BALTIMORE — Change is in the air for Baltimore's historic West North Avenue, with dozens of properties set to be transformed in the coming months.
Blighted rowhomes are about to be rebuilt. A grocery store - DC-based Fresh Food Factory - plans to open by the end of the year, alongside other services. The site once known as "Murder Mall" is being turned into the sleek Reservoir Square development. And, the Mill on North - a trendy new food hall - will open next month by Coppin State University.
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Much of the buzz is being orchestrated by the West North Avenue Development Authority, a state agency tasked with finding developers to buy up the vacant and rundown properties.
They just approved $6.5 million in grants for 19 developers and community groups for a variety of new projects - such as the Ethiopian Habesha Flavor food co-op and cafe, and the Styled4You Boutique women's clothing shop (currently in Owings Mills' Valley Village).
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Meanwhile, the city's Office of Employment Development is set to open next summer in a new, 68,000-square-foot mixed-use building near "Reservoir Square."
The Fresh Food Factory, currently in southeast Washington, D.C., has plans for several more locations in Baltimore.
Chad Williams, director of the Development Authority, noted:
We received 108 applicants for this current round and they requested over $100 million in [grants]. And if you think about it, that's a significant interest in a 2.7-mile area... In addition, we average approximately 300 folks at our planning sessions... So this just tells you the interest from new residents, legacy residents, people who remember their parents talking about the beauty of West North Avenue and its entertainment district, the Black Arts District.
The Mill on North has been getting a lot of community interest, as it's been several years in the making (originally expected to open in 2023).
All the grants are funded by the state's general-obligation funds. Williams pointed out that "it's not mandated funding. It's discretionary, based on the government... I don't want anybody thinking we're hurting the budget."
Williams said he expects the developers to officially have the properties this summer - which means people could see construction underway on the homes between Poplar Grove and Braddish, a stretch that's "basically 90 percent blighted and vacant."
The burst of activity will, among other things, "have a significant impact on how people see West North Avenue."
(The Development Authority only picks the developers; the housing department must then hand over the properties, which he said may need to be approved by the Board of Estimates.)
The redevelopment plan has about 10 more rounds of grant funding, so it's nowhere near over. Ultimately, the Authority hopes for a mix of apartments, single-family homes, and businesses along the corridor.
More information on the West North Avenue revitalization plan is here. Williams said all they want to do is spark the catalyst.
"This state agency is not going to fund the whole revitalization of North Avenue... We want to work toward eliminating us having a job. That's the whole point," he said.
