Derelict Buildings to Transform into Innovation District in West Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland and Baltimore City are partnering to transform blighted properties in west Baltimore into centers of opportunity through a funding program that is just starting to get into motion.

Gov. Larry Hogan and newly inducted Mayor Catherine Pugh announced the 30 projects selected for assistance through Project C.O.R.E., or Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise, a program developed this summer. Its aim is to make way for green space and redevelopment by demolishing as many city blocks of blight as possible.

The former Madison Park North complex at 738 West North Avenue — where Hogan, Pugh and other officials held a Project C.O.R.E. press conference Friday next to a bulldozer — was first building to go.

In place of Madison Park North, an Innovation Center will be built to anchor a new town center. It will feature a blend of housing and businesses along a contiguous stretch of West North Avenue, from the 700 to 900 blocks. The project is sponsored by the Mount Royal Community Development Corporation.

The plan is to turn west central Baltimore into an “innovation district" offering free wifi and access to jobs and opportunities, officials say. Hiring managers from various agencies may come to the communities rather than forcing job seekers to go out to them as a way to help guide residents in areas with high unemployment rates into careers.

The 6.8-square-mile innovation district will stretch from Coppin State University to the Maryland Institute College of Art, and north from Mondawmin Mall to Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Officials said a total of 77 project proposals were submitted by city and nonprofit agencies to Project C.O.R.E.

For the 30 projects it selected to be included in the program, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development reportedly awarded nearly $16 million in funding.

“The funds requested far exceeded the amount available for 2017, and in fact, the total amount allocated for demolition over the life of the initiative," Maryland Housing and Development Secretary Kenneth C. Holt said in a statement. "This is a strong indication of the importance and potential of Project C.O.R.E. to the city.”

Project C.OR.E. is a program that calls for Maryland to invest $75 million and Baltimore City to put $18.5 million over four years toward the reinvention of blighted city blocks into green spaces or redeveloped areas.

“This city-state partnership will bring much-needed investment, services, housing and jobs to Baltimore,” Hogan said. “By working with local community organizations, as well as the private sector, transformative projects like this will help ensure that Baltimore’s future is better and brighter than its present or its past."

After the demolition phase, Project C.O.R.E. will be supported by more than $600 million in financing opportunities through state housing and development programs. Officials say that the funding will spark additional investments from public, private, and nonprofit development partners.

Photo courtesy of Gov. Larry Hogan.