The Resurgence of Patterson Park
Today’s Baltimore Sun has an article on the resurgence of Patterson Park:
“The revival that Rutkowski’s group helped create in a then-rapidly declining swath of Southeast Baltimore runs so counter to prevailing trends that even experienced revitalization leaders were taken aback. It had all the signs of relentless decline: white and middle-class flight, prostitutes, drug dealers, shady investors, derelict homes spreading like a virus.
Now, vacancies are dwindling; crime has dropped. Home prices have shot up at least fivefold. Restored brick facades are multiplying. It’s not a problem-free neighborhood, but there’s general agreement that it’s far better than it was a decade ago.”
I agree, it’s far better than even two years ago. The only thing I disagree with is Rutkowski’s stipulation that the growth in Canton didn’t have much to do with the growth in Patterson Park. To me it’s pretty obvious that there are a lot of people that wanted to live in Canton but couldn’t afford it and so they decided that hey, at least I’ll be living close to the park and within short driving distance of the Canton nightlife.
Of course, the renaissance has only spread to the blocks that are within two streets of the park. North of Fayette St., it’s “block-to-block” like so much of Baltimore. And if you talk to rehabbers in the area, you’ll probably find that they’re competing with a lot of inventory.
Still, I’m putting my money (literally) on the continued growth of development northward, as the Hopkins Biotech Project pushes the wave of development towards the south.