Affordable housing plan adds 2 blocks
City awards developers right to expand project in Park Heights neighborhood
Developers building new homes designed for a mix of incomes in Park Heights plan to transform an additional stretch of the Northwest Baltimore neighborhood that’s long been a target of city revitalization efforts.
Baltimore-based Henson Development Co. has been picked with partner The NHP Foundation to build rental town houses and low-rise apartments with retail along the vacant blocks of 4600 and 4800 Park Heights Avenue.
Henson Development and NHP, a New Yorkbased nonprofit affordable housing builder, already are working across the street at 4710 Park Avenue on a $52 million,100-unit apartment building for seniors. The team broke ground in December on the first phase in a larger plan that eventually will include a rental apartment building, 17 single-family detached homes to be sold, and new water, sewer and street infrastructure across 17 acres.
About a week ago, the city awarded the developers the right to expand into the two additional blocks, just over 3 acres, and negotiate for the parcels, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development said Tuesday. Once a sales agreement is reached, it would require city Board of Estimates approval.
Plans for the estimated $64 million project call for about 100 housing units, likely split between a low-rise apartment building and rental town houses with two, three and four bedrooms.
Their latest Park Heights project will add to the developers’ vision of returning Park Heights to a community where people of varying incomes and lifestyles live side by side within reach of goods and services offered by local businesses, the developers said Tuesday in an interview. The area has long struggled because of a concentration of vacant homes and low-income earners.
The project continues “our commitment to revitalizing communities and creating positive change,” said Dana Henson, a principal and vice president with the family-owned Henson Development. “These projects are of the utmost importance as they not only transform the physical landscape of Park Heights and what’s happening there, but it’s also an opportunity for us to provide an uplifting of the residents and businesses in the area.”
The full scope of the additional housing and retail will offer choices the neighborhood has lacked, the developers said. Aging residents will be able to move to housing designed to be accessible for older adults and still remain in their neighborhood. The projects also will give homebuyers the rare option of being able to buy newly constructed houses in the city.
“There’s been a very long time since new construction housing, especially housing that has larger bedroom sizes for families” has been available, and it was a priority for the community along with retail, said Mansur Abdul-Malik, a senior vice president of development for NHP.
The newest project will set aside various shares of units for renters earning 60% or less of the Baltimore area’s median income. That’s roughly less than $67,000 annually for a family of four, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
The Park Heights neighborhood has long struggled with vacancies and crime, but the developers believe it is poised for revitalization through efforts such as the planned redevelopment of Pimlico Race Course, construction of a new Enoch Pratt Free Library and two additional developments along Park Heights Avenue by Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc.
The developers said they believe the new construction could become a catalyst for more new projects and other redeveloped properties, especially those that are vacant. They are working on the community revitalization efforts with Park Heights Renaissance, a group working to improve housing and attract investment to the neighborhood.
Respondents to the city’s request for proposals, issued in 2022, met not only with city officials, but also with community representatives, who expressed support for additional housing and more retail in the area, Abdul-Malik said.
He promises that the design will be such that “if there’s a person coming to Park Heights, when they drive down that stretch of Park Heights, they will not be able to say, ‘Oh, that’s affordable housing.’ And that means providing greater impact.”
NHP and Henson Development’s senior housing project benefited from $8.7 million in federal funds from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, $22.5 million from the sale of tax credits, $13.3 million in city funds, $5.4 million from the state’s Community Development Administration and $2.1 million in deferred developer fees.
During a December groundbreaking event for the senior housing, city officials hailed the project as a turning point for the neighborhood. The senior building is expected to be completed by next spring, while groundbreaking on the project’s multifamily building is expected in the next 14 months to 16 months. Work on the single-family homes will follow.
“This project is … a beacon of economic revitalization for Park Heights, promising not just homes for our seniors, but also jobs and further development for the community,” Justin Williams, Baltimore’s deputy mayor for community and economic development, said at the time.
The senior housing building will offer one- and two-bedroom units, a fitness center, library, computer center, coffee bar and community kitchen area. It will feature solar panels on rooftops, carports and gazebos. NHP purchased vacant land from the city in December for the project.
Plans for the project call for about 100 housing units, likely split between a low-rise apartment building and rental town houses.