Harlem Park: Don't Wait for the Red Line

There are some parts of Old West Baltimore that have seen lots of reinvestment and redevelopment on both the public and private sectors. They include Upton's Marble Hill District, Druid Heights, and the eastern edge of Sandtown Winchester, and Heritage Crossing. On the flip side there are areas that have not seen much in the way investment including the western edge of Sandtown Winchester, Upton that isn't the Marble Hill District, and Harlem Park. Although Upton and western Sandtown do require a lot of work I will discuss them in the future, today is all about Harlem Park.

 Harlem Park's biggest problem is population loss. It seems as though if Residents want to live somewhere else they simply move away rather than try to put down roots and improve the Neighborhood. As of the 2010 census Harlem Park is about 45% vacant. When I say that vacancy and population loss is the biggest problem that Harlem Park faces I open a HUGE can of worms as to why the population has dropped so dramatically but how can Harlem Park begin to experience growth if we don't get to the root of the problem?

 There may be a small glimmer of hope for Harlem Park. The redevelopment of the West Baltimore MARC Station shows the southern border of Harlem Park slated for redevelopment as the Red Line construction begins TOD make eventually take Harlem Park by storm but that could take years, personally I think Harlem Park should a draw on its own.

 As I'm sure you're aware, Harlem Park wasn't always in bad shape, in fact it was once one of Baltimore's finest Gentlemen's Communities housing some of Baltimore's business elite most of the year except for the summer when a large portion of Residents left the City for their summer homes. At the turn of the 19th/20th century, the mostly White German Neighborhood of Harlem Park began to see White Flight both to the west where Neighborhoods such as Easterwood Park and Rosemont were in their infancy or to the north where the Roland Park Company was building large estate homes in what would eventually be Guilford, Homeland, Original Northwood, and the titular Roland Park. 

 Although White Flight was in full swing before the start of World War I, Harlem Park was still thought of as an elite Gentlemen's Community only now it was becoming home to Baltimore's Black elite. Although new Black Residents were paying a pretty penny for their new homes perhaps more than a comparable home in a White Neighborhood would fetch, I wouldn't call this "blockbusting" since there were no corrupt Realtors trying to make a quick buck off of White fears and the lack of housing options in the Black Community. 

 By the roaring 20s Harlem Park (as did all of old West Baltimore) had turned into a mixed income Black Community with wealthier Residents living in the grand row house mansions while Residents who were more working class took residence in the "alley homes." Pennsylvania Avenue served as a Downtown Area for Old West Baltimore as a whole featuring the City's best Jazz Clubs and Movie Houses. 

 By the 1930s the Great Depression had taken its toll on Harlem Park, there were fewer and fewer well to do Residents as they had either moved west beyond Fulton Avenue into the Easterwood Park and Rosemont Area (white Residents from there were moving to Edmondson Village) or the depression had taken its toll and Residents who used to be more well to do had become poor. 

 After World War II, the White flight to the suburbs and the subsequent Black repopulating of White Neighborhoods on the outskirts of the City was in full force. Since Harlem Park is not and hasn't been on the outskirts of the City for decades, its population was beginning to thin out as there was no real source in which a new population influx could be found. Another blow for the Neighborhood was what was then called "slum elimination" which was actually the erection of the notorious public housing high rises of Murphy Homes and Lexington Terrace.

 Slum elimination can come in many forms, in the 1950s and 60s it came in the form of Interstate Construction. I feel bad calling it "slum elimination" because to construct the "interstate" that effects Harlem Park it wasn't slums that were eliminated. It was working class and middle class homes between Franklin and Mulberry Sts. The Home Owners who lived where the proposed interstate was going were given very little for their homes and given that so many people's net worth is wrapped up in their homes, the once middle class Residents became poor thanks to this supposed "miracle interstate."

