New waterfront views of the Patapsco River are starting to open up in Brooklyn thanks to the Hanover Street Wetlands project which started construction in recent weeks. The project is the first phase of the Middle Branch Resiliency Initiative (MBRI) as part of the Reimagine Middle Branch plan spearheaded by the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP).
Crews have started clearing invasive species where Potee St., S. Hanover St., and Frankfurt Ave. merge at the north edge of Brooklyn. While that stretch of Potee St. and S. Hanover St. runs along the Patapsco River, invasive plant species, such as phragmites, have blocked views of the water until the bridges connecting Brooklyn and Cherry Hill go over the Patapsco River.
The Hanover Street Wetlands project is restoring approximately 10 acres of wetlands and adding native vegetation and new stone and boardwalk pathways. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
MBRI is “dedicated to restoring 50+ acres of habitat along 11 miles of shoreline.” The project will address areas along Hanover St. in Brooklyn, the shoreline just east of MedStar Harbor Hospital, around the Baltimore Peninsula development, the water’s edge of Middle Branch Park, and area shorelines in Ridgely’s Cove.
Work will begin on the shoreline next to MedStar Harbor Hospital in the first quarter of 2025. Work on the shoreline in from of BGE’s Spring Gardens campus will break ground in 2025.
SBGP is also working on permits to restore the marsh between the bridges on Potee St. and Hanover St. The organization expects work to begin in early 2025.
$67 million in funding has been committed to the project. This includes:
- $31.9 million in a FEMA grant under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (or BRIC) program, as a subaward from the Maryland Department of Emergency Management;
- $3.4 million from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund;
- $3.5 million from Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Chesapeake & Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund;
- $5.1 million from Baltimore City’s Department of Public Works;
- $6.6 million from Baltimore County;
- $5.6 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s (or NOAA’s) Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants
- $10.8 million from Maryland’s Department of the Environment
In an April press release, SBGP Executive Director Brad Rogers said, “Today, we’re delivering on our commitment to bring environmental justice to South Baltimore. We are restoring not just the shoreline, but the community’s access to their own waterfront. And we’re doing this in partnership with dozens of local organizations, who are already busy removing trash, leading youth programs, and even paying anglers to catch invasive fish. This is how Baltimore’s waterfront thrives for generations – by working together.”
Renderings from the Middle Branch Resiliency Initiative
