For the SoWeBo community and businesses around Hollins Market it has been a struggle dealing with the clustering of treatment centers – Baltimore Behavioral Health (BBH) located at 1101 and 1103 West Pratt Street adjacent to the B&O Railroad Museum and two blocks South of the Hollins Market – in their area. BBH treats 500 mental health and treatment patients. “People want to open up businesses here but are turned off when they see so many drug addicts around and so much foul language,” said Jane Buccheri, President of Hollins Roundhouse.
A shopping center that sits just behind BBH has recently seen the loss of anchors Safeway and Rite Aid, as well as many other stores. “Planet Fitness wanted to open up in the shopping center but everyone told the entrepeneur he was crazy,” said Buccheri. Planet Fitness never came.
Admist BBH’s many problems which have been chronicled by the Baltimore Sun, their two buildings went into foreclosure. What looked like a big positive for SoWeBo turned into something much worse. “We were hearing that B&O was looking to purchase the buildings for an expansion of their museum, which would have been great,” said Buccheri. But the Abell Foundation purchased the buildings, thus saving BBH and preventing a B&O Railroad Museum expansion.
While SoWeBo loves being included on the Charm City Circulator Orange Route, the stop location in front of the Hollins Market, just two blocks north of 1101 and 1103 West Pratt St., was not working for the community. “I’m tired of the swearing I hear out my window. I can’t go a day without seeing a drug deal involving methadone. I have kids who shouldn’t be exposed to that,” said Betsy Waters, a 30-year resident of Hollins Market, at a March meeting with the University of Maryland Medical Center.
On August 21st, the Hollins Market Association, the B&O Railroad Museum and the neighboring communities all got together and agreed the stop needed to be moved because of all of the loitering in front of the market and surrounding businesses. Effective this Monday, Septempber 24th the stop will be moved two blocks north to the corner of Arlington St. and Baltimore St.
The groups also asked that the Department of Transportation to move the stop in front of B&O to create less headaches for the museum, but the department is taking a wait and see approach.
More articles about SoWeBo’s struggles with the treatment centers:
Recovery? Not for a Neighborhood.
Feature Video: SoWeBo Rallies Against Treatment Clustering
University of Maryland Admits Mistakes in Treatment Relocation