 This "interstate" turned out to be a curse, it was supposed to connect to I-70 when it was extended into Leakin Park to meet I-95, the spur near Harlem Park would connect I-70 to Downtown. Harlem Park at the time was hanging on a delicate balance between minimal blight and turning into a major slum. This "interstate" was the final nail in the coffin not only for Harlem Park but Old West Baltimore as a whole. To add insult to injury, the connection was never completed thus making what was built complete useless, this "I-170" is what's known as today's "Road to Nowhere."     

 Today the damage done by generations of poverty and poor policy planning have taken their toll. Harlem Park's vacancy rate as of the 2010 census is 45% which doesn't include all the vacant lots providing eye sores and a hot bed for trash. It's no secret that Harlem Park is suffering and the City is letting it go to the dogs as a Neighborhood that can't be saved. Me? I have yet to find a Neighborhood that isn't worth saving. It's time for Harlem Park to see its day in the sun.

 Lets keep in mind that as part of the Red Line construction there is a proposal for redevelopment of the Neighborhood's southern borders with high density Apartments or Condos or TOD if you will. Given how often the Red Line is tweaked and with funding and construction dates constantly being delayed, I'm not holding my breath for progress on that front. Even so, Harlem Park is an entire Neighborhood that needs help, and doesn't start and stop at the Red Line. I would also like to point out that as the title suggests, I want Harlem Park to be a draw on its own.

 When creating a Master Plan the first thing to do is draw on the Neighborhood's strengths. Other than the obvious (close to the proposed Red Line) I can think of two others; first the "block parks" and the new Senior Apartments recently built. Most if not all square blocks in Harlem Park have parks behind the Row Homes. Although they've become a liability as they've become littered with trash and drug litter. I think that these block parks can be an asset once again. Neighborhood Residents can reclaim control by planting flower gardens and vegetable gardens that could be sold at Farmers Markets. Also there have been two brand new Senior Apartment developments known as Edmondson Commons and Harlem Park Gardens. These two developments have been a great help in Seniors in the area on fixed income find clean affordable housing that meets their needs. These two success stories can be used as building blocks for reinvestment and redevelopment in the Neighborhood. Properties around these development should be first thus allowing new housing and rehabbed housing to spread like wildfires.

 I can't describe the strengths of Harlem Park without discussing its weaknesses too. Harlem Park has a fleeting population, problems with drug addiction, high crime, high unemployment, lack of quality retail, and a lack of constant City Services. I think a decent portion of these problems can be reduced if not solved by investing in the Neighborhood's housing stock a la Sandtown Winchester. Sandtown has seen a good amount of redevelopment and reinvestment in its housing stock with help from the Enterprise Foundation. The benefits are contained only within the effected areas. It hasn't had the domino effect people would have liked but that just means that other areas need that same intervention.

 Harlem Park is due for that very same attention and I think it will spur growth by all stretches of the imagination. One great thing about the Enterprise Foundation is that it employed existing Residents to build the new homes which provided jobs to the Community. Baltimore has a large amount of unemployed construction worker, an issue I came head to head with while helping a gentlemen run for City Council last summer. Sure, there are lots of development projects in the works across the City but they have snubbed the local Construction Unions by bringing in outside workers. This will not be allowed when rebuilding Harlem Park, Harlem Park will be a local grass roots efforts from start to finish. This will also allow for Job Training for those looking to learn the construction trade. New and rehabbed homes and the jobs they bring may solve other problems that Harlem Park suffers. Crime and drug addiction thrive in poor Neighborhoods where there are a lot of vacants and a lot of Residents are unemployed. With Residents at work and new Residents moving in who are also employed, the drug trade and the crime it comes with be dealt a major blow.

 We've seen how Sandtown & Marble Hill can benefit from large investments in the housing stock which in return brings jobs to the Neighborhood, Improves the appearance of the Neighborhood, and can help erode crime from the rehabbed and redeveloped blocks. Now it's time for Harlem Park to benefit the same way, everybody knows it's overdue.

A Cleaner Greener Wilkens Avenue

Lately a certain cluster of Neighborhoods will have my undivided attention and that's what I will write about until I have exhausted them. Right now that cluster of Neighborhoods is the Wilkens Avenue area.

 I've told you about how Gwynns Falls is a diamond in the rough and how its successes can be used on Neighborhoods that haven't fared so well. I also brought forth a very bold plan to include "Districts" that
include workers from various professions who lack affordable housing opportunities to fill vacated Neighborhoods and bring a sense of long term investment. Now it's time that I brought forth yet another plan
for Wilkens Avenue, a Pilot Program that if successful can help transform the City into a cleaner greener area.

A sure fire sign that a Neighborhood suffers from disinvestment is the presence of trash. Trash ridden streets and alleys are commonplace even in Gwynns Falls which is one of the best Neighborhoods along Wilkens Avenue. A good way to combat this would be to increase trash and recycling pickup, enforce fines for littering and putting trash on your curb before designated pickup times, and additional street sweepers with both trucks and individuals sweeping sidewalks and alleys.

Now Greening up a Neighborhood is more than just trash removal. It involves shrinking the carbon foot print and reducing the overall pollution generated by cars and buildings. Given that Wilkens Avenue has a high concentration of vacant homes a lot of redevelopment and rehabbing will have to take place before the area can experience the major population growth it so desperately needs.

By reducing the carbon footprint of the Neighborhood, not only will you be green by keeping the air quality clean but you will save green (money) by reduced utility costs, something that workers living in the Wilkens Avenue Districts will appreciate. Now how does one make a home greener? Well there are several ways in which to do so and I will explain how in the following paragraphs.

First there's the roof, when replacing the roof it will be beneficial to have a vegetative green roof. This reduces storm water run off by having the rooftop plants watered by rain and will also cool the air by reducing the amount of tar and gravel which create an "urban heat island" These green roofs also reduce cooling costs in the summer.

Next there's geothermal in ground heating. This is obtained by using the warmth of the earth whose temperature doesn't change much during the seasons. In the winter this will drive down heating costs and
reduce HVAC pollution. A way to accomplish this is through geothermal fields that provide this heat to adjacent buildings.

I think in the case of Baltimore row homes this can be achieved by turning under utilized alleys in to grass covered fields that summon the heat of the earth to heat homes.

The roof and the in-ground heating and the green vegetative roof are the most expensive things that would green up Wilkens Avenue but there are less invasive ways to save on energy bills and reduce your carbon
footprint. As renovations and redevelopment of the area becomes reality it would be beneficial to use energy saving appliances as a rule. These include but aren't limited to; high efficiency washers and dryers, tank-less water heaters, and low gallon per flush toilets.

 

It's well known that Wilkens Avenue is currently very dirty with trash all over the streets, alleys, and sidewalks, and homes that aren't vacant are probably not very energy efficient costing Residents a fortune. I think if a plan like the one I just put forth were implemented I believe we will see a cleaner greener Wilkens Avenue.

The Wilkens District

 

 Baltimore for much of its history has been a working man's City. It wasn't until the fall of the manufacturing industry and the flight to the suburbs that it became a way to simply house the poor. Then came the Inner Harbor redevelopment which gentrified the once working class Neighborhoods of Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill, and Locust Point. It appears that Hampden and Medfield are headed in that direction as well.

With this sudden spike of gentrification the working class residents of these Neighborhoods have been priced out. The demand for working and middle class housing risen yet the supply has diminished. There has to be a way to ensure that a Neighborhood can make a turn around and not gentrify. There has to be a way to ensure that it's affordable yet Residents can make the required repairs to their homes to keep the Neighborhood clean and well kept. A clean and well kept Neighborhood shows that Residents have planted a stake in the Community and have invested a lot and in and of itself makes for a crime deterrent. I think designating a part of the City for its working class and middle class is crucial for its future and I know just the place to do it; Wilkens Avenue.

