Percentage of public units is still unknown

by Heather Perlberg

    Residents of O’Donnell Heights welcomed Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake into their neighborhood Tuesday to announce the team selected to redevelop the community near Dundalk Avenue.
    Michaels Development Company and Greater Baltimore AHC, Inc. will revitalize O’Donnell Heights, turning what remains of the current public housing project into a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood, according to Baltimore Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano.
   

The future community will offer pubic, affordable, market rate and senior housing  options to serve a range of family sizes. Plans include designs for open-space and community ameneties as well.
    “Today has been a long time in the making,” Rawlings-Blake said to the crowd, which included community members and area schoolchildren, gathered in the sun outside of the community building on Gusryan Street.
    The mayor called residents of O’Donnell Heights “patient” and acknowledged the process had caused frustration over the years.
  Current residents and members of surrounding communities have expressed concerns that the new plan will not fulfill their needs.
    “As this new community, O’Donnell Heights, blossoms, it is our responsibility to make our city better, safer and stronger,” said Rawlings-Blake. “We understand the importance and the need for public housing.” 
    Around 600 housing units of the original 900 in the development have been demolished and the tenants  relocated.
    The future community, however, may not replace the total number of units, and the development team has not yet provided definite numbers to residents revealing how many of the new units will be available for public housing, according to Ella Broadway, president of the O’Donnell Heights Tenant Council.
    The redevelopment process “is going in a positive direction, but a whole lot of things we have to work out,” Broadway said in an interview after the press event. “We’ll see what we can do and still fight for our rights.”
    Greater Baltimore AHC has developed five properties in the Baltimore region with over 1,000 affordable apartments in projects including Greenspring Overlook and Kirkwood House Apartments.
    The Michaels organization, headquartered in New Jersey, owns and operates over 40,000 mixed income and affordable housing units in 27 different states.
    The Housing Authority of Baltimore City chose a joint venture of the two groups to redevelop O’Donnell Heights after reviewing proposals submitted by about five teams, Graziano said.
    Community members will continue to work with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and the development team, according to Broadway.
    “I really feel if we all work together we can come to a common cause,” she said.