DOES THE COMPOUND HAVE A RENTAL LICENSE?

The Compound acquired its rental license in 2021. Due to a clerical error on our part, we neglected to renew the license on time in 2023. When this came to our attention, we renewed the license, and it is now current. In spite of this mistake, we are confident that we maintained the city-required level of space safety throughout the lapse. Though it seems difficult to communicate this point, the Compound is a nonprofit entity that is run on volunteer labor. That means we sometimes fall short of the administrative demands of this space. We are working constantly to do better.

To provide some context—in 2018 we encountered a major hurdle to the Compound becoming an "above ground" space: an old city zoning code that made communal housing (living with more than four non-related individuals) illegal. In 2019, we drafted a proposal and testified in front of the Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA, appeal #2019-207) for a conditional zoning variance to make collective rooming units legal. Far from ignoring the requirements of legal rental, we led the effort to get this style of housing approved by city law. Until that point, it would have been fundamentally impossible for us to acquire a rental license.

In 2020, the Compound received its Use & Occupancy certificate. During this time we also applied for, and were granted a Live Entertainment license so that we could continue to host events at the space. During this same period in 2020, we were made aware of and began the application for a rental license, which requires residential rental units to be registered, inspected, and licensed to ensure that they meet basic safety and maintenance requirements. We received our rental license in 2021.

How is the Compound governed?

“The Compound” – a collection of buildings that are part of the 2239 Kirk Avenue property – was purchased by myself and Marlon Ziello in 2010. For the first 7 years of its existence, the core of the space was a rotating, self-managed group of 8–12 artist-residents. 

In response to the threat of closure by the City in 2017, the Compound 501c3 was formed. This structure enabled us to raise grant money and make $800K+ in necessary code compliance upgrades to keep the building open and artists housed. As required by law, the Compound 501c3 is directed by a 5-member board (4 of whom are former Compound tenants). 

Until this summer, the board has had a very limited role: establishing bylaws, meeting quarterly, and approving the annual operating budget. It has never, historically, had any say in who lives in or leaves the residential space. Members of the communal living space have had total agency to self-manage their group, host events, and pursue a self-defined artistic mission. 

Were tenants evicted from the Compound? 

Yes. One tenant (during our 13-year history) was formally evicted (by the Compound 501c3) from the space in November 2023. This individual lived at the Compound for six months, and during this time never paid rent. 

Over the course of the past two years, four individual tenants were asked to leave by other members of the communal living space. Neither I nor the board had a say in these decisions, or the terms of these departures.

In August 2023, an unprecedented level of internal conflict led the board to step in—for the first time—in the operations of the communal living space. Tenants had approached me with serious concerns for their psychological and physical safety. Residents were accusing other residents of non-consensual touching, racism, transphobia, verbal abuse, theft, invasion of privacy, and destruction of property. It became increasingly clear that psychological harm was being done and physical harm was a real possibility. I tried to facilitate third party mediation, but without universal participation amongst all tenants, it wasn't an option. Lacking recourse, I turned to the board for guidance on how to move forward. 

After a serious and painful process, the board made the decision to suspend the Compound’s communal living program. The four tenants who were still living in the space at this time (three of the seven chose to depart of their own accord) were asked to leave. They were given two months notice—the State's legal requirement for landlord-terminated, month-to-month leases. We offered these tenants free moving services to mitigate the financial burden of moving, and forgave back rent. 

Again, no option felt clearly right: Should we continue to subject current mates to a harmful living space? Assess conflicting accounts and favor certain tenants over others? Or ask all tenants to find new housing in an increasingly expensive city? I know harm was caused by our decision. But I also believe that we reduced the overall harm and made the best decision with the information we had at the time. 

Who owns the Compound?

The Compound property is owned by Nicholas Wisniewski and Marlon Ziello's company, WZ LLC. The Compound 501c3 is directed by a board, consisting of the following members: Nicholas Wisniewski, Marlon Ziello, Derrick Adams, Merrell Hambleton, and Dane Nester.

How is the Compound funded?

The Compound 501c3's operating expenses—which include utilities, internet, building rent, maintenance, licensing and permits, insurance, etc.—are covered by income from rent. From 2010 to 2017, the space was developed through sweat equity and volunteer labor from artists living and working at the space.

Since 2017, when the Baltimore City Fire Department served the Compound code violations totaling over $800K, the physical spaces of the Compound have been upgraded with the support of capital grants from the State of Maryland and local foundations.

In October 2023, the Compound received its first-ever operating grant in the amount of $50K. This money will pay the salaries of our Operations Manager ($28,600 / year) and Director ($10,000 / year), as well as a portion of the Program Manager salary ($7,488 / year + hourly rate during events). Previously, the Compound has been run entirely by volunteer staff. 

