West Baltimore's Gilmor Homes public housing project is riddled with crime and according to Mayor Catherine Pugh, only one particular gesture was necessary: tearing down the project buildings.
Six buildings of the public housing project are set to be demolished and over 120 families will be relocated to better housing, the Baltimore Sun reports. The complex, located in West Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood was also the scene of Freddie Gray's arrest.
“That’s a really high-crime area right there,” said Mayor Pugh. “The line of sight is terrible. The residents have complained about the violence. … Gilmor Homes was one of the places on our listening tour. People complained about not feeling safe.”
Baltimore Housing spokeswoman Tania Baker noted that the proposal is subject for approval by the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We anticipate that planning and design will occur over the next 18 months,” Baker said.
State Del. Antonio Hayes hopes that the relocation plans are truly in the best interest of the families. “What I would like to see is there be a true conversation with the residents living there about the relocation,” said Hayes. “Gilmor Homes have already experienced a lot. There’s drug dealing and rat infestation. I’m hoping they hear out the concerns of the residents and give them an opportunity to live in areas where they have opportunity without subjecting them to the same conditions.”
Of course, some Sandtown residents have peeped that the demolition is just the first step toward gentrification. The demolition plan also includes a plan to sell 40 percent of the public housing to private developers, offering tax cuts to said developers for renovation. “When you add to a plan a complex like Gilmor Homes that houses so many but also has these issues that trickle out into the neighborhoods, it is a win-win for the state, the city and developer,” said lifelong Sandtown resident Ray Kelly. “Not only do you get this cleared land, the crime moves to a new place.”
“Sadly, the first precursor to a negative gentrification is demolition,” Kelly added. “When buildings are torn down … the property values go up and indigenous people are forced out. There is a constant battle to camouflage gentrification and hide it with words like ‘innovation’ and ‘revitalization.’ ”
The overarching concern within the community is that the redevelopment will also erase the culture that has been cemented in the area for years. Baltimore civil rights leader Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham knows the buildings need to be destroyed, but he knows the concern doesn't stop there. “If you just drive past them, you’d say, ‘Yes, this place needs to come down,’ ” he said. “But we’re talking about people, not just buildings.”
