Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Governor Larry Hogan Announces Project C.O.R.E. Awardees in Baltimore City

Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Governor Larry Hogan today announced awardees for demolition funds through Project C.O.R.E., or Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise, a multi-year city-state partnership to demolish vacant and derelict buildings in Baltimore and replace them with green space or create the foundation for redevelopment in Baltimore City. The governor was joined by Baltimore City Mayor Catherine E. Pugh and Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Secretary Kenneth C. Holt, as well as Baltimore City officials and community stakeholders at the demolition site in West Baltimore. The demolition site, which is the former Madison Park North apartments, is the first of more than 200 units that will be demolished as part of this project. It will serve as the future site of an Innovation Center in West Baltimore – a hub for the city’s first designated “innovation district.”

“This city-state partnership will bring much-needed investment, services, housing, and jobs to Baltimore,” said Governor Hogan. “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.”

Under the terms of Project C.O.R.E, the state will invest $75 million supported by an $18.5 million investment from Baltimore City over the next four years. Today’s awards represent the latest phase of ongoing Project C.O.R.E. activity, which began this summer with the demolition of targeted groups of properties managed by the Maryland Stadium Authority and the city. During this time, DHCD was engaged in extensive outreach to local community organizations to assess their redevelopment needs prior to the application process for Fiscal Year 2017 Strategic Demolition Funds. The department received applications from 36 different Baltimore City agencies and nonprofit community development organizations for 77 projects. After careful deliberation, the department awarded nearly $16 million to 30 projects. These awards will serve as the catalyst for an additional $285 million investment from public, private, and nonprofit development partners.

"Project C.O.R.E. is an excellent example of what I mean by seeing challenges as opportunities for innovation," said Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh. "I am committed to building from strength in every zipcode and it's an honor to join Governor Hogan to begin this process with today's award recipients. Revitalization and broad urban development must be thoughtful, insightful, and well executed. As we move West Baltimore and our City forward, I am eager to build on the synergy that exists among our state, city and community partners."

“Thanks to our direct outreach to community organizations, the response to this application process was overwhelmingly positive,” said Secretary Holt. “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. This is a strong indication of the importance and potential of Project C.O.R.E. to the city.”

The awards were announced at the site of a planned Innovation Center, sponsored by the Mount Royal Community Development Corporation. The Innovation Center will be the main anchor in a new, mixed-use development gateway and town center situated on a contiguous quarter mile in the 700-900 blocks of West North Avenue. The center is part of the larger Innovation Village initiative, which calls for the creation and development of the city’s first “innovation district” by transforming 6.8 square miles of West Central Baltimore into a smart city with free WiFi and access to jobs and opportunities. This 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.

After the demolition phase, Project C.O.R.E. will be supported by more than $600 million in financing opportunities through DHCD programs. Guided by the needs of each community, the state’s investment in housing and small businesses will attract families and support economic growth in Baltimore’s neighborhoods.