(This is the third in a series of articles about a partnership between NeighborSpace and the Turner Station Conservation Teams to create a new park in Turner Station next year. The first may be found here and the second here).
In previous articles about our reasons for investing in Turner Station, we’ve discussed the long history of racial discrimination and environmental injustice suffered by its residents. What follows here is an account of the neighborhood’s economic circumstances, including recent investments that provide hopeful signs of a resurgence.
Census data help to paint a picture of the neighborhood’s economy. Median household income is $41,473, about 3/5 of that for Baltimore County as a whole. Twenty-three percent of the population lives in poverty, more than double the rate for Baltimore County.
The fact that much of Turner Station’s housing stock is aging, built from 1919 to 1945, is borne out in the data. The median value of owner-occupied units is $142,500, about 3/5 of that for Baltimore County as a whole.
Historic population loss beginning in 1950 and a much more recent influx of residents from outside the neighborhood are also reflected in the data. Eighteen percent of housing is vacant, more than double the rate for Baltimore County as a whole. Among occupied units, 73% of occupants are renters, again, more than double the rate for Baltimore County.
The Turner Station Conservation Teams have been addressing these challenges by working with the County and the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation (DRC) to force home repairs, explore redevelopment scenarios, hold workshops on increasing home ownership, and revitalize older housing. These efforts have paid off.
In a recent strategic plan, the DRC identified neighborhoods along Dundalk Avenue, shown in the map below, as places where the organization would target its investments in future years.
The plan seeks to leverage recent public investments in projects such as the Sollers Point Multi-purpose Center (see map, above), a 28,840 SF complex that includes a gymnasium with bleacher seating for 300, an auditorium and stage with seating for 300, and a full commercial kitchen. The site also includes computer labs and conference rooms, along with the Turner Station Museum and a public library.
An apartment complex known as Lyon Homes, constructed by the federal government in 1942 when World War II created a need for more housing near Sparrows Point, has been the subject of a $25 million upgrade. These apartments sit on large spaces, some facing parks or the water, as shown in the map above. A 2017 Sun article notes that they were named for Ernest Lyon, “a Baltimore African-American Methodist clergyman and pastor of the John Wesley Church at Montgomery and Sharp Streets in South Baltimore. (J.Kelly. “Upgrades underway in the community where Henrietta Lacks lived.” (The Baltimore Sun, Dec. 16, 2017)).
The architect who designed the homes was also African-American, a Washingtonian by the name of Hilyard Robinson. He is perhaps better known for designing Langston Terrace in Washington, D.C. and the Alabama airbase that was home to the Tuskegee Airmen.
The apartments were home to Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells were famously and tragically harvested by Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951 without her knowledge, a result that led to numerous scientific breakthroughs. Henrietta’s husband David was among the many residents of Lyon Homes employed at the Sparrows Point Shipyard. They lived at 713 New Pittsburgh Ave. Commenting on the renovation project, the contractor, Southway Builders, noted that “for such a strong community to give affordable housing to those in need in the area for over 70 years is remarkable, and Henrietta Lacks would be proud to call this place home all these years later.”
Another renovation project will begin in 2021 at Day Village Apartments and Townhomes, located at 511 N. Avondale Rd. on a 37-acre peninsula, as shown in the map above. The complex is among the first privately-developed garden apartment complexes for African Americans. It was completed with Federal Housing Administration funding in 1994-1945 and is comprised of 72 buildings that include residential duplexes, a community shopping center, recreational amenities, and a man-made lake.
Yet another significant effort that is attracting investment is the Turner Station Conservation Teams (TSCT) plans for renovating Fleming Park, shown in the map above. Where once there was a boardwalk at the water’s edge allowing views of Bear Creek, invasive species have taken over, threatening the ecosystem and precluding public enjoyment of scenic views and recreational opportunities. Working with landscape architecture firm Mahan Rykiel, the TSCT has developed a plan to deposit dredge material at the shoreline to cap pollutants, restore aquatic substrate for benthic organisms, remove invasives, and create a layered landscape with upland, marsh and mudflat ecosystems. The plan would also strengthen the shoreline to mitigate the effects of climate change.
As we have shown here, public and private investment in Turner Station is happening on many fronts. Let’s make our small site yet another example of a place where together we make an investment to help in the renaissance of this great neighborhood. Click here to learn more and make a contribution or mail your check payable to NeighborSpace of Baltimore County to P.O. Box 6715, Towson, MD 21285.
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