Park Heights Development Races Ahead Of Pimlico Overhaul
Efforts to revitalize Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood started with the idea that overhauling Pimlico Race Course would eventually spur investment in the surrounding area, Del. Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg said Monday.
But during The NHP Foundation's groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning for a new senior apartment development at 4710 Park Heights Ave., Rosenberg said that isn't how things have worked out in the neighborhood.
“We had thought that the racetrack redevelopment would spur the other development in Park Heights,” said Rosenberg, an advocate for preserving the track so it can continue to host the Preakness Stakes. “Well, I think it's fair to say that the other development is going to help bring about the Pimlico racetrack redevelopment.”
NHP Foundation's senior living project serves as part of the first phase of the Park Heights Major Development Area. State and city officials intend to pump new life into Park Heights using multiple funding sources, including casino funds and tax breaks.
Paired with a master plan completed in 2006, along with funds from slot machines and, later, expanded casino operations pumping millions into the neighborhood, officials hope the development will return to health the once-thriving northwest Baltimore neighborhood that has suffered from disinvestment for decades.
Additional phases of development planned in the area call for a multifamily building and 17 homes for owner-occupiers. The developers are also planning infrastructure upgrades including new sewer facilities, curbs and sidewalks.
The NHP Foundation announced last week it finalized a $52M deal to purchase the vacant land at 4710 Park Heights from the city. The deal includes $22M from the sale of tax credits to R4 Capital and CVS-owned Aetna. Financing also includes $13M from the city, $5M from the Maryland Community Development Administration and a deferred $2M developer fee.
The project's lead developer, NHP Foundation Senior Vice President of Development Mansur Abdul-Malik, said at the groundbreaking that if Baltimore-area residents think the Park Heights neighborhood remains downtrodden and blighted, they are mistaken.
He said the neighborhood has all the markers of a healthy community: transit, green space, various housing types, commercial properties and unique features like Pimlico Race Course.
“So when you think about it, it was just the need for additional investment in order to bring all those things together,” Abdul-Malik said.
Park Heights Renaissance CEO Yolanda Jiggetts praised The NHP Foundation’s work with the community since starting the request for proposals process with the city in 2019.
“This has created a bond for us that we think is going to be an example across the city of how developers and community and private investment really can be an effective engine for redeveloping communities,” said Jiggets, whose organization is responsible for supporting and implementing the Park Heights Master Plan.
While some construction has moved forward in the neighborhood before the redevelopment of Pimlico Race Course, supporters said it is a necessary boost for the community revitalization.
“If you’ve got development going on without it, just think of the possibilities,” Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg said the legislature expects a report on Jan. 5 from the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority that will “set the stage for moving us to the finish line” on the redevelopment of Pimlico and Laurel Park.
“I expect that that will be a positive report that will say this is how we're going to do it to finally get a shovel in the ground, not after next year's Preakness but the following year's Preakness, to move the track and begin the process of redeveloping that site,” he said.
