June 2014 – Review of Priority Objectives Over the Last Four Years

June 2014 – Review of Priority Objectives Over the last four years we have been working to position Reservoir Hill Improvement Council (RHIC) and the community to be a partner in several major development efforts, which, together, we believe, have the possibility of catalyzing significant and positive change in Reservoir Hill, change that fosters an environment in which: 1. residents choose to remain in Reservoir Hill, 2. new folks choose to move in, 3. commercial, cultural, and recreational amenities are increased, and 4. the communities of Central West Baltimore nestled around West North Avenue reweave bonds of common community. We believe there has been distinct progress, and that we are now in a transformational period in which new educational and cultural opportunities have the possibility of blossoming, and strategic investments can further reduce the number of vacant homes, create a more walkable community, open greater interaction with our neighboring communities, and create more amenities. On the Precipice of Community Transformation – Where we are going The strategies and projects outlined in this summary are rooted in RHIC’s focus on the development of an integrated community development strategy that has equity at its center. Equitable development is for us the idea that revitalization directly benefits all sectors of the community. We see a healthy neighborhood as one in which the systems that underpin any community are aligned: its physical environment, cultural, recreational, and religious character, social assets and needs, economic assets, organizational infrastructure, and educational resources. The programs we develop strive to address the needs and aspirations of Reservoir Hill in an integrated manner. Sustained investment by Healthy Neighborhoods , Baltimore Community Foundation , and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) have been crucial in allowing us to develop this integrated approach. Many of the programs referenced below fall under RHIC’s approach to engaging community residents and partners in planning and design efforts, and building community leadership. We believe strongly that community members must contribute to decisions, policies and projects that impact their lives and ensure that design and planning efforts integrate local priorities and values, and model an equitable approach to planning. This may now be one of the strongest characteristics of our work. For instance, our School Design Action & Advisory Team has 12 – 15 members who have met every other week since July 2013, and have involved hundreds of people in designing a new neighborhood school facility. It’s a model of community engagement in design and building community leadership. 1 Signs of Progress – How we know our strategy has been working Recently a fairly new and very active resident commented on the chart of Hopes & Dreams that Reservoir Hill residents created in 1998, and which hangs in the RHIC office. He commented on how many items on that very wide ranging chart of objectives were actually being addressed, but he focused on one item that appears pretty vague and broad: “Create Sense of Hope.” He said that that was one where a lot of progress had been made because the only reason that people in Reservoir Hill take part in so many projects and devote so much time and create so many new things is that they have hope, and all the work we do builds that hope. Over the last decade there has been a steady flow of new residents into Reservoir Hill. Many of those are now having children and want to raise them in the community they have come to call “home.” Many of our new residents have become highly active in the community, working closely with long-term residents, and fostering the growth of a very diverse and vibrant core of active residents. In 2013 more than 400 people volunteered over 7,000 hours to RHIC projects and events. During that ten-year span of time, RHIC programs and support of resident-driven projects have resulted in cleaner streets, a dramatic increase in the tree canopy with more than 500 street trees being planted since 2009, the transformation of more than 60% of vacant lots into public spaces where neighbors interact, including the resident-driven Whitelock Community Farm and two new playgrounds, the attainment of Maryland Green School status by the neighborhood school, and the restoration of Whitelock Street to an active community hub. Partners investing in Reservoir Hill have been the backbone of progress over the years. To date, Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc . (HNI) has invested $15 million dollars in Reservoir Hill in acquisition, rehab, loans, and community improvement projects. In 2013, Druid Heights CDC , as HNI’s development partner in Reservoir Hill brought 12 formerly foreclosed and vacant units back online. Part of the goal of this HNI-RHIC-Druid Heights CDC partnership has been to stimulate development through investment in the community that makes others want to invest and develop. And it has had a good effect. The