Sorority sisters invest in their old Baltimore neighborhood

BALTIMORE - A daunting task awaits a group of sorority sisters who want to make a better neighborhood in the West Baltimore they knew as children.

These women, who grew up and some still have family in and around West North Avenue, have banded together and formed an entity to redevelop vacant and abandoned homes in one of the most battered parts of Baltimore.

Like so many other Baltimoreans, they left the old neighborhood and moved elsewhere. Nevertheless, they retain strong emotional ties to what they feel was a better, stronger Baltimore. They also are members of old church congregations in West Baltimore and return to these houses of worship for services.

Few sections of Baltimore, which has seen a 38 percent citywide population drop in the past 50 years, are as filled with empty houses as this.

Some call the area Coppin Heights, others Easterwood Park. It's near Sandtown-Winchester and the edge of Mondawmin.

It's a place that cries out for help. While sections of streets are fully occupied, others have stretches of empty homes with no roofs, collapsed porches and broken steps.

"The 21216 ZIP code (population: 29,000) where we are working is one of the most disinvested ZIP codes in the country," said Dr. Gina McKnight-Smith, a pharmacist and entrepreneur. "It has a poverty rate of 18 percent and a vacancy rate of 45 percent in 21216. It's also the place where our group's members had roots."

She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first intercollegate historically Black sorority. She and her other business partners have formed their own entity, Visionary Venture Partnership, with a goal of "cultivating healthy and thriving communities."

Their partnership, formed in 2020, now owns 11 houses to be refurbished and sold.

"We are real community developers," said Karen Brooks, a member of the group, who grew up nearby, on Baker Street. "We are investing in this neighborhood."

Their first effort, a completed and restored two-story rowhouse is at 1738 Moreland Ave. It was a wreck when they acquired it from a private individual.

The home now has central air conditioning, three new baths, a new kitchen and a custom fireplace. The primary bedroom has an en suite bath.

The house is on the market for $235,000 and qualified buyers can get a purchase subsidy.

The sorority sisters hired an architect, a general contractor and an attorney to guide them.

The group selected this home because Moreland Avenue - and the 1700 block, at Westwood Avenue - remained occupied but contained this standout vacant house.

"You can lift the whole block by addressing the empty house," McKnight-Smith said. "Before buying, we talked to the neighbors and found out where their pain points were."

Some of the members are graduates of nearby Coppin State University, the institution that anchors the neighborhood and is seen as its best hope of a revival.

The group works with the West North Avenue Development Authority, a state of Maryland agency headquartered nearby. Look for work to begin this upcoming summer on a number of vacant North Avenue properties located west of the CSX Rail bridge.

"Our commitment on West North Avenue is simple: Invest boldly, partner locally, and deliver results that communities can see and feel," said Chad Williams, director of the West North Avenue Development Authority. "Projects like this reflect how we're aligning public investment with private development to create real housing opportunities, strengthen neighborhoods and drive long-term economic growth along the corridor."

The other members of the Visionary Venture are: Dr. Gloria Williams, Kathy Robertson, Denise Saulsbury, Pamela Hawkins, Donna Stevenson-Robinson and Everene Johnson Turner. The group's members have known each other for decades. Some were high school friends; others met in college.

"We're sugar-coating the work we have to do," McKnight-Smith said of what the group has accomplished to date. "It takes patience and persistence."

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 1:10 AM.