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St. Mary's County approves $75,000 to upgrade water line and install sprinklers at six-townhouse New Phoenix project in Lexington Park
Summary
The Board authorized $75,000 from the Workforce Housing Initiative Fund to upgrade a 4-inch water main to 6-inch service and enable sprinkler installation for six townhouses in Lexington Park; staff said the upgrade is required by the Metropolitan Commission and that sprinkler installation costs drive the project price.
The St. Mary's County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 4 approved $75,000 in county funds from the Workforce Housing Initiative to upgrade a water main and enable installation of sprinklers at a six-unit townhouse building known as New Phoenix at 46799 South Shangri La Drive in Lexington Park.
Housing Authority and county staff told commissioners the existing water main in front of the townhouses is a 4-inch line and that the Metropolitan Commission requires a 6-inch feed to support sprinkler systems. The requested $75,000 would pay to bring a 6-inch line across the street and provide the water service necessary for sprinklers.
Staff outlined components of the overall cost. They said the bulk of the expense is the interior plumbing and sprinkler installation; exterior site work (trenching, water-line boring under the roadway and associated site preparation) is also significant. Staff reported that, in this retrofit, costs work out to “over $12,000” per unit for the sprinkler and related retrofit work in the current rehabilitation scope. The general-contractor line items cited in the meeting included roughly $30,000 for exterior work and more than $40,000 for unit interior piping and sprinkler components, driving the project totals above typical new-construction sprinkler estimates.
Commissioners asked whether a new 6-inch line would support future rehabilitation in adjacent parts of the development; staff said the upgraded main should provide capacity for additional units if future redevelopment occurs.
Commissioner Bailey moved and Commissioner Mattingly seconded approval of a memorandum of understanding between the Board and the Housing Authority to provide the $75,000 from the Workforce Housing Initiative Fund for the water-line upgrade and sprinkler installation. County staff (Miss Kramer) said the fund balance after the $75,000 allocation would be about $73,000. The motion carried.
Meeting discussion emphasized the policy goals: preserving and returning blighted or obsolete units to the housing stock, enabling affordable homeownership options (staff suggested final pricing in the $150,000–$165,000 range for rehabilitated units), and creating an on-ramp to additional rehabilitation in the surrounding neighborhood.
The funding authorizes county capital support for infrastructure needed to install fire-suppression systems; the Housing Authority will proceed with the upgrades and construction under the terms of the memorandum of understanding.
