Enterprise Community Partners to help build 600 affordable homes

Enterprise Community Partners announced an expansion of its Faith-Based Development Initiative (FBDI) in Baltimore which helps houses of worship convert underutilized land into affordable homes.

The program, which is supported by $500,000 in grant funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation, will provide training, technical assistance and predevelopment grants to 12 houses of worship working to address the affordable housing shortage in their communities.

The expansion of FBDI was announced at Wayland Village Senior Apartments, an affordable housing community created in 2011 by Wayland Baptist Church in collaboration with Enterprise Community Development.

Baltimore is part of a nationwide expansion of Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative, supported by a $8.5 million donation from Wells Fargo. Acquiring land presents a major barrier to affordable housing production. Nationwide, faith-based organizations own tens of thousands of acres of unused or underutilized land. Through this initiative, houses of worship will receive access to financial assistance, training and resources to help them convert underutilized land they own into affordable homes for members of their communities.

Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative first started in the mid-Atlantic region in 2006, where it has helped create or preserve more than 1,500 affordable homes and one community-based health clinic, with thousands of homes now in the development pipeline.From 2016 to 2021, Enterprise teamed with the University of Baltimore to provide development training to local houses of worship. This new $500,000 program builds on that foundation and puts housing development on a faster track.