Wilkens Avenue for the most part, is in pretty bad shape its once working and middle class population has fled due to the collapse of the manufacturing sector and the flight to the suburbs. As a result, the home ownership rate has declined, crime and vacant blighted homes has risen making Wilkens Avenue appear stagnant. In a sense Wilkens Avenue is stagnant the central issue surrounding its decline is jobs or lack there of. The manufacturing plants in Southwest Baltimore have mostly shuttered and the area doesn't seem to be attracting potential employers. It doesn't sound Wilkens Avenue will turn around any time soon or will it?

When I look at Neighborhoods that have benefited from Artist Housing, I think of that as a secret weapon the City has to revive Neighborhoods that are in poor shape. Then I realized that Artists aren't the only profession that is in need of affordable housing. Like I said Baltimore has always been a working man's City and it still is regardless of what the gentrified Harbor portrays. There are lots of working and middle class Residents who are struggling to find a decent place to live and an affordable price. That's when I got the idea to make districts strictly for said professions, but where? It has to be an area that's not too far gone but at the same time the housing and the land it sits on has to be low in value.

I found just the area along Wilkens Avenue in Neighborhoods like Mount Clare, Carrollton Ridge, Mill Hill, Violetville, and Morell Park. Some Neighborhoods are in better shape than others but they all could benefit from additional Residents who can bring in investment and stability. When I talk about bringing in affordable housing, it's for people with good jobs but their income is not all that high. In making districts along Wilkens Avenue for certain professions it will ensure that those buying into the Neighborhood are gainfully employed and home prices will be income adjusted so that the monthly mortgage payment will be at most 30% of their monthly income which is the recommended amount when preparing a budget.

Now where along Wilkens Avenue would each particular District go? Well actually that really doesn't matter there is plenty of vacant housing ready to either rehabbed or rebuilt depending on how dilapidated said housing is. The districts will be as follows; The Hospitality District (for Hotel and Restaurants Workers), The Education District (for Teachers) the Emergency District (for Cops, Firefighters, and Paramedics, the Nursing District, the Retail District (for workers in Retail), the Civil Servant District (postal workers, garbage
collectors etc.) and the Plumbing District.

Now comes the question of whether making housing affordable enough for Baltimore's workforce is enough to attract them to Wilkens Avenue. Personally I think so because the opportunity to become a home owner in and around Baltimore would otherwise be nothing more than a dream for those in these professions (I work in Hospitality I'm speaking from experience) and also I would like the redevelopment portions of these districts to feature new LEED initiatives to cut back pollution and reduce utility bills which is something we all worry about when paying our monthly bills.

This might be the ticket for Wilkens Avenue to make a comeback, one that is better than gentrification because it will help reestablish a solid working class and middle class base in the City. These good jobs didn't use to require subsides but as the cost as living went up our wages either went stagnant or went down. Much like Wilkens Avenue.

Gwynns Falls: Not Your Average Wilkens Avenue Neighborhood

I was lucky enough to get a view of Gwnns Falls through the eyes of a Resident and Community Activist, he had hopes that I would write a post about Gywnns Falls and the surrounding Wilkens Avenue Neighborhoods. Well I'm sorry to say that after our meeting, I didn't get an idea for a post, I got ideas for three!

It's no secret that Wilkens Avenue has suffered from population loss and severe disinvestment for decades on end. Boarded up row homes and Neighborhoods with Vacancy Rates up to 45% are just part of the landscape and appear not to be a cause for concern. A lot of this population loss can be attributed to White Flight in the past 12 years and what looks to be re segregation as a Black Area. These tell tale signs of Neighborhoods in severe distress are very upsetting to me given how much I love Baltimore and all of its Neighborhoods. Luckily for me and Wilkens Avenue, there is a sign of hope and its name is Gwynns Falls.

