BALTIMORE — Once a forgotten stretch of depressed rowhouses in East Baltimore, the 1600 block of Gorsuch Avenue represented an opportunity for Beverly Clayton.
“As soon as I saw it, and I work around the corner, I drove over here and I sized it up and I called my realtor,” recalled Clayton.
Watch as residents speak about the vacant housing program
Of roughly 20 vacant properties in the block, four more are in the process of being rehabbed, and two of those became the property of the city through a program called ‘Rem 1.’
Once the liens and tax bills exceed the property’s value the owners can forfeit them.
Under the next proposed phase of that program, the city could acquire even more.
“In Rem 2, when the liens are below the value of the property, lots of notice and we compensate the old owner. We still are able to work on a whole block basis,” said City Councilwoman Odette Ramos who introduced a bill on Monday night to initiate the new phase.
In the first two and a half years of that initial program, the city has only acquired 419 properties.
An In Focus look at vacants in Baltimore City
It’s goal is 200 per month of the more than 12,000 vacants throughout the city.
Ramos is also focused on trying to remove costly delays in permitting, which have slowed some developers’ abilities to renovate, while others have moved forward without them.
“We’ve got to get this fixed so that we can make sure than any property that’s rehabbed, the buyer or whoever is in it is confident that the health and safety standards are met,” said Ramos.
They are ambitious goals for a city with too much blight and too little housing, as residents look for places to call ‘home.’
“It’s an investment, and I have children and grandchildren so I wanted something to pass down. If I could,” said Clayton, “That would be a great thing for me.”
