(BALTIMORE – November 20, 2025) – The opening of The Hammond at Greenmount Park marks a significant milestone for Johnston Square and for Baltimore’s broader conversation about neighborhood revitalization. Located between Biddle and Chase streets, the project replaces 42 long-vacant lots with mixed-income housing, a new Enoch Pratt Free Library branch, and dedicated space for the neighborhood association that helped shape the development. Its completion underscores a core idea: when community leadership is respected and paired with strong institutional partners, sustainable neighborhood change becomes possible.
The foundation for this progress was laid more than a decade ago. Johnston Square residents, determined to strengthen their community, began organizing around shared priorities that reflected lived experience rather than outside assumptions. Regina and Keith Hammond were among those who stepped forward, joined by a broader circle of neighbors who contributed time, insight, and persistence. Their work demonstrated a simple truth: progress begins when residents are treated as collaborators, not spectators.
In 2013, these community leaders formalized their efforts by creating the Rebuild Johnston Square Neighborhood Organization. Early block-level improvements — cleaning, greening, and stabilizing key areas — built credibility and trust. This momentum drew the involvement of Rebuild Metro, which had already helped facilitate change in nearby Oliver and Greenmount West. Together with city agencies, state partners, and practitioners, residents helped shape the Johnston Square 2020 Vision Plan—a realistic, coordinated framework informed by both professional expertise and neighborhood priorities.
The Hammond at Greenmount Park is a direct reflection of that collaboration. The development includes 109 mixed-income homes, including supportive housing, and a new Enoch Pratt Free Library branch — the first new Pratt branch in more than 15 years. Conversations with then–CEO Heidi Daniel created early alignment, and as the project advanced, Interim Pratt CEO Darcell Graham played an essential role in keeping the effort on track. Current CEO Chad Helton helped guide the project into its final stage, ensuring the library’s design and programming aligned with community needs. State capital dollars also played a meaningful role, helping close financial gaps and allowing the project to move from concept to construction.
The progress in Johnston Square extends beyond this single site. The 1200 block of Homewood Avenue has been fully stabilized and rebuilt. Construction has now begun on the 700 block of Mura Street, representing the next phase of residential development. Work is also underway on Greenmount Park — a four-acre community and recreation space that will serve neighborhood families and students at St. Frances Academy. On Preston Street, the Machine Works project is converting a 45,000-square-foot former factory into a light-manufacturing hub, adding jobs and activity to the area.
What distinguishes Johnston Square’s progress is not only the scale of investment but the structure of the partnerships behind it. Residents were engaged early and continuously. Developers and nonprofit partners collaborated directly with the community rather than working around it. Government at every level — local, state, and federal — contributed resources that aligned with the neighborhood’s stated priorities. This approach helped ensure that revitalization strengthened Johnston Square without displacing the voices or values of its longtime residents.
As Baltimore continues to weigh how best to achieve equitable development, Johnston Square offers a model grounded in collaboration, transparency, and shared responsibility. The Hammond at Greenmount Park is not a solution to every challenge, nor is it the end of the neighborhood’s work. But it demonstrates what can be achieved when community members, nonprofit partners, and public agencies move forward with a clear, collective vision.
For neighborhoods across Baltimore seeking stability, opportunity, and meaningful investment, the experience in Johnston Square provides a practical roadmap — one built on partnership, patience, and respect for the people who call these communities home.
Senator Cory V. McCray represents Maryland’s 45th Legislative District in the Maryland State Senate. He serves on the Budget and Taxation Committee and chairs the Health and Human Services Subcommittee. He can be reached at cory.mccray@senate.maryland.gov
