Baltimore leaders plan a facelift for the dilapidated properties around North Avenue and North Charles Street, a crossroads and a piece of city history considered by many to be badly in need of renewal.
More than 20 commercial properties, many of them vacant, would be acquired by the city if an urban-renewal plan is approved in the next few months, according to Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency. City officials then would package the acquired properties and offer three parcels for sale to redevelopers this year.
Andrew B. Frank, BDC executive vice president, called the North Avenue revitalization effort a "tactical intervention" for two of the city's signature streets in the midtown district. The area is considered especially prone to decay, its blight made all the more noticeable by rejuvenation projects in the downtown business district and Charles Village.
"Charles Street is Baltimore's main street and a major gateway out of town," Frank said. "The [proposed] acquisition sites are vacant, blighted or underutilized."
The plan is moving ahead on an unusually fast timetable, officials said. In March, a city project to resurface the portion of North Avenue between Howard Street and Greenmount Avenue is scheduled to be the first public sign of progress in the area.
North Avenue's round "lollipop" streetlights -- once a city hallmark -- also will be replaced. The avenue's sidewalks from Howard Street to Guilford Avenue will be repaired.
The Rev. Dale Dusman, a Lutheran pastor and neighborhood leader, said the announcement about the city plan caused some distress among those whose properties would be affected. But, he said, he believes the action will spark positive change to spur private investment.
"If the City Council supports this, everyone stands to win and see our property values go up," Dusman said. "The city has to be the key player here. My hope is that folks who have been approached by the BDC can see the bigger picture. We need some entity to jumpstart economic development."
Dusman is president of the Charles North Community Association, a residential cluster in the blocks near Pennsylvania Station. He described the area identified by city officials as "depressing and neglected."
Mayor Martin O'Malley said the area has shown hopeful signs of an upturn with the success of the Charles Theatre and its Tapas Teatro cafe.
