Maryland’s governor aims to reduce Baltimore’s vacant properties by 5,000

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Tuesday that aims to turn 5,000 vacant properties in Baltimore into homeownership or other positive outcomes within five years.

The order creates a program called Reinvest Baltimore. It will coordinate the efforts of state, city, nonprofit and for-profit partners to eliminate concentrations of vacant properties and revitalize neighborhoods.

“Baltimore’s vacant property crisis is a problem that can’t wait — because in order to have a strong state, you have to have a strong housing market where people own more than they owe,” Moore, a Democrat, said in a statement. “I want to thank all the partners who have raised their hands to be a part of this work that will open pathways to jobs, wages and wealth for Baltimoreans and grow our state’s economy.”

The executive order creates a council that will call on community, corporate, philanthropic and government leaders. The initiative also seeks to strengthen the partnership between city and state officials to create more attractive spaces for people to live and put down roots.

“Tackling Baltimore’s vacancy problem at scale and ending this decades-long crisis will require partnership, coordination and vision,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, who launched a 15-year plan to address the city’s vacant properties last year.

Baltimore has more than 13,000 vacant structures and more than 20,000 vacant lots.

Photo: Debris remains where a demolished row house once stood in Baltimore on April 26, 2017, on one of many abandoned blocks slated for demolition through the CORE Project. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

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