BY MARK REUTTER, Baltimore Brew

n array of developers, non-profits, public officials and regular folk came together in an air-conditioned tent today to mark the start of 1234 McElderry, the first unit of a planned $800 million metamorphosis of near East Baltimore.

Known as the PSO Transformation Plan (PSO standing for Perkins, Somerset and Old Town), the long-in-the-making effort calls for building 1,345 new residential units spread across 244 acres between Harbor East and the Johns Hopkins Medical Complex.

The units would replace Perkins Homes and other public housing projects that date back to the 1940s when Baltimore officials vowed to eliminate city slums within 20 years.

The first phase will be a four-story building at McElderry Street and Central Avenue, of which 84 of the 104 units are to be reserved for lower-income families, according to city officials.

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