Baltimore Unity Hall

Somerset Development Company and Memorial Apartments Corporation (MAC), a community-based non-profit, partnered to acquire, renovate and transform the former Empowerment Temple building into a center for Community Arts, Education and Job Training.  The building was originally built in 1964 as the Union Hall for Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers, and in the 1990s was sold to the Empowerment Temple Church which ran community programs in the building.  By the late 2010’s the building was vacant and in dire need of repair.   In 2019, Somerset and MAC embarked on a plan to acquire and redevelop the property to serve the needs of the residents of Central West Baltimore through a community led process.

The development of the Unity Hall was done through a collaborative effort with community input to create a common vision and commitment to serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods of Central West Baltimore.  Today the building hosts community-based organizations and services such as employment training, youth programming, educational programs and serves as an incubator for community arts, and has an auditorium with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, an art gallery, event spaces and a commercial kitchen.  There are 8 office suites, 6 artist studios, and 10 co-working memberships all of which have access to a conference room, a lounge and kitchenette, and wellness rooms.

Construction began in July 2021 and the base building was completed in May 2022.  Tenant Improvements for the offices were completed in early 2023.  Southway Builders was the general Contractor and Ziger Snead served as the architect.  In 2020, the principals of Somerset Development Company and community members founded Baltimore Unity Hall, Inc, as a 501(c)3 private operating foundation to master lease the building and provide for sustainable funding to ensure the long-term vision of the community.  An Advisory Board of community-based organizations guided the formation of a common vision for the redevelopment of the building.   Baltimore Unity Hall is now a beacon of transformation and unity in Central West Baltimore.  By fostering community arts, education and job training, we aim to dissolve barriers, empower individuals, address social justice issues, and a create a safe healthy and harmonious future for all.  See www.baltimoreunityhall.org.

The Unity Hall represents the third development that Somerset has partnered with MAC in the immediate vicinity of the intersection of Eutaw Place and McMechen Street.  The first project was the redevelopment of Linden Park Apartments (formerly Memorial Apartments) which preserved the 266 units of affordable, senior housing and transformed the once dilapidated building into a modern apartment building rich in amenities and resident services. The partnership subdivided the original Linden Park site and built a new 62-unit, market rate apartment building called The Jordan, with a ground floor restaurant called “The Tilted Row”, which is strengthening the community ties by serving as gathering place for the surrounding neighborhoods. The Unity Hall is the capstone of transformation of this important block and has been a major contributor to the realization of the neighborhood-based HUD Choice Neighborhoods planning process which culminated in a vision of mixed income housing, neighborhood retail and accessible amenities, contributing to the quality of life in Central West Baltimore in a meaningful way.