Brooklyn Yards

"Creating Pathways to Remediation"

An exercise of the Garrett - Potee Brownfield Site located in Brooklyn, Maryland

LARC 450/450S Advanced Landscape Architectural Design

Site Location

The Garrett-Potee brownfield site, situated immediately outside Baltimore, Maryland, presents a significant redevelopment opportunity. The site is currently defined by dense, unmanaged vegetative growth and is host to a large, established unhoused community.

Community History

Site History

During its industrial peak, the 'Brooklyn' neighborhood was an essential residential hub, housing many of the city's factory and dock workers. The area developed a distinct cultural identity, driven in large part by its considerable Polish population, whose communal life revolved around the landmark Polish Home Hall. This tight-knit community also shared a strong passion for local sports, which served as a central fixture of neighborhood leisure.

The site, now officially designated as Reed Bird Island Park, carries a legacy as a former municipal dumping ground for the City of Baltimore, a history that has fundamentally restricted its development and use. Since the early 2000s, the park has also become a long-standing refuge for an unhoused community. The accompanying maps, including a Sanborn map and maps from 1994, 2004, and 2010, visually document the site's transformation and the evolution of its use over time.

Site Inventory and Analysis

The Garrett-Potee brownfield site presents a complex balance of significant constraints and major community benefits. Our team, comprised of Peter Jensen and Danny Kinzel, utilized the Site Inventory and Analysis phase to uncover key neighborhood data. The surrounding Brooklyn, Maryland community grapples with a high commercial and residential vacancy rate, an elevated crime rate, and major vehicular circulation patterns impacting the site perimeter. As such, public safety and security will be a paramount design consideration throughout the subsequent phases of development.