A massive effort to revitalize 20 blocks in central Baltimore is moving forward with 89 new residences and the site’s first retail spots.

Telesis Corp’s $85M transformation of vacant and dilapidated housing in the area between the Station North Arts and Entertainment District and Charles Village includes a mix of affordable and market-rate housing.

Barclay will add a new multifamily, mixed-use development with 57 units that will begin leasing by the end of the year, says Telesis Baltimore director Catherine Stokes (pictured).

The third phase of North Barclay Green (rendering) will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with rents between $700 and $900/month. Built with federal tax credits, renters must earn 60% less than the area median income. Telesis is also negotiating with a yoga studio and café as part of the space. The developer may add some arts programming to the mix.

Telesis also began rehabbing 12 market-rate townhomes on the 300 block of East 20th Street in August (pictured), to be completed April 2017, as part of its second phase of homeownership development North Calvert Green. It will start construction on 20 new homes next year, which will wrap up by the end of 2017.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City awarded Telesis the redevelopment of the blighted area in 2006. The project, when completed, will include 325 housing units, two-thirds of which will be rental units and the remaining homes for sale.

Telesis has completed 189 residences to date. Home sales were slower in the initial years of the redevelopment, which coincided with the start of the housing meltdown and financial crisis in 2008, Catherine says. But the market has since picked up, with the first 35 homes sold and pre-construction contracts marketed for the next phase.

The Barclay development is sandwiched between 25th Street and North Avenue, from north to south, and Calvert Street to Greenmount Avenue, from west to east. While the area has historically been beset with crime, the neighboring Station North Arts and Entertainment District has received a number of investments and new projects.

The $11.5M maker space Open Works opened Sept. 20 at 1400 Greenmount Ave. Nonprofit developer Jubilee Baltimore last year completed an $18.5M renovation of the former Centre Theatre into offices for nonprofits, university film programs. Jubilee’s second City Arts apartment building for artists will debut this year. Telesis is an investor in both projects.

“The Station North area has a lot of buzz and energy,” Catherine says. “People want to be there.”