A vision of housing, public space for Baltimore
Madison Crescent proposes a new use for a six-acre infill parcel in Baltimore that currently includes a former elementary school and community building slated for demolition. It shows how infill development in historic cities can create high-quality public space and unite diverse neighborhoods while solving long-standing housing problems.
Madison Crescent sits between the relatively affluent Bolton Hill neighborhood and the working-class Madison Park neighborhood. The University of Maryland team won a Student Merit Award in the 2026 CNU Charter Awards for the project.
The plan addresses a mismatch between the existing housing stock in Baltimore neighborhoods—a monoculture of similarly sized rowhouses—and today's market needs. Madison Crescent proposes a total of 141 housing units, including townhouses, two-over-two units, apartments over daycare, and market-rate apartments. “The units are designed to seamlessly integrate with the surroundings but also are market-driven in the sense that they are sized for the market that exists today in the area, much smaller than the large townhouses that originally comprised the pre-war neighborhoods,” the design team explains.
The proposal creates a new neighborhood ensemble with a clear center and reconnects the plan of the city that had been disrupted in the area, the team explains. It offers residential choice and variety in the form of multiple-sized townhouses and apartments). Finally, it includes amenities such as day-care and a library to bring much-needed services (a retail center heavily patronized by the community is located two blocks away).
Madison Crescent at Eutaw Place
- University of Maryland, College Park
- Lauren McNamara, Architectural designer
- Makenna Benson, Architectural designer
- Shannon Sinnicki, Architectural designer
2026 CNU Charter Awards Jury
- Eric Kronberg (chair), Principal, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects in Atlanta, GA
- Majora Carter, CEO of Majora Carter Group in the Bronx, New York City
- Marques King, Studio Director + Senior Architect, Pure Architects, Detroit, MI
- Jeremy Lake, Principal, Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, Providence, RI
- Joanna L. Lombard, Distinguished Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture, FL
- Rico Quirindongo, Director, City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development
- Ashley Terry, Director, President of Development at Pivot Real Estate, Oklahoma City, OK
