Patterson Park Community Development Corporation

In the mid-1990s, residents north and east of Patterson Park were becoming increasingly frustrated by the growing number of vacant houses in their neighborhood. It was the sense of the community that, with investment and improvement, the rehabilitated houses could again become marketable. In response to this concern, and under the direction of Ed Rutkowski, the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation (CDC) was formed to purchase vacant houses in neighborhoods near Patterson Park. Houses were renovated to incorporate modern features, including new kitchens and bathrooms and central air conditioning, then sold to owner-occupants or rented to responsible tenants.

During 1997, its first year of operation, the CDC bought, renovated and sold three houses. Since then, the group has grown rapidly in production capacity and expertise. In the past year, the CDC bought, renovated and sold 24 houses and rehabilitated 46 houses to rent, setting a productivity record for the organization. The rental development operation has grown to an inventory of 130 houses, all fully leased within days of completion. Half of these houses are rented to refugee families.

The cumulative effect of the CDC's production efforts is that nearly 200 new families and households have moved into houses developed by the Patterson Park CDC in the past five years; the neighborhood has benefited from millions of dollars of improvement and reinvestment in properties; property values have increased; and property taxes that accrue to Baltimore City have increased.

To accomplish this record of progress, the CDC has worked diligently to build its staff capacity to develop and market houses, diversify funding sources and collaborate with many other nonprofit organizations to improve neighborhood conditions, and to program events in the park. The Abell Foundation has provided a total of $1 million in grant support, $1 million in loans, and guaranteed $6 million in private bank loan financing. In addition, the CDC has received a total of $1 million in other foundation grants, $1.3 million from Baltimore City, $1.2 million from the State of Maryland and $1.5 million from the federal government.