ANNAPOLIS – Developers are looking to turn an old 7-Eleven lot into new housing and a community park they say are needed in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood.
The state of Maryland is going to pitch in to help – with a $5 million dollar loan that the Board of Public Works approved on Wednesday.
A lot of local residents are excited about the project, Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said in the public meeting.
“It’s going to be a great use of this space,” Lierman said, “and really a furthering of the renaissance of Remington.”
Maryland officials say the state needs around 96,000 more units of affordable housing than are currently available, and they’re incentivizing developers who’ll bring in more projects to address the shortage. Developers say that 10 percent of the new Remington housing would qualify as “affordable.”
The state loan comes through a program established in 1995 to create and expand business in areas designated for revitalization. The Seawall project will replace the current structure on this property, formerly occupied by a 7-Eleven, with a new six-story building with 60 rental apartments.
The building is also meant to house commercial space – a cafe, perhaps – and a public park and plaza, according to the board summary.
Thibault Manekin, a co-founder for the real estate developer Seawall, said the firm works with the community to address what they think is missing in their neighborhood. They regularly participate in community meetings and hold quarterly town hall gatherings for community members to ask questions and give feedback.
“The neighborhood here is really focused on walkability,” said Manekin. “This does that,” he said, by providing more housing near new local stores and diverse businesses moving into the community. The project will target locally owned businesses for the commercial space rather than national chains, according to the loan request.
Manekin referred to the apartments as “workforce housing,” but pointed out that a part of it will be considered “affordable housing.”
Construction is due to start at the end of this year, according to Manekin, and has an estimated completion date of April 2027.