With planned restoration, Hebrew Orphan Asylum to get new life, The Baltimore Sun, February 1, 2013
Category: Preservation
Good news for Baltimore’s Hebrew Orphan Asylum in 2013
We are excited to begin the year with some good news for the future of Baltimore’s Hebrew Orphan Asylum. With the Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation taking the lead, we have made great strides towards the preservation and reuse of this important West Baltimore landmark.
- Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development has granted the Coppin Heights CDC $100,000 to stabilize the building. Not only does stabilization address the building’s severely compromised roof but it also allows architects and engineers to work safely inside to assess conditions and complete redevelopment plans.
- Coppin Heights CDC has now secured $10 million in state and federal funding with support from the Maryland Sustainable Communities Tax Credit program, the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, and the New Markets Tax Credit program. This is great progress towards securing the resources necessary to restore the building and bring it back as an asset to the neighborhoods of Greater Rosemont.
- Finally, just this afternoon, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown announced that West Baltimore, including the area around the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, one of five new Health Enterprise Zones across the state—a program that opens up new incentives for providing medical care to residents in under served neighborhoods like West Baltimore. The announcement comes as a welcome news, as the Hebrew Orphan Asylum is slated to be transformed into the Center for Health Care and Healthy Living to help address the same health disparities that the new Health Enterprise Zone is designed to reduce.
At Coppin State University, the building’s current owner, Dr. Mortimer Neufville is stepping in to serve as interim president after the resignation of Dr. Reginald Avery. Dr. Neufville takes the helm in a new day for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum as both CSU and the larger University of Maryland system have expressed their strong support for the project and are working together to make sure the building is restored and reused. Things are moving quickly for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and we are more than optimistic that 2013 will see great steps forward for its preservation and reuse as a center for revitalization in West Baltimore.
Clifton Mansion set for a $7 million restoration
On January 7, the nonprofit youth training organization Civic Works announced that it has met its fundraising goal and is launching a $7 million restoration campaign for Clifton Mansion. The Mansion was home to Henry Thompson, a War of 1812 hero, and the summer home of philanthropist Johns Hopkins. It is now owned by Baltimore City with Civic Works as a long-term tenant.
For me as the executive director of Baltimore Heritage and a board member of Civic Works, and, yes, with a name strongly associated with Clifton, one great part of this project is the tie between the past and the future. Hopkins – the philanthropist – gave his fortune to start the college and hospital that bear his name based on his belief that the future of Baltimore lay in educating our youth and providing basic services for all. Civic Works today carries out that same vision by educating and training Baltimore youth and working to improve our neighborhoods. In fact, a number of young Baltimore apprentice carpenters from Civic Works will have the opportunity to work alongside master carpenters as part of the Clifton renovation project. What better place to bring past, present, and future together than Clifton?
The restoration work, which will take place over the next year, is a whole building project. It will include fully rebuilding the signature porches that surround the house, putting the main front stairs leading to the building back to their location in the mid-1800s, and renovating the interior throughout. And, thankfully, there is no talk of turning the building into another house museum. At the end, the Mansion will continue its dual role as office space for Civic Works and public space open for all of Baltimore. Stay tuned for a tour of this grand place as soon as the construction work allows.
Learn more about the history of Clifton Mansion and the War of 1812 on Explore Baltimore Heritage!
Photo: Baltimore Heritage receives ONE PARK Award at 2012 Community Greening Celebration
We were thrilled last month to receive the ONE PARK Award for our work with the Friends of West Baltimore Squares. Eli Pousson (with his daughter) accepted the award from Parks & People Executive Director Jackie Carrera. Learn more about award-winning greening projects and volunteers in West Baltimore from the Friends of West Baltimore Squares.
Recovering from Hurricane Sandy – Help report damaged historic properties to the Maryland Historical Trust
Baltimore avoided major damage from Hurricane Sandy, especially in comparison to more seriously affected communities on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, New Jersey and New York. Unfortunately, the storm did result in damage to at least a few of our city’s historic buildings and landscapes: four vacant rowhouses collapsed in West Baltimore’s historic Harlem Park neighborhood and the storm uprooted a storied Osage Orange tree in Druid Hill Park believed to be around 400 years old.
The Maryland Historical Trust is working to gather information about properties affected by this disaster so if you own a historic property that sustained damage please visit the MHT Hurricane Preparedness and Disaster Recovery page and fill out a Hurricane Damage Report form to alert MHT staff to your property’s condition. MHT plans to use these forms for recovery efforts and work in consultation with both FEMA and MEMA to help connect property owners with recovery resources as they become available.
The Maryland Historical Trust has also prepared an Historic Structures Emergency Assessment Form for available for download as a Microsoft Word Document that you can use to assess and inventory damaged historic resources in Baltimore or around the region. Finally, rehabilitation tax credits are available through MHT for qualified projects and FEMA will likely have low interest loans available. Baltimore Heritage also offers our own resources, including regular workshops, to help home-owners learn more about city and state historic tax credit programs. The Maryland Historical Trust is working to identify other available resources to help with damage recovery costs and will make the information available as soon as possible.