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DHCD presses for full capital funding as affordable housing pipeline grows; department defends new facade and seed programs
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Summary
The Department of Housing and Community Development urged continued capital support for rental housing and neighborhood programs amid a large pipeline of projects; the department resisted DLS recommendations to cut funds for the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative and to eliminate a new facade improvement program.
Scott Benson of the Department of Legislative Services summarized DHCD’s Fiscal 2026 capital budget request of $389.3 million across 15 programs and reported sizeable decreases versus FY25 driven by expiration of federal broadband funding and other shifts.
Benson highlighted key items: rental housing programs (including Rental Housing Works), the Baltimore Vacancy Reinvestment Initiative (BVRI) mandated at $50 million in PAYGO for FY26, the Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative (Boerne) and a new Business Facade Improvement Program created in 2023. Benson noted that Rental Housing Works (RHW) is the largest single component of DHCD’s rental housing programs and that the RHW pipeline exceeds $280 million to create or rehabilitate more than 10,000 units. He said RHW will receive $85 million in GO bonds for FY26.
Secretary Jake Day defended the department’s budget choices, asked the committee to preserve Boerne funding at proposed levels and argued the facade improvement program fills a distinct niche for small‑scale commercial corridor projects. “MFIP transforms vacant facades into revenue generating assets for the state,” Day said, urging the committee not to eliminate the program and emphasizing the competitive review processes used to allocate scarce capital.
Multiple developers and housing advocates — including Southway Builders, Housing Initiative Partnership, AHC Greater Baltimore, Green Street Housing and Penrose — testified in support of full funding for RHW and other DHCD programs, stressing that projects depend on DHCD capital to close financing gaps and deliver thousands of affordable units and related economic activity.
