sharing a house or condo here in Frederick. As a grad student, you probably can’t afford to spend the time/money in a thrice-weekly commute from Hagerstown to Frederick. Traffic heading toward H’town in the afternoon can be very bad.
Check Craigslist, or the Frederick News-Post. Also post something at Hood. As the economy spirals southward, you should find plenty of people needing a boarder.
Other than Clover Hill, are there any other areas that are considered to be very safe? Does anyone know anything about the area around Worman’s Mill? We’ve also looked at Middletown, but according to the Frederick Police Crime Map, there is a lot of drug activity there.
Worman’s Mill is very nice and safe. It is a large, affluent planned suburban community.
I wouldn’t consider Middletown to be a very dangerous place, per se, but it is about 15 miles west of Frederick and there aren’t a lot of services and such there. Pretty much everywhere in Frederick is safe, except for maybe some neighborhoods off of Route 40 west of town.
Woodlawn Village is on Key Parkway, sort of near Elmwood Terrace. It was nice once, say 20 years ago, but now the crime rate in that area is pretty high.
Spring Ridge is a safe area just east of town. I love it there and there are plenty of services in the shopping center which is in the front of the development on the hill off of Spring Ridge Parkway.
Kingscrest Apts off Corporate Drive (turn off of Crestwood Blvd) is worth checking out; don’t know their current policy on short-term rentals, though. My brother and family lived there a few years ago; at the time, the apts. were fairly new, and the area seemed quite safe.
My husband and I lived at Derbyshire apartments in Fredericktown Village off of East Street for about 2 years. We loved it. The only reason we moved was because we had a baby and there weren’t any two bedroom apartments available. It was very quiet and we had no problems with the neighbors. The rent was not bad either.
My fiance & I are looking to rent a place in Frederick or Mt. Airy. There’s not much for rent in Mt. Airy. We don’t want to live off of the golden mile. I found an apartment on the corner of E. South street right by the bus station and social services. Does anyone know anything about that area? I would love to live downtown but I don’t want to live in a bad part.
Hi Dana,
Downtown Frederick is an amazing place to live. I’ve lived downtown for the past two years and would not move anywhere else in the city. There’s so much within walking distance and so many things are always going on.
I’m a little confused about your description of E. South Street. As far as I know, the bus station (which is also the train station, correct?) is farther down on East Street by East All Saints Street. And the social services that I know of are also on All Saints Street (the action agency).
The portion of East South between Market and Carroll streets is a very low key and nice area, in my opinion. I used to live on W. All Saints and while there are some “interesting” characters that you encounter, I never felt unsafe. The houses there seem to be well maintained and the only negative I would see might be more traffic than on other downtown streets. My recommendation is to go there a few times at night (a weeknight and weekend night) and walk around. See how you feel. But, in my experience, it’s a nice area. Much nicer than further down on West South Street. Hope that helps!
-Stephanie
Stephanie,
I would love to hear more about downtown rentals. What is the average price for a 1-2 bedroom between 900 and 1000 sq. feet? What is the best way to find a place downtown if you are currently out of state?
Thank you!
Well I’m no realtor, but in my experience you’ll spend around $1000-1200 for an apt around that size. My husband and I moved from out of state straight to downtown and we looked on Craigslist at ads and on REALTOR.com on the rental site for apartments and houses for rent. We contacted a few agents and landlords and set up appointments to see the places while we were in town before we moved.
Downtown you will likely find either small condo-type apartments (on All Saints, for example) or old row homes for rent. Many split the house up and rent each floor to separate tenants. Farther out near the baker park area you might find some basement apartments in the larger single family homes. On Market street there are rentals above the stores. It will be a bit louder there due to the foot and car traffic, but it’s the center of town so that can be fun too.
I’d suggest you look through rental ads and maybe contact a REALTOR in the area. We worked with Mark at Noah’s FMC and he was a lot of help. (http://www.noahsfmc.com/) Good luck!
Our daughter rented an apartment in a rowhouse on south Market in 2005. It was only $550/month BUT it had no central a/c or heat and she had to pay all utilitiThe heat was by radiators and none of them really worked, so she froze all winter. In the summer it was window a/c’s that leaked water, air gaps in the windows…..horrible. She had to do laundry by walking thru the apartment of another renter, and I mean actually thru the living room. The plumbing leaked, the floors were off kilter (all of them the original 200 yr old stuff) and it was haunted. Both my husband and I were physically shoved down the stairs but unseen but absolutely felt hands. In 2006 we leased an apartment for our son over by Safeway (those green roofed apts across the street). He and a friend shared a 2 bd/2ba unit with a tiny balcony for $1100/mo (we paid all utilities). When he moved out in 2007 the rent was going to $1300. Now, I would guess it’s up to at least $1500/mo – maybe more.