Oliver Vision Plan - ACCEPTED

Well, we did it! We have concluded the visioning and planning process for the Oliver community and Oliver's plan was accepted as part of our master plan! The planning project started in February 2024, and was completed on Thursday, October 10, 2024 when the plan

Planning office immediately after our plan was accepted by Planning. (l-r) Giselle, Aria, Gensler Team (Jenna, Elaine, Evan), Celena (H.O.C.A.), Imani (Dept. of Planning), Phaedra (Seriously Positive, LLC), Caleb (ReBUILD Metro)

was accepted by the Department of Plannning for Baltimore City.

This is a pivotal moment for Oliver as we enter into the next phase of revitalizing and transforming the community! As you will see in the plan, Oliver is now a Cultural and Arts community! Oliver is rich in history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We are a historic community! We must highlight this in everything we do. If you are in the arts, we welcome you to Oliver!

Advisory Committee held on March 7th at the Art @ 520 in Oldtown

In 2022, Historic Oliver Community Association applied for the Catalyst grant from the Department of Housing and Commuity Development and was awarded $100k to hire a consultant to help the community to create our Vision Plan document. The project started with a neighborhood walk around Oliver to identify the community's assets, strength's and weaknesses. We then formed an Advisory Committee of residents, stakeholders, and partners to guide the planning process. The Advisory Committee consisted of 16 people.

Community Walk w/H.O.C.A. and Gensler

Immediately following the first Advisory Committee meeting, we had our first public Townhall meeting on March 16th. The meeting was well attended as we had an attendance close to 70 people. At the first town hall, there was a buzz in the air and everyone was so excited to particpate in the process. Residents and stakeholders gave their input on what they wanted the direction of the community to be. The various topics were Open Space and Recreation, Safe Streets and Walkability, Housing and Community Development, and History Character and Identity.

Open Space and Recreation station

Town Hall Meeting #1

Knox Presbyterian Church, who is a community liaison and partner, were gracious enough to host Town Hall #1 and #3. Town Hall #2 was held at Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary School, who is another esteemed partner in the community. We are so very appreciative of our partners and their support and acommodations.

We want to thank our residents, community partners, and stakeholders for their contribution and for making this process much less complicated than it could have been. Now that the plan has been accepted, what's next? Now it is time to implement the plan and show everyone how great Oliver really is!

Town Hall #1 held at Knox Presbyterian Church

The Oliver Vision Plan is a blueprint to guide our efforts to tranform and return the community to the thriving economically strong community it once was. To view the Oliver Vision Plan, click here. In the comments below, tell us your most exciting part of the plan. The Oliver Rennaisance is here, and our time is now.

Town Hall #3 at Knox Presbyterian Church

(l-r, Bernard (The Community Group), Lauren, Phaedra (Seriously Positive, LLC))

Department of Planning Public Hearing of Oliver's Vison Plan

Tell us what you think in the comment section at the bottom of this page! Now, let's get to work!