West North Avenue
Revitalization Project
The Department of Housing and Community Development and Coppin Heights CDC have partnered on a purchase strategy to increase home ownership and along West North Avenue. Presently, there are 20 unoccupied properties along the route pending receivership for CHCDC.
With additional plans to modernize Walbrook Mill & Lumber Yard, CHCDC will also include residential and commercial areas as part of an enlarged plan to redevelop the 2600–2800 blocks of West North Avenue.
The Vision
West North Avenue
The Department of Housing and Community Development and Coppin Heights CDC have partnered on a purchase strategy to increase home ownership and along West North Avenue. Presently, there are 20 unoccupied properties along the route pending receivership for CHCDC.
Redevelopment Inventory
Walbrook Mill Apartments
W. North Avenue Revitalization Project
The $17.8M Walbrook Mill residential component of the project was financed with a combination of local, state and private sources
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Habitat America, a property management firm specializing in affordable and accessible housing, is the on-site management company for Walbrook Mill
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Walbrook Mill includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with amenities such as spacious floor plans, energy efficient appliances including microwaves, kitchen islands, modern plank flooring in the open living/dining spaces and carpeting in each bedroom
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Common area amenities include on-site parking, convenient access to public transit, a computer café and community lounge, and fitness center
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Habitat America began accepting rental applications in November 2019 and by February 2020 the first tenants began moving in.
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As of the end of March 2020, 50 of the 65 units in Walbrook Mill have been rented
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In February 2020, Truist bank (formerly BB&T) opened a branch on the first floor of Walbrook Mill.
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Additional retail is planned for the first floor, the main component of which is The Mill on North, a food hall
Completed Walbrook Mill Apartments Project
New BB&T Bank at Walbrook Mill
Walbrook Mill common area
View of Walbrook Mill from parking lot
Walbrook Mill entrance lobby
The Mill on North
W. North Avenue Revitalization Project
The initial acquisition, demolition and remediation efforts were financed by a $2 million grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Project CORE program
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90,000 sf mixed use development
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65 unit apartment building
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Low income and historic tax credits
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Maryland Project CORE funding
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The Mill on the North food hall will have space for eight vendor stalls and a large common area for seating
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The Coppin Heights CDC has used a community-based approach to designing, marketing and branding the food hall
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The CDC assembled a design and marketing team headed by Kari and Shawn Parker, founders of the Baltimore-based restaurant chain Connie’s Chicken and Waffles, to recruit other potential vendors for the food hall
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The design team held a series of community conversations in the early months of 2020 where community members and stakeholders met in multiple town hall-style sessions to give input on what they would like to see in the food hall and how it could best be designed to meet the needs of the neighborhood
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The Coppin Heights neighborhood is located in a food desert with few healthy, creative restaurant options
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Coppin University has also played a key role in developing the vision for the Food Hall, since students will be a large part of its customer base and vendors will be set up to accept the University’s meal plan/dining service cards
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The CDC also developed an online survey to determine residents’ preferences for how the food hall should look and how it can be of the greatest benefit to the community as a safe and welcoming gathering space or venue for social events
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The results of that survey are being used in the process of designing and developing a unique brand for the food hall
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The name acknowledges the history of the location on North Avenue, a vibrant and prosperous commercial and cultural corridor throughout much of the 20th century. It also embraces the future of renewal and revitalization which is powered by the Walbrook Mill project and other efforts of the Coppin Heights CDC
Walbrook Mill & Lumber Yard, circa 2017. Photo by Google