After three years of fundraising and one year of construction, Banner Neighborhood’s new building, the Banner Neighborhoods Community Center, will open at the end of March. Its new headquarters will offer larger work spaces and be more suitable for community meetings, said Banner’s executive director Jolyn Rademacher Tracy. It is also fully ADA compliant, with … Continue reading Banner Community Center to Open in late March →

Highlandtown, Upper Fells Point, Patterson Park, “maybe Canton if we could find something in our budget.” First-time buyer Diane Coraggio, 30, was considering the standard alternatives during her search for a home last year when a couple of her colleagues at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alerted her to another option. Station East, … Continue reading For buying in a historic and revitalized neighborhood, Hopkins employees get $36,000 →

They’re neighborhood historians and bearers of pineapple upside-down cakes. They have the time to call 311 for broken streetlights, sweep the sidewalks, attend community meetings and keep the stray cats healthy while keeping their numbers from getting out of hand. Anyone who has lived in their proximity, can attest to the long-term health benefits that … Continue reading Southeast CDC expands outreach to seniors →

The McElderry Park neighborhood has more children than most neighborhoods in Southeast Baltimore.  And, families and children need a place to play! “There’s nothing controversial about creating a safe, vibrant space to play,” noted Myers-Edwards, director of community engagement for Banner Neighborhoods, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting efforts to enhance quality of life in … Continue reading A new playground at Tench Tilghman →

Five years ago, “ha!” signs and the presence of the Creative Alliance were, to the casual observer, the only clues that Highlandtown was an arts community. Today, it couldn’t be more obvious. How else could you describe a neighborhood where you can purchase the most intricately designed jigsaw puzzle, a vintage fox stole or a … Continue reading Two newcomers enhance Highlandtown’s matured arts district →

A massive piece of commercial property sitting vacant for 15 years at a critical locationpresents a problem for those charged with revitalizing a main street business district. “Ah, they must be talking about Haussner’s,” immediately thinks anyone with a passing familiarity of Highlandtown, but it might be time for a new “ultimate challenge” in urban … Continue reading ‘A new downtown’: Tide turns in key battle for Highlandtown revitalization →

MSNBC featured Highlandtown Main Street and the Southeast CDC’s Main Street Manager Amanda Smit-Peters on its “Your Business” segment to show how Highlandtown businesses and shoppers support each other. Check out the segment here:  

Rarely used outside the English muffin business, the phrase “nooks and crannies” was until very recently an everyday utterance for Denise Ashley, principal of Highlandtown Elementary/Middle School #237. With more than 700 students, her school was bursting at the seams, and she had students learning in every nook and cranny of the building, located at … Continue reading Five new classrooms provide much-needed space for Highlandtown students →

Chris Taylor believes in cities. “Being in the city allows you to reinvent yourself,” said the developer, who is in the process of reinventing the school attached to Our Lady of Pompei Church at Pratt and Conkling streets. The school building will be renovated to house 27 apartments, largely one-bedroom units but with a few … Continue reading Maverick developer places solid bet on Highlandtown →

The staff of Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition, Inc. (HEBCAC) didn’t want the name of their new neighborhood – Station East – to merely make prospective buyers smile. “Trust me, we laughed through that entire conversation,” remembered Edward Sabatino, executive director of HEBCAC, “but it turned out to be a good name.” With the … Continue reading Station…East? →