A southwest Baltimore neighborhood is seeing a rapid reduction in vacant buildings, as a nonprofit completes the first phase of a major redevelopment effort.
Bon Secours Community Works has renovated 11 houses along Fulton Avenue, with plans to complete nine more by July 2026. Two of the 20 homes have already been sold.
“I'm very happy that we're the first organization to sell a Baltimore Vacant Reinvestment Initiative home,” said Ruben Chandrasekhar, executive director of Bon Secours Community Works. He added that they plan to continue renovating in the 21223 zip code.
Vacancy remains a persistent issue in the area.
According to a government dashboard, Franklin Square alone has more than 200 vacant buildings. Surrounding neighborhoods including Carrollton Ridge and Union Square were redlined more than a century ago, a practice that restricted investment and homeownership opportunities for Black residents.“
If you go back to 1910, Baltimore City came up with a residential segregation law that effectively segregated Black residents to the east of Fulton Avenue, and white and Jewish residents to the west of Fulton Avenue, ” Chandrasekhar said.
The three-story homes feature green technology and are priced at about $300,000. While that price point may appear high in a city where the average income is under $60,000, Chandrasekhar said the goal of the project is to attract families and strengthen the local community.
“These homes have remained vacant for decades. They displaced no one,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is bring people into the neighborhood and make it feel safe and stable.”
The renovation is part of Governor Wes Moore’s plan to turn 5,000 vacant properties across the city to productive use by 2030. Earlier this year, the state gave money to 16 developers to reduce blight, including Unity Properties, a subsidiary of Bon Secours Community Works.
Chandrasekhar said the goal was never to be first, but to responsibly revitalize a neighborhood that has faced generations of disinvestment.
