Maryland has closed financing for a second phase of housing at Perry Point Veterans Village, a supportive-housing community on the grounds of the Perry Point VA Medical Center in Perryville that serves formerly homeless veterans and their families. Governor Wes Moore announced the funding for the project, which is expected to more than double the community's capacity once finished.
According to WMAR-2 News Baltimore, Maryland is investing more than $23 million to expand housing for homeless and at-risk veterans in Cecil County, and the outlet reports the investment will add 77 homes to the village. A press release from Governor Moore's office states that the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has closed financing for the second phase of HELP Perry Point Veterans Village in Perryville, though it does not specify an exact award amount.
The number of new homes in this phase varies depending on the source. HELPDevCo, the project's developer, says Phase II of HELP Perry Point Veterans Village will be home to 76 low-income veterans and their families, while a Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development environmental document describes the project as consisting of 76 units plus one superintendent's unit. WMAR-2 News, meanwhile, reports the investment will add 77 homes to the village.
Same Campus, New Construction
Phase II sits on the same site as the original development, on the grounds of the Perry Point VA Medical Center, per HELPDevCo. Construction is underway now, with the developer's project page stating that the work will be complete at the end of 2027. That timeline has shifted from earlier expectations: the Cecil Daily reported in a 2023 article that Phase II was planned to be completed by 2024.
Residents of the completed project will have access to VA services including case management, life-skills training and mental health care, per the seed reporting from WMAR-2 News. HELPDevCo notes that supportive services for Phase II residents will be provided by the Veterans Administration, the same model used in the first phase. Financing for the new construction will draw on low-income housing tax credits along with funding from Maryland's Department of Housing and Community Development, the VA, and several foundations, according to HELPDevCo.
Building On a 2018 Foundation
The first phase of Perry Point Veterans Village opened in 2018 and is home to 75 formerly homeless veterans and their families, HELPDevCo says. That original phase involved converting earlier homes on the Perry Point property into housing for homeless veterans, and by 2019 the community included 40 houses divided into 75 apartments for veterans and their families. The $23.3 million first-phase development was financed largely with 4% low-income housing tax credit equity, according to Housing Finance Magazine.
Cecil County has seen other state efforts aimed at veteran homelessness in recent years. Maryland announced 50 housing vouchers for homeless veterans in the county in 2021, part of a broader push alongside the Perry Point village itself. A preservation review tied to the current expansion found no adverse effect on the Perry Point Village and Perry Point Veterans Administration Medical Center historic districts, which it describes as eligible for historic-district status, according to a memorandum from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Doubling Down on Capacity
Once finished, the expansion will more than double the community's capacity, according to the seed reporting from WMAR-2 News. The project continues a model that pairs permanent supportive housing with VA case management directly on a medical campus, giving residents proximity to the health and mental-health services they rely on. For veterans in Cecil County still waiting on stable housing, the added units represent a significant, if still partially undefined, expansion of one of the region's longest-running supportive-housing efforts.
