Nonprofit to Help Baltimore Houses of Worship Build 600 Affordable Homes

Enterprise Community Partners has received $500,000 in grant funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support a program that helps houses of worship in Baltimore convert underutilized land into 600 affordable homes.

Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative will provide assistance to 12 Baltimore houses of worship that are addressing the affordable housing shortage in their communities through:

• Funding: Support for market/feasibility studies and pre-development activities
• Training: Virtual and in-person trainings to help participants understand the ins and outs of the development process
• Technical assistance and tools: One-on-one technical assistance to help overcome obstacles during the development process as well as access to informational tools and resources
• Access to experts: Introductions to information on development partners, such as architects and designers, real estate lawyers and development consultants
• Peer-to-peer learning: Geographic cohorts of faith-based organizations will network and learn from one another as they go through the process of housing development

According to Enterprise, faith-based organizations nationwide own tens of thousands of acres of unused or underutilized land at a time when acquiring land presents a major barrier to affordable housing production.

Baltimore is part of a nationwide expansion of Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative, which is supported by an $8.5 million donation from Wells Fargo.

Photo: Wayland Village Senior Apartments in Baltimore was created in 2011 by Wayland Baptist Church in collaboration with Enterprise Community Development