More than 400 apartments could be built near the Rogers Avenue Metro Station in Northwest Baltimore, under a plan by state officials to identify developers for public land around transit stations.
Maryland’s Department of Transportation this week issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) from development teams interested in working in partnership with the state to build housing on a nine-acre parcel near the Rogers Avenue Metro Station at 4600 N. Rogers Ave. The state-owned land is zoned for transit-oriented development and currently used as a parking lot.
According to the RFQ, called the Rogers Avenue Metro Station Joint Development Opportunity, responses are due by 5 p.m. on May 29 and a shortlist of development teams will be made public on June 19. A request for proposals will then be issued to those finalists, with responses due on Sept. 30. State officials say they will review the proposals and name the selected developer in November.
A preliminary analysis indicates that the land has the potential to accommodate more than 400 residences that would generate more than $27 million in combined city and state tax revenue, while supporting increased transit ridership and economic development along the Metro corridor.
The actual unit count will be finalized once a developer is selected, as will decisions about how many of the apartments will be market-rate versus below market-rate and what retail spaces might be included.
The selected developer “will be responsible for the design and delivery of a meaningfully dense, mixed-use, transit-oriented development that integrates seamlessly with the Station and complements the surrounding residential neighborhoods,” the RFQ states. “The Developer will engage key stakeholders including the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), Baltimore City, and the community to support the long-term vision for the site.
State officials say the RFQ is part of a larger effort by Gov. Wes Moore’s administration to make state-owned land near transit stations available for private development and improve regional mobility through substantial investments in transit across the Baltimore region. The effort is called the Baltimore Region Transit-Oriented Development Strategy.
In all, officials say, the state owns 134 acres that are suitable for joint development, including new housing and commercial space, along the Metro line that runs from the Johns Hopkins medical campus in East Baltimore to Owings Mills, and the Baltimore Central Light Rail Line from Hunt Valley to Glen Burnie. In addition, the Maryland Transit Administration is spending nearly $1.4 million to modernize the light rail line with new vehicles, station upgrades and other improvements.
“We have said from the beginning that if this is going to be Maryland’s Decade, it has to be Baltimore’s Time,” said Moore, who spoke about the state’s transit-oriented development strategy during an event at the Rogers Avenue Metro Station on Monday.
“Part of making that real means making sure our investments in Baltimore’s Metro and Light Rail System lead to opportunity — opportunity to live near transit, opportunity to strengthen communities near transit, and opportunity to create work, wages, and wealth near transit,” Moore said. “That is what it means to leave no one behind.”
“For generations, restrictive housing and transportation policies were intentionally used to limit opportunity and investment in so many of our neighborhoods. Today, the opposite is true,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, who joined Moore at the Rogers Avenue Metro Station.
“Working with the State and public and private partners, we are intentionally anchoring housing projects near transit — just as we envisioned in Our Baltimore, a comprehensive development plan for the city,” Scott said. “This strengthens our communities, attracts new residents, and creates opportunity for local businesses as we continue to drive Baltimore’s Renaissance forward.”
