SECRETARY HOLT: Good morning, everybody. Welcome. Good morning. I have a few acknowledgments. Chairman of the Maryland stadium authority is here with us. Tom, good morning.
[Applause]
And Alice Kennedy, who is the acting housing commissioner of the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development. Alice, good morning.
My name is Ken Holt, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Development. I’m pleased to be here today with each of you to celebrate the very significant occasion. The state of Maryland has partnered with Baltimore City, private industry, and nonprofit organizations, community stakeholders, to revitalize Baltimore City by transforming the Perkins, Somerset, and Oldtown communities.
It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the principal architect of Project CORE, Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise. He’s also the individual who funded Project CORE through his budget, Governor Larry Hogan.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Well, good morning, everybody. I think Secretary Holt was being much too modest. I think he’s really the architect of Project CORE.
Thank you very much for being here. Thank you, Secretary Holt. It’s very exciting to be here for this incredible announcement, this great achievement for the city of Baltimore and really for the entire state of Maryland as we celebrate a pretty big milestone. Today’s demolition effort in our transformative Project CORE initiative will have eliminated more than 5,000 blighted units from Baltimore City.
[Applause]
I want to thank everyone at Maryland Housing Development and Tom for his great work at the Stadium Authority to achieve this milestone. I want to thank Mayor Scott and all of our Baltimore City and federal partners for this effort as well.
For the past 8 months we’ve been laser focused on putting more shots into arms, but today we’re talking about a different kind of shot in the arm for the recovery and revitalization of Baltimore City. Project CORE, which stands for Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise, was one of the very first major initiatives that I launched as Governor. And in 2016 we began this historic multi-year $700 million state investment, tear down blighted buildings all across the city and to work together with the private sector to create investment in projects like new businesses and retail space and affordable housing.
We also pushed working with the city with this unprecedented partnership to assist them in addressing the violent crime problem. I directed the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to work with city leaders to identify and prioritize those decaying and dilapidated, dangerous, vacant blighted projects that were located in the areas of highest rates of violent crime and where the most gang activity occurs and we expedited the demolition of these properties where so much criminal activity was taking place and the worst violence was being perpetrated.
Demolition has been going on now for more than 5 years and it has paved the way for transformative redevelopment projects, including the massive multi-phase $1 billion redevelopment of this Perkins-Somerset-Oldtown community.
Right behind me is the last remaining building of the Perkins homes development, and through a public-private partnership between the state of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Baltimore City, Perkins homes and nearby Somerset homes, two aging public housing complexes, are being demolished to make way for a new apartment community which will create over 1300 brand new high-quality, energy-efficient rental units. 70% of all of the available units, including every single one of those from Perkins and Somerset homes, will be reserved as public housing. And in addition to new rental housing, this transformative plan includes a brand new school, parks and recreation space, infrastructure improvements, shared community space, and resident services, including healthcare, workforce development, and crime and safety initiatives.
The state of Maryland has committed nearly $230 million for this important redevelopment effort.
Project CORE has enabled us to leverage billions of dollars in public and private sector investment for Baltimore City community redevelopment projects.
In addition, the state of Maryland has invested $9 billion in direct aid to the city and a historic funding for K-8 education, $4.7 billion in transit projects and over $1.3 billion for public safety and crime control efforts, so nearly $22 billion of total state investment for the city of Baltimore. These record and historic investments are all about taking our communities back and renewing hope, providing opportunities, and that is exactly what we are doing here today, because continuing to have a strong Maryland depends on having a strong Baltimore City as well. I want to thank every single person who has been a part of helping us reach the incredible milestone on 5,000 units. I want to thank everyone involved in this exciting project. This is just another great example that by working together we truly are changing Maryland for the better. So thank you all very much for having us today.
SECRETARY HOLT: Thank you, Governor.
The Perkins Somerset Oldtown transformation is a much bigger part of transforming Baltimore City. Our next speaker has worked very closely with our department, and I would like you to please welcome Housing Authority of Baltimore City’s President and CEO, Janet Abrahams.