Are new rental units more expensive than previous units? 

The Passive House is a different building, with different floor plans and amenities than the communal living space, which makes a 1-to-1 comparison of rent difficult. An exact breakdown is provided below:

The eight suspended communal living spaces (bedrooms that shared a communal kitchen and bathroom) at the Compound rented for between $340 and $490. The 11 non-residential units in the Passive House will rent for between $150 and $400 per month. The three residential units in the Passive House—which, unlike the communal spaces, have individual kitchens and bathrooms—rent for $600 per month. 

Further detail FrOM OUR DIRECTOR, NICHOLAS WISNIEWSKI:

I’ll start with a few personal details, because I think it is pertinent to the history of the Compound, which is a deeply personal project. I grew up in Essex, MD. In 2000, I attended the Maryland Institute College of Art, where I majored in painting. In school, I became interested in artists whose work engaged social issues—especially those who were critiquing traditional modes of urban development. I began collaborating with classmates, first as Camp Baltimore and later as the Baltimore Development Cooperative (a play on the Baltimore Development Corporation), where we took on projects that imagined alternative approaches to inhabiting the city. We critiqued Baltimore City's intractable development model that includes planned neglect and decay in majority Black neighborhoods—first by partnering with neighbors to grow food on vacant lots, and eventually by purchasing the abandoned S.W. Betz factory in East Baltimore Midway. This space, purchased by myself and Marlon Ziello (a classmate from MICA) for $230,000 in 2010, eventually became the Compound. 

The Compound was a raw industrial space when I, Marlon, and 5 other artist friends started living in it. We had a camp shower, a woodstove, and no kitchen. For four years, we relied on the sweat equity and skills of our friends to build out a communal kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and other habitable spaces. Built in a DIY manner, without permits, the Compound was an attempt to question conventional modes of domestic living, and to invite informal collaborations among its artist residents and our East Baltimore neighbors. We hosted workshops, lectures, parties, art shows, meals, and gardening days. Many young people in the neighborhood grew up coming to the Compound to fix their bikes, feed the chickens, or hang out in the garden. Residential tenants paid rent, and the communal space was entirely self-governed. Whatever combination of mates lived there at the time were responsible for determining how new residents joined, and how the group shared responsibilities. 

Of course, there were conflicts. But the space was always self-regulating. A mistake that I made was thinking this level of informality could continue. Though I’m at the Compound daily, I stopped residing at the communal space in 2018. As turnover of housemates happened over the years, there were fewer old friendships and less connection to the construction and founding of the space. This was a largely positive change, bringing new energy and ideas and life to the Compound. But to function safely, the space needed more structure and more guardrails. With an all-volunteer staff, we lacked the capacity to take this on. 

Tensions among the housemates reached a critical pitch over the summer. I was at a loss for how to be most helpful in regards to the extensive allegations. I attempted to facilitate third party mediation to no avail. I regularly communicated my availability to meet with the residents and address these issues—yet correspondence from tenants was minimal. I took everyone’s well-being into consideration as best I could and consulted the board, and we made what felt was the only responsible decision: to suspend communal housing for all tenants. 

Since 2010, I’ve devoted my time, labor, and heart to initiating and preserving communal living at the space. For years, I have offered extreme flexibility to artists struggling to make rent—forgoing any kind of credit check, forgiving back rent, and letting tenants barter instead of paying cash. I even testified at the State level to push for legal collective housing in Baltimore City. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is the most painful and existentially difficult moment in the Compound’s history. 

Still, I’m committed to building space for Baltimore artists to live, experiment, and collaborate. For the last 3 years, we have worked tirelessly to rehabilitate 4 vacant row houses that are part of the Compound. We have done this in collaboration with East Baltimore neighbors, with a commitment to the highest possible environmental standards, all while retaining a level of affordability that is impossible to find elsewhere in the City. Though we are not ready to offer communal housing again, we have 3 individual apartments (with bathrooms & kitchens) that are available for $600/month. We also have studio spaces available for $150–$450. 

Applicants for these spaces will be reviewed by an external committee comprising artists representing many backgrounds and identities. As has always been the case, the Compound welcomes community members of all races, identities, abilities, socio-economic backgrounds, and cultures. 

If individuals—former or prospective tenants, or just anyone interested—have questions for me or the Compound board, please reach out. I can be reached by email at nick@compoundinc.org. 

With gratitude to all who have read this text, sincere apologies to those harmed—directly or indirectly—by their interactions with the Compound, and solidarity with anyone interested in continuing the complex and important work of building artist-led community,

Nick