Standing on a podium set up inside the hollowed-out shell of the old A. Hoen & Co. building in East Baltimore on Tuesday, Ella Durant touched on a distant memory of the structure from her childhood.
“Third grade, my elementary school, we took a tour through this building when it was operational,” Durant, president of the Collington Square Neighborhood Association, said. “Now, it sat empty—oh my goodness—35, 40 years. It’s coming alive again.”
The abandoned 85,000-square-foot complex at 2101 E. Biddle Street, once famous for printingNational Geographic maps, Topps baseball cards and even Confederate currency, is set to undergo a $26 million renovation that’s been in the works for almost four years. City and state officials, neighbors, developers and others gathered on a windy Tuesday afternoon for a groundbreaking ceremony, complete with golden shovels.
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