Cross Street Partners

PSO Transformation Plan Overview

Located within minutes of downtown Baltimore and the waterfront, Perkins Somerset Oldtown (PSO) is a community of 5,939 residents in 2,122 households in a district spanning 244 acres. Despite the close proximity to the Inner Harbor, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and several thriving waterfront communities, the PSO neighborhoods have historically suffered from a lack of investment, concentrated poverty, high crime, and under performing schools.

The PSO Transformation Plan will reshape these three development sites into a Community of Choice that is inviting, promotes resident pride and unity among neighbors, and is integrated into the surrounding area – a new model for a 21st century urban neighborhood.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) requested and was awarded $30M in Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant funding that will leverage more than $540M in committed funding and investments from public, private, and nonprofit partners.

Approach

The PSO Transformation Plan recognizes that the heart of this neighborhood is its residents. As such, the Plan leverages the strengths of the community—building upon existing assets and harnessing the market forces already transforming nearby areas. This two-pronged approach will forge new connections between PSO and the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus to the north and the vibrant waterfront to the south.

PSO Transformation Plan Booklet
PSO Transformation Plan website

Newsletters: The Voice of Choice_March 2019