Check out this story in today’s Baltimore Sun about my friends Kim and Val Troiani’s Curatorship of the Evans House in Fair Hill, Maryland. This is a great example of government thinking creatively to preserve our historic resources. In exchange for their (tax-deductible) investment in the home’s restoration, not only do Kim and Val get to restore a fantastic home - mansion, really - and live in the woods on 5,500 acres, they get to do so rent-free, mortgage-free, and property-tax free for as long as they choose.
Ryan and I spent a day a few months back joining Val and Kim and about 40 other people in demolishing, cleaning, tossing, and scrubbing the house, getting it ready for the major construction – electrical and plumbing upgrades, new kitchen and baths, and a myriad of other major work they will do on the place. And it is a fantastic house, with 18-inch thick stone walls, lots of nooks and crannies, beautiful woodwork. It will be a great place for them to raise their family. I FELT like a 10-year old in that house. Hide and Seek will be soooo much fun there.
I am looking forward to more work days in Fair Hill, seeing this gem of a home be restored to its former glory, and am so excited for Kim and Val! They definitely have their work cut out for them, but will love every minute of it and will make that home shine!
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