Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, November 13, 2015

Across the United States in the latter half of the 20th Century, urban blight and population decline became epidemic. Baltimore was not excluded from the trend of residents leaving the city for a different style of life in the suburbs. The structure of a reversal  is not an easy fix.  That is why my Administration has focused on Growing Baltimore, with coordinated efforts to promote economic opportunities and investment in the City. The reversal of 50 years of disinvestment in Baltimore City required the focus and support of numerous city agencies working with our residents, businesses, and partners at the State and Federal levels. 

In November 2010 I launched  the Vacants to Value (V2V) initiative, the City’s first comprehensive blight elimination plan.  In its 5-year history, the program has received numerous national awards for its innovation and cutting-edge practices that are enhancing the quality of life, rebuilding our neighborhoods, and driving economic development.  Just this week, The Abell Foundation published a report praising the Vacants to Value program as “the most ambitious blight elimination effort in 40 years” and suggested ways to strengthen it going forward.

But awards mean nothing without progress and results. And if we are to reach my goal of 10,000 new families, we need results.

One of the strategies of V2V is the Baltimore Homeownership Incentive Program (B-HiP), which offers numerous home ownership incentives.  These include $10,000 toward the purchase of a vacant home, a $5,000 home buying incentive through Live Baltimore, a Live Near Your Work program where the city will match employers up to $2,500, and a community development block grant for first-time home buyers which offers $5,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance.  Earlier this year, we partnered with the State to launch the Grand Slam program with even more incentives for new homebuyers in Baltimore City. Click HERE for more details on incentives.

At the onset of the V2V program, we faced a daunting number of vacancies – and the complex issue of securing ownership for long-abandoned homes. Not every property could be saved. My commitment of $100 million over a ten-year timeframe was dedicated to the demolition of boarded up and vacant buildings to better position our neighborhoods for private investment. This effort has already seen results. In the past five years we have demolished approximately 1,700 properties across the city. And where possible, through a partnership with Humanim, we are deconstructing the buildings, salvaging brick, marble, and other reusable materials for resale. This program also offers job-training and employment to city residents.

Quality urban living requires private investment. It is extraordinary to note that hundreds of millions of private dollars have been invested in neighborhoods across the city. Businesses are expanding, and entrepreneurs see opportunity in neighborhoods targeted by Vacants to Value.

I have not lost sight of the importance of being a sustainable, green city.  My Growing Green iInitiative (GGi), another strategy of V2V, has resulted in more than 900 lots being adopted for community gardens and outdoor living spaces. The V2V program also offers existing homeowners a multitude of services for energy efficiency improvements, lead paint abatement, and home repairs. 

We are working together, block by block, to create a thriving, healthy, and safe city. I am proud of the progress we have made.  This is an extraordinary time to Grow Baltimore and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

If you have an interest in homeownership or development in Baltimore City, I encourage you to join us at the  Vacants to Value Summit & Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center on November 18th & 19th. More details can be found HERE.

This originally appeared in the Rawlings-Blake Review. If you do not receive the Mayor's weekly newsletter, subscribe here.