In a neighborhood where compact brick homes lean against one another in rows — a familiar image of a Baltimore block — the Center/West apartments’ 262 units are out of place.
The building looms over the 100 block of North Schroeder street, flanked by empty lots. The watchful eyes of Hazel Williams, a long-term resident on the adjacent West Fayette Street, keep track of this new development, hoping for something more. She says her greatest dream for the neighborhood would be more homeowners and playgrounds for the community. But nearby churches shuttered their doors long ago. The Center/West facade is a contrasting flat, gray expanse against the rich character of nearby historic buildings. At street level, peeling acrylic window signs are cracked and faded with age. Though the display is deteriorating, passersby can make out faint images of fruit and produce, a reminder of the failed promise of a grocery store in the building’s main floor. Like other fresh starts promised by developer, La Cité, the grocery never came.
The New York developer responsible for the building, Dan Bythewood, has deftly avoided accountability for years. A lawsuit alleging unconstitutional seizure of 13.8 acres in Poppleton was brought against him and political supporters, only to be dismissed by U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson in June. The plaintiffs compiled evidence showing the vast disparity between Bythewood’s original agreement with the city in 2006 and the amount of construction actually completed since then, claiming that defendants owe almost one million dollars in damages to the neighborhood after displacing hundreds of its families and leaving entire blocks vacant and unkempt for decades. Following the lawsuit’s dismissal, Bythewood’s parasitic presence in the Poppleton neighborhood remains unchecked. The only ones who may be able to hold him accountable are the current residents of the single apartment complex he did build in the neighborhood, and which he still owns –— Center/West.
While the building completed construction and gained its occupancy permits in 2021, its history since is riddled with housing code violations, garnering multiple citations from the Department of Housing and Community Development for non-operational plumbing, electrical, and appliances. Residents say these citations wouldn’t happen if the property managers were responsive to maintenance requests. Baltimore Beat spoke with several residents of Center/West’s Avra building, who asked to remain anonymous fearing retaliatory action from management. Residents report that dishwashers, sinks, and stoves in their units haven’t been functional for months. With the front door call box and resident key cards often not working, residents regularly find themselves locked out when the security guard is away from the front desk, where they are usually posted and open the door for residents and guests. The exercise room has been unusable since 2022, when its HVAC system broke…