WHOLE BLOCKS, WHOLE CITY:

RECLAIMING VACANT PROPERTY THROUGHOUT BALTIMORE

Baltimore, MD

HOW CAN BALTIMORE SUBSTANTIALLY SHRINK ITS INVENTORY OF VACANT PROPERTIES WHILE NURTURING HEALTHIER, MORE INCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS?

SUMMARY

Baltimore has experienced a prolonged period of population and household loss, resulting in weak market conditions and vacancy across many of its neighborhoods. The city has been working for decades to combat and reverse these conditions, but stubbornly high concentrations of vacancy in areas of low demand and high poverty (which account for almost 90% of all vacant structures) have defied most interventions to date.

As new sources of public and philanthropic funding become available, nonprofit organizations ReBUILD Metro and BUILD, along with their partners, were determined to make smart bets on neighborhood investments in order to do the most possible good. They commissioned czb to explore the dynamics of vacancy and disinvestment in Baltimore and to identify a path forward that would yield results in areas of stubbornly high vacancy. The resulting strategy, completed in fall 2022, calls for robust investments in the health of groups of blocks and movement away from focusing on vacancy as the problem to solve.

From ReBUILD Metro's website:

"Through the generous support of the Abell Foundation, the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, and an anonymous donor, ReBUILD commissioned czb and longtime friend Alan Mallach to complete this sweeping study of Baltimore's abandonment crisis.

WHOLE BLOCKS, WHOLE CITYRECLAIMING VACANT PROPERTY THROUGHOUT BALTIMORE

Vacant Building Notices (VBNs)

Vacant Building Notices are issued to vacant properties deemed by the City of Baltimore to be uninhabitable, unusable, or nuisances; there are roughly 15,000 such buildings in 2022—a number that has declined in recent years.

czb's analysis found that even a single VBN has a noticeable impact on what buyers are willing to pay for homes on a given block; going from a 0% to a 5% concentration of VBNs shaves 35% off of the average sale price.

Guidance for Area Selection

With the greatest concentrations of VBNs currently located in West Baltimore, East Baltimore, and Park Heights, where market conditions are also highly challenging, working successfully in those areas will be essential if Baltimore wants to see a meaningful improvement in the remaining inventory of vacant properties.

czb's strategy provides special guidance on how to select groups of blocks in these parts of Baltimore, and how to work sequentially through the proposed "Whole Block & Whole Area" model.