The South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP) is awarding up to $300,000 for three years of operating support to Southwest Partnership (SWP) and to the Westport Community Economic Development Corporation (WCEDC) to spur significant community-centered investments within Pigtown and Westport. Following a comparable award granted to the Cherry Hill Development Corporation in June, these awards are the first of their kind in South Baltimore, reflecting SBGP’s commitment to drive transformational changes that reflect community priorities focused on development and revitalization.
SWP will use the operating support funds to acquire and renovate up to 20 vacant properties in Pigtown and sell them to new homeowners. As part of the partnership, Pigtown Main Street will continue its work to fight blight by removing dumping sites and cleaning and greening sites targeted for investment.
“This award frees up other funding to be spent on the street,” said SWP Executive Director Michael Seipp. “South Baltimore Gateway Partnership respects the capacity of stakeholders within a defined area to determine their own future so that change is not only being orchestrated from above, but rather is organic in nature.”
WCEDC will use the funds to obtain and rehab five homes per year, which will become a part of their community land trust. The homes will either be demolished and kept clear for green space as an interim use, rehabilitated for homeowners earning between 30-80 percent of the area median income or rehabilitated for affordable retail end-user, with the community land trust retaining ownership. WCEDC is also partnering with Columbia Bank to co-host quarterly homeownership training sessions.
“We are so very pleased to receive this critical organizational support, allowing us to focus on providing permanently affordable housing and entrepreneurial space for residents of Westport, Lakeland, Mt. Winans and St. Paul,” said WCEDC Executive Director Lisa Hodges. “For too long these neighborhoods have been overlooked and underserved. This three-year commitment communicates to all that building sustainable community-based organizations is elemental to achieving equitable development.”
“One of our highest strategic priorities is to enable meaningful, measurable change in community development and revitalization,” said SBGP Executive Director Brad Rogers. “By supporting these community development organizations, we are helping them to focus their energy on renovating vacant homes and creating new investment.”
The operating support awards follow the recent award of $603,930 in competitive grants for 26 projects across the district. This was the fifth round of grant funding by SBGP since 2017. Learn more here.
About SBGP
SBGP was established in 2016 to help implement the South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan, a sweeping plan to improve neighborhoods near the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, with funding provided by Local Impact Grants generated by video lottery terminals. Under its Strategic Plan, SBGP works to improve the vitality of its communities by focusing on three crucial elements of the South Baltimore Gateway Master Plan: Community Development and Revitalization, Environmental Sustainability, and Health and Wellness. SBGP is not an agency of the City of Baltimore or the State of Maryland. It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of residents of the district and representatives of businesses located in the district. Learn more about SBGP and the communities served here.