Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore

The former site of St. Joseph’s Monastery School in Southwest Baltimore is being transformed into what charitable groups and civic leaders hope will serve as a beacon for addressing chronic homelessness.

Beacon Communities and Project PLASE (People Lacking Ample Shelter and Employment) held a ceremonial groundbreaking this spring for Beacon House Square, a permanent supportive housing development located at 3601 Old Frederick Road in Irvington.

The contrast between 19th-century architecture and modern HVAC equipment is evident in the lower floor of the former St. Joseph Monastery Parish School in West Baltimore. This installation is part of Beacon House Square, a $45 million supportive housing project that will transform the former school into 90 trauma-informed housing units, along with various amenities and support services. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“We’re hoping this project will become a real light for the community,” said Mary Slicher, executive director of Project PLASE. “It will help individuals change their lives and to become powerful members of the community.”

The $45-million project expects to welcome residents in the summer of 2026 and be fully occupied by 2027.

Once the site of St. Joseph’s Monastery School (closed for many years), the 70,000-square-foot property will be used as a residence for individuals experiencing homelessness, veterans and people with disabilities.

The development will include 90 units – 56 permanent supportive housing units, managed by Beacon Communities, and 34 temporary units (most single occupancy with two dorm rooms for initial residency).

Services for housing will be provided by Project PLASE, a Baltimore-based charitable organization that received seed funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. CCHD is the domestic anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Church.

Project PLASE purchased the property in 2012 and has been using it as its headquarters and to serve the community’s needy.

“It has a real Catholic connection,” said Slicher, who started volunteering for Project PLASE in 1974 and has served as its director since 1987.

Slicher, a longtime parishioner at St. Joseph Monastery, said Project PLASE wouldn’t exist without the support of the Catholic Church and its bishops. She noted that the organization received its first grant money from CCHD and that it was the first recipient of CCHD national funds.

Due to the building’s historic significance, items such as the blackboards that were once used to educate students at the former St. Joseph Monastery Parish School in West Baltimore will remain in place as part of the Beacon House Square project. In many cases, the blackboards and artwork will be left untouched and covered with new walls as the project proceeds, in accordance with design and construction agreements. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“We are celebrating our 50th anniversary, and are very grateful for the bishops’ support,” Slicher said of Project PLASE. “This initiative also helps Project PLASE connect to the legacy of the St. Joseph Monastery School.”

The organization has been working with Boston-based Beacon Communities since 2018 to improve the former St. Joseph Monastery School space. Whiting-Turner Contracting Company began extensive renovations in the spring.

Beacon Communities, a private company, specializes in building affordable housing and has about 150 properties in a dozen states, mostly throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

“We saw this project as a win-win situation to collaborate with Project PLASE,” said Jessica Sheldon, Beacon’s vice president of development. “Project PLASE has a long history of serving the neighborhood and we think it’s important to preserve a historic building while also serving the community.

“We were very interested to work with a group like Project PLASE, which has such a long history of serving the needy in Baltimore City,” Sheldon said.

The development also will feature a kitchen and food pantry, wellness clinic, counseling offices and a free clothing closet.

“A place like this creates ripples that touch so many lives,” Slicher said. “The changes are solid and long term. They have depth to them; that’s how you change homelessness. Some people just need a hand to help them up.”

The permanent units – studio and one-bedroom apartments – will be subsidized with vouchers and prioritized for veterans and other individuals referred through the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.

Project PLASE will provide services that include case management, health and wellness programs, educational and employment support, and family reunification assistance.

“The creation of new housing is a dream decades in the making,” Slicher said. “We’ve listened to those who are often left out of the conversation. Beacon House Square will be a home built on respect, healing, and the belief that everyone deserves stability and opportunity.”

Ron Ziegler, senior foreman for the masonry contractor working on the renovation, grew up near the parish and attended Sunday school and confirmation classes in the very building now under construction.

Ronald Ziegler, senior mason foreman at the Beacon House Square project, stands in a space that used to be his Sunday school classroom while growing up in the neighborhood around St. Joseph Monastery in West Baltimore. He is now assisting in the transformation of the historic 19th-century former elementary school into much-needed shelter for those in need, which will include various support services. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“As a child…we would walk the three blocks up here every Sunday morning, go to Sunday school and then from Sunday school they would have children’s Mass in the old church,” he recalled, taking a break from Aug. 14 work.

During recent demolition, workers uncovered old artifacts from the school’s past – old ID cards, a bow tie and even a silver dime from decades ago, he said.

“It’s pretty rewarding actually to see this building not go to waste,” Ziegler said. “We can get some future use out of it. And that benefits the community.”

More than 70 guests attended the groundbreaking May 1, including Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott; Robyne Chaconas, the deputy secretary of CDA programs, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; as well as other state and city officials and community stakeholders. Deacon Mark Cohagan of St. Joseph Monastery Parish delivered the opening benediction. School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Ann Hartnett provided the closing benediction, honoring her fellow sisters who served at the former school.

Originally constructed as a school in 1892, the St. Joseph’s Monastery site had been vacant for two years before Project PLASE acquired it with the intent to preserve its structure and legacy while reactivating it for community benefit.

Public and private resources, including a HUD First Mortgage, tax-exempt bonds, a combination of tax credits and funding from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, support the development.

Additional public investment includes a Veteran’s Administration Grant, Maryland Legislature Capital Grant, and Maryland Department of Health Grant. Additional support comes from Baltimore’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing Accelerator Fund and Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services. Private donors include The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Abell Foundation, the Home Depot Foundation, and other philanthropic partners.

“At Beacon House Square, we’re not just providing shelter – we’re helping individuals rebuild their lives, find hope and thrive, while breathing life into a beautiful historic property” said Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities. “Partnering with Project PLASE, funders and local leaders ensures this vision is grounded in compassion and a true understanding of our residents’ needs.”

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

Kevin J. Parks contributed to this story.