The City of Baltimore is once again seeking a developer for the Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center in Remington, with new guidelines this time.
The Baltimore Development Corporation has set Nov. 30 as the deadline for proposals from groups that would like to acquire and develop a 5.6 acre, city-owned parcel at 2840-2842 Sisson Street, also known as the Sanitation Yard and Citizen Drop Off-Center for bulk trash and hazardous waste items from city households.
The city has offered the land for private development before but has not gotten to a contract of sale. The last time city officials contemplated selling the land to a developer, the Mayor’s Office floated a plan to move the trash drop-off facility to private property at 2801 Falls Road, land that is partially in a floodplain.
The city’s plan drew criticism from opponents on the grounds that the land is in a floodplain and located along a picturesque stretch of the Jones Falls Valley. They noted the potential environmental dangers of moving a trash recycling facility so close to the Jones Falls, which empties into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
In response, Mayor Brandon Scott formed a citizens’ task force to determine the best way for the city to handle bulk trash recycling if the Sisson Street facility were sold to a developer, and the Request for Proposals process was cancelled.
Last month, Scott announced that he accepted his task force’s recommendations, which charted a path for the city to free up the Sisson Street property for development but called for it to remain open until seven conditions are met – a process that could take three to six years.
Seawall Development, a company that had bid to acquire the Sisson Street property to build a commercial center anchored by a grocery store, ended up negotiating a contract to buy the land at 2801 Falls Road for future development, but not to move the bulk trash facility there. Seawall is expected to bid again.
Reimagining the site
The BDC’s new Request for Proposals (RFP), issued Oct. 1, reflects the guidance of the Sisson Street Task Force and warns prospective bidders that the land is not available right away.
“The issuance of this RFP does not constitute authorization to close or vacate the Sisson Street Drop-Off Center,” it states. “Physical closure of the site and commencement of redevelopment are contingent upon the fulfillment of seven conditions established by the Sisson Street Task Force and adopted by Mayor Scott.”
One of the task force’s seven conditions is that city and community representatives begin planning what sort of development they’d like to see in place of the bulk trash facility, and that doesn’t preclude seeking bids from interested parties.
There is a need to begin the process of reimagining what the current site could be once the conditions are met and the site is ready for closure, panel members said in their final report.
The Greater Remington Improvement Association several months ago launched an effort to create a new Neighborhood Master Plan to guide development in the area, and a final plan is expected in the first half of 2027.
The new plan will replace one that was accepted by Baltimore’s Planning Department eight years ago and is included on the Baltimore City Neighborhood Plans index. Many of the projects identified in that document have been realized.
With regard to the BDC’s current RFP for the Sisson Street facility, “developer selection and pre-development community planning may proceed concurrently” with work by the city’s Department of Public Works (DPW) work to satisfy all of the conditions set by the task force, the BDC says in its RFP.
“This approach is consistent with the Task Force report, which explicitly anticipated that community input on the site’s future use would begin concurrently with DPW’s fulfillment of its obligations,” the RFP states.
The selected developer “must demonstrate understanding of and commitment to this sequencing as a condition of any Exclusive Negotiating Privilege,” it adds.
Conditions set by the Task Force
City Council member Odette Ramos served as chair of the Sisson Street Task Force, which was formed in September of 2025. In addition to gaining community and public input about future use of the Sisson Street site, the six other conditions that the task force wants the city to satisfy are:
- The city’s Reedbird bulk trash in south Baltimore becomes fully operational, which will take three to four years, and the city’s Bowley’s Lane facility remains open during its renovation.
- The Department of General Service’s York Road site begins to accept some recycling, with the Charles Village Benefits District and the Midtown Benefits District getting a dumpster there.
- Collection of household hazardous waste is relocated to the Bowley’s Lane facility in 2027.
- The Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center’s zero-waste plan responsibilities are shifted to other sites.
- The Department of Public Works and residents collaborate to co-create a robust education initiative focused on recycling habits and anti-litter messaging.
- Before full closure of the Sisson Street Residential Recycling Center, the Department of Public Works will conduct short-term closures to assess the impact of closure and whether problems occur. Potential problems that might occur and then must be addressed are illegal dumping and challenges to the routes for waste management trucks.
‘Equitable, inclusive neighborhood development’
The RFP states that city officials are looking for proposals that are consistent with the Remington Neighborhood Plan; the Sisson Street Task Force recommendations and the City’s broader goals for “equitable, inclusive neighborhood development.”
It says that the BDC will give preference to “respondents who have already conducted substantive community engagement in Remington and the surrounding neighborhoods prior to submission” and proposals that “demonstrate potential to catalyze development and investment beyond the boundaries of the Sisson Street site itself.”
Here is the full RFP: https://baltimoredevelopment.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sisson-Street-RFP_100126.pdf
