Robin Godwin: Facade Improvements Underway on Pigtown Main Street Using $100,000 State Grant

Facade improvements are underway on the 700 block of Washington Blvd. on Pigtown Main Street. This is being completed as part of $100,000 grant the organization received from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development for enhancing Baltimore business districts.

The businesses at the shopping center at Washington Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd. are getting new goose neck lighting, signage, and awnings. This shopping center also has a Pigtown Main Street-centric mural on a large wall along Washington Blvd. that is visible to southbound traffic on Martin Luther King Blvd.

A total of nine storefronts along the rowhouse section of the block are getting improvements that include new paint jobs, power washing, awnings, and new signage. Businesses receiving these upgrades include This Little Piggy Foot Spa and Nails Etc. and The Chopping Block, which got new signs and paint; Washington Blvd. Injury Center, which is getting a new awning and sign; and Breaking Bread, Don Wireless, Cafe Jovial, Sunny Carry Out, and Pigtown Liquors, which all received new storefront paint jobs. All three stories of Don Wireless’s building are also being painted. Results 1 Realty and Definitive Title, which share an office, are getting their building power washed and getting a new sign and awning. The currently-vacant former Fraternity Federal/Hamilton Bank, which relocated within the block, will also have its facade power washed.

Recent changes to this block include the closing of convenience store Shop-n-Go Food at 789 Washington Blvd. This store will be replaced by a new convenience store. Pigtown Interim Executive Director Kim Lane told SouthBMore.com the landlord wanted to bring in a tenant that will improve the space. The new tenant will do improvements to the flooring, ceiling, and shelving and will sell some higher-quality products to go along with convenience store staples.

A new sneaker boutique, Royal by SVE, will be opening at 775 Washington Blvd. in the former home of 9/10 Condition Shoe Boutique, which relocated to Federal Hill.

7th Platinum Studio opened in a second-floor suite at 756 Washington Blvd. last year above the Washington Blvd. Injury Center.

Just around the corner from the 700 block of Washington Blvd., the long-vacant building at 919 Barre St. was renovated. The first floor commercial/retail space is available and an apartment was built on the second floor.

The Bath House Square redevelopment is wrapping up on the 800 block of Washington Blvd. Milk & Honey Market will open in the first-floor retail space. Lane said this cafe should open in May or June.

Also on the 800 block, the front facade of SPARC Women’s Center has been painted. The Enoch Pratt Free Library is embarking on $150,000 worth of facade improvements, partially funded by a grant. This includes a new front door, a new fence, improved green space in the front of the building, and a new mural on the east-facing wall.

Breaking Bread