Foundations Bring Improvements on Main Street

​It might have been a long, cold, wet Spring this year, but that didn’t stop Main Street Housing from forging ahead with several exciting property improvement projects generously funded by four local foundations!

Eastern Region

Thanks to two grants from the Reynolds/Cristiano Fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, and funding from the PNC Foundation, MSH was able to complete improvement projects at four of our properties in the Mid-Shore region.
 
​​Caroline Co: Our Thrive House in Denton, MD offers two 2-bedroom units of quality, affordable, supportive housing for four young adults (18-25) with psychiatric disabilities who are aging out of the Foster Care systems of the 5 Mid-Shore counties. Thanks to grant funds from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, we were able to have a contractor trim back the overhanging branches of a large tree and remove several very overgrown bushes, both of which were interfering with our ability to maintain the roof and gutters. MSH staff installed new, colorful and low-maintenance shrubbery that enhances the property’s fit in the neighborhood and increases tenants’ pride in their home.

​Dorchester Co: Our 3-unit apartment building in Cambridge, MD serves a total of four (4) tenants living with psychiatric disabilities and Extremely Low Income. Grant funds from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation were used to complete three important projects. An electrician installed emergency lighting and new 10-year lithium battery smoke detectors in the building’s common hallway. MSH staff added a gravel parking pad in the rear of the building, which is often subject to muddy conditions. Finally, we installed new bushes and mulch along the front of the house. This property is located in an attentive and engaged community, and our efforts to improve the exterior are much appreciated by the tenants and their neighbors.

Queen Anne’s Co: Grant funding from the PNC Foundation made it possible for MSH to have two overgrown trees removed from our two properties in Queen Anne’s County. One tree had been knocked over after numerous storms battered the Eastern Shore this Spring, and the other had grown far beyond our capacity to keep safely trimmed. Both properties now benefit from more sunlight and a better view!

Western Region

Harford and Howard Co: We purchased our townhome properties in Harford and Howard Counties well more than a decade ago, and the wall-to-wall carpeting at each of these units had definitely reached beyond the end of its lifespan. Grant funding from the PNC Foundation helped cover the costs of replacing carpet throughout the entire house at our Harford County property, and in two bedrooms in our Howard County properties.
 
Baltimore City: If you had to rank the elements of a quality home, the roof is quite literally the highest! A well-installed roof will last for decades with proper maintenance, but the day for replacement eventually comes for all properties. This year, we were able to swap out the crumbling slate tiles of our 4-unit apartment building in Baltimore City with beautiful new 50-year architectural shingles – plus a full set of new gutters! - thanks to very generous funding from the Caroline Fredricka Holdship Charitable Trust, administered by PNC Charitable Trusts, and a grant from The Herbert Bearman Foundation.

We were also able to complete emergency roofing and plumbing repairs at two properties in Baltimore City thanks to grant funds from PNC Foundation.

A total of 30 tenants directly benefited from these improvement projects at the properties they call home, but all 100+ tenants living ‘on Main Street’ are able to continue experiencing truly affordable housing thanks to the generous support of these four foundations toward critical maintenance and repairs costs.

​We hope your home improvement projects have gone as well as ours!