From the Housing Authority of Baltimore City's press release:
Governor Larry Hogan, Mayor Brandon Scott, Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) president and CEO Janet Abrahams and City Councilmember Robert Stokes took turns at the controls of an excavator today to help bring down the final bricks on the last of six buildings of phase I of the 1940’s-era Perkins Homes.
The demolition clears the way for construction to begin later this fall on what will become the first section of the new Perkins Homes. It’s part of HABC’s $1 billion Perkins Somerset Oldtown (PSO) redevelopment plan, reshaping these neighborhoods into a sprawling community with excellent amenities and families of all income levels.
The state has been a major contributor to 2,000-acre PSO transformation. This year’s state budget allocated $10 million more than originally projected to keep the project on pace. Governor Hogan said PSO has been a priority for him.
“The state of Maryland has committed $230 million for this redevelopment effort,” Hogan said.” “These investments are about taking our communities back and renewing hope and providing opportunities, and that is exactly what we are doing here today.”
“We appreciate the governor’s support and acknowledgement of how impactful the PSO plan is to HABC residents and the city of Baltimore as a whole,” said HABC President and CEO Janet Abrahams. “I also want to thank our HABC families for their continued belief in this project. They had to go through a lot. We had to relocate 586 households from this property to get where we are today. In the next 3-5 years this area will transform from being a hole in the donut of thriving neighborhoods to a vibrant community of choice.”