Governor Brings Battle Against Urban Blight To Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A $700 million plan. Governor Larry Hogan and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are joining forces to tackle urban decay, and the 17,000 vacant properties in Baltimore City.
Marcus Washington explains action is already underway to give parts of the city a major facelift.
Project C.O.R.E., for "Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise," kicked off Tuesday afternoon on Stricker Street in West Baltimore.
It's the part of Baltimore many say has been forgotten--boarded up vacant homes. And the ones exposed, standing from the outside, you can see clearly through their ceilings.
"This isn't the tourist attraction. This isn't the Baltimore that we show when we're promoting conventions and concerts and people to come in and stay at our hotels," said Ericka Alston, Penn-North Community Center.
It's a decades-old problem that many people who grew up in the Sandtown-Winchester community of Baltimore City still see today.
"You can't rent nothing. And then when you try to rent something, they want to charge you an arm and a leg for some trash. We shouldn't have to live like that," said Rochelle Johnson. "We've been living like this for god knows how long."
"This is a very, very important announcement and a very important day for Baltimore," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
In a push to clean up blighted communities plagued with vacant homes, Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Governor Larry Hogan are joining forces to announce a multi-year, multi-million dollar plan that includes demolishing vacant homes, creating green spaces and community reinvestment.
"It's much better for us to put a park, a community garden, grass or trees in the neighborhoods rather than these broken down buildings," the governor said. "Maybe someday there's a redevelopment opportunity, but some of it is just cleaning up the mess first."
"I feel overwhelmed and I also feel very happy to see this finally get taken care of," said Victoria DeVaughn.
The estimated cost of the demolition portion of this project is $75 million over four years.
