The Baltimore Carpenter's Project

The Baltimore Carpenter’s Project (BCP) is a organization dedicated to increasing the access of affordable housing to Baltimore residents. This raises two questions: 1) What is affordable housing? and 2) What is access?

What is Affordable Housing?

The term affordable housing is used in a variety of contexts which leaves the reader or listener with a vague understanding of the phrase. By affordable housing, BCP means residential dwellings that are sold at prices low enough that ownership is obtainable by the majority of working-class families.

In order to achieve this goal, BCP will function as a nonprofit organization. A nonprofit model allows BCP to be driven by its mission rather than by profit. In addition, a nonprofit model allows BCP to raise funds from the general public, public foundations, and government agencies to subsidize the work. This model provides the necessary flexibility to sell homes to Baltimoreans at affordable rates rather than letting the market dictate the pricing.

What is Access?

Access refers to the right or ability to obtain. For the most part, everyone has a right to buy a home; however, the ability to have the purchase of a home financed is out of reach for many. Our goal is to remodel, renovate, and refurbish dilapidated homes in Baltimore City and use creative financing techniques to transfer ownership over to families.

Affordable Housing and the Youth

Though there are a myriad of reasons for the lack of affordable housing, BCP focuses on the stigma on the field of carpentry. Our cities and nation were built by young skilled laborers, mainly carpenters. Consequently, new generations of carpenters must be inspired and trained in order to maintain a high quality of living. The vacancy and dilapidation of large sections of Baltimore can be partially attributed to the lack of carpenters with the ability to revitalize abandoned properties.

The lack of affordable housing is not a result of a lack of space; however, it is a consequence of the absence of an effective coordinated effort to utilize existing spaces. BCP aspires to be a catalyst in a movement to revitalize the city of Baltimore alongside individual community members and community-led organizations.

In order to effectively promote change in the communities it serves, BCP will lead youth-based programming to inspire and encourage carpentry as a viable career option. Young people vested in the revitalization and sustainability of their communities are central to BCP’s work. It is young people who will carry on the fight for affordable housing in Baltimore.

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