BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Several Baltimore storefronts remain vacant after The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore awarded $1.2 million in grants over nearly five years to help fill empty commercial spaces, a Spotlight on Maryland investigation found.
Thirteen of the 22 businesses selected for DPOB’s Black Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy (BOOST) program – funded through public and private dollars – aren’t currently operating a downtown storefront or Harborplace shop, or aren’t open to the public. The lack of operations raises questions about accountability for taxpayer dollars and whether the program is fulfilling its stated goal of activating empty retail space after the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BOOST program was funded in part by federal COVID-era money and is promoted as a tool to address long-standing racial inequities. DPOB will soon award another round of grants – even as several funded storefronts never opened, closed quickly or moved elsewhere in the city…