The Southwest Partnership is a coalition of seven neighborhood associations and seven anchor institutions in Southwest Baltimore. We work together to build awesome communities in the neighborhoods of our area: Barre Circle, Franklin Square, Hollins Roundhouse, Mount Clare, Pigtown, Poppleton, and Union Square.
The work of the SWP is done through seven Program Committees: Commercial Development, Education, Historic Preservation, Housing, Public Safety, Vibrant and Walkable Streets, and Workforce Development. The Committees meet monthly and are open to the public and are community led.
Our member organizations include the following: Barre Circle Community Association, Hollins Roundhouse Neighborhood Association, Franklin Square Neighborhood Association, Mount Clare Community Council, Citizens of Pigtown, Poppleton NOW!, Union Square Association, B&O Railroad Museum, Bon Secours Community Works, LifeBridge Health, University of Maryland Baltimore, University of Maryland BioPark, University of Maryland Medical Center, and Wexford Science and Technology.
Our Vision
We envision an awesome, healthy, architecturally beautiful, diverse, cohesive community of choice built on mutual respect and shared responsibility. We embrace all diversity: from race, gender, and sexual orientation to economic, education, and housing choice. Our diversity is our strength.
Our Mission
The Southwest Partnership aims to maintain this vision through productive land uses and partnerships that will maintain a cohesive community. We partner with our neighbors, surrounding communities, city government, area institutions, and businesses, knowing that when we take the right road together, and with integrity, everyone will benefit.
Planning Process
The Southwest Partnership began in 2012 as a small group of concerned community leaders who were concerned with the high concentration of drug treatment facilities in the area, and began working to change it. They realized that having the seven local neighborhoods work as a collective was more effective than having them working independently. The neighborhood leadership representatives invited local institutions to join the initiative, recognizing that these anchor institutions had a direct relationship with the strength and health of the local communities they served.
The need for a community-created Master Plan for the Southwest Partnership area became apparent during the initial organizing meetings and community forums. The planning process was led by a Steering Committee of community members and anchor institution representatives.
Within six months, the Steering Committee and workgroups were able to reach out to consultants to help with the planning process with funding from the anchor institutions and area foundation partners. The consultants would focus on urban design, commercial development, and housing, and Gensler Baltimore worked with community members to create the Vision Plan document.
In September 2015 the Vision Plan was adopted by the Baltimore City Planning Commission. The Vision Plan can be viewed on our website, or you can request a paper copy by contacting us (667-210-2105 or email staff@swpbal.org).
