Complete-Ad9574 t1_izbm0ug wrote on December 7, 2022 at 10:27 PM

The Dollar house program worked because there was federal guarantees to the lending institutions that they would get their loans paid. Lending institutions generally will not loan you money for a run down building. There were, and may still be some private non profits which will aid you in getting a loan for the property and a 2nd mortgage for renovations. I bought my first house going through Neighborhood Housing. (That was in 1986)

I do not know all the details about Federal Hill. Though I do remember hearing chatter in the White Coffee Pot, (1970s) in SoBo, that at least some of what took place in Fed Hill was some back room deal making and possibly with some developers. The were two factions. One group wanted more to be bulldozed and they had no problem with I-395 gashing its way into the city, nor the FED bank which takes a huge chunk of property. Then there were the true preservationists who want loans for people to make quality repairs and not house flippers gobbling up fed & State funding, while doing shoddy work.

maiios t1_izbn97g wrote on December 7, 2022 at 10:36 PM

This is the answer. Redlining was really the government limiting access to loans and capital in certain areas. The dollar home program showed how a blighted neighborhood could quickly turn around when given access to loans and grants.

Redlining has gone away, but there are still plenty of ways we are keeping capital away from these neighborhoods.

Edit: You might consider reading Not In My Neighborhood for some of the history. You could also read The Color of Law to see how zoning plays a big part.

Complete-Ad9574 t1_izdrfle wrote on December 8, 2022 at 10:39 AM

The 1970s was the first and last time the fed gov was throwing money at Baltimore. Many many great buildings, in West Balt were demolished and replaced with civic or social buildings. Rather than re-purposing the old, developers wanted a clean slate onto which they could lift their leg and leave their mark.