SCOPE | Union Square Real Estate Opportunities

Dave Cochran, USA Director of Historic Preservation, provided this list of SCOPE houses within the Union Square area:

• 1715 Hollins
• 1306 W Pratt
• 1606 W Pratt
• 1404 Lemmon
• 1407 Lemmon
• 1408 Lemmon
• 119 S Calhoun
• 126 S Carey
• 109 S Fulton
• 111 S Fulton
• 121 S Fulton

For those unfamiliar with the acronym, Project SCOPE (Selling City-Owned Property Efficiently) was the brainchild of the nonprofit Baltimore Efficiency and Economy Foundation and the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. It is part of the Mayor's "Vacants to Value" program. There are currently 16,000 abandoned buildings in Baltimore.

If all goes as planned, a web site will soon appear listing all the vacant properties Baltimore City has for sale. According to Ryan O'Doherty, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's spokesperson, it will be "just like if you went to RE/MAX dot com." Along with photographs, prices and maps, there will be estimated rehab costs and links to special financing. Qualified small developers will be able to access a $1 million revolving loan fund to finance renovations. City police, firefighters and teachers who want to move into the formerly abandoned properties will be eligible for low-cost, city-backed $5,000 loans.

The city says it expects 1,500 of these derelicts to be renovated in the first year. You can learn more via a Google search or start at the City website, Vacants to Value, or the Dominion Group's SCOPE for Dopes.