HISTORY to CURRENT
Village of Love and Resistance (“VOLAR”) is a black and brown-led collective with more than 100 years of experience of living, working, worshiping, studying and playing, and praying in East Baltimore. VOLAR plans to renovate and transform a facility into a community and wellness center as well as rebuild and
reinvest into the surrounding area through engagement of the people and implementing neighborhood development projects. We will use a community investment trust fund model to assure investment by legacy residents within several zip codes of our community center. This project is an effort for local residents to co-own and co-lead the redevelopment of their majority black and working class/low income neighborhood(s).
This community engaged business model is based on the Market Creek Plaza in San Diego and Mercy Corps Northwest in Portland Oregon. These revitalization projects were designed, built and eventually owned by neighborhood residents in order to remove barriers to financial inclusion and provide low-dollar investment opportunities in commercial and/or residential properties to local residents.
VOLAR is renovating two vacant buildings that had been abandoned for almost 10 years at the time of purchase in November 2020: Centennial Methodist Church at 1025 E Monument street (to be renovated to a Community Hub that will be a magnet for health and wellness, child care, entrepreneurship, education, art, and green space) and its rectory (to be renovated to 7 units of affordable cooperative housing). With VOLAR’s mission of organizing for community control of how development occurs in their community, VOLAR has insisted and taken the time to assure locally and minority driven development.
VOLAR has grown a primary local membership base of more than 40 members living within a half mile of its buildings at 1031 and 1025 E. Monument street. VOLAR is continuously striving to increase community membership. Bringing community together through education and leadership development and all the healing and entrepreneurship opportunities is part of VOLAR’s values. Social, economic, political and health capital is required in our previously disinvested and traumatized communities and we are on a trajectory for even and equitable development and its healthy outcomes. Currently, resident neighbors are active on all the committees of VOLAR and share leadership in directing the work of VOLAR (Shared leadership is one of VOLAR values). For example, in choosing the colors for the Housing Cooperative currently in redevelopment, VOLAR’s general membership decided on the colors. This type of direct participation and partnership in the small and large aspects of development is one of the values of VOLAR. Once renovation is complete, residents will continue to maintain decision-making in the Community Hub. When the Community Hub is completed, local residents within the surrounding zip codes will have opportunity to invest as little as $10 to co-own the building (economic impact). In this way, the Community Hub will be collectively owned: local cooperative ownership of local land (another value of VOLAR). VOLAR is very excited to replicate this model that was pioneered in San Diego, CA (Market Creek Plaza) and Portland, OR (Mercy Corps NW). This is an innovative/alternative way to do redevelopment and proven in San Diego through Market Creek Plaza where more than 400 local residents now co-own a plaza and continue to receive 8-10% ROI (20 years old); and with Mercy Corp NW where now 300 residents co-own a plaza and continue to receive 8-9% ROI (4-5 years old) (we were advised by leaders at Market Creek Plaza and Mercy Corp NW). Co- ownership of buildings will also allow local residents to be real decision-makers in how their community is redeveloped. This will change continued gentrification and displacement consistent in our communities because local community members are co-owning redevelopment and the benefit from these processes- in line with Baltimore city’s development framework
