Baltimore Integration Partnership Update - April 2014
The Baltimore Integration Partnership (BIP) is a collaborative effort to expand opportunities for low-income residents and communities in Baltimore by unifying job opportunities with revitalization investment. Partner communities include the neighborhoods represented by the East Baltimore Development Initiative; the Central Baltimore Partnership; and West Baltimore communities adjacent to the proposed Red Line. The BIP is supported by Living Cities and includes a range of stakeholders aligning resources and activities while working to strengthen the linkage between physical and human capital development. BIP is a project housed at the Maryland Philanthropy Network.
BIP Shifts Gears into 2.0
The BIP has moved forward with a new phase of work focused on increasing economic inclusion in Baltimore. This phase is focused on advancing inclusion through educational and medical institution (anchors) hiring, purchasing and community reinvestment activities. Nine anchors are participating in the initiative as well as a range of philanthropic, government, and financial partners. By working with these significant employers, the BIP hopes to identify barriers to local hiring and purchasing, support changes in policy to remove barriers and develop an implementation model that can be adopted by other businesses throughout the region. The BIP is supported by Living Cities, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Goldseker Foundation, Associated Black Charities, and the Baltimore Workforce Funders Collaborative.
Pilot Food Purchasing Study Launched
The BIP has contracted with Karp Resources to help identify specific opportunities to redirect anchor food spending to Baltimore businesses. The study will examine anchor purchasing policies and barriers as well as the readiness and capacity needs of local businesses to meet anchor purchasing demands. The report is expected to be completed this summer and builds on the successful work "Anchor Institutions and The Food Cluster in Baltimore.” This BIP Phase 1 work was recently highlighted by ICIC in their report "Anchor Institutions and Food Systems: A Recipe for Economic Growth.”
TRF Closes Financing on Chesapeake Phase 2
With a few projects still in the hopper from the prior round of work, The Reinvestment Fund closed financing recently on phase 2 of the Chesapeake Building. An earlier investment helped local partners reopen the doors to the famed restaurant after being closed for 25 years. This new phase will help restore the upper floors into commercial and residential space. Several additional projects funded with predevelopment resources in BIP Phase 1 are anticipated to move into construction in 2014.
From the Anchor News Desk
- HUD recognizes Coppin State University and Coppin Heights CDC for implementing community and economic development activities in low-wealth communities
- Loyola University and Baltimore City announces contract award for York Road Corridor Plan
- RISE legislation passes Maryland General Assembly
Accomplishments, Outcomes and Lessons Learned from the BIP 2011-2013
Community Science completed its 2011 – 2013 evaluation of the Baltimore Integration Partnership providing an assessment of the initiative’s project and system level efforts to link job opportunities to revitalization investment. The report captures the totality of investments and outcomes of the BIP and its partners in the first round. Outcomes included supporting more than 500 job training opportunities for area residents, over $150 million of new investment in Baltimore neighborhoods, and over 800 job opportunities.These investments were focused in on targeted neighborhoods in the City helping local partners move forward both place based and people based outcomes. The report also explores the systems level work that the BIP and its partners completed including a range of executive orders at the City and State level, new funding for workforce training as well as new policies and practices to advance economic inclusion in Baltimore. Finally, the report outlines a series of recommendations for broader economic inclusion efforts in Baltimore.
FIND MORE BY: