After reading The Baltimore Banner’s article on the Catonsville armory (Catonsville residents, officials raise alarm over plan to use armory for cannabis incubator, June 25, 2025), I am compelled to pen a couple of thoughts.

A successful project is the result of a successful process. Nothing is more important than community engagement which should occur at the beginning and throughout the process.

That is why the Pikesville Armory is going to be wildly successful. The community engagement for the redevelopment has been enormous. In many cases, it was initiated by community stakeholder groups like 1,000 Friends of Pikesville, among many others.

There were dozens and dozens of meetings which included community groups, business leaders and local and state elected officials. This evolved into the formation of the Pikesville Armory Foundation, a nonprofit organization established to redevelop and operate the historic campus.

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The Pikesville Armory has just completed the first phase of its redevelopment with the renovation of the NCO Club, which has been restored and now includes modern community meeting space. Upon the completion of the redevelopment, this project will be transformative for Pikesville as well as a spectacular place for Baltimore County residents.

Regarding the Catonsville armory, from what I read, the stakeholder engagement process is not occurring in the proper order. It appears to me the community engagement process is occurring at the tail end of the redevelopment proposal. In my experience, this always leads to a less than optimal outcome.

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A layer of community engagement at the front end and throughout can reduce frustration that will occur as you move through the process and ultimately lead to a stronger product that everyone can be proud of.

Izzy Patoka is a member of the Baltimore County Council for District 2

The Baltimore Banner publishes letters to the editor, exclusive to our publication, of no more than 350 words. Letters can be submitted for consideration to letters@thebaltimorebanner.com.