Catonsville residents and other stakeholders will have the chance to share their ideas about the future of the Catonsville Armory in a series of public engagement meetings, the first of which is set for Thursday, Nov. 19.
Southwest Visions, a nonprofit whose focus is economic development in Southwest Baltimore County, has taken ownership of the long-vacant armory. They will host the meetings, which will be held at various locations in Catonsville. The Neighborhood Design Center (NDC), founded in 1968, will facilitate the engagement sessions. The location for the first meeting has not been determined.
According to Jay Dillow, the executive director of Southwest Visions, the historic armory is being assessed by third-party environmental and building experts. The results will determine the cost of whatever mitigations the building needs, or if it can even be remediated at all. Built in 1933, the Catonsville Armory served as a Maryland Army National Guard facility for decades. The Maryland Military Department phased out active use and moved its Military Police units out of the building around 2020-2021.
NDC is a nonprofit that partners with residents, community stakeholders, government agencies, and design professionals to facilitate community projects like this one. The community meetings are an important part of the process, so that residents can give voice to their questions and visions for the armory and its property.
Joy Tsao, a writer who shares weekly stories about Patapsco Valley State Park, Ellicott City, and Catonsville, interviewed Dillow in September 2025 about Southwest Visions and why they took on such a potentially messy project as the Catonsville Armory. He talked about his work at Living Classrooms Foundation and how his career has always focused on economic development and community work.
“That’s the theme Southwest Visions has taken on—stepping in where there’s both a need and an opportunity for the community,” Dillow told Tsao.
Of the armory, he said, “The state had no interest in keeping it. They asked other agencies and universities—everyone said no. The county didn’t want it either. So basically, everyone was saying no. What was really needed was a community-based organization with good relationships at the state and county level, and some experience with the funding channels that support these kinds of projects. That’s where our background lined up.”
In his discussion with Tsao, he emphasized the importance of community input and keeping people engaged.
“This project is going to be a marathon, not a sprint,” Dillow told her. “The biggest challenge was getting people to feel like they were part of something. People felt ignored. Now they’re showing up and having their voices heard. The energy is positive. That’s the difference.”
The first public engagement meeting is set for the evening of Thursday, Nov. 19, with location yet to be determined. The second meeting takes place on Thursday, Dec. 17.
The Catonsville property will be the latest armory in Baltimore County to get a second life, following the redevelopment of the Pikesville Armory. The Pikesville Armory, which completed its first phase of redevelopment in 2025, has been the site of various community events, including concerts, art exhibitions, and the new home of the Pikesville Farmers Market.
