CEO Note: Reinvest Baltimore
It was just 10 months ago when GBC announced our commitment to work with Mayor Brandon Scott and BUILD to address 37,500 vacancies over 15-years, which constitutes a $3 billion need.
This week, we joined Governor Wes Moore and state and local officials for the signing of an executive order to establish Reinvest Baltimore, a coordinated effort between the public sector and civic partners to eliminate this long-standing challenge. The order creates a council to oversee the effort and to ensure accountability and impact.
Solving the vacant housing crisis is one of the key collective impact initiatives in our multi-year agenda. It is also foundational to position the region to attract investment and opportunity, which is the core of GBC’s mission and the rightful evolution of inclusive economic growth.
Media Coverage:
- Baltimore Banner: Gov. Moore wants to eliminate 5,000 vacant Baltimore homes in 5 years
- The Baltimore Sun: Special financing to rehab Baltimore vacants to be introduced to city council
- WBAL-TV: Maryland governor launches initiative ‘Reinvest Baltimore’ to address vacant properties
- WJZ-News: New program aims to tackle Baltimore’s vacant housing challenges
- WYPR: Moore Promises to eliminate 5,000 vacant Baltimore properties in 5 years
Throughout America — particularly in post-industrial communities — businesses and economic leaders have worked with public sector partners to remediate blight to course correct decades of disinvestment. These collaborative efforts have sparked tremendous economic revitalization and created many bright spots in midwestern and rustbelt regions that share Baltimore’s manufacturing past.
There’s a blueprint for collaboration and this is our moment to set a baseline for economic ambition, no matter how daunting the challenge. This year alone, we’ve:
- Championed increased Project C.O.R.E. funding (now Reinvest Baltimore) to $50 million per year, amounting to $750 million over 15 years.
- Identified $300 million in City-led funding to re-launch its Industrial Development Authority and establish Affordable Housing (aka Non-Contiguous) TIF bonds.
- Supported the creation of the Maryland Community Investment Corporation, and new initiatives like the Enough Act and Just Communities Designation. This will help high-need communities across the region and the state.
In the Baltimore Metropolitan Council’s survey released this week, half of the regional population identified blight reduction as the top issue for the public sector to improve the region’s environment and nearly 60% of Baltimore City residents believe neighborhoods need more growth and development. We ask for your partnership in supporting efforts to revitalize our great American city.
As an organizational partner, you can work with GBC specifically to:
- Identify investments you can make to help developers of all sizes rebuild our neighborhoods, both housing and commercial areas.
- Promote this initiative as an inflection point to drive much needed risk-capital and philanthropic investment to augment the public commitments.
- Stay informed on progress toward the 15-year goal.
We’ll be in touch with partners over the upcoming weeks. If you are interested in engaging, reach out to partner@gbc.org.