I have gotten a few comments and emails regarding the victories of Gwynns Falls including the fact that it fosters a very diverse population, there are signs of investment, the lower than average crime rate, having the Southwestern Police Headquarters located in the Neighborhood, and even a few Commercial/Industrial uses that are still thriving. Gwynns Falls is still far from perfect, there are still vacant homes, messy alleys, and a lack of City Services like dependable garbage pickup and roads in need of paving. Take a ride around the Neighborhood like I did with a Resident who contacted me regarding Gwynns Falls and I quickly realized that Gwynns Falls was not your average Wilkens Avenue Neighborhood.

When Gwynns Falls got its start, it was your average Wilkens Avenue Neighborhood. It lived side by side with industry and Row Homes were built to house workers who were employed in the Neighborhood. Gwynns Falls, became a working class White Neighborhood with Wilkens Avenue to the south and Fredrick Avenue to the north both acting as Commercial nodes for the Neighborhood mostly by way of the corner stone. As the industries located Gwynns Falls thrived, so did the Neighborhood itself so it would stand to reason that if industry were to crumble so would the Neighborhoods, which was exactly what happened.

The story I'm about to tell is one that I've told in too many of my posts but it's one that echoes the decline of Baltimore as a whole. As Industry cut back along Wilkens Avenue, the once neat and tidy Row Homes began showing signs of blight as Residents became unemployed. Some Residents opted out of the Neighborhood all together leaving their homes vacant and boarded up. On the industry front, companies began modernizing their plants which eliminated still more workers and in some cases shut down and out sourced to other Countries. This had disastrous effects on Wilkens Avenue and its Neighborhoods.

 Neighborhoods like Mill Hill, Carollton Ridge, and Mount Clare felt the effects of Community disinvestment with vacant houses, declining population, white flight, and a spike in crime. Gwynns Falls experienced all these things as well, just not as drastically as its Neighbors. So that begs the question; why? What has made Gwynns Falls so special? Gwynns Falls is home to the Southwestern District Police Headquarters, that's a big thing. I have a feeling that has deterred countless crime and drug problems that have plagued other Neighborhoods. This safety net then allowed Residents to stay in their homes rather than flock to the suburbs which lowered the number of vacants and lessened the White Flight as well. Another promising sign for the Neighborhood is that there is a Commercial Laundry Facility located in the middle of it.

 Today Gwynns Falls is seeing a few budding signs of reinvestment. Its demographics are pretty much an even split between the White/Black Population although new White Families are moving here suggesting that White Flight isn't a factor. There is also a burgeoning Hispanic and Mennonite population. The Homes being repopulated are seeing lots of investment like white picket fences which has caused existing Residents to fix up there homes as well. A blighted vacant lot has been turned into a Community Garden which has transformed the space from eyesore to asset. There are a number of vacant homes that existing Residents are interested in buying and fixing to sell as newly renovated homes. I think with the Greater Baltimore Area with defecit of affordable housing, I think Gwynns Falls could be looked at as an alternative for those who may have overlooked it.

 Another Gwynn Falls attribute is its Recreation Center with Basketball hoops. There used to be a swimming pool here but the threat of integration in the 1960s or 70s caused the pool to close. I think as a way to encourage growth would be rebuild and open up the Pool which would be a draw not just for Gwynns Falls Residents but for surrounding Wilkens Avenue Neighborhoods now that they're all integrated and a diverse array of races sharing a pool is not as big a deal as it was 40 years ago. The biggest problem seems to be sanitation issues, the City isn't reliable with trash pickup and streets and alleys are littered with stray trash. My friend who introduced me to Gwynns Falls spends a lot of time picking up trash on his block but he's only one man and can't do it alone. Hopefully others will follow in his footsteps soon or better yet stop littering all together.

The Southwestern Police Headquarters, Recreation Center, Investment instead of Disinvestment, Commercial Laundry Center and No White Flight? It's all too obvious that Gwynns Falls is not your average Wilkens Avenue Neighborhood.

