Wendell Pierce has many claims to fame in his lengthy acting career. But his biggest one to date is likely still his work on HBO’s The Wire as Detective Bunk Moreland. To help repay the city that gave him his career highlight, Pierce has announced a $20 million investment into a new apartment complex.

The complex will be built in Baltimore’s arts district and will be the first in what Pierce told Fusion he he hopes will be the first of many opportunities to add jobs to the local economy. 

According to Fusion, some of the apartments will be offered to local artists for a discounted rate and offer them opportunities to have their work featured. The 49-year-old actor also says that a portion of the construction jobs to build the complex, which will hopefully be finished by the end of 2017, will go to Baltimore construction workers.

“They’re not going to be the entire workforce, but we wanted to put together a jobs program for people from the community,” Pierce said.

Pierce announced the new venture while speaking in a panel at Columbia University along fellow The Wire costars, Sonja Sohn, Felicia Pearson and Jamie Hector.

“We hope to take it into the row houses too,” Pierce said of potentially continuing the program. “This is a pilot program to make sure that the template is there.”

Photo Courtesy: Twitter