Congressman Kweisi Mfume has submitted funding requests for important community projects in the 7th Congressional District of Maryland to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations (“Appropriations Committee”).
Under guidelines issued by the Appropriations Committee and U.S. House of Representatives (the “U.S. House”), each Member may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2024 – although only a handful may actually be funded. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding. Additional information on the reforms governing Community Project Funding is available here.
In compliance with U.S. House Rules and Appropriations Committee requirements, Congressman Mfume has certified that he, his spouse, and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested. Selected fiscal year 2024 Community Project Funding requests are listed alphabetically by the project sponsor’s name.
Project Sponsor: AHC Inc.
Project Name: Lansdowne-Baltimore Highlands Community Center
Project Location: 1 Silerton Road, Baltimore, MD 21227
Requested Amount: $1,225,000
Project Description: The project aims to construct a 3,000-square foot community center to serve the 168 lower-income households at Lansdowne Gardens and neighboring communities. The Community Center will allow for the expansion of AHC's award-winning, CORES (Certified Organization for Resident Engagement & Services) certified resident services programs at this site to provide job training, social services, financial capabilities, eviction prevention, food security, and education resources. Expanding the social, educational, and economic well-being of these high need households can improve their family outcomes and lead to less need for other governmental services which is a direct benefit to the Baltimore region. The new space will also allow the opportunity for increased public and private community partnerships with organizations such as Baltimore County and other nonprofit service providers to reach families where they live. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Baltimore Safe Haven
Project Name: Baltimore Safe Haven Shelter
Project Location: 4011-4015 N Penshurst Ave, Baltimore, MD 21216
Requested Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project will support the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of a new facility for Baltimore Safe Haven. Baltimore Safe Haven currently offers low barrier shelter, transitional housing, an emergency hypothermia shelter, and permanent housing. Baltimore Safe Haven serves those with an annual income of less than $10,000 who are currently homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. An expansion of the Shelter will double bed spaces for the most marginalized community members, allowing Marylanders a passage to safe, equal, and fair housing opportunities. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: BRIDGES Community Development Corporation
Project Name: Belvedere Place Affordable Rental Housing Development
Project Location: 3101 West Belvedere Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215
Requested Amount: $2,500,000
Project Description: This project seeks to construct 83 new, family-serving affordable apartments for households earning between 30% and 60% Area Median Income (AMI). The Development will include quality indoor and outdoor resident amenity spaces, on-site parking, and approximately 9,000 square feet of community-serving retail facing Belvedere Avenue. The project will also create an enhanced community park on which will be a gathering and recreational space for the entire neighborhood. This project is critically important to the neighborhood because it sits directly across the street from the Pimlico Racecourse, which is slated for a $200+ million State-supported mixed-use redevelopment. This redevelopment will only increase the need for high quality housing and retail in the area, which Belvedere Place will provide. Belvedere Place’s 83 apartments will all be long-term affordable housing serving families at various income bands. The need for affordable housing, especially high quality, sustainable family housing like Belvedere Place, is critical in Baltimore City and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) has allocated 11 project-based vouchers to residents at 30% AMI and below, who are some of the neediest residents in the City. HABC’s waiting list for vouchers has been closed since 2019 due to excessive demand and waiting times of several years, so production of units set aside for 30% AMI households is extremely important. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Civic Works, Inc.
Project Name: Capital Improvements to Civic Works’ Center for Sustainable Careers Workforce Training Facility
Project Location: 3501 Brehms Lane, Baltimore, MD 21213
Requested Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: Civic Works’ project is a one-time request to implement key capital improvements to the electrical and HVAC systems in its Center for Sustainable Careers workforce training facility and classroom learning spaces. By enabling Civic Works to complete necessary upgrades, this request will support the deepening of Civic Works’ employment development impact within Congressional District 7. CSC provides technical skills, marketable certifications, essential skills training, and employer-driven sector-based training to un- and underemployed residents of Baltimore City who face systemic barriers to entry and advancement in the workforce. CSC graduates 200 Baltimore residents annually, and since 2003, has maintained an average job placement rate of 88%. Civic Works has completed a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment for the building. All aspects of the capital project are aligned with the report, and the report did not identify any required additional environmental work for the project. In the next phase of the capital campaign, Civic Works will address fire protection, electrical, exterior, and HVAC needs in the building by adding fire alarm notification devices, expanding sprinkler coverage, replacing the electrical service area, replacing the 120/240v meter trough, replacing electrical panels, conducting masonry repair and repointing, replacing HVAC units with a Variable Refrigerant Flow system, and installing the 100 kWh Resiliency Hub with battery storage. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation
Project Name: Elkader Way at Stadium Place
Project Location: 901 East 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Project Description: The Elkader Way at Stadium Place ("Elkader Way") project establishes the new construction of 93 affordable, permanent, and supportive housing units for older adults. Elkader Way is one of six residential buildings located in the only generational community in Maryland, Stadium Place. Stadium Place provides a combination of housing and supportive services designed to respond to the social-economic needs of independent and aging seniors. Elkader Way, just like the other communities at Stadium Place, will be designed to provide seniors with the social and safety features that help them maintain their independence as they age in place. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Greater Baybrook Alliance, Inc.
