Campus Connection

Media Credit: Clarence Lam Construction of the UMMC ambulatory care center.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore now faces a gaping void comprised of only a parking garage at the center of its campus, after a long-rumored plan to terminate construction of a new ambulatory care center for the University Maryland Medical Center was recently confirmed. 

The block of campus, bounded by Paca and Green Streets and directly across from historic Davidge Hall, was completely leveled last year, except for its southwest quarter where the Paca-Pratt Building remains in use by UMB and UMMC. 

The University of Maryland Medical System had purchased the site from UMB in 2006 and then demolished several administrative buildings with the intention of building a massive 500,000 square foot, eight-story ambulatory care center at a total cost of $350 million. 

However, unconfirmed rumors had persisted throughout the campus for the past year that funding for the center had dried up due to possible disagreements between UMMS officials and the School of Medicine.  The school holds particular influence in hospital-related projects, as nearly all physicians at the hospital also hold faculty positions at the medical school.    

With a possible shortfall in funds, construction for the project was to end after completion of only the lowest levels of the center, leaving the site populated with only a three-story underground parking garage. 

These rumors were confirmed by the Maryland Health Care Commission, a state agency tasked with regulating new hospital construction, in a recent article by the Maryland Daily Record. 

While official notification was provided by UMMS to the MHCC on August 18, it was clear that rumors of the project's impending collapse had been circulating for months.  However, the Daily Record reports that key lawmakers were surprised upon learning the news. 

"I am shocked, especially because money has already been spent on the project in the district," said State Senator Verna Jones to the Daily Record.  Jones, who as a member of the Budget and Taxation Committee had worked to secure state funds for the center, also said, "If they don't tell me what's going on, I have a problem with that." 

It is unclear what specific disagreements between UMMS, the School of Medicine, and any other involved parties might have led to the termination of the project. 

Recently, however, there has been much turmoil in the leadership of UMMS as its CEO Edward Notebaerd retired in early August.  Shortly thereafter John Erickson, chairman of the UMMS board of directors, and nine other board members abruptly resigned at a meeting on August 20, citing undue influence on the board by Governor Martin O'Malley and university officials.  (See separate Campus Connection article here about the turnover of leadership at UMMS.)  

When contacted, a UMMC spokesperson released the following statement, “For a variety of reasons including land acquisition, the ACC developed more slowly than expected.”  It added that UMMC would shift focus to other more immediate facility priorities.  “The ACC project will follow in a 5-10 year horizon,” it said. 

Officials at the School of Medicine did not respond by deadline with comment. 

Immediate plans for the site beyond the completion of the parking garage are unknown. 

The northern half of the block under construction was owned by UMB until 2005 when the site was sold to UMMS.  Three buildings located on the block had comprised the School of Law until it moved in 2002 to its current location on West Baltimore Street.  After being vacated by the law school, the buildings were converted to use for student services-related offices and administrators. 

The student services building, located at 111 South Greene Street, had only recently been renovated in 2004 to accommodate offices which included those of financial aid, student accounting, and records and registration. It had formerly served as the campus's medical and law libraries. 

The two administrative buildings were unique.  One, located at 500 West Lombard Street, was historic in nature, a tall brick building with its exterior facade unchanged for decades.  A more modern building, 515 West Lombard, was located adjacent to it, but the two buildings had been modified years ago to share a common interior.  From 2002 through 2006, they were occupied predominantly by university administrators, which included the offices of the vice presidents of academic affairs and external affairs. 

Most of the university offices located in these demolished buildings were relocated to the UMMS-owned Paca-Pratt Building in 2006.  A new administrative building under construction at West Lexington and Arch Streets will house these offices upon completion later this year. 

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