FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Projects in Baltimore and Leonardtown Part of Revitalization Effort
Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., today announced the designation of Maryland's first Priority Places in Baltimore and Leonardtown, launching the State's new effort to promote well-planned development in targeted growth areas.
"These two projects exemplify our priorities for revitalizing Maryland's existing communities," said Governor Ehrlich. "I am confident that these two projects will benefit from the Priority Places program by maximizing the public investment in these neighborhoods, and taking critical steps in helping restore the bay."
The Priority Places initiative is designed to re-energize and refocus state policies for land use and smart growth by encouraging development in existing communities where public funds have been spent for infrastructure needs in the past. The initiative targets projects and plans that can become catalysts for broader change in surrounding areas, with the goal of promoting economic development while restoring and protecting quality of life in Maryland's older cites, towns and suburbs.
The Baltimore and Leonardtown projects were among 22 applicants in the first round, which had a deadline of September 1, 2004. The applications were reviewed by the ten state agencies that have growth-related programs and roles.
Baltimore's proposal is built around a revitalization plan targeting the Poppleton neighborhood on the western edge of downtown. The neighborhood lost approximately 37% of its population in the 1990s, but is poised for a turnaround. The revitalization plan is tied to the University of Maryland, Baltimore's BioPark that is under construction in the neighborhood's southeast corner and is expected to bring 1,000 to 1,500 jobs. The City hopes to transform Poppleton into a mixed-income neighborhood, attracting middle-income homebuyers with new houses and improving quality of life for existing residents.
Leonardtown Wharf is a 5.5-acre waterfront development in a small Southern Maryland town that will put offices, shops, a restaurant, loft apartments and a public park on Breton Bay. This mixed-use development will help Leonardtown grow its economy by reorienting the town to the water, providing activity and public access to water on a site that has sat vacant since the 1980s. The project also incorporates several environmental benefits that contribute to Governor Ehrlich's Chesapeake Bay Restoration initiatives. The town has worked with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Critical Areas Commission and the Army corps of engineers on wetland restoration and buffers to streams, the bay and wetlands. Other environmental benefits include the cleanup of the site, which has been in a state of severe disrepair, and protection of the shoreline from erosion and pollution. The project is expected to create 168 permanent jobs in a town of 1,860 residents.
"By restoring these communities, jobs will be created, the neighborhoods will be safer, and people will return to our older cities and towns," said Governor Ehrlich.
"These two projects represent opportunities for the State to partner with local government and the private sector in efforts to revitalize older communities, and protect our natural resources," said State Planning Secretary Audrey Scott. "Drawing from existing resources, state agencies will provide appropriate funding and technical assistance to designated Priority Places, as well as expedited regulatory reviews."
The State currently is reviewing the second round of Priority Places applications, submitted December 1, 2004, and expects to announce more designations this spring.