Project Name: Renew and Reopen: A Program to Rehabilitate Vacant Properties for Neighborhood Revitalization
Project Location: 3601, 3570, 3638, 3707 S. Hanover St. and 205 E. Patapsco Ave, Baltimore, MD 21225
Requested Amount: $1,000,000
Project Description: The Greater Baybrook Alliance (GBA) seeks to redevelop a vacant bank branch, at the intersection of Brooklyn's commercial corridors, into a permanent office space. The renovated space will provide training and technical assistance to residents and local entrepreneurs. Additionally, the project will anchor economic and community development activities in the region, increasing accessibility to the community. This newly transformed property will anchor neighborhood revitalization. In addition, it will contribute to GBA's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) program to transform vacant problem properties in the adjacent blocks into positive reuse that contributes to the community's safety and vitality. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: LIGHT Health and Wellness Comprehensive Services Inc.
Project Name: LIGHT Rock Children's Village Construction Project
Project Location: 2200 North Monroe Street, Baltimore, MD 21217
Requested Amount: $1,022,981
Project Description: The project seeks to expand and improve current LIGHT facilities and provide space for additional classrooms, an indoor play area, community rooms and recreation space. This expansion project will allow for an increase enrollment and support LIGHT's effort to improve their early childhood education program and LIGHT Rock Child Care Center, all while delivering to the most vulnerable populations and communities of Baltimore City. Additionally, this project seeks to enhance efforts to revitalize the Greater Mondawmin/Penn-North communities of West Baltimore. These communities demonstrate a severe need for increased contributions in addressing the major deficiencies that affect the health, education and welfare of children and families. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Park Heights Renaissance, Inc.
Project Name: Acquisition and Renovation of Blighted Properties in Park Heights
Project Location: 4301 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215
Requested Amount: $1,250,000
Project Description: The requested funds will be utilized to acquire and renovate 30 single-family blighted homes and create homeownership opportunities for 30 low-moderate income families in the Park Heights community of Northwest Baltimore City. This request represents one third of the total project budget of $3,750,000 for redeveloping up to 100 properties. The mission of Park Heights Renaissance, Inc. (PHR) includes implementing the Baltimore City Park Heights Master Plan, increasing homeownership, driving land and economic development, and partnering with human and social development organizations to revive a thriving and sustainable community. PHR’s Housing and Economic Development department is focused on fighting blight and developing diverse and equitable housing strategies that support this community in recovery from decades of systemic housing practices that have not supported long-term and sustainable economic growth. Through the acquisition, renovation, and resale of blighted properties, PHR will address the twin crises of lack of affordable housing and economic disparities by bringing approximately 100 quality affordable homes to the community, raising home values, and infusing much needed dollars into the neighborhoods. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: ReBUILD Metro Inc.
Project Name: The Machine Works
Project Location: 508 East Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
Requested Amount: $4,000,000
Project Description: The Machine Works will transform a 46,000 square-foot, blighted factory into a small business incubator that will generate economic activity, create over 100 new local jobs, and catalyze revitalization and opportunity in a historically distressed area of East Baltimore. This transformation will open up office spaces where dozens of Baltimore’s local manufacturers, creative social entrepreneurs, and nonprofit community builders can launch or expand their operations and production. The project includes the development of street-level storefronts on the adjacent vacant lots facing Greenmount Avenue, which will offer retail space to participating businesses and catalyze reinvestment on Johnston Square’s disinvested main street. The Machine Works will ultimately advance economic development and connectivity in Central Baltimore, and serve as a centerpiece in the revitalization of Johnston Square from its decades of disinvestment and concentrated poverty into a healthy mixed-income community where thousands of new and legacy residents can together thrive in place. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Roberta's House
Project Name: Roberta's House Capital Improvements
Project Location: 928 E North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
Project Description: This project seeks funds to support renovation and construction efforts on the fourth level of the new Roberta’s House Family Grief Support Center. Roberta's House implements community outreach programs that offer grief intervention for schools, human service providers and organizations in the event of sudden or traumatic death. Through peer and non-clinical support, education, empowerment, and community awareness, Roberta’s House offers free programs and services to school-age children, teens, and their families. The grief service focus on those who have experienced the death of a loved one, those who have family or friends that are survivors of homicide, those living in high crime areas, and those at risk of complicated grief reactions. The volunteers of Roberta’s house, along with a staff of professionals, assist children, teens and adults on how to experience and express their grief safely and in a healthy manner. The Center provides a confidential setting to facilitate the emotional, physical and spiritual healing for grieving children and families, as well as offering educational training. and technical assistance for community groups, churches and healthcare practitioners. The construction of a solarium on the fourth level overlooking Greenmount Cemetery provides another meeting and gathering space to serve grieving and bereaved youth, families, and adults. The rooftop solarium is part of several new spaces that complement our existing strategies for promoting healing and recovery from loss. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Southeast Community Development Corporation
