Sign In
Free Newsletter
Baltimore neighborhood first to receive UPLIFT funds for quality affordable housing
Key takeaways
- Orchard Ridge is first to receive UPLIFT funding in Maryland.
- $1.25 million will help build 27 affordable homes in Baltimore.
- Program aims to close the racial wealth gap through homeownership.
- UPLIFT targets vacant real estate in disinvested communities.
Orchard Ridge in Baltimore will be the first recipient of the UPLIFT fund, a program that builds quality, affordable housing in historically disinvested areas.
UPLIFT, which stands for Utilizing Progressive Lending Investments to Finance Transformation, will fund Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake with $1.25 million to build 27 new three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom homes in the Baltimore neighborhood, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Friday.
The Appraisal Gap Bill provides $10 million of annual funding for the program, which will enable developers to work on about eight projects per year at an average cost of around $1.25 million.
“Orchard Ridge represents exactly what UPLIFT was designed to do — transform historically disinvested areas of our state into thriving, opportunity-rich communities through strategic public investment and partnership,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day in a press release.
In a statement, Gov. Moore said that inequitable appraisal values are a primary driver of the racial wealth gap. The program will transform unused real estate into quality housing to boost property values in the neighborhood by funding the difference between appraisal values and the cost of building.
“One of the major contributors to the racial wealth gap is inequitable appraisal values in communities that have been affected by redlining. That’s why, in this Season of Action, we are taking concrete steps to boost property values and build pathways to greater wealth creation for homeowners,” Moore said in a statement.
The homes in Orchard Ridge are currently under construction and many are expected to be occupied by the fall, Day said.
Homeowners were matched with the new buildings based on certain criteria, Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake CEO Mike Posko said. They must fall in the 30th to 80th percentile of the area median income and not have outstanding debt. The new homeowners are also required to attend financial training and fulfill 250 hours of work for Habitat for Humanity.
“The majority of the work we’re doing is in Baltimore City,” he said. “The vacant issue is something that really needs to be addressed, so we’re working hand-in-hand with the city and the state to get more people into affordable homes.”
To qualify for the program, communities must be in a low-income census tract and also be designated as a sustainable community. UPLIFT builds on vacant real estate in these locations to increase homeownership, generate wealth, bolster the economy, and work to solve Baltimore’s vacancy issues.
“We now have a pipeline of over 30 projects from around the state that we are in the process of reviewing and ultimately funding,” Day said.
While the majority of these locations are in Baltimore City, UPLIFT also has projects developing in Baltimore, Dorchester,and Worchester counties.
In the short term, the construction projects will help to boost the city and state’s economy. Over the long term, Day hopes that increasing homeownership will create generational wealth for Maryland families.
