In 2012, Katrina Foster was excited to become principal of the former East Baltimore Community School and usher in a new chapter. The school adopted a new name and eventually a new, state-of-the-art building a handful of blocks away.

The new Henderson-Hopkins school — officially the Elmer A. Henderson School: A Johns Hopkins Partnership — was meant to be a centerpiece for transforming the former Middle East neighborhood.

And the old building was left behind.

Now, after sitting vacant for nearly two decades, the original building at 1101 N. Wolfe St. is expected to be demolished next year. It’s a final chapter for a building that served hundreds of students in East Baltimore in the later half of the 20th century but in recent years has become a problem spot.

“The intent was for the new school to reestablish, in the new building, an anchor space for that neighborhood,” Foster said, adding that the mission was always the same, “to serve the neighborhood.”

The building on Wolfe Street was built in 1953, opening as Elmer A. Henderson Elementary, the city’s first Black school superintendent. The school shuttered its doors, before it repurposed by East Baltimore Development Inc., the nonprofit established in 2003 to redevelop 88 acres north of Hopkins in East Baltimore, to be used as an alternative education facility as the East Baltimore Community School, that same year.

When Foster became principal, Baltimore voted to rename the school after Henderson, adding the Hopkins name to the title. Foster led the small elementary school of around 200 students out of a large trailer on school grounds because the building was in disrepair. Foster never saw the inside, she said. The new Henderson-Hopkins school building along Ashland Avenue opened in 2014, replacing the old neighborhood institution.

“The new school building was certainly a source of change for the community, but there were a lot of hopes and expectations placed on one physical building,” said Foster, who left her position at Henderson-Hopkins in 2016 and now serves as principal of Hampden Elementary/Middle School. “True transformation for the area took more than just a new building. ... It required more emotional investment, partnerships and the involvement of various stakeholders.”

Demolition ahead

Located in what is now known as Eager Park — formerly Middle East — the old school building is adjacent to the towering buildings of the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus and recently built upscale townhouses. Across the street, a large green space and a playground, also called Eager Park, opened in 2017. And, though the old brick building is covered in murals and signage, the dingy windows, pockets of scattered trash and drug paraphernalia on the grass contribute to a sense of neglect.

The old Henderson school building was supposed to be converted into a 150-unit apartment complex. But a developer was never approved for the site, according to Cheryl Washington, chief executive of EBDI which still holds the school’s land title.

The old school faced setbacks for redevelopment, and the building deteriorated. It’s become a public safety concern due to ongoing break-ins, vandalism and drug use on-site, Washington said.

“During monthly clean and safety sweeps of the site, more than 100 used drug needles can be found on the school’s grounds, posing a serious threat to children and the public,” she said.

Washington expects EBDI to receive a grant by year’s end from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to complete an $800,000 demolition. The site will then be used for a “mixed-income multifamily building,” she said.

If the grant is awarded, funds will flow through the Maryland Stadium Authority, which will manage and perform the demolition project anticipated for completion before June 30. The site remains part of the EBDI master plan, including the Henderson-Hopkins School and nearby residential and commercial development.

Alan Reyes, president of the Eager Park Neighborhood Association, said the old Henderson school structure poses a danger to children who play at Eager Park. He said the community would rather see a recreation center put in its place.

“When the kids are around, we’re concerned because there have been numerous break-ins at the old school building,” Reyes said. “We don’t want the crime that this vacant structure attracts, particularly drug activity, because it’s dangerous for the kids.”