Two years ago, before an array of TV cameras and government officials, Mayor Brandon Scott hailed his administration’s purchase of two former hotels to house the homeless as “a major step forward in increasing out ability to address homelessness.”

Tenants were ordered to remain in their rooms at the former Sleep Inn and Holiday Inn Express while Scott vowed to “continue fighting to make a difference in the lives of residents who need it most” during the July 1, 2024 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Residents said they felt offended to be isolated and shut away.

Those residents still feel neglected, according to Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming.

Today her office issued a report describing unhealthy living conditions – including mold, pest infestations, water damage, poor ventilation and mushrooms growing in carpeting – at the former hotels and a nearby ex-Fairfield Inn also purchased for homeless care.

The city spent $28 million to buy the buildings, mostly with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, along with a management contract with the Baltimore-based T.I.M.E. Organization.

The IG investigation began after a July 2025 complaint alleging problems with building conditions, food, plumbing and basic supplies as well as mold, pests and inadequate ventilation.

A survey of shelter residents released last year by the group Housing Our Neighbors had similar findings.

• Baltimore homeless shelters: A new survey finds them unsanitary, unsafe, unsavory (9/28/25)

One resident told the IG that laundry facilities were often broken, and sheets in resident rooms were sometimes bloody or dirty and appeared to be from a hospital.

At the former Holiday Inn Express, investigators found water stains and bubbling or peeling paint, which were sometimes covered up by a fresh coat of paint.

Sprouting Fungi and Dirty Water

Cumming’s staff conducted site visits last September and October, reviewed resident complaints and city records, and interviewed current and former employees at the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS).

At the Sleep Inn, an independent mold test found elevated levels of spores in three of six rooms tested. Investigator also obtained photographs of mushrooms growing in carpets and a video of dirty green water backing up in a bathtub.

Former MOHS employees called conditions at the homeless shelters “horrific” and “critical,” with one employee saying residents at the Sleep Inn were getting sick due to mold exposure. None of the rooms had adequate ventilation, investigators were told, and HVAC units often leaked and their filters were never cleaned.

A contractor interviewed said that the hiring of even just one person dedicated to the day-to-day needs of the shelters would improve conditions. “The OIG asked [the contractor] whether MOHS was aware of the maintenance issues; they replied that MOHS was fully aware of all maintenance issues going on,” the report says.

After an initial inspection, MOHS submitted to the OIG a “Minimum Habitability Standards for Emergency Shelters” checklist that recorded multiple deficiencies at the buildings as of September 24, 2025.

All of the items that were marked deficient were reinspected by MOHS on September 29 and were changed to “approved,” Cumming noted in her report.

The Grievance Game

Agency Director Ernestina Simmons told the inspector general that conditions at the hotels were “a concern,” and that the Department of General Services, which is responsible for maintaining city-owned buildings, “did not have the capacity to handle the 24-hour operation of a homeless shelter.”

Residents said the high turnover of residential managers led to maintenance problems, aggravated by MOHS’ cumbersome grievance policy.

“The MOHS grievance policy classifies grievances as Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3,” the report said. “Grievance level is not determined by the severity of the grievance; each grievance begins as a Level 1. Level 1 and Level 2 reviews are conducted by the shelter service providers.”

As a result, of the 352 grievances submitted by residents last year, 347 were Level 1 or 2 and resolved by the service providers and not MOHS. The agency received only five Level 3 grievances from three clients.

When the T.I.M.E. Organization contract expired, MOHS tried to find another contractor, Simmons said, but there were no bidders.

Finally, on June 17, 2026, MOHS entered into a $3.5 million, sole-source contract with Core MD LLC to manage the ex-hotels over the next year.

Organized just three months earlier by a Washington, D.C. businesswoman, Core MD pledges to maintain the buildings and provide a wide range of services for residents, according to its contract with MOHS.

No Access to Records

Since February 6, the OIG has not been able to access MOHS or other city records as part of the ongoing legal battle between the mayor and Cumming.

As a result, the OIG could not comment on Simmons’ August 7 response that outlined how the agency has improved conditions at the three former hotels over the last months.

Among the changes are biweekly treatments of resident rooms for bed bugs and the hiring of a facility administrator, who will “strengthen direct on-site and oversight through routine and unannounced visits,” Simmons wrote.

There will also be a designated liaison between vendors and MOHS, who “will review open emergency and urgent work orders, unresolved facility conditions and required corrective actions with the shelter service provider and facilities operator.”

The agency conducted a shelter satisfaction survey that got responses from 23% of the 526 adults who reside in city-funded shelters.

The survey found a 71% satisfaction rate by residents at the former Sleep Inn, she said.