A towering apartment building in West Baltimore has gained new appliances and bathrooms — and lost old laminate flooring and leaky ceilings — under a controversial federal program that is generating millions of dollars for repairs at nearly half of Baltimore’s rundown public housing complexes. Officials gathered at the Bernard E. Mason Apartments in West Baltimore on Tuesday to celebrate the $38 million renovation that Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano said gives the tenants a higher standard of living in the face of a dramatic disinvestment in public housing by the federal government. The apartment building is one of two dozen complexes being sold to private developers to generate a projected $350 million in improvements for 4,300 housing units, or 40 percent of public housing in Baltimore. “It’s a work in progress, and it’s looking good,” Graziano said. “The end product is beautiful new, shiny homes for our residents. We’re very much committed to seeing this through.”
Housing officials showcase renovation of West Baltimore complex under controversial program