median closing price of houses sold in 2013 was $138,000, the highest since 2009. In 2012, Baltimore Community Foundation selected Reservoir Hill as one of two neighborhoods in which to begin its Target Neighborhood Initiative. By investing $300,000 over a three year period the BCF Initiative has permitted longer term planning at the community level at fostering community-based leadership, strengthening community institutions, creating equitable strategies for urban sustainability focused on access to education, arts, and healthy food, and enhancing the greening and walkability of the neighborhood. The third partnership initiative that has strongly shaped RHIC activity in the last year has been the Transform Baltimore – Build Schools, Build Neighborhoods campaign. This grassroots, city-wide initiative (1) organized as Baltimore Education Coalition to defend against state cuts to education and lead the campaign to establish a new funding 2 mechanism that would allow for all Baltimore City public schools to be renovated or rebuilt over a 10-year period – Baltimore City Public School System’s 21 st Century School Facilities Initiative, and (2) is shaping and monitoring the implementation of school design and construction, and (3) as the Transform Baltimore Community Development Committee is leading a drive to partner with Department of Planning to implement planning processes in every community where a school is being built to strategically shape investment in the rest of the neighborhood surrounding the school. As a result of four years of organizing, John Eager Howard Elementary School in Reservoir Hill is now scheduled for redevelopment in Year One of the 21 st Century School Facilities Initiative, a $ 30-35 million investment that will transform an entire block in the community. In addition, eyes are on Reservoir Hill as we shape a model for community engagement in the school design and construction process. The engagement initiative, guided by a team of 12, has involved more than 500 people in the process through one- on-one discussions, small group meetings, and public sessions. The community was hit hard by investor foreclosures, but that investment has started to return. For instance, a firm acquired and finished two brick apartment buildings at Brookfield and Whitelock, and is looking toward other projects in Reservoir Hill. In addition, RHIC staff is in communications with developers with extensive experience in Baltimore development exploring three other possible projects in Reservoir Hill on Callow Avenue, Whitelock Street, and areas. In another significant show of investment in Reservoir Hill, Baltimore Housing invested $100,000 partnering with RHIC to restore a playground and park as part of the revival of Whitelock Street as a hub of community. Healthy Neighborhoods, CDBG, Baltimore Community Foundation, and Abell Foundation funding combined to allow us to compete restoration if this park. These are all very positive signs that new investment in Reservoir Hill is not a fluke but is here to stay. A significant change in the community is that “Green culture” has caught on, more organizations are sponsoring greening efforts, and there has been a distinct increase in community activities sponsored by more organizations. Beth Am Synagogue is hosting the Eutaw Place concert series, which just concluded its second season. Child First runs a high quality after school program for 90 children. The newly formed Reservoir Hill-based Girl Scout troop added to the increase in community arts that developed over the last three years by creating murals in the renovated German Park. On the heels of that steady progress, we believe there are transformative opportunities before us that will reshape the neighborhood for decades to come. 3 Key Priorities: The Opportunities Before Us in 2014 Stimulating Investment & Redeveloping Vacant Houses Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc. has now committed $2 million from the sale of NSP-2 houses and $500,000 in other funds to acquire, rehab, and sale to home owners at least eight vacant houses on the 2200 block of Callow Avenue to begin the transformation of the 2200 and 2300 blocks of Callow, the last blocks of vacant house blight in the community. Five houses have been purchased, and we expect 2014 to be a year of change on Callow Avenue, with work starting in the autumn. Having this concentration of vacant houses broken will send a powerful signal to other developers and buyers that Reservoir Hill continues to be an urban neighborhood on the rise. Redevelopment of the neighborhood school and recreation center The renovation of John Eager Howard School and the block where it and the recreation center are located will start in 2015 with the new facility opening in 2017. This will be a $ 30- 35 million dollar investment . Achieving this has been the result of a city-wide campaign organized through Transform Baltimore and Baltimore Education Coalition to modernize all Baltimore City public schools in which RHIC has been an active partner for four years.

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