On a weekday evening, staff and volunteers from several organizations including BUILD — the influential, multifaith nonprofit group — gathered for a community walk, in Westport, a neighborhood in southern Baltimore.
“How do we door knock? We start by just introducing ourselves,” said Samika Turner, an organizer.
After prayer and safety instructions, the group trekked through the neighborhood engaging with residents. The walk was part of preparations for Governor Wes Moore’s executive order, which promises $50 million annually to rehabilitate 5,000 vacant properties over the next five years.
The plan, called Reinvest Baltimore, is a coordinated effort between city and state government officials and key players in the private sector.
While rehabilitating and demolishing vacant properties won’t start until 2025, the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council has begun meeting to figure out how to “eliminate concentrations of vacant properties.”
Neighborhoods across Baltimore City are organizing to secure their place in the state’s efforts. Once a thriving industrial hub with shipyards, factories, and warehouses, Westport has seen a decline in both population and infrastructure as industries have closed. Stanley Brown, 63, a lifelong resident, reflected on the neighborhood’s past.
“At one time I could come outside with no shoes on and never even cut my feet,” said Brown. “It didn’t matter whether I was in the alley or the main street. That's how nice it was. I love to see it go back.”
Lisa Hodges-Hiken, executive director of the Westport Community Development Economic Corporation (CEDC), placed much of the blame for the neighborhood's decline on absentee landlords. She pointed to HC Baltimore LLC, which owns 25% of the vacant homes in legacy Westport.
“That company owns over 85 properties, all but eight, are vacant,” said Hodges-Hiken. “Instead of fixing up the properties that they have, they are continuing to acquire more. And so we look at this company as a predator.”
Hodges-Hiken said that the abundance of vacants brings squatters who “ victimize the residents” by dumping trash and using outdoor water spigots for bathing. These activities, she said, have led to issues like human trafficking inside vacant homes and an influx of rodents.
ABSENTEE LANDLORD?
But David Baird, owner of HC Baltimore, disputes the blame.
Westport is considered a promising real estate investment due to its proximity to the waterfront, highways and a light rail station. Critics argue that instead of developing the properties, the owner has been buying and holding them.
Though he has renovated 40 homes in the past decade, his investment has not yet yielded the returns he expected.
“The level of crime and drug trafficking and squatters and that type of thing, has made it very difficult to preserve our investment, ” said Baird. He admitted to boarding up houses but only as a security measure. “We have to board the houses up till the last second before we get them rented. Otherwise everything gets broken into and stolen. ”
On a separate tour of Westport, Baird, joined by property manager Chad Lane and realtor Jody Buck, showed WYPR their units. According to the trio, their portfolio includes 15 rented units, 10 under renovation and 15 that are turnkey. They pointed to a stack of rental applications as evidence of their ongoing efforts to bring residents back to the area.
When asked about using security cameras, Lane explained that drug dealers actively target cameras, creating a safety risk. “We’ve tried, but they get broken, knocked down or stolen,” he said.
During the tour, Lane opened one of their boarded-up homes. Although the property appeared vacant from the outside, it was fully renovated inside, featuring updated finishes such as accent walls.
“See this?” Lane asked, pointing to basement pipes. “It's all plastic. If we had copper pipes, the squatters would take them. They'll leave this alone, because there's no value to it.”
Lane further explained that squatters often sell stolen parts to fund drug purchases. Boarding up homes costs about $500 per property, and while they sometimes need to re-board the same houses, he argued it’s cheaper than hiring private security or installing cameras.
They attributed much of the problem to the city’s failure to curb the open-air drug market in the area.
Tina Smith, a longtime resident and homeowner, agreed.
“I lived on this block my whole life,” said Smith. “This beautiful neighborhood is just falling away, and a lot of it has to do with drugs. And I don't care what anybody says, that's what it is — drugs.”
CITY’S EFFORTS
The Baltimore Police Department has an officer assigned to the area. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), along with Councilwoman Phylicia Porter are also involved in efforts to restore the neighborhood.
Court documents show that DHCD has filed multiple lawsuits against HC Baltimore through receivership. It is a legal process where a court appoints a third party — called a receiver — to take control of a property to ensure proper maintenance and management.
DHCD has used receivership to address the conditions of properties on the 2200 block of Cedley Street. Since HC Baltimore owns multiple properties on that block, the company has appeared in court to address violations. Receivership has led HC Baltimore to either sell, auction or repair multiple properties.
Baird maintains that he is committed to owning properties that are in good standing. “I do not make money on vacant units,” he said in a statement. “We are continuing to reinvest in renovations as financially feasible.”
ROLE OF LIGHT RAIL
There are two points all parties agree on.
One, is the impact of the light rail station on the neighborhood.
“It was so beautiful when it was first built,” Smith recalled. “Now, it’s full of homeless people, transients... I don’t know where they come from, but I know they don’t live here.”
“You’d literally see people get off the light rail, buy drugs, and then get back on. Now, they live at the light rail plaza. They live in these [vacant] homes,” said Hodges-Hiken with Westport CEDC.
“Until we get that drug market under control, it’s going to be very difficult to shift the neighborhood and the market,” said Buck, the realtor.
The second is the need for authorities to act expeditiously.
There are no requirements for neighborhood residents to do anything to get into the Reinvest Baltimore program. But, they said engagement is key to maximize revitalization efforts. The state is expected to begin moving vacant city properties into productive use next year.
Meanwhile, a market-rate housing development on the waterfront is in progress. It includes land for a high-speed railway — the same speed residents here hope authorities act to help Westport.
