Catholic Charities opens $32M West Baltimorecenter

Catholic Charities of Baltimore has opened a $32 million center on the site of a former elementary school to provide healthcare, education and job training to an underinvested area of West Baltimore.

The Carolyn E. Fugett Intergenerational Center officially opened Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 800 Poplar Grove St. The 57,000-square-foot center has been under development for five years and aims to offer services to residents of all ages, from infants to seniors, said Kevin Creamer, the program director for the center.

“We can start working with mom and dad while they’re still expecting, before the baby’s even born,” Creamer said. “And we can keep working with that family with programming for decades until that child’s thinking about college and career readiness.” 

The focus on intergenerational learning and children will continue the legacy of the former Alexander Hamilton Elementary School, which closed in 2021 as part of the 21st Century Schools Initiative that shut down underutilized schools across the city. Catholic Charities acquired the property through a 2021 request for proposals from the city, which sought a developer who could spur economic growth and provide services to some of the city’s most underinvested neighborhoods.

The dizzying array of building uses, from food distribution to job training to open space where people can use the internet or hold meetings, aims to make up for some of that lack of investment, Creamer said. The Greater Rosemont area, where the center is located, lost over 10% of its population between 2010 and 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“(People) who’ve lived in this neighborhood their entire life have shared with me that they’ve never experienced an investment like this in their neighborhood during their entire lives,” Creamer said.

The center will offer a mix of programming to serve residents across generations. Catholic Charities will operate the largest Head Start program in the city out of the site, with over 100 children from infants to 4-year-olds in nine classrooms. Creamer said about a third of the building is devoted to classes through Head Start, a federally funded early childhood development program for low-income preschoolers.

The rest of the building will provide services for teenagers, young adults and seniors. Vocational training nonprofit the Requity Foundation will offer hands-on training in construction, food service, digital media and screen printing. Students will earn industry certification while also providing services to people at the center. For example, those working on getting their culinary safety certification will serve food to seniors getting food through a meals program.

More general wellness programs will also have a home within the center. The nonprofit PeacePlayers Baltimore will run a basketball program to teach leadership and conflict resolution skills, while senior dance classes will provide an opportunity for lifelong physical exercise. Catholic Charities plans to offer mental health services at the site alongside its Safe Streets violence prevention program.

Importantly, the center offers Catholic Charities a place for some programs displaced by the recent sell-off of Catholic parishes. The St. Edward’s Food Pantry is moving to the building, as the church where it’s currently located is up for sale, Creamer said. The pantry distributes food to 300 families a month. The center’s name is also an ode to the former St. Edward’s church. Carolyn E. Fugett, the mother of Baltimore-born business titan Reginald F. Lewis, was a parishioner at the West Baltimore institution.

The Baltimore nonprofit funded the center with proceeds from a $75 million fundraising campaign that also supported the construction of the Cherry Hill Town Center and the nonprofit’s programs for disabled people. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. was the contractor.