Changes to Stadium Place still a welcome development | READER COMMENTARY

As a resident of Ednor Gardens, I was very proud that my neighbors and the surrounding “Stadium Area Communities” backed a socially responsible plan for redevelopment of the 33rd Street site when the Orioles left Memorial Stadium. I have been thrilled to watch the opening of each new unit of quality affordable senior housing, the addition of the Weinberg Y, the coming together to create the Community Built Playground, the construction of the Ripken Field, and most recently the construction of the Gilchrist Hospice.

I understand that my neighbors along 36th Street miss their unobstructed view of the downtown skyline. Dog owners have hungered for years for a dog park on the 36th and Ellerslie property designated for senior housing. And others will miss the “green space” they’ve been using, now designated for expansion of the Y’s programming for youth (”East Baltimore community’s only green space fenced off by Weinberg Y, residents unite in protest,” June 30).

Changes, even improvements, come with costs. But I believe that the strength of the original plan wins out here. We continue to need affordable, high quality senior housing and quality program facilities for youth.

Joan A. Stanne, Baltimore

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