Paca House Ribbon Cutting

PACA HOUSE
RIBBON CUTTING

CEREMONY

Monday, March 9th
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
116 North Paca Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

ABOUT EVENT

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Somerset Development Company, New Community Partners (NCP) and many other key stakeholders, we have successfully redeveloped our Paca House supportive housing facility into 92 one-bedroom and studio apartments to help meet the affordable housing gap in Baltimore City for low-income adults and veterans.

Join us, our partners, supporters, staff and the residents we serve in celebrating the renovation and expansion of this important facility and resource for those in need in our city.

** Food & beverages provided **

Reserve your spot now!

RSVP NOW!

GUEST SPEAKERS

PHOTO GALLERY

ABOUT PACA HOUSE

For the past 20 years, Volunteers of Chesapeake & Carolinas (VOACC) has been working to address widespread homelessness and the critical gap in affordable housing in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia through the provision of affordable, program-enriched housing for the homeless, elderly, disabled, and veterans.

Prior to renovation, Paca House was a 106-unit permanent supportive housing facility and program that was first launched in February 1996 as a comprehensive response to widespread homelessness among vulnerable populations in Baltimore City and surrounding environs. Located at 116 North Paca Street, Paca House was designed to help low-income and homeless adults make positive life changes by providing a permanent home for residents. Supportive services are provided on-site by full-time VOACC staff to promote the growth and dignity of residents in their efforts to maximize their abilities to be self-reliant.

ABOUT THE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT

The decision to redevelop the Paca House was born in response to the Baltimore City Mayor’s call for increased investment in affordable housing and the need to make the property more conducive to permanent housing for adults, following the Department of Housing & Urban Development's (HUD) Housing First model.

In 2012, VOACC was connected through the VOA National Office to Bill Whitman, Nancy Hooff and Jim Campbell, the principals at Somerset Development Company and NCP, for a potential partnership to secure the resources Paca House would need to remain property tax compliant. With over 60 years of combined experience in affordable housing development, these developers’ for-profit mission perfectly matched VOACC’s mission to serve the DMV region’s most vulnerable populations. After six years of assembling the project financing, Somerset, NCP and VOACC launched the redevelopment project in July 2018. Other key team members included Kann Partners, Waldon Studio Architects, Harkins Builders, Residential One LLC, Colbert Matz Rosenfelt, Howland Consulting, Pando Alliance and Currotto Design.

Support for the Paca House redevelopment was also provided by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, which sponsored $1 million for the project. The Home Depot Foundation also contributed $500,000.

Through redevelopment, Paca House will no longer offer Single Room Occupancies (SRO), which are comparable to dormitories. Instead, the property will be outfitted with 1-bedroom units and efficiencies to better accommodate the lifestyles of single adults in line with the Housing First Model. While the total number of units will decrease from 106 to 92, the conversion will nearly double the square footage of the property.