“This is where it all began, right here at this church,” said Pastor Rod Hudson, standing outside the Ames Memorial United Methodist Church in West Baltimore. When Hudson arrived at the church in 2008 as the new senior pastor, he was handed an important piece of history from a Mr. Bill Adams, a congregation member and keeper of the church’s decades-long vision to transform the neighborhood around the church into a vibrant, affordable community. Adams, who was in his nineties at the time, has since passed away, but today, his dream is closer than ever to becoming a reality.
"The only thing we wanted was just a few lots across the street,” said Hudson. But what started with a few grassy lots expanded into a significant footprint through perseverance, strategic land acquisition, and one bolt from the blue. “It was Enterprise who guided us through the process of how to acquire that lot and what we could do with it," said Hudson. Since 2016, the Enterprise Faith-Based Development InitiativeSM — made possible in Baltimore and cities across the country with support from the Wells Fargo Foundation — has provided training, consulting from industry professionals, grant funding, and technical assistance to support the church’s vision to transform underutilized land into affordable housing and community amenities.
“We learned about the grassroots of development and how faith communities can leverage their assets to be a benefit to the community,” said Hudson. “Learning that information, getting the technical support, we're able to move from that one lot to where we are now.” By 2021, Ames Shalom Community, Inc. (Ames Shalom), the church’s community development corporation, had amassed 25,000 sq. ft. of developable land by purchasing vacant lots from private owners and Baltimore City. Later that year, they heard back from Northeastern Supply, a plumbing supply company that owned a 100-square-foot corner lot they were eyeing to bring their lots together.
“It took them 37 months to respond to our email, but when we met, they asked, ‘Would you like the buildings?’ We didn’t understand what they were saying,” said Hudson. Inspired by the vision laid out by Pastor Hudson and his team, the Cook Family of Northeastern Supply offered to donate their plumbing supply facility and the warehouse behind it. Now, Ames Shalom had 67,000 square feet for their project, “Resurrection Sandtown,” and it was time to put together a development team.
Based on their long history of community engagement in the neighborhood, the original plan for Resurrection Sandtown always aimed to incorporate workforce development and health care wraparound services. What they heard from the community was three-fold, “We want jobs, we need a place for our kids to go, and we want quality and affordable housing.” Ames Shalom found an ideal partner in Dwyer Workforce Development, a health care training nonprofit that wanted to work together to develop their first Dwyer Scholar Healthcare Village. The mixed-use development would include a resource center for their certified nursing assistant trainees as well as a childcare center and mixed-income housing to support their success.
Together, they released a Request for Proposals for a development partner, and as Alex Aaron from Blank Slate put it, “God worked this one out. Instead of one, they got three.” Enterprise Community Development, Blank Slate, and Seawall Development, all experienced mission-driven developers in the region, were selected to join the team in late 2024, a full circle moment for Enterprise’s Faith-Based Development Initiative team, who has been working with the church for years.
“Even now, on this next leg, Enterprise is one of our partners, and the fact is that would not have happened without the faith development arm of it,” said Hudson. “Even after I finished the classes, the support is still available,” Hudson added. “If I have a question. I just pick up the phone and call Joe Williams and ask him, ‘What do we need to do here?’”
The development journey for a house of worship takes time and isn’t without its challenges. Figuring out the capital stack can be daunting as the development team plans to apply for a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and public resources, and they project they will have to raise $17 million to cover the financing gap. However, the need in their community fuels their unwavering commitment to Resurrection Sandtown.
In one poignant moment at a community engagement meeting, a little girl, about 6 years old, raised her hand to share her thoughts on the project, asking, “This sounds great. I’m excited. Can we also get the streetlights turned on?” Her simple request for a safe streetscape underscored the fundamental importance of Resurrection Sandtown for everyone involved. From the late Bill Adams to Pastor Hudson to the next generation of visionaries in West Baltimore, this small seed of a dream has been carefully nurtured over decades, and it’s finally coming to fruition.