[Applause]
[Applause]
And Alice Kennedy, who is the acting housing commissioner of the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development. Alice, good morning.
My name is Ken Holt, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Development. I’m pleased to be here today with each of you to celebrate the very significant occasion. The state of Maryland has partnered with Baltimore City, private industry, and nonprofit organizations, community stakeholders, to revitalize Baltimore City by transforming the Perkins, Somerset, and Oldtown communities.
It is my distinct pleasure to welcome the principal architect of Project CORE, Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise. He’s also the individual who funded Project CORE through his budget, Governor Larry Hogan.
GOVERNOR HOGAN: Well, good morning, everybody. I think Secretary Holt was being much too modest. I think he’s really the architect of Project CORE.
Thank you very much for being here. Thank you, Secretary Holt. It’s very exciting to be here for this incredible announcement, this great achievement for the city of Baltimore and really for the entire state of Maryland as we celebrate a pretty big milestone. Today’s demolition effort in our transformative Project CORE initiative will have eliminated more than 5,000 blighted units from Baltimore City.
[Applause]
I want to thank everyone at Maryland Housing Development and Tom for his great work at the Stadium Authority to achieve this milestone. I want to thank Mayor Scott and all of our Baltimore City and federal partners for this effort as well.
For the past 8 months we’ve been laser focused on putting more shots into arms, but today we’re talking about a different kind of shot in the arm for the recovery and revitalization of Baltimore City. Project CORE, which stands for Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise, was one of the very first major initiatives that I launched as Governor. And in 2016 we began this historic multi-year $700 million state investment, tear down blighted buildings all across the city and to work together with the private sector to create investment in projects like new businesses and retail space and affordable housing.
We also pushed working with the city with this unprecedented partnership to assist them in addressing the violent crime problem. I directed the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to work with city leaders to identify and prioritize those decaying and dilapidated, dangerous, vacant blighted projects that were located in the areas of highest rates of violent crime and where the most gang activity occurs and we expedited the demolition of these properties where so much criminal activity was taking place and the worst violence was being perpetrated.
Demolition has been going on now for more than 5 years and it has paved the way for transformative redevelopment projects, including the massive multi-phase $1 billion redevelopment of this Perkins-Somerset-Oldtown community.
Right behind me is the last remaining building of the Perkins homes development, and through a public-private partnership between the state of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Baltimore City, Perkins homes and nearby Somerset homes, two aging public housing complexes, are being demolished to make way for a new apartment community which will create over 1300 brand new high-quality, energy-efficient rental units. 70% of all of the available units, including every single one of those from Perkins and Somerset homes, will be reserved as public housing. And in addition to new rental housing, this transformative plan includes a brand new school, parks and recreation space, infrastructure improvements, shared community space, and resident services, including healthcare, workforce development, and crime and safety initiatives.
The state of Maryland has committed nearly $230 million for this important redevelopment effort.
Project CORE has enabled us to leverage billions of dollars in public and private sector investment for Baltimore City community redevelopment projects.
In addition, the state of Maryland has invested $9 billion in direct aid to the city and a historic funding for K-8 education, $4.7 billion in transit projects and over $1.3 billion for public safety and crime control efforts, so nearly $22 billion of total state investment for the city of Baltimore. These record and historic investments are all about taking our communities back and renewing hope, providing opportunities, and that is exactly what we are doing here today, because continuing to have a strong Maryland depends on having a strong Baltimore City as well. I want to thank every single person who has been a part of helping us reach the incredible milestone on 5,000 units. I want to thank everyone involved in this exciting project. This is just another great example that by working together we truly are changing Maryland for the better. So thank you all very much for having us today.
SECRETARY HOLT: Thank you, Governor.
The Perkins Somerset Oldtown transformation is a much bigger part of transforming Baltimore City. Our next speaker has worked very closely with our department, and I would like you to please welcome Housing Authority of Baltimore City’s President and CEO, Janet Abrahams.
[Applause]