The Rotunda: Reviving Redevelopment

  After years of insisting that they would not be closing and that they were on board to stay on during and after the Rotunda's redevelopment, their anchor Giant will be closing at the end of the month. Not only that, redevelopment has been in the works for the rotunda for quite some time with no physical changes to the aging and increasingly vacant enclosed Shopping Center. Now in the wake of the news of Giant's departure, owners of the Rotunda are reviving the redevelopment plans that have gone off track after the economy collapsed almost verbatim with 300 Apartments, Community Green Space, New Retail, and a much larger Cinematheque. I think the redeveloped Rotunda could be a winner assuming they find a new Grocer and construction actually begins.

Although Giant's closure will stall redevelopment as property owners scramble to find a replacement Grocer, I think Giant's departure is beneficial long term. With the new Waverly Giant on 33rd St. just east of Greenmount, and the Rotunda Giant being so large, I don't think both stores could compete with each other. With the Giant moving to the old Superfresh in Hampden on 40th St., I think that small distance move will define two distinct Markets for each store. Hampden and Medfield Residents didn't appear to be too keen on Fresh & Green's (now occupying Superfresh) high prices and are very happy to see Giant taking over their space.

The Rotunda Cinematheque has had a checkered past in that it has opened and closed at least once if not more. When the Mall opened in 1971, the Cinematheque was just one screen as large multiplex cinemas had not become the norm yet. I don't know exactly know the date of the Cinema's closure but I do know that it reopened with two screens in 2005. In 2005 there were already talks of redeveloping the Rotunda. The current Cinema doesn't play first run movies and isn't owned or managed by a large distributor like United Artists or AMC.

One thing that is needed for the Cinematheque is more screens as large multiplex theaters are almost unheard of in the City. It should have 10 screens so as not to have the same movie playing on several screens like the 20+ screen multiplex in Arundel Mills. This should be a crucial piece of the Mall's redevelopment.

I'm afraid that in the short term that existing Retailers like Casa Mia, the only eatery left in the food court has a bleak future. Since redevelopment won't occur for a couple of years and with the Giant closing, sales have already been dipping and with a vacant Giant they will only continue their downward trend. I can only hope that they can survive long enough for redevelopment so that they can enjoy the benefits. According to the Rotunda's owners there are small Retailers who are interested in leasing space in the redeveloped center but of course that's a ways away.

Now as far as attracting a new Grocer to the Rotunda the obvious candidate has said no; Trader Joes. Given that the Rotunda's owners want a small "boutique Grocer" like Trader Joes it makes their choices in selecting a replacement a great deal harder. Given that the Bloom chain has gone out of business that adds another potential possibility that is no longer. The Fresh Market has "not made an announcement" which is better than a flat no that Trader Joes has given the Rotunda.

When selecting a Boutique Grocer like Trader Joes or the Fresh Market one can stumble upon independent or less known chains of the type. In Columbia's Wilde Lake Village Center we have David's Natural Market an independent Organic Market like Trader Joes that started out in a tiny space but has expanded so many times that it is now the size of your typical Trader Joes. In Clarskville and Olney we have Roots Organic Market, another Market that fits the bill of Boutique Grocer. Finally we have MOMs (My Organic Market) a chain that may not be as upscale as Trader Joes but size wise and selection wise it would be a good fit for the Rotunda.

Now when plans for redeveloping the Rotunda were in their infancy, the residential component was much larger including not only Apartments but Condos and a Hotel. As the economy tanked so did the size and sacle of the Rotunda's redevelopment. Now that our economy has bottomed out and by the time the first construction shovel hits the ground, we should be well into a recovery. Given that economic forecast I believe the Residential component of the Rotunda should once again be expanded to include Condos and the Hotel to increase density on the site and add new Condos to an area where new Condo construction is sparse but the demand is high.

Redevelopment for the Rotunda has been in and out of the news so much that until Giant announced it was pulling out of the Mall that I figured redevelopment prospects had died. Luckily the owners have found the sense of energy that was lacking and it appears redevelopment has revived. Now lets breath some life into this relic.