Penn Station, Martin plant to receive Md. historic preservation tax credits

Listen to this article

A $140 million proposal to revitalize Baltimore’s Penn Station has received a boost from state government in the form of tax credits.

The station, along with a building in Middle River where World War II bombers were once built, will each receive $3 million in Maryland Historic Revitalization Tax Credits. The combined total represents two-thirds of the credits awarded in an announcement Monday.

“The Maryland Historic Revitalization Tax Credit is one of the most effective investment tools for strengthening Maryland’s local economies,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “The projects awarded this year will bring hundreds of jobs, as well as new housing, commercial, and arts opportunities through the redevelopment of our communities.”

The two-story Beaux Arts Baltimore rail station, opened in 1911, is Amtrak’s eighth busiest station serving more than 1 million passengers annually.

Amtrak has already committed $90 million to renovating the stone and terra cotta building, located in a federally designated opportunity zone, that still houses stained-glass skylights, terrazzo flooring, marble wall panels and decorative wood bench seating.

Additional plans include construction of a connected station for high-speed rail service as well as a mix of office, hotel and retail space.

The Glenn L. Martin Plant 2/Middle River Depot will also receive $3 million in tax credits.

The 1.9 million square-foot properties along Eastern Avenue near Bowley’s Quarters were built between 1940 and 1942 and produced B-26 Marauder Bombers used in World War II. Later, it was used to manufacture parts for other military aircraft.

The federal government took over the property in 1947, using it for storage. The property was eventually sold to a private buyer in 2006.

A $75 million proposal to revitalize and renovate the building includes athletic facilities, retail stores, offices, self-storage and light industrial.

In all, eight projects were awarded $9 million in tax credits to revitalize historic buildings based on set standards including criteria set by the federal government.

The credits will be used to leverage more than $180 million in additional investment and create 600 jobs, according to the Hogan administration.

Five other projects in Baltimore City also received tax credits including:

• Nearly $1.2 million in credits have been awarded to two Howard Street Romanesque Revival style buildings that were connected in 1928 as an expansion of Pollack’s Furniture Store. The $6.6 million project calls for the restoration of first-floor storefronts to their historic appearance and 15 loft apartments above two retail spaces.
• The former Evangelical Lutheran Church on East Baltimore Street in Patterson Park will receive nearly $401,000 in tax credits. The building, which contains many original historic features, including its original wood floors, stained glass and leaded glass windows, plaster walls and tin ceilings, has been vacant since 2017. Plans for the building include artisan studios in the basement and annex. A technology start up will occupy the main sanctuary.
• Strawbridge M.E. Church in Bolton Hill will receive more than $294,000. The English Gothic-style church was constructed in 1842 under the leadership of John F. Goucher, who later founded Goucher Women’s College. Proposed renovations totaling $1.4 million include basement residential apartments, a social hall, and use of the main sanctuary as exhibition space in partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Art.
• A former livery store in the 400 block of Howard Street will receive more than $300,000. The $1.5 million proposal is part of a larger project that includes five adjacent properties. Plans include restoring storefronts to their historic appearance and adding residential spaces on upper floors.
• 1629 and 1631 Aliceanna Street will receive $260,000 as part of a $1.3 million project to renovate the 1830s buildings for continued commercial and residential use.

One additional project in Baltimore County will also receive tax credits.

Day Village, located in the Turner Stations community of Dundalk, was one of the first privately owned apartment communities for African Americans. The community was built in the mid 1940s with Federal Housing Administration funds on a 37-acre peninsula and included shopping, recreation and a man-made lake. The $25 million proposal calls for the rehabilitation of the 440 apartments — most of which retain the original two-bedroom floor plan — into a mix of market-rate and affordable units.