Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Announces Accelerated $50 Million Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative Application Round
The new program application will prioritize the redevelopment of vacant land and properties with vacant building notices and invest in organizations that are nimble and efficient
BALTIMORE, MD (April 2, 2025) – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day today announced the Fiscal Year 2026 application round for the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative (BVRI) has opened. The accelerated application round will prioritize performance and efficiency, deploying $50 million in funding to Community Development Organizations who have a track record of results-oriented redevelopment of vacant housing.
“The changes to the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative will forge a new path for revitalization and rehabilitation in the City of Baltimore. If we want to drive investment and growth, we need to address the vacancy problem in Baltimore and do it efficiently. That’s what this acceleration is all about,” said Governor Wes Moore. “Through the Reinvest Baltimore initiative, leaders across all parts of the city and state are coming together to stay synchronized and focused in our work to tackle vacancy.”
“The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is adopting more efficient, performance-driven approaches to make tangible progress on addressing vacancy in Baltimore City,” said Secretary Day. “This is about restoring neighborhoods, economic vitality, and opportunity for the people of Baltimore. The burdens of vacant buildings will never be cut down without each player – the State, the City, and our nonprofit partners – taking a hard look at what we can do better.”
The new accelerated program application will ask Baltimore City’s community-based development organizations to describe exactly how many properties with vacant building notices they can address over multiple years if sufficiently capitalized. Vacancy reduction plans will include a range of investments, including but not limited to: property acquisition, stabilization, renovation and demolition. Targeted geography, property selection and redevelopment activities will reflect community priorities, build from the community strengths and achieve whole block outcomes.
“Housing is a personal issue that matters for families, communities, and businesses. In our first State of the Economy report, we identified affordable housing as a key challenge driving people out of the state and limiting our state’s economic growth,” Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman said. “This initiative will demonstrate what we can accomplish with true partnership and strategic investment by attracting more people to our communities and creating new opportunities in Baltimore.”
The State intends to partner with entities like the Maryland Community Investment Corporation (MCIC) to expedite award payments to Community Development Organizations. The MCIC is a state-sponsored organization established by HB599 that can marshall resources for community reinvestment. Awards will be made by July 1, 2025. Additionally, the State Revitalization Program application round will open later this spring for other community development projects.
“Vacant homes have been a challenge here in Baltimore since before I was alive. Generations of Baltimoreans have lived with this problem. Now, thanks to this work, it’s likely that kids growing up in our city will actually see the end of this problem for good,” said Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott. “Almost a year and a half ago, we laid out a 15-year vision to end vacant housing for good alongside our partners at BUILD and GBC. We knew we had the tools, the know-how, and the political will to address this challenge—we just needed the capital. I am grateful to our partners at the State and across the City—nonprofits, community leaders, and companies—who have stepped up to be part of this collective effort to finally eliminate vacant housing in Baltimore.”
The announcement event was held in West Baltimore’s Gold Street Park, across the street from recent State and City-funded vacant rehabilitation and nearby new housing by community-based development organizations Black Women Build and Druid Heights CDC, respectively. Following Secretary Day’s announcement, the event included remarks from Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott with a welcome from Druid Heights Community Development Corporation Executive Director JohnDre Jennings, highlighting the importance of partnership and the collaborative vision for addressing the city’s vacant and abandoned housing crisis.
The Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative is a key component of Reinvest Baltimore, established in October 2024 by executive order to coordinate the efforts of the State of Maryland, Baltimore City, and nonprofit and for-profit partners to eliminate concentrations of vacant properties, revitalize neighborhoods and maximize the economic potential and quality of life for residents in Baltimore City. Under the Reinvest Baltimore initiative, Governor Wes Moore also established the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council (BVRC), which taps key community, corporate, philanthropic and government leaders to leverage targeted investments to move at least 5,000 vacant properties into homeownership or other positive outcomes, such as demolition and stabilization, between Fiscal Year 2025 to Fiscal Year 2029.
A program guide and training resources for the new application round are available on the Department’s website. Visit https://dhcd.maryland.gov/Reinvest-Baltimore/Pages/BVRI.aspx for more information.
