The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) Executive Director Janet Abrahams is pleased to announce that the agency has received a $1.3 million Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant will be used to develop a comprehensive neighborhood plan for revitalizing the Poppleton-Hollins area, which includes Poe Homes, a
288-unit public housing development.
“We are very excited to receive this highly competitive award that will enable us to create a detailed plan to transform the distressed Poe Homes community,” said Executive Director Janet Abrahams. “We appreciate HUD’s support of our continuing efforts to create diverse and vibrant communities in Baltimore for the people we serve.”
Baltimore is one of six cities selected to receive nearly $5 million in combined Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants. The other cities include Phenix, AL; Tucson, Arizona; Camden, NJ; and Milwaukee, WI.
“Moving Baltimore forward requires transforming neighborhoods and attracting the level of investment that will raise the prospects of residents in long-neglected areas of our City,” said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. “This latest HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant will enable us to carefully consider how best to revitalize the Poe Homes housing complex and create a living environment that is worthy of its residents and their hopes for a better quality of life. We are very grateful to HUD for supporting this important priority of our Administration.”
A comprehensive neighborhood plan and community improvement strategy will be determined through a community engagement process. The neighborhood plan will revolve around the redevelopment of Poe Homes and the integration of housing into the footprint of the Poppleton-Hollins neighborhood, which is located near the University of Maryland BioPark and stable neighborhoods such as Union Square.
“To plan a neighborhood’s transformation, it takes a strong coalition of stakeholders and a community-driven process,” said Joe DeFelice, Regional Administrator of HUD’s Mid-Atlantic region. “This planning grant will build the capacity of local leaders to put those necessities into place. HUD’s ultimate goal is to help turn struggling neighborhoods into communities of opportunity and economic growth.”
HABC is committed to creating quality affordable housing communities and has several revitalization efforts currently underway. In July, HABC and the City of Baltimore were awarded a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant from HUD to transform the Perkins Somerset Oldtown neighborhood into a community of choice.
