Baltimore Ave. sees results of revitalization effort

The stretch of Baltimore Avenue from 45th to 50th streets has many stigmas, including a reputation for being uninteresting, unsafe and overrun with blight.

For the past two years, the Baltimore Avenue Revitalization Project -- which combines the efforts of University City District and local community organizations like the Spruce Hill Community Association and Cedar Park Neighbors -- has been aggressively fighting to dispel the negative images of the neighborhood and tangibly improve the underperforming commercial corridor.

And with cleaner streets, newly planted trees, renovated and repainted buildings, and the opening of several new businesses including cafes, a butcher shop and a bakery, it appears that the commercial corridor is beginning to undergo an urban renewal.

Over time, the project aims to make Baltimore Avenue a more attractive place for potential investment.

Indeed, the commercial corridor is a high-traffic area, which makes it an appealing option for future development -- it is designated a state highway and includes one of the city's most heavily used trolley lines.

If the revitalization project continues to find success, leaders hope the corridor will become more appealing to a broad group of consumers, including Penn students and faculty.

"The project is helping to change the impression of Baltimore Avenue, which [in the past] was that it was a wasteland," said Barry Grossbach, a member of the Spruce Hill Community Association.

The project has three focuses -- cleanliness, safety concerns and business variety -- which are the result of a survey of community concerns.

"If you take a look at the 4900 block of Baltimore Avenue, it was a barren landscape," Grossbach said. "Now, you have new trees planted, a new bakery opening up and the Firehouse Market remodeled."

A recent accomplishment of the project has been the installation of an additional 22 trash cans along the corridor, bringing the total to 42. "This sounds minor," Masser said, but it "has made Baltimore Avenue noticeably cleaner."

Community leaders are also trying to install several additional streetlights around the Cavalry United Methodist Church -- a local community center -- to brighten up the area, but have run into problems with regard to cost.

But the heart of the project lies in aiding new businesses entering the commercial neighborhood to complement the established commercial backbone of the corridor.

One such business is the Sugar Hill Bakery, which plans to open its doors next Saturday.

"I think that the revitalization of the corridor is great for the whole neighborhood," said Kameelah Mu'Min, the baker and owner of Sugar Hill Bakery. "What is so attractive is the fact that all shops are independently owned. And most of the owners live in the area."

"The most successful businesses are owned by people who live here," Masser said, "because they are first to realize what people want."

Another concrete accomplishment of the project is the revival of the Firehouse Farmer's Market at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, which as recently as last July stood half empty. "Now there are six merchants on the first floor, and it's fully occupied," Masser said.

The stabilization of the Firehouse has created a "more lively and viable market" and has caused customers to come further west, Cedar Park Neighbors President Maureen Tate said.

Community leaders attribute some of the project's success to the fledgling network of inter-business relationships that has developed.

"Often, in the inner city, it's difficult and expensive to get basic groceries," said Dan Thut, co-owner of Green Line Coffee and Tea, located in the Firehouse. "We wanted to be part of the Firehouse because besides being a place that offers good-quality food and great service, it is also a focal point and meeting place for the community."

Both Tate and Masser are happy with the project's progress so far, but they both noted the need for a greater variety of businesses -- namely, a community hardware store, in addition to flower and shoe stores.

The neighborhood wants to see "conveniences that almost any successful, sustainable neighborhood has," Masser said.

"But ultimately, the success of [Baltimore Avenue] will come from the investment of merchants who are on it," he added.

And all sides understand that the change is, and will continue to be, gradual.

"The neighborhood doesn't change overnight," said Roger Harmon, former Palladium owner and current co-owner of Abbraccio, which is located near the corridor. "But it is moving in the right direction."

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