Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh announced a plan Wednesday to invest $55 million into building housing, recreation and business opportunities in city neighborhoods that in some cases have not seen new investment in decades.
The Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund was an idea Pugh had while running for mayor in 2016 that she hopes will spur additional investment and development from other companies and organizations into the city’s most divested neighborhoods.
The city plans to acquire the money for the fund by leasing city-owned parking garages to the Maryland Economic Development Corp., which will in turn float city revenue bonds for investors to purchase. Pugh said the city expects this process to yield about $55 million.
An earlier plan to sell the garages was dropped Pugh said, because by leasing the garages the city can continue to keep earning tax income from them.
Pugh described neighborhoods such as Park Heights, Sandtown and East Baltimore, where vacant and dilapidated houses have trees growing inside them.