Baltimore and Maryland officials recently praised a development team that renovated a former can factory into affordable housing aimed at teachers and inexpensive office space for Teach for America and other educational nonprofits serving Baltimore City Public Schools.
The 77,000-square-foot brick building was constructed in 1874 but had become a hangout for drug dealers and squatters. The project qualified for funds dedicated to developing former industrial sites, known as brownfields.
Elementary school teacher Andrew Gorby and his wife, Ashley, are new residents at Miller’s Court, the first apartment complex in the Baltimore area to target new teachers as well as nonprofit agencies, built by Seawall Development Corporation.
With 40 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, it offers teachers discounts of $300 to $400 on rents that range from $700 to $1,500 a month. Located in a historic setting near the urban schools where many start their careers, it also provides a network of neighbors working in the same field.
That’s invaluable, said Kait Flecky, Gorby’s neighbor, who started teaching at a nearby elementary this fall. “Creating lesson plans and classroom management skill, these are all new to me,” said Flecky, 21. “When I have a bad day, to be able to come home to (other teachers), it’s like home is a resource.”
Miller’s Court is profitable because state and local tax credits offset the costs of development and operation. Although a majority of tenants are teachers, Seawall would accept renters outside of the teaching profession, but they would have to pay market rates and could only move in if units were available.
Seawall developer, Donald Manekin, said the practice is not discriminatory and is aimed at helping the city attract teachers. The city public school system alone hires about 750 teachers per year, and “the vision was to roll out the red carpet” for them.
Architects on the project consulted with teachers, their target tenants, to determine a wish list of amenities. Now fully leased and with more than 100 names on a waiting list, Miller’s Court includes a courtyard, fitness center, secure parking, a conference training room, and a resource room with high-speed copiers, so teachers won’t have to run out to copy centers late at night to photocopy their lesson plans for students, Manekin said.
About 80 percent of teachers in the building were placed in jobs in Baltimore through Teach for America, which was instrumental in the conception of the project. An urban planning and community development expert says both private developers and local governments can reap low-cost benefits from such collaborations. “What’s really interesting and exciting about this, as opposed to getting major subsidies (for developers), is that it’s a really unique partnership in terms of marketing,” said Jim Kelly, assistant professor and director of the Community Development Clinic at the University of Baltimore. Developers cater to a niche market of renters, while schools attract and potentially retain a young teacher core, Kelly said.
Seawall is working with several teacher fellowship and recruitment programs, including Teach for America, to publicize the availability of affordable housing for new teachers. They have plans to build a second, 54-unit complex in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood by 2011.
Baltimore City Public Schools does not keep data on the impact of housing on teacher retention, but CEO Andres Alonso said he recognizes housing is a burden for young, entry-level teachers. “This is not just for teacher retention, but closing the gap between where teachers live and the students that they teach,” Alonso said.
Experts in urban education caution that working conditions, rather than living conditions, remain the primary reason why larger cities have problems keeping teachers working in schools. But for Gorby, the affordable housing helps. In addition to saving $300 a month in rent, “property management is receptive to the challenges and what teachers are going through,” Gorby said. “In a lot of respects, it’s a huge step up for us.”
—“New Baltimore Teachers Offered Affordable Abodes,” by The Associated Press, Education Week, Aug. 27, 2009.
