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When the heaviest of rain hammers the South Baltimore neighborhood of Cherry Hill, rainfall rises above car tires and residents of Cherry Hill Homes public housing complex have to sandbag their doors.
Michael Middleton, the executive director of the Cherry Hill Development Corporation who grew up in the neighborhood’s housing project, said residents have been fighting for officials to address perennial flooding from the Patapsco River onto Spelman Road for years. He’s hopeful that a slew of environmental grants totaling $47.7 million will transform South Baltimore’s shoreline by both mitigating flooding and investing in local neighborhoods.
“This is actually bringing what I think is our great resource — the waterfront — to its fullest potential,” Middleton said.
A flock of city, state and federal officials announced the Middle Branch Resiliency Initiative at a news conference at the Middle Branch Park on Friday afternoon. The bulk of the money — $31.9 million — comes from a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program. Baltimore City contributed $5.1 million from a stormwater fund and Baltimore County contributed $6.6 million. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources contributed $3.5 million.
The grants will fund the construction of a coordinated network of wetlands that will absorb rainfall and help prevent flooding in South Baltimore. The first wetland, to be constructed off Hanover Street, will aim to protect access to MedStar Harbor Hospital.
The wetlands are one part of a massive project called Reimagine Middle Branch, a community-led effort that aims to redevelop 11 miles of waterfront parks and trails and connect 19 communities, including Cherry Hill, Westport, Brooklyn, Mount Winans and Pigtown.
Mayor Brandon Scott said the project is especially urgent as climate change exacerbates flooding throughout the world.
“We’re going to continue to invest in these neighborhoods because they deserve to be invested in, especially after being cast aside for many, many years,” the Democrat said.
Del. Brooke Lierman of South Baltimore, who won the Democratic primary for state Comptroller in July, recalled receiving an email from FEMA about the grant program in 2018. She forwarded the message to neighborhood leaders, who collaborated on the application with city and state officials.
“This is a really important demonstration of how government and community leaders and organizations can all work together to remove barriers to make great things happen,” she said.
Peggy Jackson-Jobe, the chair of the Cherry Hill Community Coalition, described winning the grant as a liberation of a vision.
“Somebody had the audacity to believe, someone had the audacity to have a vision. And that vision was for the wetlands,” she said.
emily.sullivan@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Emily Sullivan covers Baltimore City Hall. She joined the Banner after three years at WYPR, where she won multiple awards for her radio stories on city politics and culture. She previously reported for NPR’s national airwaves, focusing on business news and breaking news.
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