| About Greater Lauraville
Historically, the Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. served six neighborhoods and the commercial district along Harford Road from Parkside/Argonne Drives to Echodale Avenue: the Lauraville Business District, Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Lauraville, Moravia-Walther, Morgan Park, and Waltherson. In September of this 2007 we added the Hamilton Hills neighborhood (formerly Herring-Echodale-Perring) to our catchment area. We now serve 14,000 households in northeast Baltimore, and continue to serve the commercial interests on the 4200-5200 blocks of Harford Road. Our residential revitalization efforts focus on the Healthy Neighborhoods approach to strengthening housing markets and increasing residential leadership. Our approach to commercial revitalization is based on the National Main Streets models. These two approaches to community development allow a small nonprofit like this to perform well as it seeks to build capacity through volunteer leadership, committees and working groups, and cooperative projects with partner organizations. The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. has a long and solid history of successful completion of planning projects, and implementation of resulting projects and programs. Historically, the organization has accomplished the following: - 1995: The Harford Road Partnership (HARP) formed with support from the Abell Foundation. The organization’s mission was to serve as the commercial revitalization entity for Harford Road retail corridor from Argonne/Parkside to Echodale Avenue
- 1996: Successfully recruited Safeway to 4401 Harford Road
- 1997: Community charrette facilitated by Duany Plater-Zyberk created a well-planned guide for development of the commercial corridor.
- 2001: The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc. (NOGLI) formed to complement commercial revitalization efforts of HARP with residentially focused initiatives.
- In the spring of 2001, to show visible improvements in the neighborhoods, increase housing values, and encourage other homeowners and homebuyers to invest, The Abell Foundation committed to guarantee 10 percent of each home improvement loan made by Slavie Federal Savings Bank to a homeowner or new home purchaser in Lauraville and surrounding neighborhoods. To date, NOGLI has completed twenty-five (25) loans totaling over $430,000, with an average just under $18,000 per loan.
- 2002: HARP & NOGLI merged to link the efforts of commercial and residential revitalization under one umbrella organization.
- 2002 to Present: New business recruitment activities resulted in the following new retail in the Lauraville business district:
- Grind-on Café at 4607 Harford Road
- Lauraville House at 4528 Harford Road
- The Chop Shop at 4329 Harford Road
- The Hamilton Tavern at 5517 Harford Road
- Clementine’s at 5402 Harford Road
- Beth’s DIY Workshop at 4324 Harford Road, basement
- Soft Touch Photography at 5122 Harford Road
- Bediboo Children’s Clothing at 4324 Harford Road
- Rock Candy at 4324 Harford Road, second floor
- Spinster Yarns and Fibers at 4337 Harford Road, basement
- Great Soul Wellness Studio at 4711 Harford Road
- Alabama BBQ at 4311 Harford Road
- The Parkside at 4711 Harford Road
And, continued strength in those businesses who started this revitalization including: - Zeke’s Coffee in the Clark Building, 3003 Montebello Terrace.
- The Red Canoe Café and Bookstore at 4337 Harford Road
- The Chameleon Café, a trendy restaurant at 4341 Harford Road.
- 2004: The updated Urban Renewal Plan for the Lauraville Business District was born from the master planning Charrette in 1997.
- 2005: Twenty-five (25) Senior Home Repair Grants, through funding from Enterprise and the Maryland Affordable Housing Trust, have preserved the elderly population of the Greater Lauraville neighborhoods.
- 2005 to Present: Designation as a Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative program area.
- 2005: A partnership with the Baltimore Development Corporation has provided resources to acquire and stabilize the blighted property at 4500 Harford Road
- 2006: A continued relationship with the Commercial Revitalization Division of the Baltimore Development Corporation has opened up a 4-acre site at 4517-4529 Harford Roadfor development as a commercial property consistent with the Duany Plater-Zyberk Master Plan for the Harford Road corridor.
- 2006: Harford RoadStreetscape project begun June 2006 and completed November 2007.
- July 2007: organized a cooperative effort between local residents, community based organizations, elected officials, and the police to close the Cameo Lounge, a notoriously violent bar at 4711 Harford Road. We were also responsible for recruiting potential owners of the property once it was offered at Auction in August 2007. Today, the property is owned by an Arcadia resident and active member of this organization.
- September 2007-08: The Greater Lauraville Fair, newly configured, attracts 1,500 participants.
- June 2008: Secured Baltimore Main Streets designation in cooperation with the Hamilton Business Association.
- June 2008: Organized the first Greater Lauraville Home & Garden Tour featuring ten homes across all our neighborhoods.
- August 2008: Received a $10,000 grant from the Goldseker Foundation to undertake a comprehensive strategic planning process that will facilitate a more fruitful relationship with member neighborhood associations, create a realistic set of prioritized goals and objectives for programs and services over the next three years, and create an achievable fundraising plan.
Mark Tough, Executive Director
The Neighborhoods of Greater Lauraville, Inc
4709 Harford Rd
Baltimore, MD 21214
Phone: 410-444-9188
Fax: 410-444-9288
mark@greaterlauraville.com |
