Demolition was one of the recurring themes of Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s term as Baltimore’s mayor, and it’s starting out to be a theme for Mayor Catherine Pugh as well.
On Friday, community leaders and public officials will gather to mark the start of demolition of a failed housing development that no one will miss, the Madison Park North apartments in Reservoir Hill, a place known infamously as “Murder Mall.”
Mayor Pugh and former Mayor Rawlings-Blake have been invited to attend the event, led by the Neighborhood Coalition for Madison Park North Redevelopment and a private group planning a replacement project for the vacant apartments at North and Park avenues.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is using the occasion to announce plans for $16 million worth of demolition and redevelopment activity as part of the state’s $75 million initiative to raze vacant buildings and eliminate blight in distressed city neighborhoods.
Representatives from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Stadium Authority will join Hogan. The stadium authority is overseeing the demolition activity as part of the governor’s Project CORE, which stands for Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise.
Under Project CORE, funds will be invested over four years for demolition, stabilization and deconstruction of structures that have been jointly identified by the city and state.
The new development team for the eight-acre Madison Park North parcel is headed by David Bramble of MCB Real Estate and MLR Partners. Cho Benn Holback + Associates is the architect.
The developers told community residents this year that they hoped to begin demolition before Rawlings-Blake leaves office on December 6. The buildings are fenced off and boarded up in preparation for the demolition event, which is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. at 740 W. North Avenue.
