By Alan King
AFRO Staff Writer
Businesses along Park Heights Ave. hope that the vacant housing initiative will bring revenue to their neighborhood. (Courtesy Photo/bmoreblack.com)
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(July 1, 2009) - Concerns about the progress of a vacant housing initiative dominated a discussion between developers, city council members and Park Heights residents at a recent hearing.
The initiative, started in 2003, is an effort to reduce the number of city-owned vacant properties throughout Baltimore by creating opportunities for development and homeownership.
Park Heights is bounded on the south by Druid Park Drive, on the north by Northern Parkway, on the west by Wabash Avenue, and on the east by Greenspring Avenue. The two major roadways – Park Heights Avenue and Reisterstown Road, which run north-south through Park Heights – serve as the neighborhood’s “Main Streets,” as well as the location of many of its primary businesses.
There are currently more than 2,000 vacant lots and buildings in the 1,500-acre community.
Under the direction of Pimlico Community Development, Park Heights Renaissance (PHR) Inc., a non-profit organization, will manage the components of the master plan related to housing, economic development and human services.
The Baltimore City Council was updated on the vacant housing initiative at an informational hearing on June 18. Also discussed was the feasibility of expanding the program to include privately-owned vacant houses and the ability of duplicating the program in other neighborhoods overrun with vacant houses.
PHR is working with the Department of Housing and Community Development to market city-owned property through its website, in addition to serving as a liaison between the city agencies and community residents.
Councilwoman Rochelle Spector raised concerns about where the Pimlico Race Track fit into the plan. The race track’s 140 acres represents one of the most underutilized sites in the city and an untapped resource for Park Heights, according to the Park Heights Neighborhood Master Plan. For most of the year, Pimlico sits as a collection of empty parking lots. And on a race day, few Pimlico patrons venture onto Park Heights Avenue or visit businesses in the district.
Phil Croskey, president and CEO of PHR, said there are three alternatives for addressing the race track.
The first alternative was to maintain the race track and add a commercial center to the site. The addition of entertainment, related retail, one or more hotels and similar facilities would transform Pimlico into a year-round destination and provide a functional basis for connecting activities on the site to Park Heights Avenue and the district’s life and economy.
Alternatives two and three involve relocating the race track. The second would create a mixed-income residential neighborhood with 1,000 units of affordable quality homes. It would also include a mix of single-family detached, row, and multi-family houses.
The third creates a live/work, mixed-use neighborhood, including a business park. With 1,000 or more housing units, it would also accomodate 1 million square feet or more of new office space and might include research buildings to accommodate from 3,000 to 5,000-plus new jobs. The new urban office park could have direct frontage on Northern Parkway, with residential blocks separating the commercial buildings from nearby residential neighborhoods.
While the project would also rehab city-owned vacant properties, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke (Dist. 14) was concerned it would be hindered by privately-owned vacant houses. “We tried to reach out to all property owners … to really just get a conversation started with these holders as to what is their intent,” she said. “We’ve been working closely with Department of Housing, Code Enforcement and other agencies in the city.
“We are trying to engage those property owners and hold them accountable as much as possible.”
DeBorah Woolford, a resident, voiced other concerns, such as the project creating opportunities for predatory lenders and developers placing homeownership opportunities out of the reach of community residents. “We have a [history] of people who come in and who do not have the best interest of the community,” she said. “If I feel that something’s not right, I’m going to sound the alarm because I have no problem doing it.”
Phil Croskey, president and CEO of PHR, said he understood Woolford’s concerns. “The goal of this program is not to price anyone out, but to provide quality affordable housing,” Croskey said. “We’re not all going to need $300,000 homes … We see that those models don’t work over time.”
He added that the rehabbed homes would go for about $150,000.
Viola Bell, a resident and PHR community coordinator, suggested there was a way for residents to purchase a quality home without the works for less than $150,000. “To some folks, an $80,000-home is satisfactory. They don’t necessarily have to have ceramic and marble tile, and recessed ceilings,” said Bell, who’s lived in the community for more than 20 years. “My house is not worth $80,000 but I’m happy with my house, and I have it fixed to the specifications that I want.”
Will Hanna, president and CEO of The New Park Heights Community Development Corporation Inc., wanted to know if there was a process where community residents were involved and engaged.
Croskey said PHR has a resident community council meeting every second Thursday. In August, PHR will kick off housing counseling and a homebuyer assistance program. “We can begin to help the community understand all the opportunities that are getting ready to take place,” Croskey said. “We think that this model will work quite well.”
He added that homebuyers who go through the those programs will receive closing cost and down payment assistance of up to $3,000.
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