Project Name: Crown Cork & Seal Blight Remediation
Project Location: 4401 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21224
Requested Amount: $2,000,000
Project Description: The former campus of the Crown Cork & Seal Company in East Baltimore, a decaying 19-acre site between Highlandtown and Greektown, is a prominent reminder of Baltimore’s industrial heyday. The campus—which is currently about 30% occupied by a collection of artisans and makers—is in poor shape due to vacancy, deferred maintenance, and the inability to prevent people, animals, and the elements from entering buildings. The site’s limited fire access, and deteriorating buildings are perils for current tenants and impediments for future rehabilitation activities. Addressing this blight is important to ensure the current tenants have access to space that safe, affordable, and alleviates the burden that blight places upon communities, and to jump-start rehabilitation activities that can bring mixed-income housing, dynamic retail, and public gathering spaces to the site. Specifically, the project will fund the demolition of the 57,000 square foot structure over Old Eastern Avenue—the only guaranteed access point to the site—that impedes fire access to the campus and the demolition of approximately 125,000 square feet of additional North Campus buildings that are structurally unsound or are physically unsafe (e.g. have collapsed roofs, etc.). It will also dispose of debris that has been dumped or left on site over the past few decades and remove overgrown vegetation from the walls and ceilings of buildings. And finally, the project will remediate lead, asbestos, and other environmental hazards on buildings across the site. Securing the vacant structure will limit vandalism and squatting, as well as improve lighting and wayfinding for tenants and visitors. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: UniFIED Efforts, Inc.
Project Name: Penn-North Community Violence Prevention After and Out-of-School Youth Center
Project Location: 2517-21 Woodbrook Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
Project Description: This project request funds for the construction of a Youth Center which will offer no cost programs for school-aged children living in economically disadvantaged areas. This project is a much-needed facility in an area void of quality, after school and out-of-school programs for children. The Center will provide a space for children to partake in tutoring services, and healthy social interactions with their peers in a positive environment, enabling the positive youth development necessary to becoming productive citizens. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Unity Properties, Inc.
Project Name: Rehabilitation of Fulton Avenue Homes
Project Location: 34, 40, 52, 41, 45, 47, 51, 116, 120, 122, 124, 126, 105, 107, 109, 111, 119, 121, 123, and 125 S. Fulton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21223
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
Project Description: This project will completely rehabilitate 20 single-family rowhomes on South Fulton Avenue, which straddles Union Square, Restivo Square, and Carrollton Ridge neighborhoods. As a result, this project will increase the stock of affordable homes in an area of disinvestment, increase opportunities to build generational wealth, and apply a long-term whole block development strategy to stabilize two currently blighted, vacant blocks in West Baltimore. To foster successful home ownership, Unity Properties, Inc. will work with Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore (NHS), an organization founded in 1974 with a mission to renew vitality in Baltimore neighborhoods. NHS provides financial coaching that includes homeownership coaching, homebuyer education classes, and mortgage programs for those with credit challenges. The Fulton Avenue houses are centrally located on a highly visible commuter corridor and are well served by public transit with good connections to major local employers, services, and amenities. Residents of these homes will be able to walk to the Bon Secours Community Resource Center, which features afterschool programming, a gymnasium, health care career training, a computer lab, community meeting space, and financial training and counseling. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: WBC Community Development Corporation
Project Name: Wayland Village II
Project Location: 3809 Bonner Road, Baltimore, MD 21216
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
Project Description: This project funds the construction of forty-eight two-bedroom units and fourteen three-bedroom units designated for families and veterans with incomes at or below 60% of the Area Median Income. Twelve of the units will be reserved for homeless veterans and will target support services by Project PLASE. The project is built amidst a community of longtime homeowners with older frame houses that show signs of deferred maintenance. As populations in Forest Park neighborhoods decrease by 8% to 20%, blocks around the areas commercial center struggle with instability and abandonment. This revitalization strategy will elevate the neighborhood's identity and assets, strengthen community bonds, and help the local economy overcome market failures. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)
Project Sponsor: Westport Community Economic Development Corporation
Project Name: Harbor West Community Partnership Resource and Wellness Center
Project Location: 2400 Harman Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21230
Requested Amount: $1,500,000
Project Description: The requested funds will support construction of the Harbor West Community Partnership Wellness and Resource Center, which will promote regional community innovation and wellness by providing homeownership training, intergenerational activity center, library, community meeting space, commercial kitchen, and interactive outdoor family gathering space. The 100,000 square foot structure will include community meeting and office spaces, flexible learning space, an indoor and outdoor track, urban garden space, green roof, and accessible features for those with disabilities. During a regional strategic planning effort, the neighborhood leadership identified each of the aforementioned uses as necessary and critical needs for Harbor West residents. (Link to Member Financial Disclosure Certification and Federal Nexus Statement)