Preservation : Featured Stories

Neighborhoods are shaped by a lot of small acts and committed individuals. It is this philosophy that has guided its mission to help developers and community groups preserve historic commercial and residential buildings. 

Five local architects pick their favorite buildings in Baltimore, including structures in Mount Vernon, Mount Washington and the west side. Some are historic buildings while others are contemporary in design. 

Ecosystem Investment Partners raises money to restore and protect rural streams and wetlands. Developers and city agencies then buy credits from the company to fulfill federal environmental regulations. Learn more about this Baltimore company that is banking on the environment.

Architect and entrepreneur Stan Sersen has transformed a 1905 farmhouse on a former lumberyard into a modern office building called the Enviro Center. Now he is finalizing a wind-generation deal and an education initiative to teach environmental literacy to Maryland homeowners. 

Several building owners hope to breathe more life into the neighborhood's northern section by renovating buildings along North Avenue.

Some Baltimore neighborhoods are home to many of the city’s vacant lots and the crime and illegal dumping that comes with them. Two Baltimore organizations, Baltimore Green Space and Power in Dirt, empower residents to transform underused and vacant lots into vibrant gardens. 

Seawall Development has turned a vacant building in Remington into a thriving apartment and office complex for teachers and nonprofits. It is on the verge of completing a similar redevelopment in Hampden. Now, the Baltimore developer is about to take its socially responsible mission to other cities.

To speak of a neighborhood's "growth" or "renaissance" is usually to speak of that which is new, that which is emerging and upcoming. It's just as important, however, to remember the stalwarts. Those who kept their heads down through the madness, through good times and bad. Like, for example, Hippodrome Hatters.