The Promise of Market Center.

Phase II of the Strategic Revitalization Plan is underway, and we want to hear from you! How will this neighborhood look and function in the future, and who will it serve?

Market Center Strategic Revitalization Plan Background.

The Market Center Strategic Revitalization Plan (SRP), The Promise of Market Center, is a blueprint for the revitalization of Market Center, Baltimore’s historic retail core.

The Market Center Community Development Corporation is facilitating this planning process and is the custodian of the document, but it is the community’s plan, created by stakeholders for stakeholders.

Though Market Center has been the subject of many plans over the years, the area still lacks a clear identity or a vision for the role this central area can play in Baltimore. This community-driven document, reflecting input from residents, business and property owners, students, workers, the arts community, institutions, and the public sector, includes a shared vision, goals and objectives, and a 3-5-year implementation strategy. The SRP addresses housing, economy, transportation, environment, quality of life, community engagement, and possibly other topics which arise during the process.

MCCDC submitted Phase I to the Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development (MD DHCD) in June 2019 to apply for designation as a Baltimore Regional Neighborhoods Initiative (BRNI) neighborhood. MD DHCD designated Market Center as a BRNI neighborhood in November 2019, and Phase II began in winter 2020. MCCDC aims to get the Baltimore City Planning Commission to formally recognize the plan, which means that the Planning Commission recognizes and supports the goals, direction and major concepts expressed by the plan; can look to the plan for general policy guidance and input into the City’s larger comprehensive planning process; can recommend public funding, land disposition, rezoning, or other staff resources necessary to carry out recommendations in the plan; and can encourage other City agencies to use the plan in a similar fashion. In its January 11, 2018, Policy for Planning Commission Recognition of Plans, the Planning Commission established guidelines for community-managed plans to follow to be eligible for formal recognition.