BALTIMORE — A big project to bring new homes and a new school to East Baltimore got underway on Wednesday.
Crews broke ground on Phase 1 of the Perkins Somerset Oldtown Transformation plan. The $540 million development is being built in the Old Town neighborhood at the current site of Perkins Homes and the former Somerset development.
There will be more than 1,300 new homes, a new City Springs Elementary School, a grocery store and two new parks.
"I'm a little overwhelmed because it took 10 years for me to see the redevelopment of Somerset," said Iris Bradford, a former resident of Somerset Homes.
The first phase is a building on McElderry Street. It will feature 104 apartments, 84 of which will be affordable to lower-income families.
