Abandoned Salisbury Property Transformed into Quality Affordable Homes

For years, a once-promising home in Salisbury, Maryland sat vacant and deteriorating. Originally built in 1926 as a single-family home and later converted into a duplex, the property had suffered extensive fire damage and become uninhabitable. Over time, it became a source of blight in the neighborhood, attracting criminal activity and signaling disinvestment.

Maryland developer Germaine Thomas saw something different. With deep personal ties to Salisbury and a commitment to creating safe, stable housing for families too often shut out of the market, Germaine took on the challenge of transforming the damaged property into a spacious and affordable three-unit apartment building. With $350,000 financing from CFE, she renovated and expanded the building into homes for households earning under 50% of the Area Median Income through the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

For Germaine, the project was never just about restoring a building. It was about restoring dignity, stability, and opportunity, especially for voucher holders who often face discrimination and extremely limited housing options.

The renovated property now includes two 2-bedroom units and a spacious 4-bedroom unit — a rare, much-needed option for larger families — along with a backyard, basement storage, and thoughtful finishes that reflect Germaine’s belief that affordability should never mean sacrificing beauty or care.

Germaine intentionally invests in places where housing can stabilize a block and support broader revitalization. This property sits in an economically distressed area, but near new community investment, including a health center just steps away.

“Not only did this project provide quality housing,” she says, “but it provided tenants access to quality healthcare just steps away.”

Seeing her tenants settle into safe, welcoming homes reminds Germaine why the work matters, including one tenant who is a single parent and another who had previously experienced homelessness.

Germaine came to real estate from an unexpected path. A software engineer by trade, she was first inspired by home renovation shows and drawn to the creativity, design, and problem-solving involved in development. Over time, real estate became a place where many parts of her interests came together: technical thinking, design, community commitment, and entrepreneurship.

“Not a lot of women are in this space,” she says. “It’s fun, and I love to do this work.”

But bringing the Salisbury project to life was not easy. It took nearly two years to get the project funded. Germaine credits CFE with helping her cross the finish line when other lenders may not have taken the time to understand the project or support her through the process. From documentation to administrative preparation to troubleshooting issues as they arose, CFE helped her get the project funded and greenlit.

Today, the once-vacant and fire-damaged property has been brought back to life. It is no longer a symbol of neglect, but a source of stability for families, a contribution to neighborhood revitalization, and a reflection of what is possible when mission-driven developers have access to mission-aligned capital.